Craig Boddington was the senior contributing editor of our modern gun and ammunition caliber dictionary. Craig was involved in the development and testing of many of these and writes from first hand experience. This dictionary was written exclusively for Wholesale Hunter with unique information found nowhere else.
GUN CALIBER DICTIONARY
Rifle
500 Nitro Express
The 500 Nitro Express was developed in the 1890s from existing blackpowder cartridges. There were both 3-inch and 3 1/4-inch versions; the longer case is still encountered in older rifles, but the 500-3" was the most common; today the 500-3" is chambered by most modern double rifle manufacturers, and ammunition is available from multiple sources. Unlike the several similar Nitro Express cartridges between 450 and 476, the 500 Nitro Express represents a notable step up in power, propelling a 570-grain bullet at 2150 fps, yielding 5850 ft-lbs of energy...but at a very modest increase in recoil. The 500-3" Nitro Express is probably the second-most popular of the big-bore Nitro Express cartridges after the 470. — Craig Boddington