Test barrel length: 28 Sources: Barnes & Amber[1] and Kynoch [2]
The .500 Black Powder Express was a series of Black powder cases of varying lengths that emerged in the 1860s.[1]
Development
The cartridge was offered in several case lengths including 11⁄2-inch, 2-inch, 21⁄4-inch, 25⁄8-inch, 3-inch and 31⁄4-inch, several were successful and endured others lasted only a short period.[1]
The 3-inch and 31⁄4-inch .500 BPE cartridges have survived to the current day as the .500 3-inch Nitro for Black and the .500 31⁄4-inch Nitro for Black, the same cartridges loaded with mild loadings of modern smokeless powder, carefully balanced through trial to replicate the ballistics of the Black powder version.[2] The two cartridges offer almost identical ballistic performance to each other, and are very similar to the .50-140 Sharps.
Nitro Express loadings
The 3-inch and 31⁄4-inch cartridges were later loaded with smokeless cordite to create the .500 Nitro Express, with the 3-inch version becoming the most popular.
The .500 BPE was considered a good cartridge for medium-sized non dangerous game[3] and can still be used for such.
The .500 BPE was never highly regarded for hunting in Africa,[1] yet it was a popular cartridge in India, considered a good general purpose rifle cartridge popular for hunting tigers.[4]Jim Corbett was a user of a .500 BPE rifle prior to switching to a .400 Jeffery Nitro Express double rifle,[5] shooting cordite Nitro for Black loadings this rifle was used to dispatch the first man-eater he shot, the Champawat Tiger.[6]
