The magazines presented here are based on light alloy magazines.  For steel magazines, increase weight by 2%; for plastic or synthetic magazines; decrease weight by 8 percent.

10.3mm Swiss

     Notes: Originally designed for single-shot target rifles in the late 1800’s, the 10.3mm Swiss was originally a blackpowder round for a very short time, but quickly switched over to smokeless powder. A rimmed cartridge, the 10.3mm Swiss is little more than a very-slightly modified version of the British .450/400 2 3/8” Blackpowder Express round.  (The Swiss round uses a bit more propellant and a heavier bullet.)  The 10.3mm Swiss round is adequate for virtually all North American and European game, and is also a good man-stopper.  The round is primarily still popular in Switzerland and Germany (and in one isolated Swiss canton, is the only legal hunting round).  The 10.3mm Swiss is still manufactured in Switzerland and Germany by RWS.

     Other Names: 10.3x60Rmm, 10.3x60mm Rimmed

     Nominal Size: 10.3x60mm

     Actual Size: 10.54x59.94mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 57.53 kg per case of 1000; Price $1050 per case

Magazines:

10.75x68mm Mauser

     Notes: This is a magnum Mauser rifle round that was introduced in the early 1920s and is still listed in RWS catalogs.  The round was also once made by Kynoch of England, and rifles were made by Mauser, Browning, and Dumoulin for the 10.75x68mm Mauser.  Old Western Scrounger and Barnes make bullets for the round.  It is a fairly powerful round, but due to the blunt-nosed shape, penetration is only average.  The round is also a softpoint, and cannot be counted upon to hold together inside the target; this is another strike against it as far as hunters are concerned (though it may be a plus when used on people). 

     Nominal Size: 10.75x68mm

     Actual Size: 10.77x67.82mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 77.25 kg per case of 1000; Price: $1240 per case

Magazines:

11mm Gras Smokeless

     Notes:  Designed by Captain Basile Gras of the French Army, he 11mm Gras was one of the first smokeless powder rounds; however, being based on a blackpowder round, the dimensions of the 11mm Gras still approximated the 11mm Gras blackpowder round.  The 11mm Gras was also one of the last rounds to use a large-caliber bullet in the rifles designed for it; European rifle design was already trending toward smaller-caliber rounds in the neighborhood of 6.5-8mm or so.  However, the 11mm Gras-firing rifles solved (temporarily) the problem that to a large extent caused the French loss in the Franco-Prussian War – the use of a technologically-inferior rifle by the French Army.

     The case of the 11mm Gras Smokeless was somewhat improved from its blackpowder counterpart, but still essentially used a linen cartridge – stiffened with what was basically papier-mache into a hardened case that could be easily handled by troops, though inclement weather could melt them if not protected from the elements.  The primer was inserted into the further-stiffened base of the round.  Though some small amounts of original 11mm Gras Smokeless ammunition come to the auction circuit every so often, most such rounds are handloaded (and this quite the handloading project is you use the original case type, so many replace them with brass).

     Other Names: 11mm Gras, 11mm French Gras

     Nominal; Size: 11x60mm

     Actual Size: 11.3x59.44mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 5.96 kg per box 0f 100; Price: $238 per box

Magazines:

12.7mm Russian

     Notes: Originally developed for the abortive Russian DK heavy machinegun in the early 1920s, this round came into its own just before and during World War 2 with its use in the DShK machinegun and aircraft armament.  It is one of the longest-lived round still in use, being used to this day in helicopter armament and ground weapons like the DShK, NSV, and Kord machineguns, as well as in several antimaterial and heavy sniping rifles.  It is based heavily on the old German 13mm TuF round.  The 12.7mm Russian is normally steel cased, but brass cases are becoming more and more common of late.  It also normally uses corrosive Berdan primers, making long-term storage a problem, but more modern primers have also become more common lately.  Use in sniper and antimaterial rifles is problematic due to accuracy (the rounds normally available are designed for machineguns and not precision shooting), but better-qualities rounds are becoming available, as are Western-made rounds.  The standard ball ammunition is like many Russian rounds: there is a space in front of the round to aid in balancing of the bullet and increase damage when it hits (and also reflects the poor method of jacketing in Russian-made bullets). 

     A steel cored (or tungsten-cored) armor-piercing (AP) round is available; double all prices for this round.  The Russians are also making what they are calling “match-quality ammunition” for the 12.7mm Russian round; it is not up to the quality that Western shooters would call match quality, but it is better than standard 12.7mm Russian rounds.  Triple all prices for this ammunition.

     Other Names: 12.7x107mm, 12.7x108mm, 12.7mm Soviet, 12.7mm ComBloc, 12.7mm Russian Machinegun, 12.7mm Soviet Machinegun, 12.7mm DShK, 12.7mm Type 54

     Nominal Size: 12.7x107mm

     Actual Size: 12.95x105.9mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 165 kg per case of 1000 (loose or belted); Price: $7500 per case

Magazines:

13mm T-Patrone

     Notes: Designed specifically for the T-Gew Model 1918 antitank rifle, the 13mm T-Patrone was later (for a short time) adopted for use on Nazi and pre-Nazi aircraft.  The round was effective, for a very short time, against the tanks of the period, but quickly became obsolete (like most antitank rifle rounds), and was a better antimateriel and long-range sniping round.  Nonetheless, it quickly became a rather rare round, and today is found only as a rather rare handload, with the rifles and machineguns to fire rarer still.  The 13mm T-Patrone is essentially a greatly-enlarged version of the 8mm Mauser cartridge, using the same bullet shape (but not the same bullet); in addition, the 13mm T-Patrone bullet is a steel-cored AP round.

     Other Names: 13x92mmSR T-Patrone, 13x92SR

     Nominal Size: 13x92mm (some sources say 13x94mm)

     Actual Size: Unknown

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 13.43 kg per box of 100; Price: $1222 per box

Magazines:

13.2mm Hotchkiss

     Notes: The 13.2mm Hotchkiss was first used on the M1930 Hotchkiss antiaircraft machinegun in the inter-war period; however, it was originally designed at an antitank rifle round, until it became obvious that the round would be ineffective against even the tanks of the 1920s and 1930s.  The round is essentially a modification of the .50 BMG round – necked out to take the 13.2mm projectile and slightly drawn out.  Though there were several users in many European countries, perhaps the largest user was Japan, where the Hotchkiss machinegun, in anywhere from single to quad mounts, on almost every Japanese ship of World War 2 and the inter-war period.  Despite the intended use as an antiarmor weapon, and its arming of several armored cars of the inter-war period, it’s most common use was in antiaircraft machineguns.  The round had the potential to hit hard, and have excellent speed and range – but was also unstable and this could affect damaging and armor-penetrating capabilities, as well as range.  A proper ground or vehicular mount was never devised, contributing to its inaccuracy rumors.  Dispersion in bursts was also a problem, again probably due to the instability of the round.  Another complaint, this time as an antiaircraft weapon defending land targets, was that the 13.2mm bullets falling down after missing their targets could hurt personal and civilians on the ground, and that the round, unlike the 20mm rounds, did not have a self-destruct feature. This contributed to its primary use on ships. (As a further note, the Finns managed to perfect a 13.2mm Hotchkiss-firing heavy sniper rifle, but they dropped in favor of the L39 20mm rifle. However, they had no complaints about the 13.2mm round.)

     Other Names: 13.2mm Breda, 13.2mm M1930

     Nominal Size: 13.2x99mm

     Actual Size: 13.49x99.14mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 155.9 kg per case of 1000; Price: $7090 per case

Magazines:

14.5mm KPV

     Notes: Like many such large-caliber rounds of the period, the 14.5mm KPV round was designed in 1941 for antitank rifles, which by then were already obsolete.  After World War 2, however, it was picked up for use in a newly-designed heavy machinegun meant for mounting in armored vehicles – the KPV machinegun.  In this role, though ineffective against tanks, it has proven quite useful against personnel, thin-skinned vehicles, and even some lightly-armored vehicles.  In addition, since the early 1980s an increasing number of antimaterial rifles have been chambered for this round. While most Russian, Chinese, and former Pact-made ammunition in this caliber is made for use in the KPV and is not really of a quality necessary for sniping, increasingly there are Western or Eastern European companies who are making quantities of quality 14.5mm ammunition for this purpose.

     A steel-cored (or rarely, tungsten-cored) armor-piercing (AP) version of this round exists; double all prices for this round.

     Other Names: 14.5x115mm Antitank, 14.5x114mm 14.5mm M-1941, 14.5mm Russian Machinegun, 14.5mm Type 56, 14.5mm Vladimirov

     Nominal Size: 14.5x115mm (some sources say 14.5x114mm)

     Actual Size: 14.5x114.3mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 207.58 kg per case of 1000 (loose or belted); Price: $9440 per case

Magazines:

15mm Mauser

     Notes: This is a relatively rare round, since it was developed at the beginning of World War 2 and used only for a short period of time as an aircraft gun in early versions of the Me-109 fighter.  An extremely few small (but rather heavy) arms have been developed over the years which fire the round, and some companies still manufacture very small lots of it, but it is still rather rare.  It is usually found these days unbelted, but original lots of the 15mm Mauser were usually belted for use in aircraft.  The 15mm Mauser gun was quickly found to be wanting (at least by the Nazis) as an aircraft gun, and it was replaced in less than a year as an aircraft gun by weapons firing 20mm ammunition.  The 15mm Mauser was produced in a standard ball version, an armor-piercing version, a ball tracer, and an AP tracer.  AP versions cost double the standard cost for the 15mm Mauser round.

     Other Names: MG-151/15 (though this is actually the name of the gun which fired it).

     Nominal Size: 15x96mm

     Actual Size: Unknown

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 20.1 kg per box of 100; Price: $848 per box

Magazines:

15.2mm Steyr AMR

     Notes: This round has seen a long development period (along with the single weapon designed to fire it, the Steyr IWS-2000 antimaterial rifle), beginning in 1988.  It began as a tungsten-cored 15mm AP round, went to a 14.5mm SLAP round, and is now a 15.2mm SLAP round.  The case is of conventional brass bottle-necked design, while the sabot is of a synthetic material.  The penetrator itself is a 5.5mm tungsten dart with an extremely flat trajectory, high velocity, and developing considerably muzzle and terminal energy.  It is capable of penetrating light armored vehicles easily as well as destroying equipment (and people), and also causes considerable fragmentation behind the armor plate or item it penetrates.  Currently, the fate of the round is tied to the rifle which fires it; while it is rumored to be used by some special operations units, Steyr is still finding official sales elusive.

     Other Names: 15.2mm IWS-2000

     Nominal Size: 15.2x169mm

     Actual Size: 16.56x169.91mm (Case and neck)

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 16.5 kg per box of 100; Price: $3638 per box

Magazines:

.38-40 Winchester

     Notes: This round was developed way back in 1874 as a blackpowder round.  It made the jump to modern propellants shortly thereafter.  It is a .44-40 round necked down to a bullet that is actually .401 caliber.  It is primarily a round for lever-action rifles and revolvers.  No rifles have been chambered for this caliber by major manufacturers since 1937, though it was once a very popular medium-power cartridge.  Present factory loads are designed for revolvers, and handloading is necessary for full performance in rifles.  The .38-40 Winchester is best used as a varmint round, as its range is unspectacular and its striking power not great.

