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.458 bullets in the 350-500 grain weight range seem to have just about the ideal balance of cross-sectional area and sectional density (SD) for hunting dangerous game. Use 350-450 grain bullets for the largest predators and 465-500 grain bullets for thick-skinned game. The SD of a 400 grain bullet is .272 (nearly identical a 180 grain .308 bullet) and the SD of a 500 grain bullet is .341, which is truly outstanding and well beyond the .300 SD recommended as the minimum for thick-skinned game. (For example, the 300 grain .375 bullet has a .305 SD.)

There probably would have been no need for odd calibers beyond .458, such as .500/.465 NE and .470 NE, had the British government not made all .45 caliber rifles illegal for civilians in their Sudan and Indian colonies in 1905, when insurgents were rebelling in both places and using captured British .577/.450 rifles against the Redcoats.

At that time the .450 3-1/4" Nitro Express was the most popular of the British dangerous game cartridges, with thousands of hunting rifles so chambered in use in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian sub-continent. Introduced in 1898 by John Rigby & Company and based on the earlier .450 3-1/4" Black Powder Express, the .450 3-1/4" NE was an immediate commercial success and .450 NE double-barreled rifles were offered by many manufacturers in the UK and Europe.

The .450 NE uses a rimmed, straight tapered case 3.25" long. The rim diameter is .624" and the head diameter is .545". The bullet diameter is .458" and the maximum cartridge overall length (COL) is 3.95". According to A-Square, the MAP is 39,187 CUP. This huge cartridge is too big for repeating rifles, but fine for single shots and doubles.

The original load used a 480 grain bullet (SD .327) at a muzzle velocity of 2150 fps and muzzle energy (ME) of 4930 ft. lbs. These ballistics proved to be ideal for the African Big Five dangerous game animals, as well as for tiger and water buffalo in India and Southeast Asia. Most subsequent .458-.475 caliber dangerous game cartridges have been designed to approximately duplicate the ballistics of the .450 NE.

After the British outlawed .45 caliber sporting cartridges the popularity of the .450 NE suffered, but because there were so many .450 rifles already in existence the caliber did not completely disappear. After WW II, with the .45 caliber ban long irrelevant and forgotten, new .458 caliber cartridges were introduced and the .450 NE itself experienced a revival. A-Square, Hornady and Kynoch now offer factory loaded ammunition using 465-500 grain solid and expanding bullets with ballistics similar to the original load.

The most successful post-WW II cartridge designed to duplicate .450 NE ballistics in a format suitable for most bolt action rifles is the .458 Winchester Magnum. Introduced in 1956 in the Winchester Model 70 African rifle, the .458 Win. Mag. was the first American big bore cartridge designed for African dangerous game hunting.

Based on a shortened, blown-out, straight taper, .375 H&H Belted Magnum case, the .458 Winchester is designed for magazine rifles with standard (.30-06) length actions. This makes it adaptable to practically all mass produced, bolt action hunting rifles.

Since its introduction in 1956, there have undoubtedly been more .458 Win. Mag. rifles built than for any other .45 caliber dangerous game cartridge. Browning, Winchester, Remington, Ruger, CZ and many others have chambered for the cartridge.

The .458 Win. Mag. case is 2.50" long and uses the standard belted magnum .532" rim diameter. The case head diameter is .5126" just forward of the belt and .4811" at the case mouth. The maximum COL is 3.34" and the bullet diameter is .458". The SAAMI maximum average pressure (MAP) limit is 53,000 CUP.

The original Winchester factory ballistics called for a 500 grain bullet at 2130 fps MV and 5040 ft. lbs. ME from a 26" barrel. This required a compressed load of Winchester ball powder and it was eventually discovered that sometimes the powder in older cartridges clumped, making for unreliable performance. Winchester long ago changed to temperature resistant, non-clumping powder and solved the problem, but to this day the old rumors about unreliable performance persist in some quarters.

