View source for .577 Nitro Express

{{Short description|US large-bore centerfire rifle cartridge}}
{{Infobox firearm cartridge
| name = .577 Nitro Express 3-inch
| image = 577 Nitro Express.jpg 
| image_size = 100px
| caption = The .577 Nitro Express is a large small-arms cartridge. In this picture, it is compared to one of the smallest cartridges, a [[.22 CB]].
| origin = [[United Kingdom]]
| type = Rifle
<!-- Service history -->
|service= 1915–1916
|used_by= [[British Army]]
|wars= [[World War I]]
<!-- Production history -->
| designer = 
| design_date = 1890s
| manufacturer = 
| production_date = 
| number = 
| variants = 
<!-- Specifications -->
| is_SI_specs = 
| parent = [[.577 Black Powder Express]]
| case_type = Rimmed straight
| bullet = .585
| land = .577
| neck = .610
| shoulder = 
| base = .660
| rim_dia = .748
| rim_thick = .052
| case_length = 3.00
| length = 3.70
| case_capacity=185.3
| rifling = 
| primer =
<!-- Ballistic performance -->
| is_SI_ballistics = 
| bw1 = 750
| btype1 = 
| vel1 = 2050
| en1 = 7010
| bw2 = 
| btype2 = 
| vel2 = 
| en2 = 
| bw3 = 
| btype3 = 
| vel3 = 
| en3 = 
| test_barrel_length = {{cvt|28|in}}
| balsrc = Barnes<ref name=Barnes/> and Kynoch<ref name=Kynoch/>
}}
{{Infobox firearm cartridge
| name = .577 Nitro Express 2{{frac|3|4}}-inch
| image = 
| image_size = 
| caption = 
| origin = 
| type = 
<!-- Ballistic performance -->
| is_SI_ballistics = 
| bw1 = 750
| btype1 = 
| vel1 = 1800
| en1 = 5400
| bw2 = 
| btype2 = 
| vel2 = 
| en2 = 
| bw3 = 
| btype3 = 
| vel3 = 
| en3 = 
| test_barrel_length = {{cvt|28|in}}
| balsrc = Kynoch.<ref name=Kynoch/>
}}
The '''.577 Nitro Express''' ('''14.9×94mmR''') is a large-bore [[Centerfire ammunition|centerfire]] rifle [[Cartridge (firearms)|cartridge]] designed for the purpose of hunting large game such as elephant. This cartridge is used almost exclusively in single-shot and double [[express rifle]]s for hunting in the Tropics or hot climates in general and is a cartridge associated with the golden age of African [[safari]]s and Indian [[Hunting#Indian subcontinent|shikar]]s.

==Design==
The .577 Nitro Express is a straight [[Rim (firearms)|rimmed]] {{convert|.584|in|adj=on}} calibre cartridge designed for use in [[single-shot]] and [[double rifle]]s. It has been made in three case lengths based on their respective black-powder [[.577 Black Powder Express]] cartridges.

===2{{frac|3|4}}-inch===
The .577 Nitro Express {{convert|2+3/4|in|mm|adj=on|disp=sqbr}} is a conversion of the .577 Black Powder Express {{frac|2|3|4}}-inch, it fires a {{convert|750|gr|g|adj=on}} projectile at over {{convert|1800|ft/s}}. Never as popular as the 3-inch version, today it is only available by special order.<ref name=Kynoch/>

===3-inch===
The .577 Nitro Express {{convert|3|in|mm|adj=on|disp=sqbr}} is a conversion of the .577 Black Powder Express 3-inch, it fires a {{convert|750|gr|g|adj=on}} projectile at over {{convert|2050|ft/s}}. This cartridge was to become the most popular of the three and a standard round for African elephant hunters in the early 20th century.<ref name=Wieland/>

===3{{1/4}}-inch===
The .577 Nitro Express {{convert|3+1/4|in|mm|adj=on|disp=sqbr}} is a conversion of the .577 Black Powder Express 3{{1/4}}-inch, again it was never as popular as the 3-inch version.


3169

==History==
Following the success of the development in 1898 of the revolutionary [[.450 Nitro Express]] by [[John Rigby & Company]], achieved by loading the old [[.450 Black Powder Express]] with [[cordite]], similar conversions were made to other [[blackpowder]] [[Express (weaponry)|Express]] cartridges, including the [[.577 Black Powder Express]] in its various case lengths.<ref name=Wieland/>

Once a standard rifle calibre, the rise of [[Mauser]]'s [[Gewehr 98]] [[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]], [[Heym]], [[Holland & Holland]], [[James Purdey and Sons]] and [[Westley Richards]].

