170 Vintage hunting books and articles Like many double rifles, the Watson has a dolls head extension of the rib, locking into the top of the breech. 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. All are for a .500 caliber rifle. 28" round barrel. One of the more popular cartridges is the .500 NE (3-inch) that was developed by UK-based Westley Richards around 1890. Yes we want to publish them. 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. The .450 Black Powder Express certainly paved the way, but John Rigby & Company released the smokeless version in 1898, a rimmed affair driving a 480-grain bullet of .458-inch diameter to a muzzle velocity of 2150 fps via a charge of 70 . Now, that is not a calibre you see every day. One notable example is the Merkel 140-2, with variations offered in .375 H&H Magnum, .416 Rigby, .450/400 Nitro Express (NE), .470 NE and .500 NE, which is the cartridge I selected. A Federal 215 Large Rifle Magnum primer is highly recommended. Dickson two groove rifles were made both as single-barrel and double barrel types and in bore sizes from 11-bore to 70-bore. Three powders were stand-out choices: Alliant Reloder 17, Hodgdon Hybrid 100V and IMR-4955. Both are considered elephant-stopping rounds. The .470 and the .475 are both necked-up versions of the .450 case and are very similar in performance. He told me It has a lovely feel and balance, very natural to point and shoot. 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 NitroExpress.com Forums are for you. Much of the interest in the classic British big game rifles and cartridges was in the United States and as a consequence a number of American ammunition manufacturers put some of the more popular classic cartridges into production. For historical perspective, I like to refer to John Taylor, whose practical knowledge of dangerous game cartridges is well expressed in the books he wrote in the 1940s and based on years of hunting (and a good bit of poaching) when ivory hunting was a fairly lucrative adventure, still undertaken by a few hardy individuals, like Pondoro. British makers listed were W.J. List of rifle cartridges, by primer type, calibre and name. They are straight and beautifully machined. 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. They do not lose all of their penetration power, and do lose some muzzle velocity. Many double rifles today are regulated to sixty five yards or more. WILKINS & CO. ENGLAND signed in gold, and dolls head extension engraved with a shell. When purchased, the serial number was stamped into the stock, an indication that it may have been in a game department armoury in Africa in the past. Double rifles are extremely expensive, starting at about $10,000 and selling upwards of $260,000 USD in 2015, and have generally been replaced by repeater-rifles using rounds such as the . The real game changer was Cordite, which arrived in the late 1880s and revolutionised the nature of sporting rifles; express rifles included. 522 online hunting and shooting books and articles! endearin. - https://kentuckyballistics.com/ In today's video we try out the world's biggest elephant gun! 9 lubricating oil, and an aluminum rod with a knob, slotted ends and brush to keep your gun clean and shooting properly.</p> Early extraction problems with the .450 NE was the catalyst for Holland & Holland to develop the .500/450 Nitro Express and Eley Brothers the .450 No 2 Nitro Express both with very similar ballistics and performance to the original. The notion of this kind of performance has long been with sportsmen and gunmakers. Although still a challenge, more hunters can master the recoil of the .500 NE than the heavy stopping cartridges such as the .577 and .600 NE, making it a practical choice. 114 Asia articles Find reloading information on Nitro Express cartridges, reloading for double rifles and other rare firearms as well as modern cartridges. 522 online hunting and shooting books and articles! Jamison .500/416 Nitro Express Unprimed Brass/100 per bag, $2.25/cartridge, ON SALE!!!! Moderator: CptCurl : 3510 . Last edited on 19 December 2022, at 06:43, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nitro_Express&oldid=1128257946, This page was last edited on 19 December 2022, at 06:43. The Long-Lee style action with bolt-head safety and blued dust-cover, fully-detachable magazine, figured stock with semi-pistolgrip and B.S.A. Point of impact was different than the 570-grain jacketed bullets, but the rifle can be sighted-in at 100 yards by drifting the rear sight assembly slightly and using the 75-yard/meter rear sight leaf. I tend to think that the fashion of having a carry rifle and an emergency stopping rifle was perhaps the