Most modern bolt action safari rifles come with 22-24" barrels and the current SAAMI test barrel length for almost all rifle cartridges, including the .458 Magnum, is 24". A-Square, Nosler, Winchester, Federal, Hornady, Norma and others offer .458 Win. factory loads. Current US factory load ballistics call for muzzle velocities between 2010 fps (Winchester) to 2140 fps (Hornady) with a 500 grain bullet.

Because it uses a shorter, more modern case than most of its competition, the .458 Win. Mag. is a flexible cartridge for which to reload. It is probably the most versatile of the .458 African cartridges.

Most bullet makers offer .458 projectiles ranging from 300 grain JHPs intended for use on Class 2 game to 500 grain solids capable of punching through an elephant's skull. This allows handloaders to produce moderate recoil reloads using 300 grain bullets that duplicate .45-70 ballistics, all the way up to full power 500 grain elephant loads.

Medium power loads using controlled expansion bullets weighing around 400 grains at about 2100 fps kick less than elephant loads and are more than adequate for the largest North American dangerous game. For this reason, Winchester's .458 has found favor with some Alaskan guides to protect clients hunting Kodiak and brown bear.


Anyway it matters not, because my experience always has been that of---- a loss of snot and enamel on both sides of the 458 Win----
 
Posts: 1016 | Location: SLC Utah  | Registered: 13 February 2009Reply With Quote
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If you would like to look at an inverted trajectory profile Cool-- open this link -- it is from down under australia so

upside down for us

https://aussiehunter.org/shoot...8-winchester-magnum/


Anyway it matters not, because my experience always has been that of---- a loss of snot and enamel on both sides of the 458 Win----
 
Posts: 1016 | Location: SLC Utah  | Registered: 13 February 2009Reply With Quote
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stradling,
Excellent support of THE MISSION, thanks. Keep that up and we will gitterdun sooner than expected by the "deniers" and "nay-sayers"
(insert air-quotes here with both hands gesturing simultaneously, flexing and extending index and long fingers of each hand held beside your ears).

The Ron Spomer and Chuck Hawks articles are very good. Got their P's and Q's straight.
The Aussie article was indeed a bit erratic in trajectory, not really fully inverted. Wink

I now see great irony in the circa 1905 British ban of the .450-bore rifle, after all they did to make it King. Hilarious.
That was about as funny as King Charles I losing his head, yet having his son King Charles II take the throne again after the dust settled,
after my Royalist relatives on my Mother's side had already fled to Ireland!
Great-great- ... Grandpa with his favorite .450-bore rabbit gun:



The 'po folks on my Pop's side had left Ireland for America while Charles I was still a rickety kid.

A .450-bore is King again, the .458 WIN.
Long live The King!
tu2
Rip ...
 
Posts: 28032 | Location: KY | Registered: 09 December 2001Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by RIP:
That is cool, stradling.
Good ring of THE MISSION bell. Sam Pancotto was prolific with his .458 WIN. Cool
I visited with xausa and sambarman338 in TN today.
I have pictures (to follow) of xausa's Krieghoff
O/U .458 WIN and a second one in .450 C&W which is
a .458/.375 H&H Flanged 2.85-Inch.
That would be like a .450 Watts Flanged and
said to be generously throated.
Though I am envious, I will not abandon
the .45-100 S&W 2.6-Inch Long Throat,
the flanged .458 WIN Twin.
tu2
Rip ...


Finally back from the US, I can honestly say our time with xausa, his wife and magnificent collections, lunch and an afternoon with RIP surveying the latter, were the highlights of the six-week trip.

Not to sneeze at the great parades of the NO Mardi Gras and St Patrick's Day in NY, the world-leading art of the Met and other museums, the great food, music history and marvellous scenery - but xausa's hospitality, rifles, scopes and trophies blew me away.

Thanks xausa and RIP - your sharing of time, space and wisdom will never be forgotten.
 
Posts: 4911 | Location: Melbourne, Australia | Registered: 31 March 2009Reply With Quote
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sambarman338,

Great to meet you and Bill and the Missuses.
And I owe you a package of literature in exchange. I'll send you a PM.

