AN UNDER-LEVER FAMILY HEIRLOOM
A WESTLEY-RICHARDS FAMILY HEIRLOOM
I J Larivers
(Originally published in MAN Magnum magazine)
The name Thomas Pakenham will be familiar to history buffs and natural historians as the author of such titles as The Scramble for Africa, The Boer War, and The Remarkable Baobab, to name a few. So when former Zimbabwe National Parks warden Chris Pakenham told me that he had a nice old Westley Richards underlever in .400/.360 that had been in the family for years, I thought Great! There’s a story here. The rifle was passed down through Chris’s family after his maternal great grandfather originally bought it from a gunshop in Port Elizabeth. Having put a couple of original Kynoch loads through it on the range one day, my curiosity was piqued.
Coined by James Purdey in 1856 to publicise his double rifles, “Nitro Express” cartridges were designed for use in the large bore, dangerous game hunting rifles of the day. Their name originated from the cordite propellant originally used, which consists of nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine. The “express” from express train, due to the formidably higher velocities available with cordite compared to earlier black powder loads. Many of the original Nitro Express cartridges - and especially the .470NE - remain popular today due to their effectiveness on dangerous game.
The .400/.360 Westley-Richards, similar to, but not quite the same as the .400/.360 Purdey (the difference chiefly being in the case rim thickness), appeared on the scene in 1900 as a rimmed cartridge intended for use in double rifles. Loaded with around 40gr of Cordite it sent a 300gr bullet downrange at just under 2000fps, or a slightly heavier 314gr projectile at closer to 1900fps. The energy is there, working out to 2,665 foot pounds and 2,518 foot pounds respectively for the two loads. Using Zimbabwe law as a benchmark, the .400/.360 hovers around the three and a half kilojoules mark, which makes it legal on Part C and Part D animals, which is just about everything but heavy, dangerous game. In the hands of a competent rifleman, of course – like Karamojo Bell - it would also be useable on the big bad stuff, and in the hands of a competent reloader, that four kilojoule mark for eland, giraffe and lion is certainly attainable.
The .400/.360s never really enjoyed the popularity of the more potent calibres on dangerous game, and the single-shot falling block has its limitations, but they did certainly fill a mid-range niche. Just a little later on, the Germans popularised their new 9.3 x 74R for use in single shot rifles, doubles and combination guns. It enjoyed more commercial success in Africa, and although underpowered in terms of many later cartridges and also much modern African legislation, it proved itself more than adequate on most species in the right hands. Significantly, the 9.3 x 74R cases are slightly longer than .400/.360WR hulls.
To most folks, these older calibres are merely curiosities, with very little in the way of modern application. The fact that ammunition may not be readily forthcoming for most of them exacerbates the problem. But...
Kynoch Ammunition, which is credited as being the originator of the classic British Nitro Express cartridges - working in collaboration with Eley - has brought back the Nitro Express brand to produce many of these now hard-to-find cartridges. With the use of blended, modern powders, Kynoch is able to match or surpass the ballistics of the original ammunition - and at safer pressures.
But, that’s not the only option. Chris Pakenham has formed .400/.360 cases by running RWS 9.3 x 74R brass through a standard Purdey .400/.360 sizing die and trimming to fit. He found it was necessary to slug the bore before shooting, as the old Kynoch .400/.360 Purdey NE softs and solids he came across were .367", and groove diameters can vary from .363 to .369".
Chris’s rifle itself, made by Westley Richards & Co. of London is a falling block single shot, first produced about 1909 on their "New Underlever" sliding block action in .360 Bore (.400/.360 23/4" Nitro Express), and it was nitro proved for 41grains of Cordite with a 314 grain bullet. The barrel is 271/2" and is serial-numbered to the action. It is equipped with their island rear sight base with one standing and two folding blades. These Westley Richards "New Underlevers" are not easy to find, but in 1909 a sporting gent could make his way to 178 New Bond Street in London and pull out nineteen pounds in British sterling and walk out the door with this very same Single Nitro Express rifle. If his tastes ran to a Willesden canvas case he merely added three pounds and if he were landed gentry with a cavalier lifestyle, he would presumably think nothing of laying down an additional five pounds to purchase the best solid leather case. The things folks take for granted!
Chris’s great grandfather, Guy Pakenham-Bean, who lived in Ferndale Valley near Hankey just outside of Port Elizabeth gifted the rifle to Chris’s father Aubrey, probably just after the Second World War. But at any rate, when Chris’s uncle Max drove up to Fort Victoria (now Masvingo) in 1950 in an Austin A40 – which must’ve been much more of an epic journey then than now, the border chaos and the present state of Zimbabwe’s roads notwithstanding - Chris’s Dad was already settled in Bulawayo, with the Westley Richards.
Who can guess what stories that rifle could tell about the intervening years? Not much is known for sure, though it would have put its fair share of venison on the table. And then, in the days before reloading, it would have been relegated to a corner of the gun safe as newer and “better” calibres emerged and times changed – single-shot rifles aren’t much use during an insurgent war. Then the dawn of a new millennium, and its fortuitous acquisition by Chris, who is a gun nut if ever there was one. It was not just a living embodiment of his family history, it was still a licensed, working rifle, and there was no reason it should not once again be put through its paces on the range.
Chris is currently the club reloading officer for rifle calibres at Cleveland Pistol Club in Harare. He has been very active over the years in the National Parks shooting proficiency examinations as both an instructor and an examiner, and he has done much to improve the candidates’ results by making high-quality gas-checked cast bullet ammunition available for practice. In addition, he has come to appreciate that far from being the anachronisms that too many shooters today believe them to be, cast bullets are real downrange performers in their own right.
Chris bought an RCBS mould for a 210gr gas-checked bullet, and began casting his projectiles from pure linotype; he then sized them to .359”. He acquired a set of Purdey reloading dies, and appreciating the similarity between the .400/.360 and the 9.3 x 54 – cases which for some reason are not that scarce in Zimbabwe - he went to work re-sizing and trimming the latter to fit in the Westley Richards rifle.
With the wide variety of excellent powders available from Somchem, Chris had very little trouble working up several nice, shootable loads for the old rifle, and he finally settled on 50.0gr of S365. Over the chronograph, these rounds averaged 2005fps, to give a muzzle energy of 1875 foot pounds, or just over two and a half kilojoules. Using a Hornady electronic powder measure, it takes a while for the charge weights to settle down with such a coarse-grained powder, but the points spread between the first rounds in the test batch was minimal – around ten feet per second. At fifty metres, the accuracy was initially not great – four to five inches, and certainly not what an ethical hunter would feel comfortable with - and this was probably stemming from the fact that not only was the original bullet weight much heavier at 314gr, but the cast bullets had also effectively been under-sized. So, Chris gave Don Heath at Norma a shout, and significantly better results were obtained by substituting jacketed .360” projectiles.
Chris and I both believe that there is a very limited enjoyment in owning a firearm that can’t still be taken out and put through its paces - sensibly. If there’s a strong historical link, so much the better. Right now Chris is weighing his options on any further refurbishment of the old gun. As can be expected, given its lineage, the sideplate screws are all pretty badly worn, but the finish and woodwork are pretty good and the bore is even better. With a lot else on the go, this fine old Westley Richards will continue to be be a work-in-progress, but hours of enjoyment on the range no doubt lie ahead.
Not to get too anthropomorphic, but I wonder what the old rifle thinks about all this?
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