     Other Names: .38-40 Winchester Centerfire, .38-40 WCF

     Nominal Size: 10x33mm

     Actual Size: 10.18x33.02mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 3.36 kg per box of 100; Price: $108 per box

Magazines:

.40 BSA

     Notes: Like the .33 and .26 BSA rounds, the .40 BSA round was introduced in 1921 by BSA for its sporting rifle based on the 1914 Enfield rifle.  Essentially a larger version of the other two BSA proprietary cartridges, it suffered from the same deficiencies, and was also withdrawn quickly (along with the rifle that fired it).  It is now the province primarily of handloaders.

     Other Names: .40 Belted Rimless, .400 BSA

     Nominal Size: 10.16x61mm

     Actual Size: 10.39x60.96mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 5.69 kg per box of 100; Price: $207 per box

Magazines:

.40-50 Sharps Straight

     Notes: Introduced in 1879, this was the smallest round Sharps made.  It is almost exclusively a blackpowder round, but Cordite propellant versions have been made through the years, almost always handloaded and loaded very lightly due to the thin walls of the case.  No one makes this round anymore, except for handloaders, but cases are made by Buffalo Arms, and serviceable cases can also be made from the .30-40 Krag case.  The bullet of this round is normally paper-patched.

     Nominal Size: 10.2x48mm

     Actual Size: 10.24x47.75mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 3.47 kg per box of 100; Price: $126 per box

Magazines:

.40-60 Marlin

     Notes: The .40-60 Marlin is an old cartridge that began life as a blackpowder cartridge and later switched to modern propellants, and few rifles are chambered for .40-60 Marlin today.  It was originally designed for the Marlin 1881 and 1895 lever-action rifles; they used the same basic design as the Winchester 1893 and 1894, but used a chamber which was larger and longer.  The .40-60 Marlin appears to be the same case as that of the .40-65 Winchester, but with a different powder loading and heavier bullet.  Therefore, the .40-60 Marlin and .40-65 Winchester are interchangeable in most rifles, though a Marlin rifle’s performance will suffer if firing a .40-65 Winchester and vice versa.  Take care not to mix up the .40-60 Marlin and .40-60 Winchester; they are nearly the same dimensions, but neither will cycle in rifles designed for the other.  The .40-60 Marlin is now manufactured on an on-off basis for rifles designed for it and still in use, like the Colt New Lightning.  However, handloading can be done using trimmed .45-70 cases and most .40-caliber rifle bullets of 260 grains in weight.

     Nominal Size: 10x54mm

     Actual Size: 10.24x53.59mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 4.41 kg per box; Price: $141 per box

Magazines:

.40-60 Maynard

     Notes: This round was designed specifically for the Maynard Model 10, 12, and 13 Hunting rifles and the Model 15 and 16 Target rifles.  It was originally a long-range blackpowder round, but some were later loaded with a lighter charge of Cordite.  Unfortunately, the performance of the .40-70 Maynard was almost identical to the similar Marlin, Sharps, and Winchester rounds of the time, and therefore never had a chance to become popular or widely-used.  No one makes cases, bullets, or complete rounds of this type anymore, but cases can be made from .303 British cases, and bullets handmade. 

     Other Names: .40-60 Maynard 1882

     Nominal Size: 10.6x70mm

     Actual Size: 10.59x69.85mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 5.41 kg per box of 100; Price: $196 per box

Magazines:

.40-60 Winchester Centerfire

     Notes: Largely considered obsolete, the .40-60 Winchester Centerfire round is still chambered in a limited quantity of rifles. Therefore, small lots are still being made by Winchester as well as some other manufacturers.  The round is bottlenecked and carries a fairly heavy bullet, giving it decent power though deficient penetration.  The .40-60 Winchester Centerfire round was originally a blackpowder round that later was used with modern propellants, and was popular in its day, though it was later surpassed by the .45-70 Government round and other rounds. 

     Other Names: .40-60 Winchester

     Nominal Size: 10.3x48mm

     Actual Size: 10.26x47.5mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 4.91 kg per box of 100; Price: $79 per box

Magazines:

.40-65 Winchester

     Notes: This round was originally introduced in 1887 as the .40-65 Winchester & Marlin; it could be had in both blackpowder and modern propellant loadings.  It’s first use was in the Winchester 1886 rifle; Marlin did not have a rifle for the round until 1895.  The .40-65 Winchester round was produced in large numbers at first, but these number steadily decreased; it’s last catalog listing by any major ammunition manufacturer was by Winchester in 1935.  Today, small lots are manufactured by several ammo manufacturers, primarily to satisfy the owners of rifles that chamber the .40-65 Winchester.  In real-like costs, this means that the round is expensive.  Handloading can be done using .45-70 Government cases as a start and using 260-grain or 300-grain .40-caliber rifle bullets.

     Other Names: .40-65 Winchester & Marlin

     Nominal Size: 10.3x53mm

     Actual Size: 10.31x53.34mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 4.45 kg per box of 100; Price: $142 per box

Magazines:

.40-70 Sharps Straight

     Notes: This is an update of an earlier blackpowder round, the .40-65 Sharps.  It’s essentially the same case with a larger powder load; at it’s introduction, it was, in fact a blackpowder load, though it later made the jump to smokeless powder.  Sharps, Remington and Winchester all made single-shot rifles around the time of the cartridge’s introduction, though currently only Shiloh Sharps makes rifles chambered in .40-70 Sharps Straight.  Ballistically, it’s about equivalent to a dozen rounds of about the same caliber and powder load, though the heavy 330-grain and 370-grain bullets means that damage is only average and penetration a little deficient.  The round-nosed soft-lead bullets don’t help with penetration.  Small lots are made by several small ammunition manufacturers, but handloaders often find the making of .40-70 Sharps Straight rounds difficult.

     Nominal Size: 10.2x48mm

     Actual Size: 10.24x47.75mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 3.94 kg per box of 100; Price: $126 per box

Magazines:

.40-70 Winchester

     Notes: This is another round first designed for use in the Winchester 1886 rifle, but later chambered in other rifles, most notably those of Marlin.  It was introduced in 1895 as a modern-propellant cartridge, but failed to gain a wide following and was never produced at more than a low rate through the years.  Winchester, the last major ammunition company to produce it, dropped it in 1935, at which point Winchester was producing only small numbers of the .40-70 round.  The .40-70 round is basically a necked-out version of Winchester’s .38-40 round, using a larger, heavier bullet with a propellant charge virtually unchanged from that of the .38-40; it packed, however, a powerful punch, though a strong recoil.  The .40-70 round is sometimes confused with the .40-72 round, but the .40-72 Winchester will not chamber in a weapon chambered for .40-70 and vice versa.  Handloaders can make .40-70 cases from .45-70 cases, though the neck would be short and close attention to detail will be required; a better bet is raw .45 Basic cases.  Attention must also be made to the fact that the bullet is a bit larger than .40-caliber.

     Nominal Size: 10.3x61mm

     Actual Size: 10.29x60.96mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 6.34 kg per box of 100; Price: $203 per box

Magazines:

.40-72 Winchester

     Notes: This was another round specifically designed for the Winchester 1895 lever-action rifle, and it was discontinued when the rifle was in 1936.  It was never a popular round, and not nearly as powerful as company literature would seem to indicate.  Like the .38-72, it is very difficult to handload, and very rare these days.

     Nominal Size: 10.3x66mm

     Actual Size: 10.31x66.04mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 5.51 kg per box of 100; Price: $176 per box

Magazines:

.40-82 Winchester

     Notes: Introduced in 1885 for a Winchester single-shot rifle of the time, the .40-82 was also used in the Winchester 1886 lever-action rifle.  It began as a blackpowder round, but was popular enough at the time to make the jump to smokeless powder.  However, its popularity slowly waned, and by 1935, Winchester, the last major ammunition maker to make the .40-82, had dropped from its catalog.  Today, rifles chambered for .40-82 are seldom encountered and the rounds are made in very small lots when they are manufactured at all.  The .40-82 is, therefore, more in the realm of handloaders.  Handloaders find making the .40-82 difficult, with a procedure similar to that of the .40-70 Winchester. Nonetheless, the .40-82 packs a decent punch, adequate for most North American game as well as human beings.

     Other Names: .40-82 Winchester Centerfire, .40-82 WCF

     Nominal Size: 10.3x61mm

     Actual Size: 10.31x60.96mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 6.36 kg per box of 100; Price: $204 per box

Magazines:

.40-90 Sharps Straight

     Notes: Oddly, though this cartridge was introduced in 1885, and Sharps rifles were chambered for it, it did not appear in any Sharps catalogs until recent Shiloh Sharps catalogs.  Though Winchester made case lots in its time, currently only small lots are made by small ammunition manufacturers.  The .40-90 Sharps Straight case was a type of case called an “Everlasting” case, meaning basically that it was up to today’s standards and able to take repeated reloadings.  The case walls were, in fact, so heavy that powder loads were reduced over similar-sized rounds.  Handloaders will find that the .40-90 Ballard cases are virtually identical except for the length.  Performance and penetration were average for such a round, as was range.

     Other Names: .40-90 Sharps

     Nominal Size: 10.2x83mm

     Actual Size: 10.24x82.55mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 6.8 kg per box of 100; Price: $218 kg per box

Magazines:

.44-40 Winchester

     Notes: This is a very old cartridge that was originally designed for the Winchester Model 1873 lever-action rifle.  Virtually every American firearms manufacturer has offered a weapon in this caliber at some point in its history.  It is said that the round has killed more game and people than any other in American history.  This round was originally a blackpowder round, but it has not been loaded with black powder in some time (except by certain firearms enthusiasts).  The round has decent range, but the trajectory is not very flat at ranges above 100 meters.

     Other Names: .44 Winchester Centerfire, .44 Winchester

     Nominal Size: 10.8x33.8mm

     Actual Size: 10.9x33.27mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight:  31 kg per case of 1000; Price: $500 per case

Magazines: 

.44-77 Sharps & Remington

     Notes:  The .44-77 Sharps & Remington round was originally a blackpowder round, but did not stay that way for long, as modern propellants became available fairly soon thereafter and it was converted to this propellant.  Introduced specifically for the Model 1869 Sharps rifle, it was soon adapted to a number of other rifles and became a popular target round in the late 1800s and early 1900s (in fact, it was used more for target shooting than hunting).  Though it is not confirmed, the .44-77 is said to be a combination of a modified .42 Russian case and a .43 Spanish bullet; the case is slightly necked (bottlenecked) and the bullet is flat-nosed.  Remington still makes factory loads for this round, but it is still a rather rare round.

