The .400 Jeffery Nitro Express or .450/400 Nitro Express 3-inch is a medium bore, bottlenecked,
Nitro Express
The Nitro Express (NE) series of cartridges are used in large-bore hunting rifles, also known as elephant guns or express rifles, but later came to include smaller bore high velocity (for the time) British cartridges.
Name
The term "Express" was ...
cartridge designed by
W. J. Jeffery & Co. in 1896, intended for use in single shot and
double rifle
The double rifle, also known as a double-barreled rifle, is a rifle with two barrels mounted parallel to each other that can be fired simultaneously or sequentially in quick succession. Synonymous with big game hunting found primarily in Africa an ...
s.
Development
The W. J. Jeffery & Co. developed the .400 Jeffery NE from the
.450/400 3--inch Nitro Express, following extraction problems with the latter cartridge.
The .450/400 3--inch NE was recreated by loading the old
.450/400 3--inch Black Powder Express with
cordite
Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in Britain since 1889 to replace black powder as a military firearm propellant. Like modern gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burni ...
, transforming a low-velocity
deerstalking
Deer stalking, or simply stalking, is a British term for the stealthy pursuit of deer on foot to hunt for venison, for leisure, as trophies, or to control their numbers as part of wildlife management, just as with rabbiting and boar hunting. Dee ...
cartridge into a genuine big-game hunting round capable of tackling even the largest
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n and
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
n game. The conversion was not initially entirely successful, under the increased pressures of the cordite loading the long neck could stick in the chamber causing the rim to pull off at extraction,
[ a problem not encountered with the milder ]black powder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...
loadings. To counter this, W. J. Jeffery & Co. reduced the length of the case to 3-inches and moved the neck further forward, creating this cartridge,[ as such it was never loaded with black powder.
Unlike earlier .450/400 3--inch NE cases the .400 Jeffery NE was standardised on the .410 caliber bullets, renewed interest in the double rifles meant more bullets in this caliber were becoming available.
]
Dimensions
Use
The .450/400 NE in both the 3-inch and 3--inch versions were extremely popular in Africa and India, prior to the introduction of the .375 Holland & Holland they were considered the best all-round African hunting caliber. Both cartridges were extremely popular in India with Maharajas and British sportsmen.[
]Karamojo Bell
Walter Dalrymple Maitland Bell (8 September 1880 – 30 June 1954), known as Karamojo Bell after the Karamoja sub-region in Uganda, which he travelled extensively, was a Scottish adventurer, big game hunter in East Africa, soldier, decorated f ...
started his elephant hunting career with a Jeffery built .450/400 double rifle prior to moving to his famous .275 Rigby.[ ]Jim Corbett
Edward James Corbett (25 July 1875 – 19 April 1955) was an Anglo-Indian hunter and author. He gained fame through hunting and killing several man-eating tigers and leopards in Northern India, as detailed in his bestselling 1944 memoir '' M ...
switched from a .500 Black Powder Express to a W.J. Jeffery boxlock double rifle in .400 Jeffery NE which he used along with a .275 Rigby.[
In his ''African Rifles and Cartridges'', ]John "Pondoro" Taylor
John Howard "Pondoro" Taylor (1904–1969) was a big-game hunter and ivory poacher of Irish descent. Born in Dublin as the son of a surgeon he developed an urge to go to Africa and become a professional hunter. Taylor mainly hunted for his own ac ...
stated the 3-inch and 3--inch .450/400 NE cartridges to be "the grandest weapons imaginable for all big game hunting" adequate for all African game in almost all conditions when used by an experienced hunter.[ He further stated "I derived greater pleasure from using the .400 than any other calibre; and no weapon behaved more successfully in my hands. I would happily finish the remainder of my career with a pair of them and nothing else-unless it was a third!"][
Major Percy Powell-Cotton wrote the "Jeffery .400 ejector express rifle I first carried in my Abyssinian expedition is my favourite weapon for dangerous game. With all nickel-covered bullets it is excellent for head or heart shots at elephant. With the lead just showing at the nose they do good work on rhino and buffalo; whilst with half the lead exposed I do not think you can get a better weapon for lion."][
]Elmer Keith
Elmer Merrifield Keith (March 8, 1899 – February 14, 1984) was an American rancher, firearms enthusiast, and author. Keith was instrumental in the development of the first magnum revolver cartridge, the .357 Magnum (1935), as well as the la ...
stated this cartridge would be his first choice when hunting brown bear in Alaska.[
]Jim Corbett
Edward James Corbett (25 July 1875 – 19 April 1955) was an Anglo-Indian hunter and author. He gained fame through hunting and killing several man-eating tigers and leopards in Northern India, as detailed in his bestselling 1944 memoir '' M ...
used this cartridge to hunt man-eating tigers and leopards in India.
See also
* Nitro Express
The Nitro Express (NE) series of cartridges are used in large-bore hunting rifles, also known as elephant guns or express rifles, but later came to include smaller bore high velocity (for the time) British cartridges.
Name
The term "Express" was ...
* List of rifle cartridges
List of rifle cartridges, by primer type, Caliber, calibre and name.
File:Cartridge Sample 2.jpg, 350px, From left to right: 1 .17 Hornady Mach 2, 2 .17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire, 3 .22 Long Rifle, 4 .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, 5 .17/23 SMc, 6 5mm ...
* 10 mm caliber
This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets in the to caliber range.
*''Length'' refers to the cartridge case
Case or CASE may refer to:
Instances
* Instantiation (disambiguation), a realization of a concept, theme, or design
* ...
other cartridges of similar caliber size.
References
External links
African Hunting Gazette, ".450/400 Nitro Express 3" (Jeffery)", ''africanhuntinggazette.com''
retrieved 11 August 2018.
retrieved 7 November 2017.
Cartridgecollector, ".400 3 inch Jeffery Nitro Express", ''cartridgecollector.net''
retrieved 7 November 2017.
, retrieved 7 November 2017.
* Notes from the Lab:.450/400 Nitro Express 3 Inch https://loaddata.com/articles/PDF/450-400%20Nitro%20Express%203%20inch.pdf retrieved 12 May 2025.
* The Rifles of Jim Corbett https://www.vintageguns.co.uk/magazine/the-rifles-of-jim-corbett retrieved 12 May 2025.
{{DEFAULTSORT:400 Jeffery Nitro Express
British firearm cartridges
Pistol and rifle cartridges
W. J. Jeffery & Co. cartridges