.240 Apex
Encyclopedia
The .240 Apex is a centrefire sporting rifle
cartridge
developed in England in the 1920s, primarily for use in hunting deer
and plains game
. This round has always been particularly closely associated with the firm of Holland and Holland, rifle and gun makers of London, England, which has built more magazine and double rifles in this calibre than anyone else. A rimmed variant of this cartridge, known as the .240 Magnum Flanged, was developed for use in double rifle
s.
s were made in the period 1930 - 1950 for the .240 Apex cartridge, and David Lloyd
took it as the starting point in his development of his .244 H&H Magnum
cartridge, which uses the same distinctive .245in diameter bullet, but fired from a very much larger case.
The ballistic performance of the .240 Apex in factory loads is very similar to that of the .243 Winchester
, with a 100 gr bullet giving a muzzle velocity
of approximately 2900 feet per second (883.9 m/s). When it is loaded at the same pressure as the .243 WSSM
using modern powders, the .240 Apex has the potential for slightly better performance.
The case dimensions of the .240 are not unlike those of the "wildcat" 6mm-06 (the .30-'06 cartridge case necked down to accept a 6mm/.244 bullet), but the .240 case has a slightly smaller diameter, and the case is distinctive in appearance owing to its long neck.
Most bolt-action rifles made for the .240 Apex will be amply strong enough to handle handloaded cartridges at high pressure. However, caution is required in reloading the rimmed version of the .240 - the Magnum Flanged cartridge - for older double rifles, which in any event will have had their sights set for the zero to which the original load shot.
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
cartridge
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...
developed in England in the 1920s, primarily for use in hunting deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
and plains game
Plains game
Plains game is well established in literature and conversation as the sporting hunter's generic term for all those fair-game species of antelope and gazelle which are to be found - typically in rather open plains or savanna habitats - throughout sub-Saharan Africa...
. This round has always been particularly closely associated with the firm of Holland and Holland, rifle and gun makers of London, England, which has built more magazine and double rifles in this calibre than anyone else. A rimmed variant of this cartridge, known as the .240 Magnum Flanged, was developed for use in double rifle
Double rifle
A double-barreled rifle or double rifle is a type of sporting rifle with two barrels instead of one, available in eitherside-by-side or over-and-under barrel configurations. Double rifles are one of the family of combination guns...
s.
Overview
A number of Lloyd rifleLloyd rifle
The Lloyd Rifle was the 1950s brainchild of English deer-stalker, rifleman, metallurgist and engineer David Llewellyn Lloyd. His objective was to create a high-quality, scope-sighted, magazine-fed sporting rifle capable of dependably high accuracy at long ranges, of retaining its zero despite...
s were made in the period 1930 - 1950 for the .240 Apex cartridge, and David Lloyd
David Lloyd (riflemaker and sportsman)
David Llewellyn Lloyd was an English deer-stalker, metallurgist, ballistician and sporting rifle maker, of Northamptonshire, England and Glencassley in Sutherland, Scotland. After service in the Royal Air Force in the Second World War, extensive deer stalking, and frequent rifle shooting visits to...
took it as the starting point in his development of his .244 H&H Magnum
.244 H&H Magnum
The .244 Holland & Holland Magnum cartridge was created in 1955 in Great Britain by deerstalker and rifle-maker David Lloyd of Pipewell Hall, Northamptonshire and Glencassley in Sutherland, Scotland, and is not to be confused with the smaller-cased and much milder 6 mm Remington...
cartridge, which uses the same distinctive .245in diameter bullet, but fired from a very much larger case.
The ballistic performance of the .240 Apex in factory loads is very similar to that of the .243 Winchester
.243 Winchester
The .243 Winchester is a popular sporting rifle cartridge. Initially designed as a varmint round, it is now more frequently used on medium to large game such as whitetail deer, mule deer, pronghorn, wild hogs, and even black bear and caribou...
, with a 100 gr bullet giving a muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...
of approximately 2900 feet per second (883.9 m/s). When it is loaded at the same pressure as the .243 WSSM
.243 WSSM
The 243 Winchester Super Short Magnum or 243 WSSM is a rifle cartridge introduced in 2003. It uses a .300 WSM case shortened and necked down to accept a .243in/6mm diameter bullet, and is a high velocity round based on ballistics design philosophies that are intended to produce a high level of...
using modern powders, the .240 Apex has the potential for slightly better performance.
The case dimensions of the .240 are not unlike those of the "wildcat" 6mm-06 (the .30-'06 cartridge case necked down to accept a 6mm/.244 bullet), but the .240 case has a slightly smaller diameter, and the case is distinctive in appearance owing to its long neck.
Most bolt-action rifles made for the .240 Apex will be amply strong enough to handle handloaded cartridges at high pressure. However, caution is required in reloading the rimmed version of the .240 - the Magnum Flanged cartridge - for older double rifles, which in any event will have had their sights set for the zero to which the original load shot.