Hunter-Habib
AH legend
In my 63 years (and counting) of being an avid hunter & firearms aficionado, I’ve been blessed to cross paths with several excellent English double rifles in the hands of my friends & associates. I’ve seen double rifles built by Westley Richards, Holland & Holland, John Rigby and Webley & Scott (to name a few). However, I’ve never been fortunate enough to see a James Purdey & Sons double rifle being used in the field (or even a magazine rifle from this regal British heritage brand). While quite a few of my friends & associates own Purdey shotguns, I personally know of only two renowned hunters who are actually documented with employing rifles built by Purdey.
The first was John Pondoro Taylor who owned a James Purdey & Sons sidelock ejector in .450/400 Nitro Express 3”. The second was His Royal Excellence The Maharaja Of Udaipur. And it’s his rifle which you all can see below.
Despite the description of the rifle claiming that it is a “.400 3” Nitro”, this rifle is actually chambered in Purdey’s proprietary .400 Purdey (sometimes referred to as the “Purdey Special Light .400”). Firing a 230Gr nickel base lead bullet backed by 47Gr of Cordite at 2050 FPS, it was preferred by His Excellence for hunting Sambar deer, wild boar & Central Indian tigers.
As a tiger hunter myself, I would personally prefer something with a bit more punch for hunting the great cats on foot. A 400Gr jacketed soft point bullet traveling at a velocity of 2300 FPS would be my preferred ballistic combination for hunting tigers on foot. Which is why the .500/416 Nitro Express (410Gr bullets at 2330 FPS) gets my vote as the world’s No. 1 caliber in a double rifle for tackling the great cats on foot.
Nevertheless, his Excellence was quite successful with the .400 Purdey on Central Indian tigers. For the style of tiger hunting which he preferred (shooting from elephant howdahs while beaters drove the tigers towards him), this caliber actually proved to be his favorite. 66 Central Indian tigers fell to this magnificent rifle.
Today, unfortunately… the .400 Purdey is barely even remembered. Ammunition for it was only offered by ICI Kynoch. And after 1952, all production of ammunition ceased.
The .400 Purdey has been relegated to a footnote in history now.
The first was John Pondoro Taylor who owned a James Purdey & Sons sidelock ejector in .450/400 Nitro Express 3”. The second was His Royal Excellence The Maharaja Of Udaipur. And it’s his rifle which you all can see below.
Despite the description of the rifle claiming that it is a “.400 3” Nitro”, this rifle is actually chambered in Purdey’s proprietary .400 Purdey (sometimes referred to as the “Purdey Special Light .400”). Firing a 230Gr nickel base lead bullet backed by 47Gr of Cordite at 2050 FPS, it was preferred by His Excellence for hunting Sambar deer, wild boar & Central Indian tigers.
As a tiger hunter myself, I would personally prefer something with a bit more punch for hunting the great cats on foot. A 400Gr jacketed soft point bullet traveling at a velocity of 2300 FPS would be my preferred ballistic combination for hunting tigers on foot. Which is why the .500/416 Nitro Express (410Gr bullets at 2330 FPS) gets my vote as the world’s No. 1 caliber in a double rifle for tackling the great cats on foot.
Nevertheless, his Excellence was quite successful with the .400 Purdey on Central Indian tigers. For the style of tiger hunting which he preferred (shooting from elephant howdahs while beaters drove the tigers towards him), this caliber actually proved to be his favorite. 66 Central Indian tigers fell to this magnificent rifle.
Today, unfortunately… the .400 Purdey is barely even remembered. Ammunition for it was only offered by ICI Kynoch. And after 1952, all production of ammunition ceased.
The .400 Purdey has been relegated to a footnote in history now.