     Other Names: .44-77, .44-70, or .44-75 Sharps (or Sharps & Remington), 2 ¼” Sharps, .44-77 Remington-Hepburn, No.3 Remington

     Nominal Size: 10.9x57mm

     Actual Size: 11.33x57.15mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 6.34 kg per box of 100; Price: $230 per box

Magazines:

.45 Raptor

     Notes: Introduced in 2014, the .45 Raptor was designed to solve perceived deficiencies with rounds like the .450 Bushmaster, .458 SOCOM, and .50 Beowulf – most notably to provide a flatter trajectory and better ballistic coefficient than those rounds.  The bullet is markedly lither than the bullets of the aforementioned rounds, and therefore achieves higher velocities, but at the cost of bullet stability.  However, rifles designed or modified to chamber the .45 Raptor can reliably feed and use hollow-point bullets, something most rifles cannot do. The round is basically an elongated pistol cartridge, like the .50 Beowulf.  The .45 Raptor has a very flat trajectory out to about 200 meters.  The round is considered proprietary; North American Sportsman has a trademark on the term “Raptor” as it relates to ammunition.  Factory bullets are still made in small lots and have bullets ranging from 160-325 grains.

     The .45 Raptor mimics the size of the .460 Smith & Wesson Magnum; in fact, loading dies and brass from the .460 S&W Magnum can be used to form the .45 Raptor case, and .460 S&W Magnum bullets can be used in handloading the .45 Raptor.  The .45 Raptor uses a rimless design that allows it to feed reliably in semiautomatic rifles.  Rifles can be modified by installing a new barrel and extension, and modifying the magazines by shortening the follower and installing an insert that includes the feed ramp.  Curved magazines currently cannot be used with the .45 Raptor, and available inserts do not fit in curved magazines.  Magazine capacity is not altered.

     Nominal Size: 11.5x46mm

     Actual Size: 11.68x45.72mm

     Weight: 39.2 kg per box of 100; Price: $157 per case

Magazines:

.45-70 Government

     Notes: This round was developed for the US military and adopted by them in 1873.  After its replacement by the .30-40 Krag in 1892, its popularity took off as a civilian cartridge, especially in single-shot rolling-block-type rifles.  The .45-70 also continued in US military service well beyond 1900.  American companies stopped producing the .45-70 in the 1930s, leaving it in the hands of handloaders, but recently it has staged a comeback with the popularity of Cowboy shooting, and factory loads are being made again.  The unfortunate problem with the .45-70 is range and its curving trajectory beyond 150 meters.

     Other Names: .45 Government, .45-70-330, .45-70-350, .45-70-405, .45-70-500

     Nominal Size: 11.6x54mm

     Actual Size: 11.63x53.47mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight:  56.75 kg per case of 1000; Price:  $910 per case

Magazines: 

.45-75 Winchester Centerfire

     Notes: The .45-75 Winchester Centerfire was introduced along with the Winchester 1876 lever action rifle; the rifle was itself an enlarged version of the Winchester 1873 rifle.  The cartridge is a bottlenecked case that was shorter and fatter than the .45-70 Government.  The round has more power than the ,45-70 Government, though it does not have the range of that cartridge.  The round was designed to protect homesteads from robbers, and was therefore designed to be a man-killer from its inception.  The action of the Winchester 1876 was not particularly strong, so the .45-75 Winchester was usually :sub-loaded” at its inception; later versions have full-power .45-75 Winchester Centerfire rounds.  The round is considered inferior for African game, but adequate for North American game; Teddy Roosevelt is said to have favored the ,45-75 Winchester Centerfire round against Grizzlies, as its rifle allows for quick follow-up shots.

     Other Names: .45-75 Winchester, .45-75 Winchester Centennial

     Nominal Size: 11.5x48mm

     Actual Size: 11.53x48.01mm

     Case type: Necked

     Weight: 6.26 kg per box of 100; Price: $100 per box

Magazines:

.45-90 Sharps

     Notes: This is one of several rounds developed for .45-caliber Sharps rifles, in various case lengths.  The .45 Sharps rounds typically used soft lead bullets and blackpowder charges; however, more modern bullets and loads were developed later on at various points in history.  This round is primarily used today by the Cowboy Shooting enthusiasts; most are handloaded, though every so often some company makes some factory loads.

     Other Names: .45-90 Sharps Straight

     Nominal Size: 11.6x53mm

     Actual Size: 11.63x53.34mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 5.66 kg per box of 100; Price: $182 per box

Magazines:

.45-90 Winchester

     Notes: The .45-90 Winchester is sort of an attempt to make the .45-70 Government cartridge more powerful; the case is longer, the propellant charge larger, and the bullet lighter by a very small amount.  However, damage and penetration are about the same as the .45-70, and range is even less, by a small amount.  This is probably why the .45-90, introduced in 1886, was not chambered in many rifles, and why production stopped not long after the switch to modern propellants.  Today, only small runs are made by smaller ammunition manufacturers, and by handloaders.

     Other Names: .45-90 Winchester Centerfire, .45-90 WCF

     Nominal Size: 11.6x61mm

     Actual Size: 11.61x60.96mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 6.45 kg per box of 100; Price: $206 per box

Magazines:

.45-100 Sharps

     Notes: This is basically a longer version of the .45-90 Sharps round, and the comments for the .45-90 Sharps apply to the .45-100.

     Other Names: .45-100 Sharps (Straight)

     Nominal Size: 11.6x66mm

     Actual Size: 11.63x66.04mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 7.01 kg per box of 100; Price: $224 per box

Magazines:

.45-110 Sharps

     Notes: This is basically a longer version of the .45-90 Sharps round, and the comments for the .45-90 Sharps apply to the .45-110.

     Other Names: .45-110 Sharps (Straight)

     Nominal Size: 11.6x70mm

     Actual Size: 11.63x69.85mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 7.43 kg per box of 100; Price: $238 per box

Magazines:

.45-120 Sharps

     Notes: Though in some ways this round may be thought of as a longer version of the .45-90 Sharps, the .45-120 actually has thicker walls to contain the much more powerful propellant charge.  The round did not have a particularly long lifetime, since the Sharps Rifle Company failed in 1881, though several other rifles were chambered for the round.  Most rounds after that point were handloaded, but in 1991-1992 the Eldorado Cartridge Company made a run of cases and factory loads, primarily for the Cowboy Shooting enthusiasts.  It is rare to find a .45-120 Sharps round using modern propellants, though it is not unknown.  Even in blackpowder form, it is a quite powerful round for a straight-walled cartridge.

     Other Names: .45-120 Sharps (Straight), .45-120 Sharps 3 1/4”

     Nominal Size: 11.6x82mm

     Actual Size: 11.63x82.55mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 8.78 kg per box of 100; Price: $280 per box

Magazines:

.50 Browning Machinegun

     Notes: This round was originally designed as an antitank rifle round in 1918.  The antitank rifle was quickly dropped, but John Browning designed a heavy machinegun around it instead.  This weapon and several other companion pieces, as well as several other machineguns firing the same round, have formed the mainstay of Western heavy machineguns ever since.  The .50 Browning Machinegun round is a huge, cigar-sized round that is effective against personnel and light armored vehicles.  Recently, the round has been used in heavy sniper and antimaterial rifles, to great effect.  It is also regarded as a quasi-sporting round, normally used in long-range target competitions.  It can be used to take down everything from people to aircraft.

     A SLAP (Saboted Light Armor Penetrator) version of the .50 Browning Machinegun round is available.  Double all prices for this round.  A match-quality round is also available; multiply all prices for this round by five.  A subsonic version of this cartridge is available; triple all prices.

     Other Names: .50 M-2, 12.7x99mm

     Nominal Size: 12.7x99mm

     Actual Size: 12.96x99.1mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight:  163.38 kg per case of 1000; Price: $6450 per case, $9675 per 1500-round belt

Magazines: 

.50 Beowulf

     Notes:  The .50 Beowulf is a large, straight-walled round with a rebated rim; some say the .50 Beowulf looks like a long, fat pistol round.  It is, in fact, a larger cousin to the .50 Action Express round. The genesis of the .50 Beowulf was during Operation Iraqi Freedom; US troops had a hard time to stop cars with drivers bent on martyrdom and filled with explosives.  The standard US GI round, the 5.56mm NATO, was completely inadequate to stop a charging car; even 7.62mm NATO rounds had trouble.  Bill Alexander of Alexander Arms therefore designed a large, powerful, heavy round which could be fired from modified M16s (and fit in their magazines), but reliably cause stopping damage to engine blocks and fire through firewalls and dashboards to kill the driver within.  Though the .50 Beowulf was never adopted by US troops, a few prototypes were sent to Iraq, where they got good reviews from the troops manning barricades.  The rebated rim of the .50 Beowulf is sized to fit rifles designed for 5.56mm, 7.62mm Kalashnikov, and 6.5mm Grendel rounds.  Smaller rounds require a change in bolts, as the standard bolt face size used on .50 Beowulf rifles is the same as the 7.62mm Kalashnikov. The .50 Beowulf is rated for full-automatic fire.  The .50 Beowulf has poor performance at long to extreme ranges; however, it was not designed as a standard combat round, meant only to stop vehicles and suicide bombers at short to medium ranges, where its superior stopping and penetrative powers excel.  Reportedly, special operations forces had had some use of rifles firing the round, noting its ability to fire through walls and doors.

     The .50 Beowulf is a proprietary caliber, made only by a few manufacturers licensed by Alexander Arms, and fired only in rifles whose makers have such a license or pay royalties to Alexander Arms.   Alexander Arms licensees have to swear a secrecy agreement about the round, and this reluctance to divulge information about the round is a constant irritation to writers, handloaders and weapon designers.  Normal bullet weights range from 300 and 500 grains, with 400-grain rounds preferred by Alexander Arms for their finished rifles. Information about dimensions, case lengths, amount of powder used with different-weight bullets, and suchlike is all difficult to come by.

     The .50 Beowulf is now gaining acceptance for use as a sporting round, able to stop the largest of North American animals like the Grizzly Bear, Moose, and Polar Bear.  At short to medium range, the .50 Beowulf duplicates the ballistics of the .45-70 Government, though in a much shorter-action format.  It is more powerful than most rifled slugs or sabot slugs utilized by shotgun hunters.

     Nominal Size: 12.7x42mm

     Actual Size: 12.7x42.04mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 48.1 kg per box of 100; Price: $192 per box

Magazines:

.50 DTC-EDM Spec

     Notes:  The .50 DTC-EDM originated as a French round that was designed to comply with European legislation which bans all rifles that fire .50 BMG.  Since the nominal diameter of the round is .510, EDM hit upon this round to skirt the law in some jurisdictions like California which ban .50 caliber weapons.  Due to a loophole in the laws in almost all of these jurisdictions, the .50 BMG and other .50/12.7mm are illegal, but a .510 round is not, giving shooters a .50-caliber-like round is a somewhat different package.  (It is unlikely that if these bans were not in place in Europe and the US that the .50 DTC-EDM round would have ever been designed.)  The .50 DTC-EDM uses the same bullet as the .50 BMG round, but the case dimensions are different, most notably in the thicker case walls which give the .50 DTC-EDM its extra diameter in a legal sense.  In addition, there are minor differences in case length and the shoulder angle. In fact, .50 DTC-EDM cases can be made by shortening and then fire-forming .50 BMG cases.  However, rifles designed for the .50 BMG cannot safely fire .50 DTC-EDM rounds and vice versa.

