Designed by Jeffery in 1903, the .600 Nitro Express was the largest and most powerful commercial hunting calibre in the world until 1988, when it was surpassed by the staggeringly powerful .700 NE. His travels have taken him to Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan and a number of other countries. This paired with its limited ammo count suggest it should only be used against players or the bounties themselves. 80 Africa articles The notion of this kind of performance has long been with sportsmen and gunmakers. The blued chopperlump barrels are engraved with a band of stylized scrollwork at the breech end. Energy levels are typically around 5,850ft/lb at the muzzle and about 4,535ft/lb at 100 yards. The .500 NE has a maximum average pressure of 40,611 psi. 170 Vintage hunting books and articles Powerful, side-by-side, big game hunting rifle that can bring down the largest targets at mid-range. The bullet diameter is 0.411 inches. This was to quickly prove itself on the game fields of Africa and Asia where its advantages over such behemoths as the 8 bore black powder elephant rifles became apparent. Rigby .450 Nito Express double rifle, 1906, Class C, engraved, ejectors, express, superb accuracy, l. Rigby .450 Nitro Express. Click here to enter the forums. The pure math however does not take into account the weight distribution of a double-rifle, which has the weight of two barrels to help dampen out recoil, and the fact that if the rifle is made to fit you it will further tend to dampen out the felt-recoil. One of the things that sparked my interest was his choice of rifle. At that time the preferred elephant cartridge was the black powder 8 bore, although a few intrepid souls used a 4 bore. However, the double eight weighed 13 1/2lbs, with the .500 weighing just 9lbs. The Rhino Express Double Rifle chambered in .416 Rigby .470 Nitro and .500 Nitro is one of Rizzini's finest products to come out of their shop. The next version is the .500 Nitro for Black Powder that was loaded with cordite and first appeared in the 1890s. They manufactured approximately 70 rifles in this caliber with double barreled hammer break-open, single barreled break-open, falling block and double barreled break-open actions without ejectors. .500 Nitro Express Rifles (1 Products) Filter By . Typ 56 SKS; SIG Assault Rifle 522 (KK) SIG Assault Rifle . 700 Nitro Express $ 500.00 Add to cart SKU: N/A Category: Uncategorized Description Additional information Description **700 Nitro Brass is unavailable at this time. Recoil is quick and authoritative. Kynoch loads were not available when this was written but are advertised to push a 570-grain bullet at 2,150 fps. .242 Rimless Nitro Express.243 Winchester.243 Winchester Super Short Magnum.244 H&H Magnum.244 Remington.246 Purdey.303/25.25 Remington.25-45 Sharps.25-21 Stevens The real question will be how accurately you can shoot the rifle: what can you manage to carry all day and shoot instinctively? The big question however will not be how much energy your chosen caliber can deliver, nor how much shock power or knock-out value it has. The addition of the word "Nitro" stemmed from the propellant used in these cartridges, cordite, which is composed of nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine. By comparison the high performance Hornady Superformance .458 Winchester Magnum loading with its 500 grain DGX bullet at 2,140fps delivers 5.086ft/lb at the muzzle and 3,888ft/lb at 100 yards. It comes in a brass cornered and leather wrapped takedown case with dark green lining on the fitted interior, two snap caps, a Westley Richards & Co. oil bottle, and a takedown cleaning rod. It threw a 502gr conical bullet at 1,530 fps from a double rifle, while the .500 Nitro Express, loaded with cordite and a heavier 570gr bullet, managed 2,150 fps. At the end of testing, the rifle was beginning to wear in; however, it was still tight enough that the top lever had to be bumped slightly to completely close and lock the action and allow the rifle to be fired. 46" overall outside length will take an unscoped rifle 44.5" long. By comparison a factory Winchester Model 70 Safari Express weighing 9lb and firing Hornady factory ammo with a 500 grain bullet at 2.140fps produces recoil of 65ft/lb. The Merkel features precision machining, automatic selective ejectors and a Greener cross bolt. The shooter fires two shots on each target in a total of 35 seconds. Mechanically excellent. The 470 Nitro Express is the most popular Dangerous game stopping rifle. The Watson Bros rifle under discussion is a quality piece. The .470 and the .475 are both necked-up versions of the .450 case and are very similar in performance. [1], With the success of the .450 NE, various people (it is not clear who) decided to follow Rigbys example and load the old .450/400 Black Powder Express, .500 Black Powder Express and .577 Black Powder Express cartridges with cordite, creating the .450/400 Nitro Express, .500 Nitro Express and .577 Nitro Express, the latter two offering greater power than the .450s at the expense of greater rifle weight and recoil. The debate around the best calibre for Africa has raged since the nitro express rifles we recognise today first burst onto the scene, as the nineteenth century turned into the twentieth. Experiments with bullets included varying the hardness of the lead (or alloy), altering the shape and length bullets and even casting them to fit the grooves in the