.70 Nitro Express

SHELL SHUCKER said:
Why blow so much dough on a "mere" .700 when ya can get a true whomper for the price of a new compact car?
Stolzer & Sons will build you a nice 2 bore cartridge rifle that's sure to satisfy the urge for an uber cannon. It's
hard to ignore a beast like this at any gun club and would test the stoutest of any shooter to the full.

How's a 1.325", 3500 gr. ball pushed by 700 gr. of black powder sound to ye? To me it sounds like brutal entertainment!;)

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While that is a healthy sized case, I don't think it will hold 700 gr of powder. The tin foil "cartridge" I make for my cannon are 1 in. in dia and longer than that entire shell and only holds 350 gr of black.
 
This is a really nice 700 Nitro express rifle. look like a Ruger No.1 but the rifle was made by Clayton Nelson.















 
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Yeah.... Any 700 NE will run you easily 100,000$ and then ammo, etc, etc. Id love to own one, but unless you can afford a Ferrari and then some, don't count on it. Id LOVE to know who the guy is who owns one. Id cough up the 50-75$ for a single piece of brass for my collection Ina heart best!
 
The .700 is interesting purely because it's the largest cartridge (aside from the bore rifles, which produce far lower velocity and I see the .700 as more impressive) supported and offered by one of the classical Africa arms giants. It is overkill which doesn't even need to be said, and my personal fascination tops out at .577 Nitro, for which I've been slowly assembling a collection of components. Recent purchases have sidetracked the .577 for a long while but it's still on the mind. Unless you're buying a classic or a product of a master, I don't really see the point of settling on the .700, you'd just be making life difficult for yourself in barrel blanks, components, even dies etc. Choosing to build a more conventional choice such as a fast .577 wildcat will allow the use of more standard actions, more available bullets and molds, yada yada yada. You'll also produce as much energy as you desire, and can make more power than factory .700 Nitro loadings, should the urge arise. I wouldn't marry your dreams to the .700 as in an affordable rifle, it really isn't a .700 Nitro, it's another wildcat monster really. What makes a .700 Nitro is where is comes from, Holland & Holland or other silly expensive makers, and it remains a toy for those with too much money who enjoy being beaten for amusement. Remove the beautiful rifle and there are far more sensible ways to simply beat yourself.
 
fingers284 said:
While that is a healthy sized case, I don't think it will hold 700 gr of powder. The tin foil "cartridge" I make for my cannon are 1 in. in dia and longer than that entire shell and only holds 350 gr of black.
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Yes,the S&H 2 bore case certainly holds 700 gr. of FFG and that load pushes a 1/2 lb. ball at 1500 fps. and generates 17,500 ft. lbs. of muzzle energy. I loaded my old 1" cannon with 500 gr. of 2F without issues.;)
 
SHELL SHUCKER said:
Yes,the S&H 2 bore case certainly holds 700 gr. of FFG and that load pushes a 1/2 lb. ball at 1500 fps. and generates 17,500 ft. lbs. of muzzle energy. I loaded my old 1" cannon with 500 gr. of 2F without issues.;)
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Wasn't challenging the issue of loading a cannon with 500 gr at all, just stated that I load mine with 350 and thought the shell case pictured looked small for the charge mentioned.
 
The .700 N.E. is definitely a potent number for sure and would be a fun one to plink with using cast boolits and reduced loads. I would be happier using a .730" (12 bore) rifle such as a Browning A-Bolt or Savage 210 though mainly because of costs to operate and pain tolerance level.
For well money'd folks, a .700 would be a neat rifle to have.:)

Kinda looks like a marital aid.
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Yup, diameter should be close to 12 gauge - 12 ga barrel ID is about .730 for cylinder and .700 for full choke.

From Wikipedia:

.700 nitro
Parent case - None
Case type - Rimmed, straight
Bullet diameter .700 in (17.8 mm)
Neck diameter .730 in (18.5 mm)
Base diameter .780 in (19.8 mm)
Rim diameter .890 in (22.6 mm)
Rim thickness .060 in (1.5 mm)
Case length 3.50 in (89 mm)
Overall length 4.20 in (107 mm)
Case capacity 316.9 gr H2O (20.53 cm3)
Primer type Boxer; Magnum Large Rifle

Must be baby hand.
 
Quick google and found it's a 2 bore cartridge from an article. About a gazillion times bigger than a .700 Nitro, which most would be surprised how small it is in real life. As others have pointed out it's actually slightly smaller than a 12 gauge shotgun shell, longer, but narrower. It is very comparble in size to a 3 1/2" 12 gauge shell, but skinnier (the shotshell hull adds a lot to the diameter, and the shot column of the 12g is bigger to start with at .729").
 
SHELL SHUCKER said:
Yes,the S&H 2 bore case certainly holds 700 gr. of FFG and that load pushes a 1/2 lb. ball at 1500 fps. and generates 17,500 ft. lbs. of muzzle energy. I loaded my old 1" cannon with 500 gr. of 2F without issues.;)
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Shell, not trying to be a #### here, my experience doesn't jive with the author of your info.

My cannon is 1.625 in. bore and as stated before I load it with 350 gr of blk. The steel balls I load it with are 1.550 dia. and weigh just short of a pound. I patch the balls so that they are a tight push fit. I have chrono'd these balls at 1370 fps. It puzzles me that the 2 bore uses twice the weight powder charge and 1/2 the weight projectile while only gaining 130 fps.

There will be differences in the tubes of course, the cannon is smoot bore and has 29 in. of bore length after the charge & ball are seated. The gun appears to be a bit shorter and is probably (altho its not mentioned) "rifled".

If that 2 bore does fire 700 gr per load I don't want anything to do with shooting it at all. With the 350 gr charge & ball I use in my cannon (and it weights probably more than 80 lbs) it will jump,roll and skid the tailstock back 2-3 ft . A hand held rifle that weights 1/4 as much would be truly brutal.
 
Fingers 284,
No worries on the #### bit. The 2 bore had a reputation for detaching retinas in the old days and was soon surpassed by the 4 bore & 8 bore rifles for African dangerous game. The .700 NE is a niche chambering that has a growing following in some circles, but it is for folks with bucks to spend.

My old cannon weighed around 60 lb. and was a 1" bore with a 24" barrel. Not sure the velocity it produced as this was in the mid 70's & I had no chrony back then. The beasty was fun for night shooting though.;)
 
fingers284 said:
Shell, not trying to be a #### here, my experience doesn't jive with the author of your info.

My cannon is 1.625 in. bore and as stated before I load it with 350 gr of blk. The steel balls I load it with are 1.550 dia. and weigh just short of a pound. I patch the balls so that they are a tight push fit. I have chrono'd these balls at 1370 fps. It puzzles me that the 2 bore uses twice the weight powder charge and 1/2 the weight projectile while only gaining 130 fps.

There will be differences in the tubes of course, the cannon is smoot bore and has 29 in. of bore length after the charge & ball are seated. The gun appears to be a bit shorter and is probably (altho its not mentioned) "rifled".

If that 2 bore does fire 700 gr per load I don't want anything to do with shooting it at all. With the 350 gr charge & ball I use in my cannon (and it weights probably more than 80 lbs) it will jump,roll and skid the tailstock back 2-3 ft . A hand held rifle that weights 1/4 as much would be truly brutal.
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the 2 bore double that Stolzer & Son's built weighs 44lbs the single weighs 22lb id shoot the double

http://www.stolzergunsmithing.com/2boredoublerifle.htm
 
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