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At short range, a hardened 12 bore ball travelling at 1,500fps to 1,600fps, weighing 545gr. to 600gr. will possess much more actual stopping power than any load you could put in the small bore of a .577. FPE has little or nothing to do with actual stopping or killing power. The smaller bullet will have a higher SD, and therefore, if it is hard enough, will out penetrate the larger diameter ball - simple physics. However - (quote by Major Shakespear, author of "Wild Sports in India")- "I have Minnie moulds for my rifles; but so long as spherical bullets go through and through large game, I do not see the use of running the risk of shaking the stock of the gun, and of extra recoil, by using the heavier balls"(bullets). This author seems to think that round balls are find for - tiger, elephant, buffalo and bears.

I know that Baker switched to the .577BPE for his regular hunting rifle as it was the first concial shooting ctg. rifle that could be relyed upon to give enough straight line penetration to kill. He still used his round ball 'bore' guns as stoppers when things didn't go right with the small bore rifle. It has nothing to do with velocity, as the .577 possessed only 100fps more than a 6 1/2 to 7 dram charge in a 12 bore. A 12, loaded with 9 drams & a round ball outstipped the .577 in velocity and penetration as well, providing hard balls were used - it also kicked about twice as much as the .577 and needed to be about 12 to 15 pounds, the larger bores, even heavier.

So - the small bored .577 worked in about a 10 pound gun. A 12 bore of that weight could be loaded with 7 drams and a hard round ball. A good .577 had more range, but close in, to 100 yards, the 12 bore (or larger) was actually more powerful - due to it's size and hemispherical shaped ball.

If you want to have a bullet that 'releases' energy inside an animal, you need explosive bullets. Expanding bullets do not release energy - only exploading bullets do that. If you download Forsyth's book, the last chapter will show you how to make the moulds and how to load them. He thought they might not work well on dangerous game if reduced to smaller than 14 bore, but I had some results with a .58 muzzleloader back in the 70's with explosive bullets. I was a Federal Policeman at the time, so it was legal - check your local laws - since 9-11 - things might have changed.

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Daryl

"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V