The .500/450 -inch Magnum Black Powder Express, is a

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 ...

developed in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

Development

The .500/450 Magnum BPE was created by necking down the

.500 Black Powder Express The .500 Black Powder Express was a series of Black powder cases of varying lengths that emerged in the 1860s. Development The cartridge was offered in several case lengths including 1-inch, 2-inch, 2-inch, 2-inch, 3-inch and 3-inch,several were ...

to .45-inches.Wieland. For some time after the turn of the century, the .500/450 Magnum BPE was loaded 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 burn ...

to become the .500/450 Magnum Nitro for Black, the same cartridge loaded with mild loadings of cordite, carefully balanced through trial to replicate the ballistics of the Black powder version.

Dimenssions

500-450 Magnum BPE dimensions horizontal

Nitro Express loadings

In 1898

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 ...

loaded the

.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 ...

cartridge with cordite to create the

, the first

Nitro Express The Nitro Express (NE) series of cartridges are used in large-bore hunting rifles, also known as elephant guns or express rifles, but later came to include smaller bore high velocity (for the time) British cartridges. Name The term "Express" was c ...

cartridge. Not to be left behind Holland and Holland followed suit, loading the .500/450 Magnum BPE with cordite to create the .500/450 Nitro Express.

Use

The .500/450 Magnum BPE was a popular cartridge for deer and similarly sized game, particularly in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. Available until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the round has long since ceased to be offered commercially.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* Barnes, Frank C, ''Cartridges of the World'', ed 13, Gun Digest Books, Iola, 2012, .
Wieland, Terry, ''Nitro Express: The Big Bang of the Big Bang''
retrieved 20 Jun 16.

External links

* cartridgecollector.net
.500/450 Drawn Black Powder Express
retrieved 21 Jun 16. Pistol and rifle cartridges British firearm cartridges {{ammo-stub