     Other Names: .510 DTC Europ, .50 DTC Europe

     Nominal Size: 12.95x97mm

     Actual Size: 12.96x96.8mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 12.77 kg per box of 100; Price: $639 per box

Magazines:

.50-70 Government

     Notes: This cartridge was the standard US Army round from 1866-73, and was originally a blackpowder round.  It is a centerfire round which is a modified form of the .50-60-400 Joslyn Rimfire round, and was the first centerfire round used by the US military.  It was replaced in the US military by the .45-70 Government round in 1873, but continued to be used by some civilians until the turn of the 20^th century, as it is quite effective on buffalo and other large game.  Some collectors still use the round, but it is always found as a handload as no company currently manufactures the .50-70 Government, and haven’t since the 1940s.  However, with the rise of Cowboy Action shooting, cases are starting to be manufactured again, along with weapons which chamber the round, and it probably won’t be long before complete rounds are again manufactured.

     Other Names: .50-70 Musket

     Nominal Size: 13x44mm

     Actual Size: 13x43.69mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight:  5.1 kg per box of 100; Price: $186 per box of 100

Magazines:

.50-70 Maynard

     Notes: The .50-70 Maynard round (at that time called the .50-70 Sharps) was introduced in 1872 along with three longer versions of the cartridge (.50-90, .50-100, and .50-110).  It was a blackpowder round at the time, but soon converted to modern propellants.  It was designed specifically for buffalo hunting, and meant to be the short-range version of the .50-70 family.  Production of the round was later taken over by the Maynard company, but was discontinued in the mid 20^th century.  Currently, about the only way to get a .50-70 Maynard round is to find someone who handloads it or do it yourself; though cases are still manufactured and readily available, complete rounds are not.

     Other Names: .50-70 Sharps, Big Fifty, Poison-Slinger

     Nominal Size: 13x48mm

     Actual Size: 13.06x47.75mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 5.63 kg per box of 100; Price: $204 per box

Magazines:

.50-90 Sharps

     Notes: Essentially the same round as the .50-110 Sharps listed below but with a shorter case and less propellant; the .50-90 Sharps was also originally a blackpowder round, later switched to smokeless propellant.  It was originally designed for buffalo hunting.  (Though the .50-110 was also designed for buffalo hunting, it was somewhat delayed in mass production, and by the time the .50-110 arrived on the scene in large numbers, the heyday of buffalo hunting was over.)  The .50-90 uses the same bullet as the .50-110.  As with the .50-110, the .50-90 is not available in factory loads, except by special order from Sharps, but bullet molds are made by Lyman, and cases are available from several companies.

     Other Names: Big Fifty, Poison-Slinger

     Nominal Size: 13x63.5mm

     Actual Size: 12.93x63.5mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 7.34 kg per box of 100; Price: $267 per box

Magazines:

.50-95 Winchester Centerfire

     Notes: The .50-95 Winchester Centerfire was originally introduced as a chambering option for the Winchester 1876 Centennial rifle, and was the largest chambering for that particular rifle.  It was introduced in 1879.  It proved to be less than popular, and had a rather short production span.  The .50-95 Winchester Centerfire did gain a small following among buffalo hunters of the period, though it is only a marginal round for taking down buffalo, though it is quite capable of taking down a man.  Today, only a very few rifles are chambered in this caliber (such as Chaparral’s Reproduction of the Winchester 1873), and only small lots are made by manufacturers.  The .50-95 Winchester Centerfire round is more in the realm of handloaders these days, using shortened .348 Winchester shells or shells from the .50-90 Sharps.

     Other Names: .50-95 Winchester, .50-95 Winchester Express

     Nominal Size: 13x49mm

     Actual Size: 13.03x49.28mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 6.58 kg per box of 100; Price: $210 per box

Magazines:

.50-110 Sharps

     Notes: Introduced along with two shorter rounds (the .50-90 and .50-100) in 1872, the .50-110 Sharps and its shorter relatives were designed to be more powerful version of the .50-70 Sharps (.50-70 Maynard, above), and meant specifically for long-range buffalo hunting.  It was originally a blackpowder round, but was later offered in limited quantities with Cordite propellant.  This round is not available in factory loads, except by special order from Sharps, but bullet molds are made by Lyman, and cases are available from several companies.

     Other Names: Big Fifty, Poison-Slinger

     Nominal Size: 13x73mm

     Actual Size: 12.93x72.9mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 8.51 kg per box of 100; Price: $310 per box

Magazines:

.55 Boys

     Notes: The .55 Boys originated, like the .50 Browning Machinegun round, as an antitank round in between World War 1 and 2, to be used with an experimental antitank rifle by Captain Boys of the British Small Arms Committee.  Needless to say, the rifle which became the Boys Antitank Rifle was basically obsolete before design work on it even began in the mid-1930s, as was the .55 Boys round in its intended purpose, and it was replaced by the PIAT in 1940.  Though essentially useless in its intended role, the .55 Boys did make an admirable manstopper, though actual sniping and antimaterial use of the Boys Antitank Rifle was in fact quite small.

     The .55 Boys uses a belted cartridge (one of the few to actually be used by modern military forces of any country); the bullet used a steel-cored copper-jacketed bullet.  The .55 Boys round is believed to have been adapted from an unspecified high-power civilian hunting rifle cartridge of the period (though some say it is a modified .50 Browning Machinegun round), which is the probable reason for it being a belted round.  However, the design of this belted round allowed the .55 Boys to be loaded with a large propellant charge and withstand very high pressures.  Later, a tungsten-cored version with the bullet jacked inside hard plastic was developed, giving the round even greater penetration (though still basically useless against most armored vehicles); this round was known as the W Mk 2 ACPR .55 round.  This round, if you can find it, will cost five times the normal Twilight 2000 v2.2 price listed below.

     Like the rifle itself, .55 Boys rounds are as scarce as hens’ teeth.  Most .55 Boys ammunition found today is handloaded (almost always modified from .50 Browning Machinegun brass), and is almost always of the steel-cored variety (or even without the steel core).  Modern analogues of the ACPR round are next to impossible to find handloaded.  Original .55 Boys ammunition (as with the rifle and even the magazines) will fetch extremely high real-life prices on the international market (hundreds of times greater than the Twilight 2000 price presented here).

     Other Names: .55 Boyes (an incorrect, but common misspelling), .55 Mk 1, .55 Mk 2 (in the case of the ACPR round).

     Nominal Size: 13.9x99mm

     Actual Size: 14.3x97.79mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 17.28 kg per box of 100; Price: $1572 per box

Magazines:

.56-50 Spencer

     Notes:  One of the oldest rifle cartridges in existence, the .56-50 Spencer is an improved and lengthened form of the .56-46 Spencer, which was designed for the Spencer Carbine (which arrived too late for the Civil War).  This version of the Spencer cartridge was first fielded shortly after the Civil War as a blackpowder round, but was later switched to Cordite for a propellant.  It, along with rifles firing the .56-50 and 56-52 Spencer, was issued widely to US troops fighting Native American tribes in the West.  The rifles did were not in US military service for long, but they remained popular in civilian hands until the early 1920s, and factory-made rounds were made by Springfield and Remington until at least 1920.  Taylor’s & Company currently loads small lots of both blackpowder and smokeless powder versions of the .56-50 Spencer, for use in its replicas and for use by Cowboy Shooting enthusiasts and collectors.  Handloaded versions are just as common however.  The .56-50 Spencer is considered a decent deer-hunting cartridge, but was never really considered an adequate man-stopper.

     Other Names: .56-50 Spencer & Remington, .56-50 Springfield, .56-50 Sharps

     Nominal Size: 14.2x26mm

     Actual Size: 13x26.29mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 3.07 kg per box of 100; Price: $112 per box

Magazines:

.400 Jeffery

     Notes: Designed by Jeffery in 1902, the .400 Jeffery was a longer, improved version of an older blackpowder round, the .450-400 Nitro Express 3 1/4-inch.  It was designed exclusively for modern propellants, and never used blackpowder propellant.  It was a very popular round until the advent of the .375 H&H Magnum, which offers similar performance in a lighter round.  The .400 Jeffery, however, does offer slightly better performance than the .375 H&H Magnum, especially in the area of damaging potential.  Like most of the heavy rounds of this period, the .400 Jeffery was designed for hunting large African game, and is generally overpowered for even large game on other continents.  Currently, A-Square is the only company still manufacturing .400 Jeffery ammunition, though bullets are still available from Barnes and Woodleigh, and cases are available from Bertram which can be used to form a .400 Jeffery case with little difficulty.  Rifles which fire the round are, however, becoming more and more scarce.

     Other Names: .400 Jeffery Nitro Express, .450/400 3-inch Nitro Express

     Nominal Size: 10.16x76mm

     Actual Size: 10.41x76.2mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 7.14 kg per box of 100; Price: $650 per box

Magazines:

.400 Pondoro

     Notes: Invented by John Howard “Pondoro: Taylor to provide a cartridge with the power of the .416 Rigby but with less kick, the .400 Pondoro is essentially a necked-down version of the .416 Rigby.  The result is a round that has the sheer power of the .416 Rigby while keeping the range and flat trajectory.  Recoil is only a little less than the .416 Rigby, and legible in most cases in game terms.  The .400 Pondoro is perfectly adequate for most African game, and some North American game.  It is certainly a man-stopper.  Though small lots are made by manufacturers now and again, most work on the .400 Pondoro is done by handloaders.

     Nominal Size: 10.2x76mm

     Actual Size: 10.16x76.2mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 7.73 kg per box of 100; Price: $247 per box

Magazines:

.401 Winchester Self-Loading

     Notes:  This round was developed to be fired from the Winchester Model 1910 rifle, a modification of the Model 1907.  The cartridge was discontinued by Winchester in 1936, but other companies continued to make the .401 Winchester Self-Loading until after World War 2.  The .401 Winchester Self-Loading is the most powerful of Winchester’s “Self-Loading” line of cartridges, and the only one of them useful against medium game.  It can be a bit tricky to handload, but not too difficult.

     Other Names: .401 WSL, .401 Winchester Auto

     Nominal Size: 10.3x63mm

     Actual Size: 10.31x63.5mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 5.3 kg per box of 100; Price: $170 per box

Magazines:

.404 Dakota Magnum

     Notes: Developed from the .404 Jeffery cartridge, the .404 Dakota Magnum has a different case shape than the .404 Jeffery and is loaded a bit more heavily then the .404 Jeffery – yielding more velocity at a lower chamber pressure than the round the .404 Dakota Magnum was actually meant to compete with, the .416 Rigby.  This makes it an excellent big-game hunting cartridge, for large game all over the world.  It is found mostly as a proprietary cartridge in Dakota rifles, though some other makes of rifle also fire it.  The round is readily available from Dakota Arms.