result of some salesmanship on the part of gun-makers. The developmental lineage of that rifle can be traced right back to the 1840s. I hope you enjoy the video and thanks. Nicely figured walnut pistol grip stock with raised cheek- .Click for more info Seller: Cabelas Buda Area Code: 512 $10,999.99 NEW THIS WEEK! The .500 NE has a maximum average pressure of 40,611 psi. This is a slight modification from original, with some precious metal inserted to provide a distinct visual bead. As I have come to expect from these three companies, ammunition is of higher quality and features better bullets (solid and expanding) than vintage ammunition. Register your details here for invitations to events and special offers from The Vintage Gun Journal, Vintage Guns Ltd 2023. If there was a notable accuracy advantage with any of the three powders, it was not detectable. Woodleigh 480 grain soft and solid bullets appear to be the best choice for projectiles. The .450 Nitro Express is noteworthy for a number of reasons; it was the accepted all-around choice for hunting not only dangerous game, but all game, especially before the smaller-bore cartridges took root in the hunting world. It threw a 502 grain conical bullet at 1,530 fps from a double rifle, while the .500 Nitro Express, loaded with Cordite and a heavier, .570 grain bullet managed 2,150 fps. However, it was not until the 1850s that the term express was used to describe a rifle and the coiner of the phrase was not John Dickson, but James Purdey, the second of his name, (to borrow a Game of Thrones line). 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. The stock was too short for my 6-foot, 4-inch frame, which caused more punishment to my cheek than desired, and the trigger guard would bump my second finger when firing the right barrel (front trigger). Nitro Express Rifle is a large weapon in Hunt:Showdown Powerful, side-by-side, big game hunting rifle that can bring down the largest targets at mid-range. Black powder express rifles in the calibres described above, one must remember, were primarily suited to the hunting of medium game. The addition of the word "Nitro" stemmed from the propellant used in these cartridges, cordite, which is composed of nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine. The Anson & Deeley action is bolstered at the radius, which is the weakest part of a breech-loader. Continental makers included Merkel and Francotte. <p>Twenty-five years ago, from a humble manufacturing facility in Brooklyn, New York, Henry began shipments of their first rifle: an affordable, reliable, and classically styled rimfire lever action, designated the H001 Henry Classic Lever Action .22.</p> <p>Today, a quarter-century and more than a million H001's later, Henry Repeating Arms has grown to become America's leading lever . The rear sight features a fixed, wide English V with two U- notched folding leafs for 50 and 75 yards/meters, respectively. When fired from each barrel, the load grouped well at 100 yards and was good enough to hunt any big game at that distance. The Merkel 140-2 is a box lock Anson & Deeley design, which is simple, strong and reliable. The HEYM "Express" is the most well-designed and well-built big-bore bolt action available today. The Holland & Holland Nitro Express .600 is a collector's bullet because the London, England-based firm stopped making the cartridge in 1975. Youll find the SSAA Big Game Rifle rule book with all the courses of fire if you click here. 458 Winchester. he did several articles on modern smokeless loads for Cordite proofed Nitro Express calibers, he was a real asset to our passion and hobby. <p>This Hoppe's .17/.204 Caliber Cleaning Kit includes everything you need to clean a .17 caliber rifle. Ballistic performance is very similar to the .450 N.E but the bigger bullet offers a little more punch. The stock is strong and dark, with some figure and a pistol-grip. .500 Nitro Express Rifles (1 Products) Filter By . Bolting is by the conventional means of a Purdey double under-bolt. The bottle-necked No.2 throws the same bullet at 2,200 fps and uses a higher charge of up to 85 grains of cordite. This was the contemporary smokeless load for the 9.3x72R with a 196 gr copper jacket bullet at 2020 fps . The big .500 Nitro offers the large-caliber, bone-breaking and deep-penetration qualities that are required to reach the vitals of Africas heaviest game under all conditions and is generally considered a stopping cartridge, but it is also fun to shoot! . The term "Express" was coined by James Purdey in 1856, derived from the express train, to publicise the bullet velocity of his double rifles and became common parlance for many rifle cartridges. Jeffery & Company introduced the .600 Nitro Express large bore caliber for hunting dangerous game at close range. Full length English style Rigby leather covered rifle case used to hold a Grant .500 express rifle. There are currently no customer product questions on this lot. The Nitro Express Rifle is an even bigger magnum. It was clearly intended for close work. Enjoy extensive archives of Double Rifle pictures, Mausers, Mannlichers, Lee Speeds, Combination guns, single shots, fine shotguns and other vintage firearms as well as modern ones.. 