Extreme Ammo: 5000 Ft-Lbs from the .500/.416 Nitro Express
When you need the ultimate in “knock-down” power, bigger is better. One of the most potent hunting rounds ever created is the mighty .500/.416 Nitro Express. For those who yearn for “More Power”, this is true “Extreme Ammo”.
Kreighoff unveiled the .500/.416 Nitro Express 3 ¼”, based on the proven .500 Nitro Express case, with a nice, long neck for good bullet tension, a good taper for easy feeding… and enough case capacity. The result was a winner — the .500/.416 NE pushes a 410-grain bullet at 2,325 fps, for just under 5,000 ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle.
On the Norma website is a collection of Cartridge of the Month Articles, currently numbering 29. Here’s Norma’s run-down on an ultra-powerful big game cartridge, the .500/.416 Nitro Express.
The .500 / .416 Nitro Express
Text by Norma Staff Writers
The history of double rifle cartridges is a long and colored one. These cartridges were largely designed around the heavy-for-caliber cup-and-core round-nosed and full-patch bullets of yesteryear, and the guns were regulated for relatively close shooting. Almost all of the designs were rimmed cartridges; the rimmed case giving just about the best headspacing available. While the rimmed cartridges didn’t work very well in the repeating rifles, they work just fine in the single-shot and double rifles.
There are some double rifles chambered for the rimless and belted cartridges, but the rimmed cases offer the easiest and most positive extraction. The reputation and performance of the .416 Rigby (and later the .416 Remington) were undeniable, and while there are doubles chambered for these cartridges, Kreighoff saw the wisdom of a rimmed cartridge using a .416″-diameter bullet.
Early in 1996, Kreighoff unveiled the .500/.416 Nitro Express 3 ¼”, based on the proven .500 Nitro Express case, with a nice, long neck for good bullet tension, a good taper for easy feeding under duress, and enough case capacity to mimic the performance of the rimless .416s. The result was a winner — the .500/.416 NE pushes a 410-grain bullet at 2,325 fps, for just under 5,000 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. This ballistic formula has been used on the largest game on earth with great results, and in a double rifle, will allow for the reliable, immediate second shot that double rifle shooters have come to appreciate.
Photo courtesy Namibia Hunting Safaris.
The .500/.416 NE bridges a huge gap between the .450/400 and the .450 NE, and offers a shooting experience closer to the .450/400, while giving plenty of power for hunting any and all dangerous game. I think that the .450/.400 and .500/.416 make a great choice for the traveling sportsman. When comparing the two, the .500/.416 offers a bit more frontal diameter (.416” v. .411”) and a considerable increase in velocity (2,325 vs. 2,050 to 2,125, depending on manufacturer), so it boils down to whether you desire a bit more reach-out-and-touch-‘em or the lesser recoil of the lighter cartridge. What I see in the .500/.416 NE is a double rifle cartridge with a performance level on par with the highly familiar .416 Rigby, yet available in the quick-handling double rifles. [Norma’s African PH .500/.416 NE ammo, loaded with excellent Woodleigh projectiles, is an excellent choice.]
If you haven’t checked out NormaUSA’s website, you should. There you’ll find Norma’s Cartridge of the Month Archive. This great resource provides a detailed history of popular cartridges, along with a discussion of these cartridges’ hunting and target-shooting uses. There are currently 29 Cartridge of the Month articles, including the popular 6.5 Creedmoor.
Also on Norma-USA.com you’ll find information on Norma cartridge brass, bullets, powder and factory ammo. The site also offers a video archive plus links to Norma Reloading Data.
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Tags: .500/.416, Big Game, Double Rifles, Nitro Express, Norma Ammo, Rigby, Safari
It should read .416/500 N.E.
Editor: Not really. As originated by Kreighoff and labeled on the Norma Ammo box it is .500/.416 (or 500/416). We acknowledge that this is different that the way Americans usually express a necked-down cartridge, such as the 7mm-08
I could not agree more with the “traveling sportsman” statement in this article. The client almost never needs a high stopping power rifle, but instead needs a rifle that the client can shoot accurately. My last trip to Africa both myself and one of my hunting partners carried 416 RemMag Blaser R93 rifles. Both of us have serious neck problems, and we shot downloaded ammo in those rifles to 2150fps with 400gr A-frame and Barns Solids (the old 450/400 Africa standard). The recoil was like a 12ga pheasant load compared to a full 12ga 3.5″ magnum. My partner killed his Cape Buffalo at 180 yards with one shot, mine fell at about 80 yards to a single shot also.
Gee, another 5000ft/lbs hunting rifle, that 98% of the owners will not be able to shoot with DGA accuracy.
Want power, ask me about my 550 Gibbs wildcat. 650gr softs/solids at 2550fps…
What I’d really like to know is who is your favorite orthopaedic surgeon? Shoulder replacements are all the rage now!