.600 Nitro Express | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
Type | Rifle | |||||||||||||||
Place of origin | United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||
Service history | ||||||||||||||||
In service | 1915–1916 | |||||||||||||||
Used by | British Army | |||||||||||||||
Wars | World War I | |||||||||||||||
Production history | ||||||||||||||||
Designer | W.J. Jeffery & Co | |||||||||||||||
Designed | 1899 | |||||||||||||||
Produced | 1900–present | |||||||||||||||
Specifications | ||||||||||||||||
Case type | Rimmed, tapered | |||||||||||||||
Bullet diameter | .620 in (15.7 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Land diameter | .606 in (15.4 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Neck diameter | .648 in (16.5 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Base diameter | .700 in (17.8 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Rim diameter | .810 in (20.6 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Rim thickness | .065 in (1.7 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Case length | 3 in (76 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Overall length | 3.70 in (94 mm) | |||||||||||||||
Case capacity | 211.4 gr H2O (13.70 cm3) | |||||||||||||||
Primer type | Kynoch No. 40 | |||||||||||||||
Ballistic performance | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Test barrel length: 28 Source(s): Barnes, [1] Kynoch [2] and C.I.P Data [3] |
The .600 Nitro Express is a large bore Nitro Express rifle cartridge developed by W.J. Jeffery & Co for the purpose of hunting large game such as elephant. Or, more specifically, stopping such large game when it charges the hunters after the client misses the shot and the guide must save the customers' lives.
The .600 Nitro Express is a slightly tapered walled, rimmed, centerfire rifle cartridge designed for use in single-shot and double rifles. [4]
The cartridge fires a .620 in (15.7 mm) diameter, 900 gr (58 g) projectile with three powder loadings: the standard being 100 gr (6.5 g) of cordite at a muzzle velocity of 1,850 ft/s (560 m/s); a 110 gr (7.1 g) loading which generates a muzzle velocity of 1,950 ft/s (590 m/s); and a 120 gr (7.8 g) loading which generates a muzzle velocity of 2,050 ft/s (620 m/s). [1] [5]
Because of the recoil forces generated by this cartridge, rifles chambered in it typically weigh up to 16 lb (7.3 kg). [1] [5]
The .600 Nitro Express was developed by London gunmakers W.J. Jeffery & Co. Sources vary about the date of its introduction, [note 1] although it would seem in 1900 the first .600 Nitro Express rifle was produced by W.J. Jeffery & Co, a 15 lb (6.8 kg) double barrelled hammer rifle. Jefferys produced around seventy rifles in .600 Nitro Express in four actions, double barrelled hammer break-open, single barrelled break-open, falling block and double barrelled break-open with and without ejectors. [4]
Until the introduction of the .700 Nitro Express in 1988, the .600 Nitro Express was the most powerful commercially available hunting rifle cartridge in the world. Aside from W.J. Jeffery & Co, several gunmakers have and continue to offer rifles chambering this .600 Nitro Express, although in 2009 it was estimated by Holland & Holland that only around one hundred .600 Nitro Express rifles had ever been produced to that time. [1] [6]
In 1914 and early 1915, German snipers were engaging British Army positions with impunity from behind steel plates that were impervious to .303 British ball ammunition. In an attempt to counter this threat, the British War Office purchased sixty-two large-bore sporting rifles from British rifle makers, including four .600 Nitro Express rifles, which were issued to regiments. These large-bore rifles proved very effective against the steel plates used by the Germans. In his book, Sniping in France 1914-18, Major H. Hesketh-Prichard, DSO, MC stated they "pierced them like butter". [7] [8] [9]
Stuart Cloete, sniping officer for the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, stated "We used a heavy sporting rifle - a .600 Express. These had been donated to the army by big game hunters and when we hit a plate we stove it right in. But it had to be fired standing or from a kneeling position to take up the recoil. The first man who fired it from the prone position had his collar bone broken." [10]
The .600 Nitro Express, along with the .577 Nitro Express, was a specialist backup weapon for professional elephant hunters. Too heavy to be carried all day and used effectively, it was usually carried by a gun bearer. It was used when in thick cover and when an effective shot at the heart and lungs was not possible. [6]
In his African Rifles and Cartridges, John "Pondoro" Taylor says the shock of a head shot from a .600 Nitro Express bullet is enough to knock out an elephant for up to half an hour. [5]
In the course of his career, Taylor owned and used two .600 Nitro Express double rifles, the first was regulated for 110 gr (7.1 g) loadings, the second was a W.J. Jeffery & Co double rifle that weighed 16 lb (7.3 kg) with 24 in (610 mm) barrels and was regulated for 100 gr loadings. He states he was very fond of his Jeffery .600 which he used as a second backup rifle to a .400 Jeffery Nitro Express, and with it he killed between 60 and 70 elephants. [5]
Bror von Blixen-Finecke, Karl Larsen and Major Percy Powell-Cotton all used W.J. Jeffery & Co .600 Nitro Express rifles extensively. [5] [11] [12]
In 1929 Holland & Holland produced the .600/577 Rewa by necking down the .600 Nitro Express to accept a .582 in (14.8 mm) bullet. [13]
The .50 British ammunition used in the Vickers .50 machine gun was initially a necked-down .600 NE. [14]
In the 1997 film The Lost World: Jurassic Park the character Roland Tembo carries a Searcy Double Barrel Rifle chambered in .600 Nitro Express. [15]
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 double rifle, also known as a double-barreled rifle, is a rifle with two barrels mounted parallel to each other. Synonymous with big game hunting found primarily in Africa and Asia, the double rifle is a sporting weapon with very little military heritage.
