whats everyones thoughts on the 458 win mag as a dangerous game rifle and what are your thougts about the ruger m77 in this caliber. I asked this question the other day about the 460 weatherby, and was wondering if the the 460 is realy needed. and if i may sneek in a secound question ,has anyone had any experience with the 450 Dakota.

Tanoose,

I would recommend the 450 Dakota. It can do everything the Weatherby can without a belt. The 458 Win Mag lacks reserve "killing power". Regarding the Ruger M77 I have one in the 416 Rigby and it is a good functional rifle. I do not however care for Ruger's factory bedding / recoil lug setup.

Todd E

Tanoose, The 458 Win. is short on powder capacity, so you are forced to run at or near max. pressures to reach just 2150 fps. with a 500 gr. bullet. There are a lot of cartridges that are better in this regard, such as the 458 Lott. I own a 460 weatherby and I like it very much,I have found it to be very versatile. Just because you own a 460 you don't have to run it at max. velocitys. If you wish you can run it at 2400 fps to 2500 fps. at rather mild pressures, and the rifle will be much less punishing to shoot.

[This message has been edited by Mitch (edited 07-28-2001).]

Try this :

450gr Barnes X
79.5gr IMR4895 or
82.0gr Reloder 12
WLRM
FEDERAL Nickel
OAL 3.505"

in both cases expect 2350fps from a Ruger Nr. 1, 24" barrel

No presurre signs, very easy extraction and ejection, excellent accuracy at 164yds (150m) of 1.5" for 4 shots-

In my book, that's performance