     Other Names: .404 Dakota

     Nominal Size: 10.26x73mm

     Actual Size: 10.72x72.9mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 81.63 kg per case of 1000; Price: $3270 per case

Magazines:

.404 Jeffrey

     Notes: This round was introduced in 1909, and was extremely popular for decades.  It slowly declined in popularity over more decades, and almost disappeared completely.  In 1993, Dynamit Nobel decided to manufacture the .404 Jeffrey again, and Ruger chambered a version of its M-77 rifle for it.  A Canadian company named NASS also announced plans to manufacture the .404 Jeffrey, along with Dakota Arms in the US, and with Norma, RWS, and Bertram making cases.  The .404 Jeffery was designed specifically for bolt-action rifles.  Modern loads generally use heavier bullets and more propellant than the original specifications called for.  It is a good general purpose game cartridge, able to take down medium and heavy game, but is overpowered for light game. 

     Other Names: .404 Rimless Nitro Express, 10.75x73mm

     Nominal Size: 10.75x73mm

     Actual Size: 10.72x72.9mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 81.63 kg per case of 1000; Price: $3270 per case

Magazines:

.405 Winchester

     Notes: This round was developed for the Winchester Model 1895 lever-action rifle, and that rifle was first chambered for the .405 Winchester in 1904.  It was also chambered in a few other rifles, and Theodore Roosevelt was said to be quite fond of this round and Model 1895 rifle.  Winchester stopped producing the round in 1936, but A-Square recently began producing it in small amounts.  The .405 Winchester is perhaps the most powerful rimmed cartridge ever produced, and one of the most powerful straight-walled cartridges.  The bullet is short, fat, and round-nosed, and loses velocity rapidly, making for poor range and penetration relative to its size.  Handloading is said to be very difficult.

     Nominal Size: 10.5x65mm

     Actual Size: 10.46x65.53mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 5.63 kg per box of 100; Price: $180 per box

Magazines:

.408 CheyTac

    Notes: Designed specifically for use with Cheyenne Tactical’s LRRS-Intervention heavy sniper rifle series (introduced in 2001), the .408 CheyTac is essentially a British .505 Gibbs case necked down to accept a smaller bullet along with a slight redesign of the case itself.  This was done for the same reasons such a thing is normally done, in order to put a heavy propellant charge behind a smaller bullet, producing a faster bullet with a flatter trajectory and greater range and penetration.  Cheyenne Tactical is also reputedly trying to sell a redesign of the M-60 GPMG chambered for this round.  The round falls in power approximately in between the 7.62mm NATO and .50 Browning Machinegun, without being unduly heavy.  The cases are actually made by a small German company named THEIS, while the bullets are made by Lost River High Energy Technologies of Idaho.  (Sierra is also soon going to be making these bullets in two weights.)

     Though not currently available, steel-cored AP ammunition is projected for the .408 CheyTac round.  Double all prices for this type of round.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The .408 CheyTac round does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

     Other Names: .408 Cheyenne Tactical

     Nominal Size: 10.4x80mm

     Actual Size: 10.36x80.01mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 16.5 kg per box of 100; Price: $1500 per box

Magazines:

.416 Barrett

     Notes:  The .416 Barrett started as a wildcat redesign of the .50 BMG round, at the request of the Crane NSWC at the behalf of SEAL teams and Coast Guard interdiction shooters. The round was progressively modified for superior speed, range, damage potential, and armor penetration, as well as being able to keep supersonic speeds for as long as possible during its flight, producing a flatter trajectory than a .50 BMG.  The .416 Barrett was initially available only in the Barrett Model 99 rifle, but the Model 82A1 was quickly redesigned to fire the new round, and now several other rifles chamber the .416 Barrett.  The .416 Barrett uses a 398-grain solid brass boattail spitzer bullet, which contributes to its ballistics.  At 1737 meters, the .416 Barret round is still supersonic at 960 meters per second.  The SEALs have reportedly used M-99 and M-82A1 rifles to achieve hits at 2286 meters, though the performance that the SEALs get out of their equipment is classified.

     An improved version of the .416 Barrett, the .416 Barrett MSG, is a very low-drag extreme range bullet with a low ballistic coefficient and a 424-grain bullet of solid brass, using a radical LD Haack profile in the nose area.  Velocities at 1737 meters of 1032 meters per second have been achieved, but the MSG round is still being tested.

     Other Names:

     Nominal Size: 10.6x83mm

     Actual Size: 10.57x83.06mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 7.29 kg per box of 100; Price: $365 per box

Magazines:

.416 Hoffman

     Notes: This round began as a wildcat round in the late 1970s, and was later adopted by A-Square as a proprietary cartridge.  It is based on a necked-up and improved .375 H&H Magnum case.  It basically duplicates the .416 Taylor and .416 Rigby, having the same weight of bullet and fractionally more powder, though the case in not as wide as those two rounds. 

     Nominal Size: 10.6x72mm

     Actual Size: 10.57x72.39mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 7.94 per box of 100; Price: $636 per box

Magazines:

.416 Howell

     Notes: The .416 Howell has had an interesting story and development.  It began as a Winchester version of the .416 Taylor round, and is thus basically a beltless .416 Taylor with some minor dimensional differences.  Winchester planned to introduce the round in 1979, but it never got off the ground; some say it was because Winchester felt that it could not compete with the .416 Remington Magnum round.  An independent gunsmith, however, took the round and placed it into limited production – however, the .416 Howell is still primarily in the realm of handloaders these days.  The .416 Howell basically duplicates the .416 Remington Magnum, though higher pressures generally lead to a flatter-shooting, longer-ranged round.

     Other Names: .416 Howell Magnum, .416 Winchester Express

     Nominal Size: 10.6x64mm

     Actual Size: 10.57x63.5mm

     Weight: 6.93 kg per box of 100; Price: $223 per box

Magazines:

.416 Remington Magnum

     Notes: This round was introduced in 1988, and was the first American dangerous game cartridge since the .458 Winchester Magnum.  It is basically an 8mm Remington Magnum necked up to .416 caliber, and uses very heavy bullets of 300-400 grains.  (One unusual bullet for the .416 Remington Magnum is the 400-grain solid; it is literally a solid brass bullet instead of being a lead bullet with a brass jacket.)  The .416 Remington has proved to be an unexpectedly popular round, and is produced in large numbers for a surprising amount of rifles.  The power and penetration of a rifle firing .416 Remington Magnum is exceptional, but the recoil is too.

     Nominal Size: 10.6x72mm

     Actual Size: 10.57x72.39mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 79.38 kg per case of 1000; Price: $3230 per case

Magazines:

.416 Rigby

     Notes: Until recently, only about 10,000 rifles total had been made to chamber this exotic cartridge – that’s 10,000 rifles, not 10,000 types of rifles.  In 1992, Ruger added a .416 Rigby-firing rifle to its product line, and then some other companies took up the cartridge.  The cartridge was designed with African hunting in mind, and despite its blunt-nosed profile, it is capable of taking down large animals and even penetrating light armor.

     Other Names: .416 Rigby Magnum

     Nominal Size: 10.2x74mm

     Actual Size: 10.57x73.66mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight:  8.08 kg per box of 100; Price:  $646 per box

Magazines: 

.416 Taylor

     Notes: This round, introduced in 1972, is a .458 Winchester Magnum round necked down to .416 caliber, or a .338 Winchester Magnum necked up to .416 caliber.  It was rumored that Remington would make the first commercial lots, but A-Square did that instead.  It is ballistically similar to the .416 Rigby cartridge, and can handle the same sort of game – able to handle most African game, and blow away most North American or European game.

     Other Names: .416 Taylor Magnum

     Nominal Size: 10.6x64mm

     Actual Size: 10.57x63.5mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 69.63 kg per case of 1000; Price: $1110 per case

Magazines:

.416 Weatherby Magnum

     Notes: This is a relatively recent Weatherby development, being introduced in 1989 on the heels of the .416 Remington Magnum.  The .416 Weatherby Magnum is based on a larger version of the .378 Weatherby Magnum case, and of course, has more propellant and power than the .416 Remington Magnum (but not enough to really show up in game terms in most cases, except as more recoil). 

     Nominal Size: 10.6x74mm

     Actual Size: 10.57x74.17mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 8.14 per box of 100; Price: $652 per box

Magazines:

.425 Express

     Notes: This round was designed by Cameron Hopkins and Whit Collins as a project to be featured in the May 1988 issue of Guns Magazine.  The original rifle to fire the .425 Express was designed by John French, based on a Ruger M-77 action.  The round itself is a .300 Winchester Magnum case, shortened somewhat and then necked out to the .425 Express bullet’s dimensions.  It is more powerful than the .375 H&H Magnum, but less than the .458 Winchester Magnum, and fills the gap neatly, yielding excellent power and range.  Since its debut, it has proven itself on African game as well as in North America and Australia.  The round was at first available only as a handload (being essentially a wildcat at its inception), but is now available from A-Square.

     Nominal Size: 10.8x65mm

     Actual Size: 10.74x64.82mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 6.46 kg per box of 100; Price: $234 per box

Magazines:

.444 Marlin

     Notes: The .444 Marlin round was introduced in 1964.  The first rifle to chamber it was the Marlin 336 lever-action rifle, but the Marlin 444 is where it got its fame.  The .444 Marlin is basically a stretched .44 Magnum round.  At short ranges, the .444 Marlin can be quite powerful, but the straight-walled cartridge and the flat nosed-profile do not lend it to long range.

     Nominal Size: 11.3x55mm

     Actual Size: 10.9x54.86mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight:  51.25 kg per case of 1000; Price $820 per case

Magazines: 

.450 Ackley Magnum

     Notes: This round was one of the largest cartridges that Parker Ackley ever designed.  He used a full-length H&H case and necked it up to .45 caliber.  The resulting case carries a large amount of propellant and a heavy, round-nosed bullet, but the necking-up process resulted in an almost-straight case with a very miniscule neck.  Ackley produced the cartridges in his own company for a while, but in 1995, factory loads became available from A-Square.  The round is powerful enough, and the case shaping process weakens the case enough, so that reloading the case is often impossible or even dangerous. 

     Other Names: .450 Ackley

     Nominal Size: 11.6x72mm

     Actual Size: 11.63x72.39mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 76.88 kg per case of 1000; Price: $1230 per case

Magazines:

.450 Bushmaster

     Notes:  The .450 Bushmaster was designed by Tim LeGendre of LeMag Firearms, an outfit that primarily makes custom, unusual, and customized rifles to order.  The round, at first a wildcat round, received SAAMI certification and was licensed out to Bushmaster Firearms, who have larger facilities for the production of ammunition and rifles.  It is designed to be used in standard M16 and AR-15 magazines, using a new follower and spring and in an AR-15 upper with a minimum of modifications (primarily to the bolt and barrel).  The round was designed to adhere to Jeff Cooper’s “Thumper” concept, and is capable of bringing down most North American game and threat animals.  LeGendre developed a limited-run round called the .45 Professional, but Hornady, another licensee of the ammunition, wanted to shorten the case to offer more flexibility in bullet design, shrinking the case by 19.5mm. 

     The .450 Bushmaster uses a high-pressure case, with an ample dose o f propellant and heavy .452 bullets.  The trajectory is very flat out to 200 meters, but it is not meant to engage long or extreme-range targets.  Factory rounds are now made by Bushmaster, Hornady, and Remington.

