In 1990, Jack Carter, developer of the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, made his last safari in Africa, hunting first in Tanzania, then in Botswana. He took two rifles. One was a pre-64 Winchester Model 70 .243 Winchester, the other a pre-64 .450 Ackley Magnum. The big .450 was for use on Cape buffalo. It was a rifle Jack carried for 20 years and the one that set him on his quest for a good, premium big-game bullet in the first place. In East Africa in the 1970s, hunting elephant, a conventional 500-grain bullet had riveted, bent into an L shape, and caused all manner of problems. Jack set out to correct them.

Throughout the development of the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, that .450 Ackley was his major test rifle, and when I saw it, I fell for it instantly. Jack loved that particular rifle, but he was a realist. “If you’re going to get a .450,” he told me, “You’re better off with a .458 Lott.” The Lott, even back then, was on its way to becoming a factory cartridge that would do everything the Ackley would do but with a lot less trouble. In the 27 years since, the Lott has become a standard while the .450 Ackley has largely faded from sight.

Needless to say, I did not take Jack Carter’s advice. Instead, I came home, surveyed my meager inventory of rifles and actions, and chose a rather poorly customized .375 H&H on an FN Supreme action as the starting point. I delivered it to a veteran German gunmaker named Siegfried Trillus with instructions to turn it into a .450 Ackley.