I just got a Mod 70 458 Win Mag and an Interarms Mark X also 458 Win Mag.

I have seen guys shooting 19” 458’s. And I kind of dig the look.

I want to thread one or both for a suppressor. Have a cap made from the piece chopped off that will snug up against the front barrel band sight. When it’s on, you can’t tell the barrel is threaded, but, you can pop it off and put a can on it.

I have questions.

Anyone done this on a big bore?

Anyone take their cans to Africa? Zambia or Zimbabwe? They sell them over the counter in some African countries like SA and Botswana.

Also, if I ream this out to be a Lott, I suspect that will negate the loss of velocity caused by chopping it down.

quote:

Originally posted by Wendell Reich:
I just got a Mod 70 458 Win Mag and an Interarms Mark X also 458 Win Mag.

I have seen guys shooting 19” 458’s. And I kind of dig the look.

I want to thread one or both for a suppressor. Have a cap made from the piece chopped off that will snug up against the front barrel band sight. When it’s on, you can’t tell the barrel is threaded, but, you can pop it off and put a can on it.

I have questions.

Anyone done this on a big bore?

Anyone take their cans to Africa? Zambia or Zimbabwe? They sell them over the counter in some African countries like SA and Botswana.

Also, if I ream this out to be a Lott, I suspect that will negate the loss of velocity caused by chopping it down.

I take it maintaining the value of the rifle means nothing. The 458WM has been criticised for lacking power, over the years, but IIRC the original M70 Winchester had a 25" barrel, which should give at least 100fps more than a 19" barrel. Rechambering to the Lott to make up the difference might work but sounds like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Neither of those actions are really meant for long cartridges, so extensive action/magazine alts might also be needed.

And, thinking of Lotts and noses, tuck your thumb in to prevent real nasal damage.

He wants a short barrel rifle, nothing wrong with that.

Except I don’t like short barrel rifles.

458 Winchester is one of my least favorite cartridges.

Putting a silencer on is no big deal.

We do it here all the time.

Trying to recover some of the lost velocity by re-chambering it is also a sort of hit and miss.

And the amount of recovered velocity is not to make one iota of a difference in a hunting situation!

End of the day is, he wants to do it, and he can find out at the end if what he had wished for actually happens!

Good luck!

This mod 70 has a 22” barrel. The interarms has a Douglas barrel, 24” I believe, heavy target profile.

I saw a CZ 458 Lott for sale, and just missed buying it. It had a 19” barrel and it looked sharp. Would not have thought about chopping one off if it weren’t for that gun.

How often do you plan to shoot them that would justify having a suppressor?

quote:

Originally posted by vvreddy:
How often do you plan to shoot them that would justify having a suppressor?

I like to carry my DG rifle in Texas. There are always opportunities to hone your skills here. Pigs, coyotes, deer etc.

I have carried my 375 since ‘94. It’s been all over the world. Even to Europe a few times.

Now it’s time to carry a 458 in preparation for the next adventure.

I have a CZ550 in 458 and I cut the barrel to 19 inches so it would be better in the bush.yes you will lose about 100 fps, what I have done is to go to mono bullets as I see no reason to shoot 500 grain bullets and now shoot either 404 Shock Hammer bullets and have had very good luck with them on buffalo complete followed up with their 400 pass throughs. the other bullet I am using now is the CEB 420 Raptor and followed up with their 400 grain Safari Solid long nose.this past April I took a buffalo with this combo and out of 4 shots only one bullet was recovered and that was the solid and it was a chest shot and was found under the hide in the rear leg so you can load the 458 up and don't waste your time on a Lott

forgot to mention I do not have a suppressor on my rifle and the balance is very good. I just can't see adding 12-14 inches back on the rifle, yes the muzzle blast is worse according to my PH that was about 8 feet away, he shot 3 shots also from his 416 and I never heard any shots. the buffalo died 7 feet from me and it was a cow, very exciting time

I don’t know about Zambia, but Zimbabwe I’ve been told suppressors are forbidden.

Putting a short barrel on the rifle then overpressuring the round to get the performance desired is what the government did with the 6.8 sig round.

A shorter rifle is more handy, but the muzzle blast goes up. The suppressor would help that, but then you lose the handiness, and generally ruin the balance of the rifle unless you design it with the suppressor in place… which ruins the muscle memory when you take the suppressor off.

Are the trade offs worth it? Your call.

Lot of good points here.

Saeed is right. The animal won’t know the difference. Quick story on that.

In 2001, I found a recipe for my 375 that shot 1/2” groups with the original X Bullet. I stuck with it until this year when I finally chronoed it. 2150 fps with a 270 gr bullet. Anemic by all standards. The internet might conclude that this won’t work on DG.

I have hunted all over the world with this round. Including Brown Bear and Buffalo, plus loads and loads of other game. It worked just fine, until I shot it over a chronograph. Now, suddenly, it won’t kill anything anymore! (Obviously, joking)

I don’t believe it will rechamber either of these guns.

Crbutler, I figured cans weren’t allowed in Zambia or Zim since I never see them there, but, I may hunt Buffalo in Botswana and head to Zambia for Elephant Buffalo with a couple clients. Talking to Thor about his Elephant currently. Plans still in the works.

