The .577 T-Rex

garland public shooting range off pleasant valley south of george bush. gotta love paying 10 bucks and being able to shoot pistol, rifle, and skeet as long as you want!

SpartyKrunk said:

Ohh yeah! Hahaha! Which one is better?

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For what?

The .50 BMG was designed as an anti-materiel round, and will punch a hole (longwise) through a Cummins block. Without stopping.

It was originally used with the M2 machine gun, but Ronnie Barrett realised the potential of the thing and designed his first three rifles around it. I love the M82, but I wouldn't bother shooting it at anything closer than one mile away (effective range: somewhere around 4,000-4,500y - right around two and a half miles. Yes, you can still punch a hole longwise through a Cummins block at a mile and a half with the rifle, if you hit the engine.) The .50 is also an excellent counter-sniper rifle, since it's got a longer effective range than pretty much any other sniper round in use anywhere (even the Russian 12.7m/m and 14m/m rounds don't quite have the ballistics to match the 12.7x99 or .50BMG...)

The Nitro Express series is an outgrowth of the old BP Express rounds, used in Africa. The BP Express (and, by extension, the NE) rounds were designed not for killing animals; but for, say, knocking a charging Cape Buffalo arse over teakettle. Or dropping an elephant in its tracks. Or knocking a rhinoceros flat in the space of a couple of paces.

The old NE rounds do have a greater range than the BPE rounds, but nowhere near the range of the BMG. You're doing good if you can pull accurate hits out to 125-150 yards with a NE round - but they're typically used at ranges of thirty yards or less anyhow (say, if you're stalking a Cape Buff or an elephant through matetti grass, which can grow 18-20 feet tall.)

The .700 came about for a simple reason - Holland & Holland were asked to reissue the .600NE, but the collector who had "the last .600NE" was consulted and he wanted to keep the last one made. Therefore, since there was already a .400NE, .450/400NE, .450NE, .500NE, and .577NE under the .600NE, there really wasn't anywhere to go but up.

The .700NE is issued in double rifle (SxS) trim, runs about $8-12K, and your fun costs about $10 a pop. This is not a rifle for plinking! But, if you need to stop something dead cold when it's charging you, the .700 can be counted upon to do the job if you do yours.

Bullets for the .700NE rounds aren't designed for penetration - which is why they're not pointed like the .50BMG. None of the NE rounds (or the BPE rounds) were pointed. They're designed for maximum energy transfer - you want the whole 6,000 lb-ft (for the .400NE) and up to be delivered to the target - which is why they can knock a charging two- to six-tonne whatsit to its knees in mid-stride. I would not count upon the .50BMG to do that, unless I was using handloads and non-standard-issue projectiles. (The .700 rounds pictured look like cast lead bullets - which will mushroom mildly to assist in energy transfer. The BPE rounds all used cast lead pills, and most of the NE rounds still use either cast lead or "bluenose" jacketed pills - the jacket is pulled over the base and sides, and a large section of the nose is left bare.)

Another interesting batch of rounds is the "Whisper" series by JDJones. An example? Take a .223 case, blow it out to take a .308 calibre pill. Et viola! .300 Whisper! Blow a .308 case out to take a .50BMG pill, you have a .500 Whisper.

What are they good for? They were designed for urban use by law enforcement in situations where precision marksmanship was needed (they're genuine tack drivers out to 150 yards or so!) with limited ranges, and where the environment favoured a suppressed round. You can literally shoot thumbtacks with the thing at 100-150 yards (with a good rifle,) and the sound signature on them with an effective suppressor is a bit less than a car backfiring through the muffler. Very nice - I tend to prefer the Whisper-series fired through rifles built by Accuracy Speaks than through SSK Industries (the .300 and .500 are the most common - the .300 Whisper will run through an AR-15-derived rifle, while the .500 runs neatly through an AR-10 derived rifle. Of course, bolt action is always a possibility - depends on how soon you're likely to need followup shots...)

I learn something new on here everyday. Thanks 5-90.

Found a pic of the rifle.

http://www.accuratereloading.com/rc19.html



Is this thing for real?!

http://10mmman.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/6a00d83451b54869e2010536ab4a64970b-400wi.jpg

Texas Twitch said:

garland public shooting range off pleasant valley south of george bush. gotta love paying 10 bucks and being able to shoot pistol, rifle, and skeet as long as you want!

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Yeah, that's the one. It's the sister range to Eagle Peak here in Cedar Park area. The only thing that sucks is that they don't allow fmj rifle ammo. But for $10 a day, what can you say.

If any of you are interested in good hunting stories involving the older Nitro Express, check out books by Peter Hathaway Capstick, really good stuff.

here is a link to the .700 nitro
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BYnG4vrb-U&feature=related

here is link to the trex
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7lhTqWOS5Y&feature=related

here is a link to a pistol with the same caliber to the one in the picture
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yzI0AIpUUA

Jeepnube said:

If any of you are interested in good hunting stories involving the older Nitro Express, check out books by Peter Hathaway Capstick, really good stuff.

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You can also read African Rifles and Cartridges by John "Pondoro" Taylor, if you want a good technical analysis of all of this stuff. Taylor was an Ivory Hunter around WWII, and he does a good job with the details.