Cartridges

[CINDERS]

Here is the Kynoch 600 Nitro express the epitome in its day for sheer knockdown power 8,400 FPE with the 900grn projectile decent elephant medicine.
It was said even if the brain was not hit the round would knock an elephant out for 20 minutes plenty of time for a follow up shot.
This is where a 20 yard shot is a long one for the animal and you had better get it right as an angry beast will grind you to dust.

The rifles were usually doubles made by Jeffries or H & H and we are not talking chicken monies either for the rifles a few hundred thousand $'s for the top of the line.
Usually they had 2 triggers with the back trigger being the first one let go obviously as if it was the front one a double discharge could occur.
In-fact in one of my books such an event happened to the shooter both brls at once and the recoil consequently sat him flat of his butt bet their ears were ringing.

Holland & Holland stopped making the 600 selling the final one for a good price sometime later a chap wanted them to make another to which they said not possible.
So they with the client put their heads together and came up with the .700 nitro express with a 1000 grn projectile @$100/USD per shot.

Pic of .600 N.E with 900 grn FMJ projectile (303 MKVII for scale)

Bit of trivia for you on the 600 Nitro ~
WWI service
In 1914 and early 1915, German snipers were engaging British Army positions with impunity from behind steel plates that were impervious to .303 British ball ammunition. In an attempt to counter this threat, the British War Office purchased sixty-two large-bore sporting rifles from British rifle makers, including four .600 Nitro Express rifles, which were issued to regiments. These large-bore rifles proved very effective against the steel plates used by the Germans. In his book, Sniping in France 1914-18, Major H. Hesketh-Prichard, DSO, MC stated they "pierced them like butter".

Stuart Cloete, sniping officer for the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, stated "We used a heavy sporting rifle - a .600 Express. These had been donated to the army by big game hunters and when we hit a plate we stove it right in. But it had to be fired standing or from a kneeling position to take up the recoil. The first man who fired it from the prone position had his collar bone broken.
It was disliked by the troops in the trench as well because of the muzzle blast raising great clouds of dust giving away your position!