.475 Nitro Express

The .475 Nitro Express is a British rifle cartridge.

One of several rounds (including the .470, .475 No. 2, and .476) designed and introduced between 1905 and 1910, after the British Army banned the .450, all with comparable performance, the .475 was intended for both single and double rifles.

A good general purpose round, it is suitable for all big game, and was preferred by experienced hunters for elephant, lion, or Cape buffalo at close range, though somewhat more than needed for anything in North America. Its performance is little different from the others, and its ballistics resemble the .458 Winchester Magnum, with a larger diameter bullet; whether this is an advantage remains in dispute.

The weight and bulk of the rifle and ammunition have made the round less attractive in the face of smaller calibers with performance approaching the .475's, and slugs for handloading it are only available from Britain (though Fred N. Barnes did offer a 600 gr {38.9 g} variety at one time), and the Berdan primer militates against this, as well.

Two or three wildcats have been based on the .475. The factory load used 75 gr (4.86 g) of cordite over a 480 gr (31.1 g) slug; 70 gr (4.54 g) of 3031 will duplicate the factory ballistics.