     Nominal Size: 11.4x43mm

     Actual Size: 11.48x43.18mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 4.47 kg per box of 100; Price $$179 per box

Magazines:

.450 AHR

     The .450 AHR round appears to be a lengthened and blown-out ,400/.450 Nitro Express 2 3/8” case, made to produce a “more magnum” round that still has manageable recoil, though it failed in that respect in the rifles it was chambered for.  Unfortunately, documentation on the .450 AHR round is quite rare, even on American Hunting Rifles own web site.  It appears to not be produced by any manufacturer other than AHR, and is the primarily the province of handloaders.  It has sufficient power to take down African game, moose, grizzlies and polar bears, light vehicles, helicopters, etc.

     Other Names: .450 AHR Magnum. .450 American Hunting Rifles (rare)

     Nominal Size: 11.4x73mm

     Actual Size: : 11.38x73.36mm

     Case Type: Necked

Weight: 9.33 kg per box of 100; Price: $373 per box

Magazines:

.450 Dakota Magnum

     Notes: This was the first Dakota design which was not based upon the .404 Jeffery case; the .450 Dakota Magnum is .416 Rigby case necked up to take a .450 bullet.  The round is meant to be powerful, and can drive a 500-grain bullet at 747 meters per second without undue pressure in the chamber.  Ballistically, the .450 Dakota Magnum is very similar to the .460 Weatherby Magnum, but Dakota does not recommend loading the round to the point that the .460 Weatherby Magnum is typically loaded, because such hotloads can make extraction difficult.  It is also similar to, but slightly more powerful than, the .458 Winchester Magnum.  The typical bullet used is round-nosed and solid.  Like most proprietary Dakota rounds, the .450 Dakota Magnum is produced only by Dakota Arms, and is almost never chambered in anything but Dakota’s rifles.

     Other Names: .450 Dakota

     Nominal Size: 11.6x73mm

     Actual Size: 11.63x72.9mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 85.1 kg per case of 1000; Price: $3870 per case

Magazines:

.450 Howell

     Notes: the .450 Howell is basically a necked-up version of the .416 Howell, and shares that rounds interesting development.  The result is a round that is exceptional in power and range, but was never picked up for manufacture by any major company except in minor lots. The .450 Howell is therefore primarily in the hands of handloaders, though some rifles have been chambered for this round.  The .450 Howell is the equal of any African game, and some tough-to-get North American or South American game.

     Other Names: .450 Howell Magnum

     Nominal Size: 11.6x64mm

     Actual Size: 11.63x63.5mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 8.44 kg per box of 100; Price: $338 per box

Magazines:

.450 Marlin

     Notes: This round is one of the newest Marlin cartridges, announced at the 2000 SHOT Show.  It is the first new Marlin cartridge since 1964’s .444 Marlin, and was introduced to produce a magnum cartridge for the Model 1895 lever-action rifle.  (This round also required the designing of a modified version of the Model 1895 that could take the high chamber pressures developed by the .450 Marlin.)  The .450 Marlin was developed from scratch, though many have questioned why Marlin could not have sped up the development process by simply lengthening and increasing the propellant charge of the .45-70 Government case, but Marlin nevertheless decided to make the .450 Marlin from scratch.  The .450 Marlin is nevertheless a powerful loading, quite capable of stopping any North American large game in its tracks.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The .450 Marlin round (and the rifle which fires it) is not available in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

     Nominal Size: 11.6x54mm

     Actual Size: 11.63x53.09mm

     Case Type: Straight (Tapered)

     Weight: 49.61 kg per case of 1000; Price: $900 per case

Magazines:

.450 Nitro Express No. 2

     Notes: This round is an improved version of an earlier round, the .500/450 Magnum Express.  The .450 Nitro Express No. 2 uses a longer case than its predecessor, but the same weight of bullet (normally a 480-grain soft-point).  The round was designed for use primarily in single-shot and double-barrel Express rifles, and is almost never found in any other sort of rifle.  The longer case was used to reduce the chamber pressure, and not to allow the loading of more propellant.  The round has a thick rim to aid in extraction.  Many rifles chambered for .450 Nitro Express No. 2 are still around, but the rounds for them are rare as few companies manufacture them.

     Other Names: .450 No. 2 Nitro Express, .450 Nitro Express 3 1/2-inch, .450 Nitro Express

     Nominal Size: 11.6x89mm

     Actual Size: 11.63x88.9mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 10.38 kg per box of 100; Price: $944 per box

Magazines:

.450 Rigby

     Notes: A relatively new round, the .450 Rigby was not introduced until 1995, and is therefore Rigby’s newest production cartridge.  It was designed specifically for hunting large game in Africa, but will also make a mess of whatever person it hits, and is even capable of penetrating light armor.  The bullet is large and heavy at 480 grains, and may be soft-nosed or solid.  The case is basically necked-up .416 Rigby case, with a sharp shoulder. 

     Twilight 2000 Notes: An incredibly rare round in the Twilight 2000 timeline, the .450 Rigby is mostly found in Britain and Some parts of Africa, and almost always handloaded.

     Nominal Size: 11.6x74mm

     Actual Size: 11.63x73.66mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 8.72 kg per box of 100; Price: $794 per box

Magazines:

.450-400 Nitro Express 2 3/8”

     Notes: This round started out as a blackpowder cartridge in 1880.  It is a necked-down version of the older .450 Nitro Express 2 3/8-inch round.  By 1899, modern propellant version were available.  The .450-400 Nitro Express 2 3/8” developed far less chamber pressure than older designs, leading to lighter rifles to fire it.  Various different variations on this theme developed, using different case lengths, some of which succeeded, and some of which didn’t.  This round is no longer factory-produced, though many people do handload it.

     Other Names: .450-400 2 3/8” BPE, .450-400 2 3/8” Nitro for BP

     Nominal Size: 10.3x60mm

     Actual Size: 10.34x60.45mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 5.59 kg per box of 100; Price: $204 per box

Magazines:

.450-400 Nitro Express 3 1/4”

     Notes: Basically a longer version of the .450-400 Nitro Express 2 3/8”, this round also started as a blackpowder round, but soon switched to modern propellants.  There are actually two versions of this round, with different case thicknesses.  When the .450-400 3 1/4” round was switched to Cordite propellants, it was discovered that the earlier, thinner case would often not extract properly (particularly in a dirty or even slightly-corroded chamber), causing the rim to stick in the chamber and pull off the round when extracted, leaving a ring of jagged brass in the chamber.  As with the 2 3/8” round, the .450-400 3 1/4” is no longer factory-produced.

     Other Names: .450-400 3 1/4” BPE Nitro for Black

     Nominal Size: 10.3x82mm

     Actual Size: 10.29x82.55mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 7.55 kg per box of 100; Price: $686 per box

Magazines:

.458 Lott

     Notes: This round was developed after Jack Lott, armed with a .458 Winchester Magnum-firing rifle, was rammed (non-fatally) by an African buffalo after he had already shot it twice.  In 1971, he designed what was essentially an improved version of the .458 Winchester Magnum, with a longer case containing more propellant and a heavier bullet.  The .458 Lott was considered a wildcat round until 2002, when Hornady began manufacturing factory loads.  Before that point, most rifles firing .458 Lott were hand-made or modified from existing rifles.  It should be noted that most rifles that are chambered for .458 Lott can also fire .458 Winchester Magnum ammunition.  The .458 Lott is a hard hitting round with excellent penetration, though range suffers from its round-nosed bullet.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: Factory loads are not available; all .458 Lott ammunition is handloaded.

     Nominal Size: 11.6x71mm

     Actual Size: 11.63x71.12mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 7.55 per box of 100; Price: $242 per box

Magazines:

.458 SOCOM

     Notes:  The .458 SOCOM round was developed by Teppo Jutsu as a result of an informal conversation with some members of for special operations community (reportedly members of Delta).  Delta operators were dismayed by the apparent inability of the 5.56mm round to drop Somali fighters hopped on adrenaline and khatt, a local plant with large amounts of natural stimulants.  Delta expressed their wish to have a round that would bring down such fighters, but could be used with their M16-based weapons with a minimum of modifications.

     The .458 SOCOM is a highly-modified 7.62mm Kalashnikov case, operating at low pressure and with a heavy bullet with AP qualities and a tendency to flatten upon entering a human body. The round was first developed into an intermediate round informally called 9mm PPC (which later became a rare round called .358 CQB), and the .338 Specter. In addition, experience with the non-standard .458 Barnes used in Vietnam was also drawn upon. M16-type weapons that have been modified to fire 7.62mm Kalashnikov were already common on the marketplace, and finding a company that would make a special version for special ops would be easy to find.  (Teppo Jutsu, in fact, was the first in line for such weapons.) The round will fit in AR-15/M-16 magazines, at a reduced capacity, and with a modified follower.

     An armor-piercing version of the .458 SOCOM exists; double all prices below.  The .458 SOCOM is naturally subsonic with 500-600-grain bullet weights, so no special subsonic version exists; the .458 SOCOM, in fact, works well with a suppressor.  Standard bullet weights can range from 250-600 grains; the most common weights are 250-350 grains.  The .458 SOCOM has similar ballistics to the .45-70 Government at short to medium ranges, but velocity falls off quickly beyond this range.  The .458 has not received SAAMI certification; despite this, a large number of companies produce factory loads, including Trident, Black Butterfly, Southern Ballistic Research, Cor-Bon, XCaliber, and Buffalo Bore.  Several smaller manufactures also make small lots of .458 SOCOM.  Magazines are modified 7.62mm Kalashnikov magazines; any such magazine will work, except drums, and require only that the follower be changed.

     Nominal Size:11.6x40mm

     Actual Size: 11.63x40.7mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 4.32 kg per box of 100; Price $173 per box

Magazines:

.458 Winchester Magnum

     Notes: This round was introduced in 1956 for a version of the M-70 called the African.  It has since become a very popular cartridge, though limited by its size and power and the rifles necessary to chamber it.  Though round-nosed, it is capable of taking down elephants and penetrating light armored vehicles and engine blocks. 

     Other Names: .458 Winchester Belted Magnum

     Nominal Size: 11.6x63.5mm

     Actual Size: 11.63x63.5mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight:  6.75 kg per box of 100; Price:  $216 per box

Magazines: 

.460 Alliance

     Notes.  The .460 Alliance round.  Some naysayers say it’s just a redressed .458 SOCOM round, but Alliance Armament did not have a license to use the .458 SOCOM in its rifles.  The more likely story is that it uses the same bullet as a .460 S&W Magnum, with a blown-out .300 SAUM parent case, with a propellant charge similar to its .300 SAUM parent.  The .460 Alliance was designed, at first as an experiment, as a big-bore round for 7.62mm AK-type rifles.  (They have since begun to sell these rifles.) It was designed to be superior in power and ballistics to rounds like the .458 SOCOM and .50 Beowulf, with a magnum-level amount of propellant and a longer case.  It was designed primarily for North American game at short to medium-ranges, though some have taken the AK-derived rifles to Africa and have had considerable success.  At those ranges, the trajectory is flat and the round can virtually ignore brush, branches, etc.  The round is not fast, but it is heavy and armor-penetrating; a typical bullet and muzzle velocity are 400 grains at 488 meters per second.

