The .500 Black Powder Express was a series of Black powder cases of varying lengths that emerged in the 1860s.^[1]

The cartridge was offered in several case lengths including 11⁄2-inch, 2-inch, 21⁄4-inch, 25⁄8-inch, 3-inch and 31⁄4-inch,several were successful and endured others lasted only a short period.^[1]

The 3-inch and 31⁄4-inch .500 BPE cartridges have survived to the current day as the .500 3-inch Nitro for Black and the .500 31⁄4-inch Nitro for Black, the same cartridges loaded with mild loadings of modern smokeless powder, carefully balanced through trial to replicate the ballistics of the Black powder version.^[2] The two cartridges offer almost identical ballistic performance to each other, and are very similar to the .50-140 Sharps.

The .500 BPE was considered a good cartridge for medium-sized non dangerous game^[3] and can still be used for such.

The .500 BPE was never highly regarded for hunting in Africa,^[1] yet it was a popular cartridge in India, considered a good general purpose rifle cartridge popular for hunting tigers.^[4] Jim Corbett was a user of a .500 BPE rifle prior to switching to a .400 Jeffery Nitro Express double rifle,^[5] shooting cordite Nitro for Black loadings this rifle was used to dispatch the first man-eater he shot, the Champawat Tiger.^[6]

• Express (weaponry)
• List of rifle cartridges
• 13 mm caliber