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. Both these cartridges were good for boar, deer and antelope species but were not intended for dangerous game. The Nickudu Files on the NitroExpress.com eMagazine. This was especially advantageous for users of double rifles, which were often used in cover, where a rapid, shotgun-like mount brought the rifle to the shoulder for a quickly-taken shot at a moving, or fleetingly seen, quarry; one which was often dangerous. The Nitro Express Rifle is one of the most powerful weapons in Hunt: Showdown. This gun is expensive, lethal, inconsistent, and. The term Nitro Express came to be applied to many of these rimless cartridges also. Second, the Breech-Loading Era, in which the ability to load the cartridge into a chamber, without having to negotiate two feet of rifled barrel to seat the bullet. Weight 16 lbs. Weight is 11lbs 1oz with a balance point an inch and a half ahead of the hinge pin. That has all changed, as Federal, Hornady and Nosler offer factory ammunition for the most popular big-bore Nitro Express cartridges. The Nitro Express can rarely be found in the Bayou. Among the dangerous game cartridges which successfully made the transition to earn its place as the industry standard is the .450 3-inch Nitro Express. His travels have taken him to Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan and a number of other countries. Ask questions too! This was more a case of the .450-.470 nitro calibers being new and fashionable, and the .577 and .600 nitro calibers being seen as something like a shoulder fired cannon capable of stunning an elephant even if the brain was missed. safaris, hunting big game, deer and more around the world. Renowned worldwide for their handling, accuracy and durability, each HEYM rifle represents over 150-years of experience combined with the best in modern materials, machining capabilities and craftsmanship. The bullets were of cast lead and roughly the shape of a pear, with raised protrusions corresponding with the grooves in the bore. A .500 Nitro Express double rifle is typically built to weigh 10.5lb-11lb. The energy delivery difference between the two is huge. 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. German-based Merkel has been building fine sporting guns since about 1898. Nowadays there is an elegant sufficiency of readily available ammunition for rifles that will prove effective on the likes of elephant, hippo, and buffalo, and so for the prospective double-rifle buyer the world is your oyster. The introduction of this rifle in 1900 was the birth of the magnum length bolt action, paving the way for such cartridges as the .375 H&H and .416 Rigby[3]. Its damage against non-player targets is sporadic. Shown for comparison is the (left to right): .30-06, .458 Winchester Magnum and the .500 Nitro Express (3-inch). We ship ammunition to your door via UPS ground. If you are interested in Double Rifles, Classic and Vintage Guns, Big Game Hunting, Safaris, A good indication of the improvement in performance that cordite offered is the .577 Magnum Express black-powder rifle, one of the most powerful BPE cartridges ever devised. There was also interest in Europe and Norma of Sweden brought back some of these classic cartridges. that you must be at least 18 years old to purchase shotgun ammunition and 21 years or older to purchase handgun and rifle ammunition. Enjoy extensive archives of Double Rifle pictures, Mausers, Mannlichers, Lee Speeds, Combination guns, single shots, fine shotguns and other vintage firearms as well as modern ones.. Experiments with rifling included the depth of the grooves, the number of grooves and the twist rate. Enjoy discussions and gunsmithing topics on building double rifles. The rifle currently sits in my gun room, awaiting its next adventure. Its most recent engagement was with a Cape buffalo, which was engaged at 60 yards and took four bullets before being stopped as it rallied to charge, with a head shot, just under the boss, at 30 yards. A notable accuracy advantage with any of the hinge pin were made both as single-barrel double... 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