===WWI service===
In 1914 and early 1915, German [[Sniper#World War I|snipers]] were engaging [[British Army]] positions with impunity from behind steel plates that were impervious to [[.303 British]] ball ammunition. In an attempt to counter this threat, the British [[War Office]] 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 [[Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard|H. Hesketh-Prichard]], DSO, MC stated that they "pierced them like butter".<ref name=Hesketh-Prichard/><ref name=IWM/><ref name=Tate/>

==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 {{convert|13|lb|kg|adj=on}} 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.<ref name=Barnes/><ref name=Taylor/>

In his ''African Rifles and Cartridges'', [[John "Pondoro" Taylor]] says the .577 Nitro Express is "a magnificent killer{{snd}}it 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.<ref name=Taylor/>

===Prominent users===
[[James H. Sutherland]], 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."<ref name=Taylor/><ref name=ClodeFamous/><ref name=Sutherland/>

[[File:Pete Pearson, Lado Enclave, 1905.jpg|thumb|[[Pete Pearson]] with elephant shot with his .577 Nitro Express double rifle]]
Other famous African users include [[List of famous big game hunters#Major G.H. Anderson|Major G.H. Anderson]] (shot between 350 and 400 elephants), [[List of famous big game hunters#Deaf Banks|Deaf Banks]] (shot over 1,000 elephants), [[List of famous big game hunters#Quentin Grogan|Quentin Grogan]], [[J. A. Hunter|John A. Hunter]] (shot more than 1,000 rhinoceros) and [[Pete Pearson]] (shot over 2,000 elephants).<ref name=Taylor/><ref name=ClodeFamous/>

"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.<ref name=Taylor/>

[[Ernest Hemingway]] and [[Alfred Józef Potocki]] both owned Westley Richards Droplock .577 Nitro Express double rifles, [[Stewart Granger]] owned two including Potocki's rifle.<ref name=ClodeGranger/>

===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.<ref name=Barnes/>
* .600/570 JDJ - developed by straightening the taper of the .577 Nitro Express to accept {{convert|.620|in|adj=on}} diameter bullets from the [[.600 Nitro Express]].<ref name=Barnes/>

==See also==
* [[13 mm caliber]]
* [[List of rifle cartridges]]
* [[List of rimmed cartridges]]

==References==
{{Reflist|35em|refs=

<ref name=Barnes>Frank C. Barnes, ''Cartridges of the World'', ed 13, Gun Digest Books, Iola, 2012, {{ISBN|9781440230592}}.</ref>

<ref name=ClodeFamous>[http://www.theexplora.com/famous-hunters-and-their-westley-richards-rifles/ Simon Clode, "Famous hunters and their Westley Richards rifles", ''theexplora.com''], retrieved 3 December 2016.</ref>

<ref name=ClodeGranger>[https://www.theexplora.com/stewart-granger-and-his-577s/ Simon Clode, "Stewart Granger and his .577s", ''theexplora.com''], retrieved 3 December 2016.</ref>

<ref name=Hesketh-Prichard>MAJ H. Hesketh-Prichard, DSO, MC, ''Sniping in France 1914-18: With Notes on the Scientific Training of Scouts, Observers and Snipers'', Helion & Company, Solihull, 2013, {{ISBN|1-874622-47-7}}.</ref>

<ref name=IWM>[http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30027782 Imperial War Museums, ".577 3 inch Nitro Express & Eley", ''iwm.org.uk''], retrieved 14 September 2017.</ref>

<ref name=Kynoch>[http://www.kynochammunition.co.uk/cartridge%20collection.html Kynoch Ammunition, "Big Game Cartridges", ''www.kynochammunition.co.uk''], [https://web.archive.org/web/20150527033406/http://www.kynochammunition.co.uk/cartridge%20collection.html archived] 18 January 2017.</ref>

<ref name=Sutherland>James H. Sutherland, ''The Adventures Of An Elephant Hunter'', Macmillan, London, 1912.</ref>

<ref name=Tate>Douglas Tate, "Sporting guns that went to war", ''The Field Magazine'', Vol 324 No 7321, August 2014, pp 100–103.</ref>

<ref name=Taylor>John Taylor, ''African rifles and cartridges'', Sportsman's Vintage Press, 2013, {{ISBN|978-1-940001-01-2}}.</ref>

<ref name=Wieland>[http://ezine.nitroexpress.info/NickuduFiles/ASG-PDF/PULP1069.pdf Terry Wieland, "Nitro Express: The Big Bang of the Big Bang", ''ezine.nitroexpress.info/NickuduFiles''], retrieved 3 December 2016.</ref>

}}

==External links==
* [http://www.ammo-one.com/577NitroExpess.html Ammo-One, ".577" Nitro Express", ''ammo-one.com''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106211735/http://www.ammo-one.com/577NitroExpess.html |date=2020-11-06 }}, retrieved 14 September 2017.
* [http://www.cartridgecollector.net/577-2-%C2%BE-nitro-express Cartridgecollector, "577 2{{frac|3|4}}" Nitro Express", ''cartridgecollector.net''], retrieved 14 September 2017.
* [http://www.cartridgecollector.net/577-3-nitro-express Cartridgecollector, "577 3" Nitro Express", ''cartridgecollector.net''], retrieved 14 September 2017.
* [http://www.cartridgecollector.net/500-3%C2%BC-nitro-express Cartridgecollector, "577 3{{frac|1|4}}" Nitro Express", ''cartridgecollector.net''], retrieved 14 September 2017.

{{Rimmed cartridges}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:577}}
[[Category:British firearm cartridges]]
[[Category:Pistol and rifle cartridges]]
[[Category:Rimmed cartridges]]
[[Category:Military cartridges]]