     A secondary consideration was for use in military units where the primary rifle is an AK but need some shooters with a higher-level of firepower, much like the AR-15/M16-type weapons firing .458 SOCOM or .50 Beowulf.  In such cases, it produces similar results, penetrating deeply into engine blocks or dashboards to kill the driver behind it.

     A dedicated AP version of the already armor-piercing .460 Alliance is available; double all prices below.  The .460 Alliance is designed to be loaded into 7.62mm Kalashnikov magazines, with the change of the follower, except for drums.  Magazine capacity is, of course, smaller.  In most circles, the .460 Alliance is still considered a wildcat round, though Alliance is making lots of them.

     Nominal Size: 11.7x41mm

     Actual Size: 11.68x41.14 kg

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 35.3 kg per box of 100; Price: $141 per box

Magazines:

.460 A-Square Short

     Notes: This is another of the cartridges that Colonel Arthur Alphin developed after his run-in with a Cape Buffalo in Africa.  This round is based on the .460 Weatherby case, with a slight neck.  The cartridge is the same length as the .458 Winchester Magnum, but has better ballistics and power.  Bullets are heavy and round-nosed, but achieve terrific velocities.  However, recoil can be brutal.

     Nominal Size: 11.6x64mm

     Actual Size: 11.63x63.5mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 8.44 kg per box of 100; Price: $676 per box

Magazines:

.460 Steyr

     Notes: The .460 Steyr is essentially a .50 Browning Machinegun round, shortened and necked down to .460 (11.63mm) from the original .50 BMG (12.96mm).  It was designed by Horst Grillmayer and Guido Wasser of Steyr for their new version of the Steyr .50 HS long-range sniper rifle. The .460 Steyr is actually a .458 diameter round, to circumvent those jurisdictions that do not allow “military rounds” for civilian use. The combination of a case not much shorter than a .50 BMG case along with a smaller bullet, along with almost the same amount of propellent, lends itself to accuracy, range, damaging potential, and body armor (and light armored vehicle) penetration.  This is coupled with the fact that a standard military .460 Steyr round is steel-cored or tungsten cored.  (These, of course, are off-limits to civilians, so ball rounds are also made.) The .460 round does, in fact, leave the barrel at a much higher velocity than the .50 BMG, sometimes as high as 916 meters per second, and remains supersonic out beyond 1000 meters. Most shooters can, with practice, fire groups at 200 meters that are 16mm or less.  Though smaller than the .50 BMG, the .460 Steyr round is still a massive 600 grains.  The .460 Steyr is a proprietary round manufactured only by Steyr; however, if you have a bullet mold or bullets (which would have to be custom-made for a civilian), the round may be handloaded using a .50 BMG case. Currently, the only rifle that fires the .460 Steyr round is the Steyr HS-50M1, though an experimental version of the Steyr IWS-2000 has been tested chambered for the .460 Steyr round.

     Other Names: .460 HSR, .460 HWG, .460-50 Browning, 11.65x90.5, 11.6x90mm, ECRA-ECDV 12 090 BGC 030, 11.6x90mm Grillmayer

     Nominal Size: 11.65x90.5mm

     Actual Size: 11.63x90.5mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 19.22 kg per box of 100; Price: $481 per box

Magazines:

.460 Weatherby Magnum

     Notes: This round was designed in 1958 to be the most powerful commercial rifle cartridge.  It was made by necking up the .378 Weatherby case to accept a larger bullet.  It was, until the commercial availability of .50-caliber-class rounds, the most powerful one you could find on a regular basis, though limited production rounds that are more powerful have been available for some time.

     Nominal Size: 11.6x74mm

     Actual Size: 11.62x73.91mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight:  9.8 kg per box of 100; Price $784 per box

Magazines: 

.470 Capstick

     Notes: This round was designed by COL Arthur B Alphin for Peter Capstick, a noted big-game hunter of the time.  The .470 Capstick round is nearly identical in dimensions to the .475 Ackley Magnum, and differs primarily in its use of a 500-grain bullet instead of the .475 Ackley’s 600-grain bullet.  There are also minor dimensional differences.  The lighter bullet was used because it produced a flatter trajectory then the .475 Ackley’s 600-grain bullet, while producing almost the same muzzle velocity and hitting power.  The .470 Capstick definitely produces more shock and a larger temporary wound cavity than many .458 rounds.  The .470 Capstick has seen a sort of renaissance of late, with sever prominent rifle and ammunition manufacturers producing for the round.

     Other Names: .470 Alphin

     Nominal Size: 11.94x75mm

     Actual Size: 11.62x73.91mm

     Case Type: Necked 

     Weight: 6.27 kg per box of 100; Price: $251 per box

Magazines

.470 Nitro Express

     Notes: This round, first introduced in 1907, is one of the most long-lived of the Nitro Express cartridges.  Rifles chambered for this round are not as heavy and do not have as heavy recoil as the heavier Nitro Express cartridges, yet still pack a pretty good wallop. Virtually all rifles chambered for this are double rifles, and are generally pretty expensive.  The bullets are very heavy (500-600 grains), and though blunt-nosed, have excellent penetration, and they can bring down virtually any sort of game in the world, as well as penetrate light armored vehicles and bring down the occasional helicopter.

     Other Names: .470 NE

     Nominal Size: 12x83mm

     Actual Size: 12.07x82.55mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 11.84 kg per box of 100; Price: $948 per box

Magazines:

.475 A&M Magnum

     Notes: This massive round was developed in 1958 by the Atkinson and Marquart Rifle Company.  It is a .378 Weatherby Magnum case necked up to .475 caliber.  It is a very powerful round, but not widely known; only a few custom rifles and even fewer commercial rifles have been chambered for .475 A&M Magnum.  It is basically overpowered for North American game, and almost overpowered for all but the largest African animals.  Recoil is brutal; Frank Barnes, a noted ammunition expert and author of Cartridges of the World, compares firing a magazine of .475 A&M ammunition to “going a couple of rounds with the world’s heavyweight boxing champ.”

     Nominal Size: 12x74mm

     Actual Size: 12.07x73.66mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 10.54 kg per box of 100; Price: $844 per box

Magazines:

.475 Tremor

     Notes: The .475 Tremor was designed by Tromix in 2001 as a minor chambering for its Jackhammer assault rifle and the uppers chambered for it.  It was yet another attempt to better rounds like the .50 Beowulf and .458 SOCOM; this it did in range, but produced about the same damaging potential and somewhat less penetration. The parent cartridge is the .480 Ruger, drawn out to produce a case and round length that will fit into a modified AR-15 magazine.  Bullet weights range from 325-500 grains, but muzzle velocity is only middlin, but faster than the .50 Beowulf or .458 SOCOM, with a flatter trajectory.

     Though the .475 Tremor Jackhammer was quite popular for a short while, interest eventually waned and Tromix pulled the chambering from the market. I haven’t found any reference to the .475 Tremor round later than 2003.

     Nominal Size: 12x45mm

     Actual Size: 12.07x44.7mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 5.11 kg per box of 100; Price: $204 per box

Magazines:

.495 A-Square

     Notes: This is another one of Col. Arthur Alphin’s cartridges designed after his run-in with a Cape Buffalo.  The original .495 A-Square cartridges were based on necked-up .460 Weatherby Magnum cases, but they are now commercially loaded by A-Square. The bullet is quite heavy at 600 grains, but velocity is only average, and recoil is relatively low.  The heavy bullet, however, make for a hard-hitting round.

     Nominal Size: 13x71mm

     Actual Size: 12.95x71.12mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 93.63 kg per case of 1000; Price: $1500 per case

Magazines:

.499 Leitner-Wise

     Notes: The .499 Leitner-Wise round was originally designed at the behest of the US Coast Guard for use by their MSST and HITRON teams.  The round was meant to do things like shoot out engines and put holes in speedboats, under the waterline.  To accomplish this, the Coast Guard needed a round that had high penetration, high velocity both in the air and retaining its velocity through a couple of feet of water, and with smaller recoil and in a lighter rifle than the Barrett rifles used by the US military at the time.  At the same time, USAF Security Police were looking for a car and truck-stopping round, similar in concept to the .50 Beowulf, but with longer range and better ballistics, as well as better armor-piercing qualities than the .50 Beowulf.  They also wanted in a package similar to the M16A1s they were already using (though they switched to M16A2s during the Iraq War).

     The .499 Leitner-Wise round’s parent case is the .50 Action Express round, drawn out a bit and having gone through a redesign process.  The bullet is likewise lengthened. The .499 Leitner-Wise round comes in three flavors: a standard ball round for use against personnel, a low-penetration round for use in CQB, and a high-penetration round for use against cars, trucks and boats, and if necessary, shoot through walls and even concrete.  New magazines were also designed based on existing M16A2-compatible off-the-shelf products.

     The .499 Leitner-Wise, however, had a lot of problems, though many gun experts say they were not insurmountable problems, with a little extra testing and a few fixes. Cases sometimes blew out inside the chamber; on a few occasions, this damaged the LW-15 rifle firing it, though most of the time the rifle remained undamaged and the blown round could be easily ejected and a new round fed.  Feeding and extraction were not a problem with the new round and rifle, nor was performance. The Coast Guard used the round and the LW-15 rifle; though they got good results, they considered the blown case problem potentially dangerous to the user.  (The Air Force never had any injuries from a blown case, but considered the blown case problem potentially dangerous to the user if a round does not fire in a tight situation.)  Both the Coast Guard and the Air Force in the end considered the round unreliable and after a lengthy evaluation period, decided to reject the LW-15 and its ammunition, going with more traditional and proven designs.  The round is now considered obsolete, and .499 Leitner-Wise ammunition has not been produced for about five years; however, the rifles and uppers are still available on the market, and the ammunition can still be found fairly easily since the rifle did not sell well on the open market.  Leitner-Wise was the only producer of the ammunition.  The rifle and uppers themselves were shelved until 1998, when Leitner-Wise decided to offer them on the open market along with the ammunition, and produced several lots of ammunition and more rifles and uppers, hoping for civilian sales.

     Other Names: .499 LW, .499, Mini-50

     Nominal Size: 12.5x42mm

     Actual Size:12.67x44mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 44.4 kg per box of 100; Price: $178 per box

Magazines:

.500 A-Square

     Notes:  This round was actually Col. Alphin’s first design in 1974, using the modified .460 Weatherby Magnum case.  The .500 A-Square is the backbone of the A-Square cartridge line and the reason for forming the company.  The recoil can be quite stiff, but stopping power is incredible. 

     Nominal Size: 13x74mm    

     Actual Size: 12.95x73.66mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 121.25 kg per case of 1000; Price: $4850 per case

Magazines:

.500 AHR

     Notes: The .500 AHR is based on the .500 Jeffrey round, lengthened and rebated.  Though it throws a smaller bullet, it does so at a higher velocity, producing tremendous power.  It is more than the equal of African game and tough North American game, and easily surpasses the .500 Jeffery in power and range.  AHR makes small lots, and handloaders make a decent amount for private use.

