The .577 Nitro Express is a large-bore

centerfire Two rounds of .357 Magnum, a centerfire cartridge; notice the circular primer in the center A centerfire cartridge is a firearm metallic cartridge whose primer is located at the center of the base of its casing (i.e. "case head"). Unlike rim ...

rifle

cartridge Cartridge may refer to: Objects * Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition * ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device * Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators Other uses * Cartridge (surname), a ...

designed for the purpose of hunting large game such as elephant. This cartridge is used almost exclusively in single-shot and double

express rifle 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 po ...

s for hunting in the Tropics or hot climates in general and is a cartridge associated with the golden age of African

safari A safari (; ) is an overland journey to observe wild animals, especially in eastern or southern Africa. The so-called "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo – particularly form an importa ...

s and Indian shikars.

Design

The .577 Nitro Express is a straight rimmed calibre cartridge designed for use in

single-shot Single-shot firearms are firearms that hold only a single round of ammunition, and must be reloaded manually after every shot. The history of firearms began with single-shot designs, then multi-barreled designs appeared, and eventually many ce ...

and

double rifle 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 India, the double rifle is a purely sporting weapon with no militar ...

s. It has been made in three case lengths based on their respective black-powder

.577 Black Powder Express The .577 Black Powder Express is a series of black powder cartridges of varying lengths including 2-inch, 2-inch, 3-inch and 3-inch. Development The .577 BPE originated around 1870 with the 2-inch variant. The 3-inch cartridge has survived to ...

cartridges.

2-inch

The .577 Nitro Express is a conversion of the .577 Black Powder Express -inch, it fires a projectile at over . Never as popular as the 3-inch version, today it is only available by special order.

3-inch

The .577 Nitro Express is a conversion of the .577 Black Powder Express 3-inch, it fires a projectile at over . This cartridge was to become the most popular of the three and a standard round for African elephant hunters in the early 20th century.

3-inch

The .577 Nitro Express is a conversion of the .577 Black Powder Express 3-inch, again it was never as popular as the 3-inch version.

History

Following the success of the development in 1898 of the revolutionary

.450 Nitro Express .450 Nitro Express also known as the .450 Nitro Express 3-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 hunti ...

John Rigby & Company John Rigby & Company (or John Rigby & Co. (Gunmakers) Ltd) is a gunmaking firm founded by John Rigby in 1775 in Dublin. The company was established by the first John Rigby in Dublin, Ireland, apparently in 1775; his grandson, also John, opened a ...

, achieved by loading the old

.450 Black Powder Express The .450 Black Powder Express also known as the .450 3-inch BPE was a popular black powder cartridge in the late 19th and early 20th century. Design The .450 Black Powder Express is a rimmed, straight walled, centerfire rifle cartridge desig ...

with

cordite Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in the United Kingdom since 1889 to replace black powder as a military propellant. Like modern gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burni ...

, similar conversions were made to other

blackpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...

Express Express or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid Music * ''Express'' ...

cartridges, including the

in its various case lengths. Once a standard rifle calibre, the rise of

Mauser Mauser, originally Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik ("Royal Württemberg Rifle Factory"), was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols has been produced since the 1870s for the German arme ...

Gewehr 98 The Gewehr 98 (abbreviated G98, Gew 98, or M98) is a German bolt-action rifle made by Mauser, firing cartridges from a five-round internal clip-loaded magazine. It was the German service rifle from 1898 to 1935, when it was replaced by the Ka ...

bolt-action Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed). Most bolt-action ...

rifles offered cheaper alternatives to the expensive double rifles required by the Nitro Express cartridges. Several manufacturers still make rifles chambered in .577 Nitro Express, including Butch Searcy & Co., Hambrusch Hunting Weapons,

Hartmann & Weiss Hartmann & Weiss GmbH (H&W) is a Hamburg-based custom sporting firearms maker founded in 1965. They make sporting arms, including shotguns, over and under, falling-block single rifles, and bolt-action rifles based on Mauser 98 and several other mod ...

Heym Heym is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Georg Heym (1887–1912), German author * Stefan Heym (1913–2001), German author See also * Heym (gun manufacturer) * Chayyim, the basis for this name * Haim (disambiguation) * Hei ...

Holland & Holland Holland & Holland is a British gunmaker and clothing retailer based in London, England, which offers handmade sporting rifles and shotguns. The company holds two royal warrants. History Holland & Holland was founded by Harris Holland (1806� ...

