.500 Black Powder Express | ||||||||
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Type | Rifle | |||||||
Place of origin | United Kingdom | |||||||
Production history | ||||||||
Designed | 1860s | |||||||
Specifications | ||||||||
Case type | Rimmed, straight | |||||||
Bullet diameter | .510 in (13.0 mm) | |||||||
Neck diameter | .535 in (13.6 mm) | |||||||
Base diameter | .580 in (14.7 mm) | |||||||
Rim diameter | .660 in (16.8 mm) | |||||||
Rim thickness | .055 in (1.4 mm) | |||||||
Case length | 3.01 in (76 mm) | |||||||
Overall length | 3.39 in (86 mm) | |||||||
Primer type | Kynoch # 31A | |||||||
Ballistic performance | ||||||||
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Test barrel length: 28 Source(s): Barnes & Amber [1] and Kynoch [2] |
The .500 Black Powder Express was a series of Black powder cases of varying lengths that emerged in the 1860s. [1]
The cartridge was offered in several case lengths including 11⁄2-inch, 2-inch, 21⁄4-inch, 25⁄8-inch, 3-inch and 31⁄4-inch, several were successful and endured others lasted only a short period. [1]
The 3-inch and 31⁄4-inch .500 BPE cartridges have survived to the current day as the .500 3-inch Nitro for Black and the .500 31⁄4-inch Nitro for Black, the same cartridges loaded with mild loadings of modern smokeless powder, carefully balanced through trial to replicate the ballistics of the Black powder version. [2] The two cartridges offer almost identical ballistic performance to each other, and are very similar to the .50-140 Sharps.
The 3-inch and 31⁄4-inch cartridges were later loaded with smokeless cordite to create the .500 Nitro Express, with the 3-inch version becoming the most popular.
In the 1870s the 31⁄4-inch cartridge was necked down to .45-inches to create the .500/450 Magnum Black Powder Express which in turn, when loaded with cordite, became the .500/450 Nitro Express. After the British government's 1907 ban of .450 caliber ammunition to India and Sudan, the .500/465 Nitro Express and the .470 Nitro Express were formed from this cartridge.
The .500 BPE was considered a good cartridge for medium-sized non dangerous game [3] and can still be used for such.
The .500 BPE was never highly regarded for hunting in Africa, [1] yet it was a popular cartridge in India, considered a good general purpose rifle cartridge popular for hunting tigers. [4] Jim Corbett was a user of a .500 BPE rifle prior to switching to a .400 Jeffery Nitro Express double rifle, [5] shooting cordite Nitro for Black loadings this rifle was used to dispatch the first man-eater he shot, the Champawat Tiger. [6]
An elephant gun is a large caliber gun, rifled or smoothbore, originally developed for use by big-game hunters for elephant and other large game. Elephant guns were black powder muzzle-loaders at first, then black powder express rifles, then later used smokeless powder cartridges.
The term express was first applied to hunting rifles and ammunition beginning in the mid-19th century, to indicate a rifle or ammunition capable of higher than typical velocities. The early express cartridges used a heavy charge of black powder to propel a lightweight, often hollow point bullet, at high velocities to maximize point blank range. Later the express cartridges were loaded with nitrocellulose-based gunpowder, leading to the Nitro Express cartridges, the first of which was the .450 Nitro Express.
The .416 Rigby is a rifle cartridge designed in 1911 by London based gunmaker John Rigby & Company, for hunting dangerous game. It is the first cartridge to use a bullet of .416 inch diameter. The rifles, as built by John Rigby & Co., were initially made up on the Magnum Mauser 98 action, although in later years, some were made on standard length actions, a perfect example being the rifle used by legendary professional hunter Harry Selby. Other famous users of the cartridge were Commander David Enderby Blunt, John Taylor, and Jack O'Connor.
The Nitro Express (NE) series of cartridges are used in large-bore hunting rifles, also known as elephant guns or express rifles, but later came to include smaller bore high velocity British cartridges.
The .577 Nitro Express is a large-bore centerfire rifle cartridge designed for the purpose of hunting large game such as elephant. This cartridge is used almost exclusively in single-shot and double express rifles for hunting in the Tropics or hot climates in general and is a cartridge associated with the golden age of African safaris and Indian shikars.
The .500/450 Magnum Nitro Express is a large bore centerfire rifle cartridge developed by Holland & Holland.
.450 Nitro Express also known as the .450 Nitro Express 31⁄4-inch is a rifle cartridge designed for hunting dangerous game such as elephant, rhino, cape buffalo, lion, and leopard. This cartridge is used almost exclusively in double rifles for hunting in the tropics or hot climates in general and is associated with the Golden Age of African safaris and Indian shikars.
The .476 Nitro Express, also known as the .476 Westley Richards, is a British rifle cartridge introduced by Westley Richards around 1907.
The .475 No 2 Nitro Express is a British rifle cartridge developed by Eley Brothers in the early 20th century.
The .577/500 3+1⁄8-inch Nitro Express is a British centerfire fire rifle cartridge.
The .577/500 No. 2 Black Powder Express, also known as the 12.7mm British No. 2, is a British centerfire fire rifle cartridge.
The .500 Nitro Express is a rifle cartridge designed for hunting large and dangerous game animals in Africa and India. This cartridge was primarily designed for use in double rifles though various single shots were produced on the Farquarson action and at least one major company (Heym) produced it in bolt-action configuration. It was commonly available in two lengths: a 3.00 in (76 mm) and a 3.25 in (83 mm) version.
The .450/400 Nitro Express is a Nitro Express rifle cartridge that is produced in three case lengths: 23⁄8-inches, 3 inches and 31⁄4-inches, and is intended for use in single shot and double rifles. The 3-inch and 31⁄4-inch versions are considered classic Nitro Express cartridges.
The .400 Jeffery Nitro Express or .450/400 Nitro Express 3-inch is a medium bore, bottlenecked, Nitro Express cartridge designed by W.J. Jeffery & Co in 1902, intended for use in single shot and double rifles.
The .500/465 Nitro Express is a large bore centerfire rifle cartridge developed by Holland & Holland and introduced in 1907.
The .450 Black Powder Express, also known as the .450 31⁄4-inch BPE, was a popular black powder cartridge in the late 19th and early 20th century.
The .577 Black Powder Express is a series of black powder cartridges of varying lengths including 21⁄2-inch, 23⁄4-inch, 3-inch and 31⁄4-inch.
The .450/400 Black Powder Express cartridges were black powder rifle cartridges introduced in the United Kingdom in the 1880s.
The .500/450 3+1⁄4-inch Magnum Black Powder Express, is a centerfire rifle cartridge developed in Britain.
The .400 Purdey, also known as the .400 3-inch Straight and .400 Purdey Light Express 3-inch, is an obsolete rifle cartridge developed by James Purdey & Sons.