Yes, we were in the presense of greatness there on the shore of Kentucky Lake in Tennessee.
The mould was broken after xausa joined the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

I found this picture of my Great-great-...Grandfather on my Pop's side, coming ashore at Jamestown in 1607.
He's the Irish musketeer blowing on his matchlock,
and I think that might be at least a .450-bore arquebus he is toting:


Great artist, Mort Kunstler: https://www.mortkunstler.com/h...p?action=view&ID=117
tu2
Rip ...
 
Posts: 28032 | Location: KY | Registered: 09 December 2001Reply With Quote
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Well I must say there is a family resemblance Big Grin


DRSS
 
Posts: 2277 | Location: MI | Registered: 20 March 2007Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by Bill73:
Well I must say there is a family resemblance Big Grin


Gunnutt and blowhard, yep.

Thank you Bill73 for your sortie for THE MISSION.
tu2
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Posts: 28032 | Location: KY | Registered: 09 December 2001Reply With Quote
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Thanks RIP,
so that was the address you wanted? I could get back to you with the postal address but you really don't need to reciprocate - I just felt guilty because I'd not thought to bring a bottle of bombo for you, too, thinking I could just buy a meal for everyone. However, after the xausas' kind insistence on providing lunch, the magazines (well-used and not in great condition) were all I had to offer.

So, you don't need to send me anything - taking the time to come down to see us was gesture enough.

Cheers
- 'Sam'.
 
Posts: 4911 | Location: Melbourne, Australia | Registered: 31 March 2009Reply With Quote
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Onward with THE MISSION.

I went into the local emporium thinking I would take home the .458 WIN Weatherby DGR.
It was a 2016 model, the last year that Weatherby used the Wisner copy of the Pre-'64 African rear sight.
I figured it would have a LongCOL box and easily beat the SAAMI .458 Lott, as a magazine-feeder even if a pushfeeder. I was hoping for a vertical stack.
However it was too fat and heavy of barrel and only held 3 down in the "drop box!"
It used a staggered stack and a thick follower!

The .416 Weatherby DGR had a vertical, in-line stack of 3 in the magazine, plus one in the chamber, by using a thin, flat follower at the bottom of the magazine,
and feed lips at the top of the magazine,
guiding the rounds same way each time, no lefts and rights on the feed.
And the barrel had a Goldilocks contour.
So the slender one with fat cartridges was selected,
even if only because Weatherby quit using the Wisner rear sight on the DGR after 2016.

OK, so that is the name of this rifle: Goldilocks Wisner-Weatherby the .416 Weatherby Magnum.

She serves as a lesson in iron sights and scope mounting for the .458 WIN LongCOL:



Now I shall commence to milking this concept in order to further THE MISSION.
tu2
Rip ...
 
Posts: 28032 | Location: KY | Registered: 09 December 2001Reply With Quote
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Fortunately, the Talley bases I had, supposedly for a Wby Mark V action, had a rear base way to0 low and thus tilted the scope upward toward that newly imaged black hole:


Fortunate, because I thus had to switch scope bases.
Warne makes the perfect Picatinny for this rifle. Package labeling:
"Warne Tactical 20-MOA Rail Rugged Steel
M654-20MOA
Fits Weatherby Mark V
Magnum 9 Lug"
This Picatinny adds 5 ounces to the rifle,
making the weight 9#1oz without the scope and rings.
The Leupold 2.5x20mm Ultralight weighs 6.5 oz.
The Burris Xtreme Tactical 1-inch low rings, set of two, weigh 5.0 oz.
The Butler Creek scope lens covers, set of two, weigh about 0.5 oz.

Total weight of scoped rifle as shown above and below (no ammo): 9#13oz

 
Posts: 28032 | Location: KY | Registered: 09 December 2001Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by RIP:
Onward with THE MISSION.