The .458 Winchester Magnum is a belted, straight-taper cased, Big Five game rifle cartridge. It was introduced commercially in 1956 by Winchester and first chambered in the Winchester Model 70 African rifle. It was designed to compete against the .450 Nitro Express and the .470 Nitro Express cartridges used in big bore British double rifles. The .458 Winchester Magnum remains one of the most popular large game cartridges, and most major ammunition manufacturers offer a selection of .458 ammunition.
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 .700 Nitro Express (17.8×89mmR) is a big game rifle cartridge. The cartridge is typically charged with around 250 grains of powder, in addition to a two-grain igniter charge. The cartridge was introduced in 1988 by the boutique gunmakers Holland & Holland (H&H) of London, England. It was developed by Jim Bell and William Feldstein and built by H&H. Feldstein had tried unsuccessfully to get H&H to build a .600 Nitro Express for him, but they had already ceased production. However, when Bell and Feldstein produced an entirely new .700 Nitro Express cartridge, they were able to attract the interest of H&H, which was looking for a new big-bore cartridge. After production began, the backlog of orders was so great that it continued to 2007 and H&H restarted the production of .600 Nitro Express guns.
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.
.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 .404 Jeffery is a rifle cartridge designed for hunting large, dangerous game animals, such as the "Big Five" of Africa. The cartridge is standardized by the C.I.P. and is also known as .404 Rimless Nitro Express. It was designed in 1905 by London based gunmaker W.J. Jeffery & Co to duplicate the performance of the .450/400 Nitro Express 3-inch in bolt-action rifles. The .404 Jeffery fired a bullet of .422 in (10.72 mm) diameter of either 300 gr (19 g) with a muzzle velocity of 2,600 ft/s (790 m/s) and muzzle energy of 4,500 foot-pounds force (6,100 N⋅m) or 400 gr (26 g) with a muzzle velocity of 2,150 ft/s (660 m/s) and 4,100 foot-pounds force (5,600 N⋅m) of energy. It is very effective on large game and is favored by many hunters of dangerous game. The .404 Jeffery was popular with hunters and game wardens in Africa because of its good performance with manageable recoil. By way of comparison, the .416 Rigby and .416 Remington Magnum cartridges fire .416 in (10.57 mm) bullets of 400 gr at 2,400 feet per second (730 m/s) with a muzzle energy of approximately 5,000 foot-pounds force (6,800 N⋅m). These cartridges exceed the ballistic performance of the .404 Jeffery but at the price of greater recoil and, in the case of the .416 Rigby, rifles that are more expensive.
The .475 No 2 Nitro Express is a British rifle cartridge developed by Eley Brothers in the early 20th century.
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 .500 Jeffery is a big-game rifle cartridge that first appeared around 1920, and was originally introduced by the August Schuler Company, a German firm, under the European designation "12.7×70mm Schuler" or ".500 Schuler". When offered by the famed British outfitter W.J. Jeffery & Co, it was renamed the .500 Jeffery so as to be more palatable to British hunters and sportsmen following World War One.
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 .333 Jeffery and .333 Jeffery Flanged are medium-bore rifle cartridges developed by W.J. Jeffery & Co and introduced in 1908.
The .318 Westley Richards, also known as the .318 Rimless Nitro Express and the .318 Accelerated Express, is a proprietary medium bore centerfire rifle cartridge developed by Westley Richards.
The .369 Nitro Express, also known as the .369 Purdey Nitro Express, is a centerfire, rifle cartridge developed by James Purdey & Sons and introduced in 1922.
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 .400/360 Nitro Express cartridges are a number of very similar, but not interchangeable, centerfire rifle cartridges developed by James Purdey & Sons, William Evans, Westley Richards and Fraser of Edinburgh, all at the beginning of the 20th century.
The .360 No 2 Nitro Express is a centerfire rifle cartridge developed by Eley Brothers and introduced in 1905.
The .461 No 1 Gibbs and the .461 No 2 Gibbs are two obsolete proprietary rifle cartridges developed in 19th century Britain.