Way back in the early 20th century, Ernest Hemingway was the man and, in a lot of ways, THE MAN.
A literary icon by 27 (wow, that makes me feel like a chump), Hemingway was famous for his to-the-point, English-Pointer lean sentences and simple dialogue.
He was also famous for he-man exploits like African safaris.
Hemingway went to Africa in 1933 and 1954. On his second trip, the .577 Nitro Express Westley Richards you see here and in the video above was the gun he carried.
The .577 Nitro Express is one of the most bad-ass hunting rounds of all time. Hemingway’s rifle fired a 750 gr. bullet, and generated a crushing 7,010 ft⋅lbf. By comparison, a .30-06 Springfield shooting a 220-gr bullet generates a wimpy 2,981 ft⋅lbf.
Famous Africa hunter John “Pondoro” Taylor wrote that the .577 Nitro Express was “a magnificent killer – it literally crumbles up an elephant”. Unfortunately, it could have the same impact on the man shooting it.