I went into the local emporium thinking I would take home the .458 WIN Weatherby DGR.
It was a 2016 model, the last year that Weatherby used the Wisner copy of the Pre-'64 African rear sight.
I figured it would have a LongCOL box and easily beat the SAAMI .458 Lott, as a magazine-feeder even if a pushfeeder. I was hoping for a vertical stack.
However it was too fat and heavy of barrel and only held 3 down in the "drop box!"
It used a staggered stack and a thick follower!

The .416 Weatherby DGR had a vertical, in-line stack of 3 in the magazine, plus one in the chamber, by using a thin, flat follower at the bottom of the magazine,
and feed lips at the top of the magazine,
guiding the rounds same way each time, no lefts and rights on the feed.
And the barrel had a Goldilocks contour.
So the slender one with fat cartridges was selected,
even if only because Weatherby quit using the Wisner rear sight on the DGR after 2016.

OK, so that is the name of this rifle: Goldilocks Wisner-Weatherby the .416 Weatherby Magnum.

She serves as a lesson in iron sights and scope mounting for the .458 WIN LongCOL:



Now I shall commence to milking this concept in order to further THE MISSION.
tu2
Rip ...


Looks nice ! tu2

Congratulations on a modernized 416 Rigby, not needing handloads. It will . . . get her done, any range.
And it is probably only a half pound heavier than a loaded up 416 Ruger. Nice to carry.


+-+-+-+-+-+-+

"A well-rounded hunting battery might include:
500 AccRel Nyati, 416 Rigby or 416 Ruger, 375Ruger or 338WM, 308 or 270, 243, 223" --
Conserving creation, hunting the harvest.
 
Posts: 4253 | Registered: 10 June 2009Reply With Quote
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416Tanzan,

Thank you for furtherance of THE MISSION.
We continue to milk the "scope and irons" concept applicable to the .458 WIN LongCOL,
even if modeled on a .416 Wby:

 
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tu2
Rip ...
 
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What? Still on page 120?

The .45-100 Sharps Whiskey Tango 2.6" reamer arrived yesterday from Manson Precision Reamers.
4 weeks instead of quoted 10-12 weeks.
dancing


Solid pilot. The .458 barrel is about as standardized in bore and groove diameters as you will find.
Check out the non-cutting rim stop below.
tu2
Rip ...
 
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The cutting edges and corners at the rim stop are rounded off and beveled.
The circumferential groove in front of that rim stop looks a little deeper than you see on a rim-cutting reamer.
The groove is about half as wide as the rim thickness.
 
Posts: 28032 | Location: KY | Registered: 09 December 2001Reply With Quote
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The Whiskey Tango part that makes this a .458 WIN Twin ballistically.
Not just a .45-100 Sharps Straight 2.6" anymore:


tu2
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Posts: 28032 | Location: KY | Registered: 09 December 2001Reply With Quote
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Compare the above reamer to one made by Manson for a .40-90 Sharps Bottle Neck meant for paper-patched bullet use and BP loads, primarily.
The throat there is like the forcing cone on a shotgun, just starts off at full Neck-2 diameter in the chamber and tapers abruptly to bore diameter,
with a floating pilot allowing fitting to the highly variable ".40-cal" barrels,
and the rim is a cutter:

 
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Put 0.070" thickness of card under the bullet base and the .45-100 SWT 2.6" becomes a .458 WIN Twin.



Will have to do some smokeless paper-patch loads first, since these slicks are the only slicks I have right now:



Of course if the loads work well in a SAAMI .458 WIN chamber and 1:14" Twist,
they will be great in the Ruger No.1 with a 1:20" twist,
or any of the Pedersoli 1874 rifles with 1:18" Twist.
Maybe a Ruger No.1 with a Pedersoli take-off barrel, if I can cajole THE GUNSMITH into undertaking that,
for THE MISSION.


(Turned the page.)
tu2
Rip ...
 
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kL8v4p9LsQI


.458 win mag BAR $3.500

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcnoFE7Dc68


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yli5PtCyB7U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKXCu5oXgFY


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ftHlFHcwMU

https://www.youtube.com/result...58+winchester+magnum

The .458 Winchester Magnum

By Chuck Hawks


.458 Win.
Illustration courtesy of Hornady Mfg. Co.
The .458 Winchester Magnum is the most popular "elephant rifle" cartridge in the world. It was introduced in 1956, the first of the original series of three Winchester belted magnum cartridges for standard length actions.

In the United States .458 Mag. factory loads are available from A-Square, Federal, Hornady, Norma, Remington, Speer and Winchester. Bullet weights run from 350-510 grains in both expanding and non-expanding (solid) types. .458 Mag. ammunition is manufactured and distributed world wide.

Federal's line for the .458 Win. Mag. includes a couple of 500 grain controlled expansion type bullets, and a 500 grain solid. All of these are loaded to a MV of 2,090 fps and a ME of 4,850 ft. lbs. The 100 yard figures are 1,870 fps and 3,880 ft. lbs. The solid is the traditional choice for breaking down thick-skinned dangerous game like elephant, rhino, and Cape buffalo.

Reloaders have their choice of 300, 350, 400, 450, and 500 grain bullets in hollow point, soft point, premium controlled expansion, and solid (full metal jacket) types. They also have the option of reduced power and recoil loads for CXP2 and CXP3 class game that can considerably increase the versatility of the .458 Win. Mag. cartridge. It is a good idea to crimp bullets in high power reloads, as the ferocious recoil of the .458 can cause bullets to set back in the case if they are not crimped in place.

Medium burning rifle powders generally work best for full power loads in the .458's straight wall case. These include such numbers as H335, H4895, IMR 3031, and IMR 4895.

Here are some specifications of interest to .458 Mag. reloaders: bullet diameter .458", maximum COL 3.34", maximum case length 2.50", MAP 53,000 cup.

For hunting CXP3 class game, I use the Hornady 350 grain RN bullet and IMR 3031 powder. The sixth edition of the Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading shows that 64.3 grains of IMR 3031 powder behind a 350 grain bullet gives a MV of 2100 fps. This is the load I use. A maximum load of 75.5 grains of IMR 3031 can drive a 350 grain Hornady bullet to a MV of 2400 fps.

For CXP4 class game, 67.5 grains of H335 powder behind a 500 grain Hornady bullet gave a MV of 1950 fps, and a maximum load of 76.3 grains of H335 gave a MV of 2150 fps. All of these loads from the Hornady Handbook used Winchester cases and Win. WLRM primers, and were chronographed in a 24" rifle barrel.


Anyway it matters not, because my experience always has been that of---- a loss of snot and enamel on both sides of the 458 Win----
 
Posts: 1016 | Location: SLC Utah  | Registered: 13 February 2009Reply With Quote
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NEVER HURTS TO REVIEW :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52YRqAea1r

Greatest Cartridges: .458 Winchester Magnum, Taming Dangerous Game
By Tom Turpin -November 21, 2014


When facing brutes, such as Cape Buffalo, the .458 Winchester Magnum has become the modern standard. Dangerous game hunters wouldn't want to face Mbogo with anything less.
When facing brutes, such as Cape Buffalo, the .458 Winchester Magnum has become the modern standard. Dangerous game hunters wouldn’t want to face Mbogo with anything less.
In the days when “the sun never set” on the British Empire, the colonization of vast areas on the African continent and most all of India resulted in a requirement for heavy caliber, powerful rifles and ammunition to protect the homesteads from large and often dangerous animals.

In addition, a fledgling business of outfitting and guiding foreign hunters in pursuit of these animals was developing, primarily in Kenya, but spreading throughout the continent. Rifles chambered for such exotic sounding names like .470 Nitro Express (NE), .475 #2 NE, .500 NE, and many others, along with the necessary ammunition, began showing up in both Africa and India. With few exceptions there was but one source of the necessary ammunition, and that was the UK firm called Kynoch.

Things went along just peachy for a while. Eventually, however, Kynoch learned that, as necessary as the ammunition manufacture for these big game cartridges was, they couldn’t make any money loading them. The volume requirements required to make it profitable just weren’t there, so, they did what prudent businessmen do and ceased production on most of the cartridges. This had the effect of turning lots of very handsome and very expensive firearms effectively into boat anchors. Without ammunition they were essentially useless.

In the early fifties, the Management at Olin Corp. saw an opportunity to fill the void by introducing their famous Winchester Model 70 bolt action rifle in some new chamberings, one of which was designed specifically for dangerous-game hunting in both Africa and India. They called it the .458 Winchester Magnum.

Olin introduced it to the shooting world in 1956. It was designed to duplicate the ballistics of the .450 NE, .470 NE and other similar cartridges. Winchester engineers modified and shortened the .375 H&H cartridge case, and loaded a 500 grain bullet in front of enough powder to provide a muzzle velocity of about 2150 feet per second (FPS), basically replicating the Nitro Express cartridges ballistically.




Olin then hired African Professional Hunter David Ommanney to be their “Winchester’s Man in Africa,” and followed up with a blistering advertising campaign to sell both rifles and ammunition. It became an initial success, with PHs, wardens, wildlife managers and other professionals, along with the few visiting hunters venturing to that part of the world searching for elephant, buffalo, rhino, lions, tigers, etc., arming themselves with the new development.

The .458 Winchester Magnum became the world standard dangerous-game cartridge rather quickly, due in part to the fact that both the ammunition and rifles to shoot it were very substantially less expensive than British-made rifles, particularly since no ammunition was being produced for them.


Alas, after a few years in the field, problems began cropping up. Muzzle velocities were often discovered to be substantially less than the advertised velocities, frequently less than 2000 fps instead of 2150, and erratic performance issues.

Winchester investigated and found that the heavily compressed loads of ball powder that they were using, had a habit of clumping together causing fickle ignition and less than desirable performance. These were not welcome attributes for a dangerous-game rifle. Winchester addressed the problem and corrected it, but considerable damage was already done to the reputation of the cartridge.
.

Well known outdoor writer Jack Lott, managed to get himself into a tussle with a cape buffalo he had wounded using the .458 Win Mag. Needless to say, he didn’t win the wrestling match and was hammered pretty good. He didn’t do Winchester any favors writing about his experience in the outdoor press. As a result of his experience, he lengthened the .458 Winchester cartridge case by .300” and called his creation the .458 Lott. The added powder capacity, as well as advances in powder technology, made achieving Winchester’s goal with the Win Mag round easily achievable.
Even so, the .458 Winchester Magnum set the standard for dangerous-game cartridges.

Most ammunition manufacturers load factory ammo for it, and most rifle manufacturers make rifles chambered for the round. In spite of past glitches with the ammo, it works and it works very well.


Armed with a quality rifle chambered for the .458 Win Mag, and the ability to shoot it accurately, the hunter need fear very little in today’s hunting world.


TAGS.458 Winchester MagnumAmmunitionDangerous Gamefeatured ammoGreatest Cartridge
TOM TURPIN
Tom Turpin is the author of several hundred published articles and a contributing editor to Gun Digest. His published books include "Custom Rifles: Mastery of Wood & Metal," and "Modern Custom Guns, 2nd Edition," both available at GunDigestStore.com


Anyway it matters not, because my experience always has been that of---- a loss of snot and enamel on both sides of the 458 Win----
 
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw-SJLjUzMQ


By David Tong
David gives AmmoLand readers a short history and review of the .458 Winchester Magnum cartridge.



AmmoLand Gun News
USA – -(Ammoland.com)- -(Ammoland.com)-While the British firm Kynoch, part of Imperial Chemical Industries, had a long history of supplying the very-well-heeled clients with “Flanged” (rimmed) cartridges for single-shot and double-rifles, as well as rimless cartridges for repeating rifles through the late 1940s.

It was Winchester who seized upon the opportunity to produce a new dangerous game round for their Model 70 bolt-action hunting rifle, essentially duplicating the power of the British “Express” rounds in a standard-length case.

.458 Winchester Magnum
The new round, the .458, was introduced with great fanfare in 1956. Claimed standard ballistics were a soft-point or solid (full-metal-jacket with steel insert) bullet of 500gr at 2,150fps. The round is essentially a straight-cased and shortened .375 H&H Magnum case, and its 2.5” overall length is better-suited than the .375’s 2.85” is for a bolt-action rifle of reasonable size and weight.

The earliest use of the new round proved somewhat problematic. There were reports of the round not producing the speeds claimed, often leaving the muzzle at under 2,000fps. This was enough to negatively affect penetration, which is a must for a dangerous game rifle round. Some of this had to do because the stated ballistics were with a 26” barrel length, while most of the rifles used for this sort of work used 22”-24” barrel lengths for handiness.

Additionally, there were reports that the compressed charges of Olin Chemical’s early ball powder were causing erratic ignition. While these issues were corrected by the early 1970s as Olin Chemical owned Winchester’s ammunition brand and the firearm brand's manufacturing at the time, a certain negativity surrounded the round even though it was by far the most popular round in Africa due to a much-reduced cost of both rifle and ammunition compared to European offerings.
The round’s ballistics were surpassed by the .458 Lott and .460 Weatherby Magnum cartridges pretty early on, with commensurately more recoil and cost, so the .458 remains the go-to choice for most hunters heading to the Dark Continent today for a so-called “heavy” caliber rifle suitable for the largest or most dangerous animals.

Most major manufacturers including Federal, Hornady, Norma, Remington and Winchester load the round, and most of them offer both a standard-grade load as well as a “premium” line with later-designed bullets that enhance both expansion and penetration.

In my own experience, I thought that the .458 was somewhat lighter and “slower” recoiling than the .416 Rigby Magnum, even in a slightly lighter rifle. The major issue for me though was that the Ruger M77 with non-controlled feeding (aka “push-feed”) was not reliable in use with factory Federal Premium 510gr JSP bullets. The problem was that the extractor claw would push the round into the rear of the chamber at various points around the clock, and the soft-point would deform on the rear chamber edge and stop.

Obviously, this would not be a good state of affairs if one were to use this rifle and cartridge combination on an animal that could claw, gore, or stomp you, so my own recommendation would be to use ONLY a controlled-feed CZ 550, Mauser ‘98, Ruger Safari Magnum, Winchester Model 70, or similar action for its use. All of them are based on the 118-year-old Mauser action with its non-rotating long spring steel extractor, and nothing is better for the proper cycling and extraction of rounds from the usual non-detachable box magazine of a bolt-action rifle.

.458 Winchester Magnum Ammunition Hits Hard, Recoil That Is…
Recoil energy of the .458 is not for the faint of heart or recoil shy. It produces over 50 pounds of free recoil, despite its maximum operating pressure of only 53,000c.u.p. per SAAMI standards.

Thus, it recoils approximately three times as much as the venerable .30-06 and is overpowered for all North American game animals.

To this day, the . 458 Winchester Magnum remains the most cost-effective caliber and rifle combination for the international hunter who pursues dangerous game. While relatively easy to reload and with a plethora of good aftermarket bullet choices from Barnes, Hornady, Sierra, and Speer, most hunters will use factory ammunition.

The round is commonly used at ranges under 100yds. and is certainly adequately accurate at this range. I’ve shot three-round cloverleaf groups at 100yd range from the bench, so if one did one’s part, it will get the job done if it needs doing.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QKwcs3a63c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx-dnDCf1V8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEXblhkBLV4


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSzcHi8QNV8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoQkONHYCu0


Anyway it matters not, because my experience always has been that of---- a loss of snot and enamel on both sides of the 458 Win----
 
Posts: 1016 | Location: SLC Utah  | Registered: 13 February 2009Reply With Quote
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Thanks for all that Sir Stradling.
The youtube videos are a treasure trove of material for THE MISSION. tu2

One quibble with Mr. Tong, who claims that the 2150 fps claimed with 500-grainer was claimed with a 26" barrel. He is exaggerating by one inch.
Claims were made with a 25" barrel! Smiler
From H. P. White laboratories via General Hatcher circa November 1955 to August 1956:



General Hatcher was a crafty fellow.
He loaded one load LongCOL, to 3.36", beyond the 3.34" by 0.02"!
Hornady RNSP
75.0 grains IMR 3031 (compressed)
2188 fps at 20 feet, MV would be well over 2200 fps horse
Pressure: 51,470 PSI
Barrel length archer 25 Inches
0.4582" groove
0.450" bore
6-groove
1:14" twist RH
Winchester brass
Win. No. 120 primer
76 degrees F, 59% RH

Note that there is a non-compressed load that gave 2160 fps with 500-graine FMJ Winchester (best there was in steel-jacketed "solids")
in 25" barrel at only 50,410 PSI, and COL of 3.34". Period.
The Powder was HiVel #2.
Nowadays we have AA-2230 which is better.
tu2
Rip ...
 
Posts: 28032 | Location: KY | Registered: 09 December 2001Reply With Quote
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It is funny how the "Nay Sayers" (air guotes gesture here), the "Deniers" (air quotes gesture again) of the .458 WIN, have scurried away,
back into the darkness from whence they came, to dwell amongst the piles of a whole Lott of BS.
Dung beetles! holycow
They can't handle the truth.
horse
Rip ...
 
Posts: 28032 | Location: KY | Registered: 09 December 2001Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by RIP:
It is funny how the "Nay Sayers" (air guotes gesture here), the "Deniers" (air quotes gesture again) of the .458 WIN, have scurried away,
back into the darkness from whence they came.
They can't handle the truth.
horse
Rip ...


The truth, of course, is that a 458 throat matched with a Ruger case would be even better. We don't need to tolerate the loss of that extra capacity any longer.

Someone might bring a "maybe one more in the magazine" rebuttal. The response: it's the first shot that counts, maybe two follow ups. Put in another and top off the magazaine, if tracking.


+-+-+-+-+-+-+

"A well-rounded hunting battery might include:
500 AccRel Nyati, 416 Rigby or 416 Ruger, 375Ruger or 338WM, 308 or 270, 243, 223" --
Conserving creation, hunting the harvest.
 
Posts: 4253 | Registered: 10 June 2009Reply With Quote
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416Tanzan,

http://forums.accuratereloadin...43/m/4821083332/p/65

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.
Start near the bottom of page 65 of this thread (above link) and go forward to refresh your memory.

Doing that did remind me that the .425 WR, first "Short Magnum" ever there was, had a 30-minute, leade-only throat.
That was an amazing cartridge for its size, HUGE ballistics all out of proportion to the little guy.
The only flies on it come from the severely rebated rim.

Round off the leade-angle of the .458 WIN to the nearest minute and what do you get?
30 minutes.
So we add Westley Richards to the grandfathers of the .458 WIN:

John Rigby: Great-great Grandfather
Holland & Holland: Great Grandfather
Westley Richards: Grandfather
James Watts: Father
Winchester Arms: Kidnapper Adoptive Parents who nurtured the Watts kid to greatness.


tu2
Rip ...
 
Posts: 28032 | Location: KY | Registered: 09 December 2001Reply With Quote
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quote:
Winchester Arms: Kidnapper


Anyway it matters not, because my experience always has been that of---- a loss of snot and enamel on both sides of the 458 Win----
 
Posts: 1016 | Location: SLC Utah  | Registered: 13 February 2009Reply With Quote
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Pickin's from what stradling dragged in,
first the Youtube video narrated by someone who sounded uncannily like Forrest Gump:
I'll call this one "How Not to Handload The Four-Five-Eight":



The bullet:

 
Posts: 28032 | Location: KY | Registered: 09 December 2001Reply With Quote
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Posts: 28032 | Location: KY | Registered: 09 December 2001Reply With Quote
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