The .577 Black Powder Express is a series of
black powder
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, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...
cartridges of varying lengths including 2-inch, 2-inch, 3-inch and 3-inch.
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Development
The .577 BPE originated around 1870 with the 2-inch variant.[
The 3-inch cartridge has survived to the current day as the .577 Nitro for Black, the same cartridge loaded with mild loadings of modern smokeless powder, carefully balanced through trial to replicate the ballistics of the Black powder version.][
The 2-inch, 3-inch and 3-inch cartridges were later loaded with smokeless ]cordite
Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in Britain since 1889 to replace black powder as a military firearm propellant. Like modern gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burni ...
to create the .577 Nitro Express, with the 3-inch version becoming the most popular.
Use
These cartridges were used for the heavier species of soft skinned game, including dangerous ones such lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...
s, tiger
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...
s and wild boar. Its also useful under all but the most adverse condition against thick skinned quarries such as the gaur, cape buffalo and even elephants.[
In his ''African Rifles and Cartridges'', John "Pondoro" Taylor describes the .577 Black Powder Express as the most popular cartridge for shooting tiger in ]India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and that many of the greatest lion hunters in Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
preferred it to anything else. He further states "If I was concentrating on tiger or man-eating lion to the exclusion of anything else, I shouldn't hesitate: I would almost certainly have a double
Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to:
Mathematics and computing
* Multiplication by 2
* Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length
* A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1
* A ...
.577 lack Powder Expressbuilt....".[
]
Prominent users
Sir Samuel Baker
Sir Samuel White Baker (8 June 1821 – 30 December 1893) was an English explorer, officer, naturalist, big game hunter, engineer, writer and abolitionist. He also held the titles of Pasha and Major-General in the Ottoman Empire and Egypt. ...
's favourite rifle at the end of his hunting life was a .577 Black Powder Express built by Holland and Holland, with which he hunted various game all over the world.[ He mentioned that it was ideal for any animal bigger than the fallow deer and smaller than the cape buffalo, "as the .577 is the most fatal weapon I ever used, and with 6 or 6 1/2 drams of powder it is quite equal to any animals in creation, provided the shot is behind the shoulder".
]Arthur Henry Neumann
Arthur Henry Neumann (12 June 1850 – 29 May 1907) was an English explorer, hunter, soldier, farmer and travel writer famous for his exploits in Equatorial East Africa. In 1898 he published ''Elephant Hunting in East Equatorial Africa''. xix, 4 ...
preferred the .577 Black Powder Express to all other calibres for hunting elephant until the introduction of the .450 Nitro Express.[
The specialist lion hunter Yank Allen shot most of his lions with a .577 Black Powder Express double rifle.][
Harald G.C. Swayne used a Holland & Holland .577 Black Powder Express double rifle extensively for hunting in Africa and India.][
]
See also
* .577 (disambiguation)
* Express cartridges
* 20/577 Alexander Henry
* List of rifle cartridges
List of rifle cartridges, by primer type, Caliber, calibre and name.
File:Cartridge Sample 2.jpg, 350px, From left to right: 1 .17 Hornady Mach 2, 2 .17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire, 3 .22 Long Rifle, 4 .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire, 5 .17/23 SMc, 6 5mm ...
* 13 mm caliber
This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets that are to in caliber.
*''Length'' refers to the cartridge case
Case or CASE may refer to:
Instances
* Instantiation (disambiguation), a realization of a concept, theme, or design
* ...
References
Pistol and rifle cartridges
British firearm cartridges
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