     Other Names: .500 AHR Magnum, .500 American Hunting Rifles (rare)

     Nominal Size: 13x73mm

     Actual Size: 12.88x73.36mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 12 kg per box of 100; Price: $480 per box

Magazines:

­.500 Auto Max

     Notes: Big Horn Armory is known for its lever-action and single-shot rifles, firing heavy-caliber rounds.  However, they got a lot of comments from shooters that these rifles are just not fun to shoot – too much recoil.  Big Horn was also planning to make a semiautomatic rifle based on the AR-10 platform, and while they wanted it to fire a cartridge with power, they didn’t want the rifle to be unmanageable. Therefore, they decided to use the .500 Smith & Wesson Magnum round as a based, but extended a few millimeters, along it to be modified into a rimless round better suited for a semiautomatic rifle.  So far, Big Horn Armory has used the .500 Auto Max only in its AR500 rifle, which is based on the AR-10, and it is not known at this time (Oct 2021) if they intend any other applications for the round.  In the AR500, recoil is mild, damage is good, and penetration excellent. Currently, 500 Auto Max is available only through Big Horn Armory, though they do source the rounds from a number of small ammunition manufacturers.

     Other Names: .500AR

     Nominal Size: 12.7x42mm

     Actual Size: 12.7x44mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 1.61 kg per box of 100; Price: $12 per box

.500 Jeffery

     Notes: The .500 Jeffery began as a proprietary cartridge by Schuler in Germany for certain custom-made bolt-action rifles.  Jeffery later adapted the round to work in his Mauser-based heavy-caliber rifles.  The rim is in fact rebated to fit the Mauser bolt face.  Ballistics and power are similar to the .505 Gibbs, though the case is shorter; the .500 Jeffrey is loaded to a higher power and pressure.  The round was designed specifically for bolt-action rifles, to give a hunter the same power as the rounds found in heavy-caliber express rifles.  Though recoil is high, the .500 Jeffery is capable of downing virtually any sort of African game, though it is considered overpowered for North or South American game.  A-Square still makes .500 Jeffery ammunition in small lots.

     Other Names: .500 Schuler

     Nominal Size: 12.7x70mm

     Actual Size: 12.95x69.85mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 9.2 kg per box of 100; Price: $295 per box

Magazines:

.500 Nitro Express

     Notes: This cordite-propellant round was derived from the earlier blackpowder .500 Nitro-for-Black round.  It was introduced in the 1890s, and generally uses a huge 570-grain soft-point or solid bullet.  It is a very powerful round designed for large African game, and is generally enough to kill almost any sort of animal with one shot.  It is still in use by some big-game hunters, and A-Square still makes the round.

     Other Names: .500 Nitro Express 3”

     Nominal Size: 13x76mm

     Actual Size: 12.95x76.2mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 8.83 kg per box of 100; Price: $322 per box

Magazines:

.500/416 Nitro Express

     Unlike the other Nitro Express rounds, the .500/416 was only recently developed (in the early 1990s).  It was designed from the outset as a magnum round, and is a .500 Nitro Express necked down to accept a .416 bullet.  The .500/.416 was developed by Krieghoff to equal, if not exceed, the performance of the .416 Rigby, and chamber in rifles that will accept a .500 Nitro Express round.  It pushes a huge round, soft-nosed 450-grain bullet; despite this, penetration is good and damaging potential is equal to African game and will make a mess out of a human. The .500/.416 has become popular in Europe for use in single-barreled and express rifles, and case lots are made by WR Ammunition Company.

     Other Names: .500/.416 Nitro Express 3 1/4”

     Nominal Size: 10.6x76mm

     Actual Size: 10.57x76.2mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 83.63 per case of 1000; Price: $3350 per case

Magazines:

.502 Thunder Sabre

     Notes: The .502 Thunder Sabre round was designed specifically for the Thunder Sabre upper for the AR-10/15, and is essentially a short-action magnum round, with a rebated rim to allow its use with an AR 7.62mm/.308 bolt face.  The design purpose was as a rifle for military and police SWAT units, as it’s power allows it to easily shoot through even most concrete and brick walls.  It appears to be another round to fall into the same market as the .50 Beowulf, and it of similar format and looks.  It, like the .50 Beowulf, is essentially an overgrown pistol round, though due the high charge of propellant it would probably not be pleasant to fire in a revolver.  The ballistics out to 200 meters are similar to a hotloaded .45-70, though performance falls off after that.

     Reportedly, US Special Operations troops tested the Thunder Sabre carbine; it is not known if they ever combat-tested it or whether they still use it.  Several US police departments are also known to have tested it.  Most, however, went to civilians, who used it as a sort of “gee-whiz” carbine, with perhaps some ancillary hunting use. In addition to the Thunder Sabre rifle, Robyn Church at the Cloud Mountain Armory made a few examples of a Universal M1 Carbine in .502 Thunder Sabre, something that most shooters think is an insane combination.

     There never was a lot of .502 Thunder Sabre ammunition produced, as the rifle itself is rather rare.  However, every so often, a small lot of .502 Thunder Sabre ammunition will come up on auction or otherwise be found for sale online or in trade magazines.  Reloading brass, primers, bullets and reloading dies also periodically come up for sale.  Most ammunition for the few Thunder Sabre rifles that exist is, however, handloaded. The parent round seems to be .50 Action Express (though this is disputed, as it takes a lot of drawing out to produce a .502 Thunder Sabre round from .50 Action Express brass).  .50 Beowulf brass is also useable. RL cost of the rifle and ammunition is quite expensive.  If you own a Thunder Sabre carbine, you have a carbine chambered for an obsolete cartridge.

     Nominal Size: 12.75x45mm

     Actual Size: 12.96x44.7mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight:  4.72 kg per box of 100; Price: $189 per box

Magazines:

.505 Gibbs

     Notes: The .505 Gibbs was introduced in 1911 for the company’s line of Mauser-type bolt-action rifles.  The round has always been rare, as imports of the rifles firing it were never high, and most were custom-built.  Bullets and cases for the .505 Gibbs round are still readily available, but only A-Square actually manufactures the complete rounds, and only in small quantities.  Like most of these cartridges, the .505 Gibbs was designed specifically for hunting African large game, but is also a more-than adequate manstopper.  Original bullets come in regular ball, armor-piercing, and hollowpoint.

     Other Names: .505 Rimless

     Nominal Size: 12.8x80mm

     Actual Size: 12.83x80.01mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 11.37 kg per box of 100; Price: $1034 per box

Magazines:

.510 Phalanx

     Notes: This round was the original chambering for the Tromix Sledgehammer rifles (though it was later chambered for more, and more common rounds).  The .510 Phalanx was designed to beat the .458 SOCOM in all aspects, and is essentially a monster-sized pistol round in format.  It is a big round, capable of tearing large holes in flesh and even in concrete and bricks, and even penetrating light steel.  Though Tromix made and sold some complete Sledgehammer rifles in .510 Phalanx, the Sledgehammer was more often bought as an upper to mate with an AR-10 lower.  The round is rebated to fit a 7.62mm/.308 bolt face, so the AR-10’s bolt can be used.  In the end, however, the .510 fell victim to market saturation and many shooters’ reluctance to buy a rifle in a new, rare chambering (compared to other rifles) whose cartridge could be discontinued and become obsolete and hard to get.  Feed is from modified AR-10 magazines.

     Nominal Size: 12.95x51mm

     Actual Size: 12.95x51.05mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 5.38 kg per box of 100; Price: $215 per box

Magazines:

.577 Nitro Express

     Notes:  This is basically the earlier blackpowder version of the .577 Nitro Express loaded with Cordite instead of blackpowder.  They come in shorter and longer-case versions, but these were eventually dropped in favor of the 3-inch case version, which is the round referred to here.  Many say it is superior to the .600 Nitro Express due to somewhat greater penetration (which unfortunately cannot be simulated in game terms).  The rifles firing them are also lighter than the corresponding .600-firing weapons.  A-Square and Barnes still make bullets for this caliber, and A-Square also makes complete factory loads.

     Other Names: .577 Nitro Express 3”

     Nominal Size: 14.8x76mm

     Actual Size: 14.83x76.2mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 11.58 kg per box of 100; Price: $422 per box

Magazines: 

.577 Tyrannosaur

     Notes: This large and powerful cartridge was designed by A-Square in 1993 at the request of professional guides in Zimbabwe who escort clients hunting dangerous game.  (Note that the clients may not be armed with as powerful of weapons.)  The specific designer is the famous ammunition designed COL Arthur Alphin. The round is designed for use in “stopping rifles,” as a last-ditch round for stopping dangerous game.  The .577 Tyrannosaur rounds are about the size of a short cigar.

     Brass is available from A-Square and bullets from A-Square, Barnes, and Cutting Edge.  Complete rounds are not available at present, leaving manufacture of the .577 Tyrannosaur to handloaders.  Sometimes those handloaders will make small lots for sale (mostly not more than a small box) at a RL price of $50-125 per round. 

     Note that recoil from this round, like all such heavy-caliber rounds, is practically shoulder-shredding. The Range365.com website says (tongue in cheek) that even an actual T-Rex would hesitate before firing a rifle chambered for this round.  The heavy weight of rifles chambered for the .577 Tyrannosaur helps mitigate the recoil in most cases.

     Other Names: .577 T-Rex, .577 Alphin

     Nominal Size: 14.9x76mm

     Actual Size: 14.86x75.95mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 13.17 kg per box of 100; Price: $659 per box

Magazine

.585 AHR

     Notes: The .585 AHR appears to be an independent development in large-caliber rifle rounds, and it is certainly a powerhouse.  It is more than capable of taking down even elephants, and can penetrate light armor or helicopters.  An antipersonnel hit from this round would almost certainly result in death or loss of limb.  Like AHR’s other rounds, only small lots are manufactured, and considerable handloading activity is present.

     Other Names: .585 AHR Magnum, ,585 American Hunting Rifles (Rare)

     Nominal Size: 15x73mm

     Actual Size: 14,86x73,36mm

     Case Type: Necked

     Weight: 15.8 kg per box of 100; Price $639 per box

Magazines:

.600 Nitro Express

     Notes: This round was the largest and most powerful of the English “elephant gun” cartridges until 1988.  Despite its power, only a very small number of rifles have been chambered for this huge cartridge, which is the size of a small cigar.  The .600 Nitro Express was designed specifically for hunting elephants, but is quite adequate for other game – humans, light armor, helicopters, etc.

     Nominal Size: 15.24x76mm

     Actual Size: 15.75x76.2mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight:  14.85 kg per box of 100; Price: $476 per box

Magazines: 

.600 Overkill

     Notes: With a name that is perhaps tongue-in-cheek, the .600 Overkill is a huge magnum round designed specifically to be the largest round that could be fired from the CZ-550 hunting rifle platform.  It is based on the .600 Nitro Express case, with a belt added for headspacing and a rebated rim.  The .600 Overkill was also designed specifically for elephant hunting, a thought that gives me dismay.  The CZ-550 chambered for .600 Overkill is a bit of a handful, with strong kick and a tendency to turn out of the shooters hands due to the twist of the bullet down the barrel.  Needless to say, lots of this ammunition produced are small, and many are made by handloading.

     Nominal Size: 16x76mm

     Actual Size: 15.75x76.2mm

     Case Type: Straight

     Weight: 14.85 kg per box of 100; Price: $475 per box

Magazines: