| .577 Nitro Express | ||
|---|---|---|
The .577 Nitro Express is an unusually large small-arms cartridge. In this picture, it is compared to one of the smallest cartridges, a .22 CB. |
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| Type | Rifle | |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom | |
| Production history | ||
| Designer | Holland & Holland | |
| Produced | 1898 | |
| Variants | .577 Nitro Express 2 3/4", | |
| Specifications | ||
| Parent case | .577 Black Powder Express | |
| Bullet diameter | .585 in (14.9 mm) | |
| Neck diameter | .608 in (15.4 mm) | |
| Base diameter | .660 in (16.8 mm) | |
| Rim diameter | .748 in (19.0 mm) | |
| Rim thickness | .072 in (1.8 mm) | |
| Case length | 2.75 in (70 mm) | |
| Overall length | 3.70 in (94 mm) | |
| Ballistic performance | ||
| Bullet weight/type | Velocity | Energy |
| 750 gr (49 g) | 2,050 ft/s (620 m/s) | 7,010 ft·lbf (9,500 J) |
| 650 gr (42 g) | 1,850 ft/s (560 m/s) | 4,940 ft·lbf (6,700 J) |
| 750 gr (49 g) | 1,850 ft/s (560 m/s) | 5,700 ft·lbf (7,700 J) |
| Source(s): Handloaders Manual of Cartridge Conversions[1] | ||
The .577 Nitro Express is a rimmed cartridge in the Nitro Express series of big-game hunting ammunition. It is also known as the .577 Nitro Express 3" and there is a variant called the .577 Nitro Express 2.75".[2] The .577 is notable as the standard caliber of professional ivory hunters in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
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The .577 Nitro was descended from the .577 Black Powder Express, a cartridge invented by the late Samuel Baker who had Holland & Holland built him an express rifle in this caliber. It began as a black powder round, and then became a smokeless round.[1] It fires a 750-grain bullet (about 48.6 grams) at a muzzle velocity of around 2050 feet per second (625 m/s). The 2.75 in. version, intended to duplicate the black powder version, launches a 650 grain bullet a better than 1,950 ft/s (590 m/s), depending on the type and amount of powder used.
A few manufactures still make rifles chambered in 577 nitro express due to its popularity including Heym, Holland and Holland, Butch Searcy & Co. , James Purdey and Sons, Westley Richards, and Hambrusch Hunting Weapons, make double rifles for this caliber. Ruger, Butch Searcy & Co.., make single shot conversions for this caliber.
This caliber is generally used for thick skinned dangerous game such as Elephant, Rhino, and Cape Buffalo. Even among professional ivory hunters of old it's typically treated as an emergency weapon carried by the hunter's gun bearer, reserved for stopping the charge of an enraged wounded elephant in thick bushes rather than as a day to day hunting weapon. Only a few hunters such as James Sutherland did use it as their primary elephant rifle.
It's unnecessarily powerful, harsh recoiling and unwieldy for use against lesser game. For this purpose the old black powder version can be used. It throws a 560 grains bullet at around 1700 ft/s.
.585 Nyati has been made by blowing out the 577 Nitro Express case and turning the outer edge of the rim making it slightly rebated, making it into a "rimless" cartridge.
.577 Tyrannosaur has been created by Arthur Alphin of A-square co. as a replacement for a bolt action 577 nitro express.