Heck of a deer rifle. Cannot comment more because that is ALL I have ever shot with a 458 Win mag.

ASS_CLOWN

I am about to become the owner of a Parker-Hale 458 Win Mag. I hear good and bad about this caliber and would like some constructive (if possible) comments. I used a CZ 375 with great success in RSA and Zim in May/June, but JudgeG convinced me (after a couple of martinis) that I should bid on this rifle and I won it. I plan to use it for Buffalo and anything else I feel like shooting with it. The picture is me with the Buff I took in Zimbabwe, hunting with Pierre Van Tonder.

[url="http://www.hunt101.com/?p=186551&c=500&z=1"][/url]

There was a guy that frequented here 2 or 3 years ago that had killed all kinds of crap with his .458 Win. Mag.

He was immediately decended upon by the know-it-alls as to how the .458 couldn't kill crap, much less any dangerous game. He never came back to the forum. I didn't fault him for his wisdom!!

I took my Custom built .458 Win Mag woth me to Chewore and it was devastating on everything I shot with it, from buffalo to baboons. In fact, my PH Mike Payne was so enamoured with it, that he was thinking about having a duplicate built for himself.

The other PH in camp, Ian Gibson carries a .458 and shoots nothing else.

My particular gun wouldn't be for every one, as I have a long pull and a 26" barrel, but with that pipe, I think it shoots every bit as fast as a Lott.

You made the right decision!

1115
I have had 2 458 rifles a Mod 70 and the last a Whitworth. I sold the Whitworth only after I got my 450 No2 doouble rifle. The 458 with current ammo, or good reloads will do you just fine on buff or elephant.
The bad press on the 458 is due to problems with the early ball powder and bad shooting on the part of African clients that had no experience with big bores. If you read Finn AgGard or Ron Thompson's book "MAHOHBOH", you would not be afraid to go to Jurassic Park with your 458.
I recommend you shoot the rifle quite a bit, start with Remington 405 grain bullets bought in bulk [ie cheap] and work your way up to 500 grain Hornadays for practice. I would shoot 450 or 500 grain Swift A Frames [baised on their perfomance on buff in my 450 No2] or Federal 500 gr factory Trophy Bonded Bearclaws,and 500 gr Trophy Bonded Sledgehammer Solids in Africa.

Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, with buffalo and elephant all around me,
I fear no evil,
For my 458 [which I have practiced with quite a bit, and shoot like a 22 rimfire ] is with me.
Its 500 grain bullets comfort me, Solids and Softs
All the days of my Safari.

I agree, you must shoot it. I remember my first 375 H&H, it kicked like a mule and I was hating life. Now I find it more pleasant to shoot than my 30-06.

I had a nice 458 that started as a win mag but soon became a Lott, but it still shoots the factory winmag stuff like a champ. Easy option if you want a bit more, but still want to "plink" with the light stuff.

I just ordered one of the new Savage 116 Safari Express guns for next month in RSA, and by next year it will get the "Lott" reaming, but I still won't hesitate to shoot anything with the winmag version. 4,700 fpe is 4,700 fpe no matter which way you look at it. Just make sure the recoil pad agrees with you and throw some mercury in it if you need it and enjoy!

All the problems with the 458 have mostly been with factory ammo. It is and was a poorly designed case from the get go and you have to strain it a bit to get it up to snuff, and that has caused problems in the African heat..It has caused a lot of problems for a lot of people, you can't just ignore that fact...I won't embelish the 458 Win. it does not deserve it..It will do but is a long way from one of the best rounds out there...

However, a good carefull handload at no more than 2100 FPS will get it there and it will work fine on anything...

Another alternative is to open it up to a 458 Lott and that would be my recommendation, its simple and effective and gives you one of the finest DGRs in existence....

If I had a Lott then I would simply load it to 2250 FPS and have a low pressure gun that is about perfect for any thing on this planet..and it can get 2350 FPS with about 84 grs. of IMR-4320 and a 500 gr. bullet if needed...

It's all subjective and the above simply states my opinnion.

I would buy a Lott.



Or, if I got a "can't say no" deal on a .458 Win., I would have a 'smith ream the chamber out to Lott dimensions, fix the mag box and do whatever, if anything, else it would take to ensure flawless feeding.



I have a Lott and love it. I have never had a .458 Win., so have never had to do as I describe, but I have heard from good sources that the transformation is not too difficult or expensive.



Still, don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those who disparages the .458 Win., at least not since more modern and efficient loads have become available.



The .458 Win. is fine as far as it goes. But the .458 Lott is what Winchester should have come out with in the first place. Full length case = full power with room to spare.

Hand loaded 450 grain bullets at 2100fps and took a buffalo and elephant with mine. Met 5 phs while hunting in Zim 3 of the 5 were using 458winmags.
Dean