kdub,
I don't own any stainless/synthetic rifles anymore. Yes, they do make more sense up here, but blued steel and walnut are just fine provided you give them proper attention. I use a paste wax for the metal (when hunting in wet climates) and make sure all the wood is sealed. I've never had any problems. They do need attention every evening in camp, especially if hunting along the coast.
ID,
Yep, I'm all better now, ribs are in fine shape. I'll be working up loads during the next week or so...
Enforcer,
Teddy didn't use his 405 for everything in Africa. He did kill a lion with it, but for most of the big stuff he carried a H&H double rifle, I can't think of the chambering off the top of my head, but think it was something like a 470 Nitro.
As for ballistics, well, its all how you look at it. Yes, I do know there are laws of physics, but we are never talking about constants. As a hunter, velocity does a couple of things for us. One is to push the bullet along at such a velocity to make it easier to hit what we are shooting at, out to some distance. The faster the bullet goes (all else being equal), the more ground the bullet covers over a specified amount of time (hence less "drop" over the same distance). I wanted a rifle capable of point blank capabilities out to about 250 yards (my self imposed limit for moose with open sights along with other considerations). Second velocity gets the (expanding) bullet into the operating parameters where it will expand and do the work it is designed for. Push it too fast, it comes apart, too slow and it doesn't expand. My distance for those velocities is zero to about 250 yards, maybe a little more, maybe a little less. The 400 and 350 grain Barnes X will be pushed into those velocities at those distances, so there shouldn't be a problem. Last, but not least we want our velocity to be quick enough to aid the penetration of the bullet into the areas where it will do the most damage from whatever angle. With the Barnes X design, and what I've witnessed with them being used on moose, bear and the like, we shouldn't have a problem there, either.
The thing velocity doesn't do is square itself. I have never seen an animal of the size of a moose or caribou ever "shocked" down. I've seen them get poleaxed by a CNS shot, but I've never seen one get shocked to death. For that reason, the ft-lbs of energy formula, et al, are really just relative. Those numbers don't mean anything in the field. Maybe they do to a pure shooter, I don't know. Here's the deal, if you put a bullet of sufficient size and construction, fast enough for you to place the bullet properly and get the bullet into vital organs, the animal is going to get a serious case of dead.
Does it mean anything if the 411 Hawk pushes a 350 grain bullet to 2450 fps or 2350 fps? Not a thing. For all practical purposes, at the ranges specified for this rifle, its the same speed. I haven't chroographed this rifle yet, but I do know that Ed Stevenson has been pushing his 350 grain Hawk bullets along at about 2400 fps. He's using a 24" barrel. I don't know what it'll do at 22", but I bet you this, it will stop a bear at shoestring distances and put a moose down on the far side of a muskeg patch with equal ease.