rifling. It . So, if you were hunting in India where you would be riding in a howdah on the back on an elephant, the fact that your .600 Nitro Express tipped the scales at around 16lb would not be an issue, and its effect with soft point bullets on a charging tiger would be nothing short of spectacular (as would the effect of its recoil on your shoulder). The main difference was the wider use made of the .470 by well-known makers, while the .475 remained the preserve of but a few; Watson Bros being one of them. British makers listed were W.J. The Black Powder Express class of cartridges for rifles is legion and starts with fairly small bullets of around .360, moving through .400 to ,450, .500 and, finally, .577. it was not until the 1850s that the term express was used to describe a rifle. So you want to buy a SKS Rifle Excellent Choice! The nitro proof mark is on the side of the barrels, not the flats, best seen in the pictures showing the sides of the receiver. The Nitro Express Rifle is actually named for its cartridge, called as such because of the bullet velocity, which is fast as an express train, according to James Purdey, who coined the term, and because the propellant used is cordite, which is made of nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin. Add to this the .500 Nitro Express operates at slightly lower pressures so it extracts more easily, something that is important if you are using a double-rifle. The .500 Nitro Express has a lineage that dates back to its black powder ancestor, the .500 Black Powder Express, which appeared sometime during the 1860s. Editor's Note: The original price of $115,000 for a .700 H&H back in 1990 now looks like quite a deal. Dicksons rifles were given two deep grooves, with a twist of one quarter in thirty inches. The rifle is however documented on page 80 of "Big Bore Rifles" by Jack Lott. This is a cartridge that has been described as A real killer on practically anything and it has been a favored choice amongst both professional hunters and sportsmen for well over a century. Today we, perhaps, favour the most recognised calibres, such as that brilliant all-rounder, the .375 H&H Magnum, which is versatile enough to employ as a stalking rifle for red deer in the UK but will also handle everything an African safari can put in front of you. Those after African big game exclusively may prefer a .470 or a .500 and those with a serious liking for horsepower may even opt for a .577, if buffalo and elephants are the quarry. The steel barrels are twenty-four inches long and the proof stamps indicate a maximum cordite charge of 85 grains and a bullet weight of 480. The stock is strong and dark, with some figure and a pistol-grip. Because the wings fitted neatly into the broad grooves and did not strip, even when propelled by heavy charges, the result was a long point blank range, flat trajectory and a high bullet speed for weight ratio. LIMITED TIME deal on Barnes Banded Solid Rifle Bullet, .600 Nitro Express, 900 Grain, Solid Flat Nose 30714 at Dvor.com! (You will find the article on the above pictured rifle if you click here). A Federal 215 Large Rifle Magnum primer is highly recommended. Unlike the previous missable weapon, this doesn't require solving a small . Extremely easy to miss and found after a major required boss battle. Both problems were remedied by adding a 1.5-inch custom lace-on leather pad, and the extra length of pull made a huge difference. Youll find the SSAA Big Game Rifle rule book with all the courses of fire if you click here. It was developed in 1988 by Jim Bell and . The overall condition is very good, with crisp engraving and a good deal of original colour. Plus members articles inaddition to numerous articles in other parts of the forums. The .500 Nitro Express has been enjoying something of a resurgence in popularity and with good reason: people are beginning to discover what a superb cartridge it is. The .475 cartridge for which the rifles were chambered is an effective one, but not a widely adopted one. And many have been fired extensively and exhibit considerable wear. The weapon is also mounted with a bulky peep sight, greatly restricting the players vision when they use the weapons irons. Published by Vintage Guns Ltd on 1st March 2021. So the .500 Nitro Express delivers about 30% more energy. After working the action and firing the rifle extensively, it began to wear in while remaining tight. Subscribe to Alrik on YouTube! Watson Bros were one of the London firms who made use of the skills of Harry Kell, and the scrolls on this rifle are similar to the style Kell often employed, quality is very high and the rifle retains a lot of original colour and finish. There is only one way to gain mastery of something and that is to practice doing it until that mastery is achieved. During this process, my curious mind went to work and inspired development of one more handload that would be pleasant and economical to shoot. The regulation of some rifles will ultimately cause bullets to cross paths downrange, and then begin to diverge beyond normal hunting ranges. It was a boxlock ejector in .475 (No.2) nitro express. Carries limited ammunition. The Merkel 140-2 features selective ejectors; the right barrel has been fired and the case has been ejected. . Nitro Express Rifle is a large weapon in Hunt:Showdown. Yes we want to publish them. 13 oz. Marked on top "JOSEPH BORNE. 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