Type Rifle Designer Eley Brothers Bullet diameter .483 in (12.3 mm) | Designed Early 1900s | |
Parent case .450 No 2 Nitro Express | ||
The .475 No. 2 Nitro Express is a British rifle cartridge developed by Eley Brothers in the early 20th century.
Contents
Design
The .475 No 2 Nitro Express is a rimmed bottle necked cartridge designed for use in single-shot and double rifles. The .475 Nitro Express is a very large, impressive cartridge, the empty round is 3.5 in (89 mm) long with an overall length of 4.26 in (108 mm).
The standard factory load fires a 480 gr (31 g) bullet at 2,200 ft/s (670 m/s), although two powder charges were available with either 80 gr (5.2 g) or 85 gr (5.5 g) of cordite. W.J. Jeffery & Co offered an alternate loading with a 500 gr (32 g) projectile fired at 2,150 ft/s (660 m/s), although again multiple powder charges were available, with either 75 gr (4.9 g), 80 gr (5.2 g) or 85 gr (5.5 g) of cordite.
History
The .475 No 2 Nitro Express is one of several rounds developed in response to the British Army 1907 ban of .450 caliber ammunition into India and the Sudan which saw the development of the balistically very similar .500/465 Nitro Express, .470 Nitro Express, .475 Nitro Express, and .476 Nitro Express.
Eley created the .475 No 2 Nitro Express by necking up their earlier .450 No 2 Nitro Express.
Use
The .475 No 2 Nitro Express is considered good general purpose round, suitable for all big game in Africa and India, its power is very similar to the .450 Nitro Express, with a larger diameter bullet; whether this is an advantage remains in dispute.