There is validity to the “muscle memory” theory, but I’m not certain it’s not overplayed. I shoot a lot of guns and they are all different weights and balance differently. From lightweight mountain rifles to heavy guns with cans. I just compensate and do fine. I think trigger pull consistency, familiarization with the safety and how the gun is mounted is far more important.

The SiCo Hybrid 45 is 9” long. With a 19” barrel, that is 28”. Only 4” longer than a standard 24” barrel.

I can shoot loads of stuff here with a can to really familiarize myself with the way the gun mounts, safety and the trigger.

There is nothing lost if the gun is threaded. I don’t have to put a can on it, but I can’t put a can on a gun that isn’t threaded.

I shoot a lot of guns and lots of different calibers.

Shooting off the bench makes that relatively easy, as one knows what to expect and compensates accordingly.

It is a different ball game when shooting off hand.

Light trigger pull works much better when shooting off hand.

Either 458’s that you currently own would work fine for a short 19” bob job. I prefer the 24” on my Whitworth as well. The Lott suggestion is a waste of resources. You can get all the performance you want in the Great 458 WM chamber without “over pressure” so don’t worry about that. The loads mentioned above for the 400’s create a quite versatile hunting combo. Benchmark, aa 2230, 2460 all very useful in this regard.
Best,
F01

Barnes loads .458 ammo with 450 grain bullets. Those are 100 fps faster than 500 grain loads. If you are concerned with velocity that would help.

I have a Mod 70 .458 with 22” factory barrel and a fiberglass stock, really like the way it carries. Killed a 65lb ele and 43” CB with it hunting with Nixon 2012.

quote:

Originally posted by Wendell Reich:

quote:

Originally posted by vvreddy:
How often do you plan to shoot them that would justify having a suppressor?

I like to carry my DG rifle in Texas. There are always opportunities to hone your skills here. Pigs, coyotes, deer etc.

I have carried my 375 since ‘94. It’s been all over the world. Even to Europe a few times.

Now it’s time to carry a 458 in preparation for the next adventure.

I used to take all my big bores to shoot seagulls and pigeons with!

I remember one day a friend was here, and there was a pigeon feeding in our backyard.

I got my Ruger Number 1 converted to 460 Weatherby, and using cast bullets reloads, shot it with.

It was reduced velocity loads, and the bullets sometimes tumble.

It hit the pigeon sideways, and lifted it off the ground about two feet!

No suppressors in Zim. SA and Bots is ok. Not sure about Zambia.

Wendell,

I had a MKX in 458 WM with a 19 inch barrel. I found it to be exceedingly handy. I could carry it over my should muzzle down which is far easier to carry than muzzle up. With a 500 gr bullet it gave 2050 FPS. Elephant and buffalo all seemed be impressed if I did my part.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by hydehunter:
forgot to mention I do not have a suppressor on my rifle and the balance is very good. I just can't see adding 12-14 inches back on the rifle, yes the muzzle blast is worse according to my PH that was about 8 feet away, he shot 3 shots also from his 416 and I never heard any shots. the buffalo died 7 feet from me and it was a cow, very exciting time

From your description above i.e. "adding 12-14 inches back on the rifle", I am assuming you are referring to suppressors that screw to the muzzle thread with all the body hanging forward of the muzzle?
Do you guys not have suppressors that screw to a muzzle thread but the body comes back some ways over the barrel with the muzzle end abutting a shoulder inside the suppressor to prevent gas discoloration of the barrel finish and a bush in the rear of the suppressor sized to match the barrel contour at the contact point to stabilise the suppressor. With a 13" suppressor this usually means about 5" of suppressor forward of the muzzle with 8" back over the barrel, which depending on the barrel and stock fore-end length often has the rear of the suppressor body just proud of the fore-end tip.
This type of suppressor over say 22" barrels makes for a neater more compact rifle with all the advantages of a suppressor i.e. real world recoil reduction and sound suppression and in many cases, animals not able to locate the shooters position.

I have never seen a suppressor here that is designed that way. I have seen them overseas, not here.

The rage here is to go as light as possible and as short as possible. I don’t have one that is over 9” long.

In fact, my 46 cal can 7.6”. It is rated for 458 Win Mag.

I have a CZ550 in .458 Lott with a 20" barrel. Has been my working rifle for over 10 years, perfect for the job, won't ever have a 24" bush rifle again...

It gets 2175fps chronoed with 480 grains Woodleigh Hydro.

I got 404 20” barrel and I love
I don’t chronograph it, I just kill with it
Use 400 gr Barnes

Well, I just acquired a 3rd 458 win mag. Found a nice Whitworth. Don’t need it, just wanted it!

The second one I bought on Gunbroker is going to be a cool gun. It’s an Interarms Mark X in a Brown Precision stock with heavy Douglass XX proof barrel. No sights, but I think I will sacrifice this one to the saw and chop it down, Thread it and throw some nice barrel band sling and front sight in it.

Wendell,
A good resource to talk to about the rifle configuration would be Michael McCourry.