James Purdey and Sons James Purdey & Sons, or simply Purdey, is a British gunmaker based in London, England specialising in high-end bespoke sporting shotguns and rifles. Purdey holds three Royal Warrants of appointment as gun and rifle makers to the British and other ...

and

Westley Richards Westley Richards is a British manufacturer of guns and rifles and also a well established gunsmith. The company was founded in 1812 by William Westley Richards, who was responsible for the early innovation of many rifles used in wars featuring ...

WWI service

In 1914 and early 1915, German

snipers A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

were engaging

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

positions with impunity from behind steel plates that were impervious to

.303 British The .303 British (designated as the 303 British by the C.I.P. and SAAMI) or 7.7×56mmR, is a calibre rimmed rifle cartridge. The .303 inch bore diameter is measured between rifling lands as is the common practice in Europe which follows th ...

ball ammunition. In an attempt to counter this threat, the British

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

purchased fifty-two large-bore sporting rifles from British rifle makers which were issued to regiments, including two .577 Nitro Express rifles. 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 that they "pierced them like butter".

Use

The .577 Nitro Express is suitable for hunting all dangerous game, although it was considered something of a specialist elephant hunter's tool for close-cover hunting and emergencies, the harsh recoil this round produces requires a rifle of minimum weight. Typically a hunter carried a lighter rifle in a smaller calibre for general hunting whilst a rifle bearer carried a heavy gun such as this, a necessity as an exhausted man could not reliably aim such heavy rifles as these. In his ''African Rifles and Cartridges'',

John "Pondoro" Taylor John Howard "Pondoro" Taylor (1904–1969) was a big-game hunter and ivory poacher of Irish descent. Born in Dublin as the son of a surgeon he developed an urge to go to Africa and become a professional hunter. Taylor mainly hunted for his own ...

says the .577 Nitro Express is "a magnificent killerit literally crumbles up an elephant", further stating the shock of a head shot from a .577 Nitro Express bullet is enough to knock an elephant out for up to 20 minutes.

Prominent users

James H. Sutherland James H. "Jim" Sutherland (1872 – 26 June 1932) was a Scottish-born soldier and professional hunter, who shot between 1,300 and 1,600 elephants in his life. Biography Early years Sutherland arrived in Cape Town in 1896 at the age of 24, wit ...

, who over the course of his life shot between 1,300 and 1,600 elephants, stated in his ''The Adventures of an Elephant Hunter'', "after experimenting with and using all kinds of rifles, I find the most effective to be the double .577 with a 750 grains bullet and a charge in Axite powder equivalent to a hundred grains of cordite." And further stating "I think the superiority of the .577 over the .450 and .500 rifles, will be evident when I state that I have lost elephants with these last two rifles, while I have bagged others with identically the same shots from a .577." Pete Pearson, Lado Enclave, 1905

Other famous African users include Major G.H. Anderson (shot between 350 and 400 elephants), Deaf Banks (shot over 1,000 elephants), Quentin Grogan, John A. Hunter (shot more than 1,000 rhinoceros) and Pete Pearson (shot over 2,000 elephants). "Pondoro" Taylor used a Westley Richards .577 Nitro Express double rifle, stating "it did great work for me amongst elephant, rhino and buffalo; it's much too powerful for anything lighter." He parted with the rifle after only a short period because the single-trigger mechanism was unlike all of his other rifles.

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

and Alfred Józef Potocki both owned Westley Richards Droplock .577 Nitro Express double rifles,

Stewart Granger Stewart Granger (born James Lablache Stewart; 6 May 1913 – 16 August 1993) was a British film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s, rising to fame thr ...

owned two including Potocki's rifle.

Parent case

* .585 Nyati - developed by turning out the rim and blowing out straight walls of the .577 Nitro Express to allow formation of enough of a shoulder for headspace purposes, making it a "rimless" version. * .600/570 JDJ - developed by straightening the taper of the .577 Nitro Express to accept diameter bullets from the .600 Nitro Express.

References

External links

Ammo-One, ".577" Nitro Express", ''ammo-one.com''
, retrieved 14 September 2017.
Cartridgecollector, "577 2" Nitro Express", ''cartridgecollector.net''
retrieved 14 September 2017.
Cartridgecollector, "577 3" Nitro Express", ''cartridgecollector.net''
retrieved 14 September 2017.
Cartridgecollector, "577 3" Nitro Express", ''cartridgecollector.net''
retrieved 14 September 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:577 British firearm cartridges Pistol and rifle cartridges Military cartridges