Holland & Holland’s Royal Deluxe .577 Nitro Express: The King’s Thunder…
Some guns are built to hunt. Others are built to reign.
In the world of fine sporting arms, few names carry the legacy of Holland & Holland. Fewer still represent the sheer authority, artistic ambition, and mechanical consequence of a Royal Deluxe double rifle chambered in .577 Nitro Express. The rifle presented here is not only a modern expression of that tradition, but a singular work of art. In as-new condition and housed in its maker’s case, this Royal Deluxe is equal parts weapon and heirloom: crafted to perform, styled to endure, and destined to awe.
Lineage of the Royal Deluxe
The Holland & Holland Royal line debuted in the 1880s and quickly set the benchmark for what a London Best should be. Its patented sidelock ejector was praised for strength, simplicity, and safety—a formula that would serve sportsmen across generations. But when the "Royal" becomes "Royal Deluxe," the bar is raised to another level. Exhibition-grade wood. Deep relief engraving. Precious-metal accents. And above all, a visual and mechanical harmony that only a handful of makers in the world can achieve.
Patrons of this level include kings, presidents, and professional hunters alike—Theodore Roosevelt carried a Holland & Holland sidelock on safari in 1909. Maharajas of India commissioned entire battery sets. Today, this rifle continues that lineage with pride. One could easily imagine it beside the tiger guns of the Maharaja of Cooch Behar, or packed among the elephant rifles carried into the bush by professional hunter James Sutherland.
The Power Within: The .577 Nitro Express
Born in the blackpowder-to-cordite transition, the .577 NE was designed for the most serious business in the hunting world: stopping elephants, buffalo, and rhino at short range. Its 750-grain bullet generates over 7,000 foot-pounds of muzzle energy. Ivory hunters like Sutherland swore by it. John "Pondoro" Taylor called it a "magnificent killer."
The .577 is not a generalist’s cartridge. It’s the specialist’s choice when everything else has failed—and the stakes allow for no second chance. It delivers not just recoil—but consequence. It moves the earth behind your shoulder and leaves a tremor in your spine. It demands poise, and it rewards resolve. And it demands a rifle equal to its intensity—not only in strength, but in balance, fit, and regulation.
Anatomy of Power and Precision
This Royal Deluxe was built by Holland & Holland as a side-by-side double rifle, chambered in the formidable .577 Nitro Express. It wears 24-inch barrels regulated for convergence using express sights, with a quarter rib fitted with a three-leaf setup and a flip-up night sight. The double triggers are paired with a beavertail forearm and a pistol-grip stock, capped with an engraved trapdoor grip cap.
Weighing in at 11 pounds 12 ounces, and featuring a 14 1/2-inch length of pull, the rifle is balanced to tame recoil without compromising control. Its barrels have been meticulously regulated for a shared point of impact—a process requiring extensive range testing and patient file work, ensuring both barrels deliver accuracy measured in inches, not guesswork. Its condition is as new, and it resides in the original maker’s oak-and-leather case.
Profile & Form
The 24" barrels taper with intention, their broad diameter leaving no doubt as to their purpose. The quarter rib with express leaf sights and flip-up night blade evokes bespoke utility at its finest.
The walnut stock glows with a hand-rubbed luster—a ribbon grain shifting with the light. Deeply cut checkering follows Holland’s classic pattern. The beavertail forearm flows seamlessly into the action, drawing the eye like a visual recoil.
Engraving & Action Detail
The action comes alive in close. Case-colored in mottled hues of blue and straw, the lockplates are adorned with tight English scrollwork and hidden dragons, their heads peeking from the steel foliage like guardians of the rifle’s soul.
The sculpted fences and carved bolsters are muscular, reinforcing the rifle’s power. A cheekpiece defines the left side of the buttstock. The grip cap, with trapdoor and scrollwork, completes the architecture. Even the sling swivel studs are engraved.
While the engraver’s name is unrecorded, the hand at work here exhibits a masterful grasp of both symbolism and steel. The dragon motifs, in particular, tie the rifle to myth rather than mere utility—drawing from Eastern iconography rather than traditional British restraint.
Metalwork: Fences, Underside, and Trigger Guard
The topstrap carries stylized flame motifs; the fences erupt with gryphons or dragons in deep relief. The belly is engraved with “MODELE DE LUXE” in a cartouche—an unusual but not unprecedented flourish for a London Best—flanked by mirrored scrolls and twin dragons. The guard bow bears a full-bodied dragon with armored scales and flaring mane—more Eastern than English, and all the more arresting for it.
Stock & Forearm
The beavertail forearm features full-coverage checkering, its diamond patterns crisp and rhythmic. The walnut’s marbling—jet over honey—reinforces the sense of sculpture. A steel escutcheon anchors the underside.
The buttstock is pure English elegance: one side clean and uninterrupted, the other with a shadowline cheekpiece melting into the shoulder. An oval crest sits behind the grip. The factory leather pad and engraved studs round out the rear.
Grip Cap
The trapdoor grip cap is a jewel. An oval medallion of scroll and crowned cartouche, its engraving borders on guilloché. The serrated button operates with mechanical perfection. This is where art meets precision.
The Maker’s Case: Ritual and Provenance
Fitted in its original Holland & Holland oak-and-leather case, the rifle rests among its tools and accoutrements like a king among advisors. The claret baize interior bears the firm’s gilt label from 13 Bruton Street, London.
The barrels are retained by leather strap. The action rests in a sculpted recess. Accessories—ivory-handled tools, oil bottle, snap caps, patch rod, turnscrews—are arranged with ritual precision. This is not packaging. It is a declaration of legacy.
A Collector’s Masterpiece
Comparable rifles—especially in .577 NE and Royal Deluxe trim—have fetched between $115,000 and $300,000+ at auction. Examples engraved by masters like Philippe Grifnée or Geoffroy Gournet—on rifles of similar caliber and ambition—have reached stratospheric sums. In spirit, this rifle belongs to the lineage of Holland & Holland doubles commissioned by the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Maharaja of Patiala, and Sir Ranjitsinhji. It echoes the scale, symbolism, and showmanship those figures demanded—and the standards Holland & Holland continues to meet in its Royal Deluxe line.
Few modern doubles exhibit this degree of polish, mythic visual language, and balance. Fewer still remain as-new. This is not a rifle one shoots often. It is one that reminds you, with every glance, of what it took to make. It is suited not merely for safaris, but for the curated armory—a legacy piece meant to outlive the era that forged it. One can imagine it resting across the knees of a professional hunt in the Zambezi floodplain, silent but sovereign—the kind of rifle that answers the charge not with panic, but with permanence. It may have been born to face down elephants, but its destiny is likely velvet-lined—a weapon suspended between use and reverence.
Conclusion: Steel and Story
The Holland & Holland Royal Deluxe .577 Nitro Express is the final word in dangerous game tradition. It is a rifle for those who could choose anything—and chose the best. It is both an end and a beginning: the heirloom of tomorrow, built by the legends of today.
To own it is not simply to own a gun. It is to shoulder power, artistry, and inheritance in equal measure—like a sword forged for kings, reborn in steel and smoke. When it speaks, it does so with the voice of the gods—and the thunder of kings.
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