I have'nt heard much discussion egarding the 460 Dakota caliber. Does anyone have one and how do you like it?

G K - Must be a typo - Dakota does not make a .460, but they do chamber a .450 Dakota and yes I have one. I shoot a 500gr Woodleigh solid at 2400fps with 109gr of H-4350. I have taken two buff with this load and in both situations it dumped the buff where he stood.

I am very impressed with the Dakota 76 action. Their design and machining process generate exacting tolerances. This action is connected to a heavy contour, 24" Lothar Walther barrel. Off the bench it shoots .5 MOA - assuming that I am doing my part. Can�t say enough good things about Dakota and their quality.

Z

Thanks,

I was wondering if the .450 Dakota is essentially the same as the .460 G&A? Can a Ruger No. 1 in .458WM be easily rechanmbered to .450 Dakota? Seems easy enough.

.450 Dakota is most similar to a .450 Rigby, put simply, the old .416 Rigby case necked up. The G&A makes use of a .404 jeff parent case.

I also have a 450 Dakota and feel it is a great caliber. I used the Dakota action and the rest is all custom. Rifle shoots great and gives all the accuracy and velocity anyone would ever need in a big bore.
I also have owned/hunted with the 460 G&A, great caliber as well. It is 404 based whereas the 450 is Rigby based. The G&A will do all that needs done but it's a wildcat and anymore that doesn't interest me nearly as much as it used to, hence the 450 is now my big bore of choice.

Could a Ruger .416 Rigby be easily rechambered and rifled for the .450 Dakota?

Zero Drift, If you haven't already, you might want to try the Woodleigh 550 grain bullets in your rifle. My rifle really likes them and the solids and softs are about 3/4 inch apart.

John - Thanks for the info. I had not really considered a 550gr bullet. I will look into it.

Thanks,

Z

Guy,

A 416 Rigby ruger could be bored out and re-chambered to a 450 Dakota. If you are looking for a more cost effective route, the CZ 550 458 win mag would be a better place to start.

What's your opinion of this Ruger Model?

Also had a 450 Dakota recently built. 24 inch barrel with removal muzzle brake and mercury recoil reducers. Had the barrel machined out of larger dia steel stock to add weight and balance. Personally like heavy rifles with bull barrels, especially in large bore. My weight estimate is approx 12 lbs unscoped. My best off the bench, so far, is less than 1 MOA, not as impressive as 0.5 MOA which is great shooting. Very crisp trigger pull makes it a joy to shoot.

A question: Received loaded ammo from Dakota until I can get started on the reloading. Got 500 and 600 grain solids, are the bullet Barnes or Woodleigh?

Guy,

With the quarter rib, and barrel band hardware, the ruger barrel is quite nice. The action is massive as well. With that, factor in the cost of the gun, and the re-work, and you're looking at ~1800. I've heard mixed things about the bedding Ruger uses, but haven't played with one personally.

If you start with a CZ 458, you can get it re-chambered and cleaned up for ~$1000, including the price of the gun. You wouldn't have the nice hardware on the barrel, but would have a very functional, and powerful gun.

Now, if funds aren't so much of an issue, I'd consider starting with a Dakota action, have a Pac Nor barrel fit, you could have the barrel band hardware fit, and a custom stock made, figure ~$3500. If I could afford it, I'd likely go this route, if funds are a concern, I'd go with the CZ.

Paul Machmeier - They offer Swift A-Frames, Barnes Solids, and Woodleigh. I would strongly suggest that you stick with the Woodleigh Softs and Solids. They perform very well in the field and I have had good luck with them at the range. The .450Dak can be loaded hot or mild depending upon your needs. You can mimic any load from a .458WinMag to a .460 Weatherby. I stay around the 2350fps level with a 500gr bullet. I have not used any heaver bullets yet.

Thanks to all for your replies

I like the Ruger, you get an awfull lot of gun for the money and if you don't like the bedding system, changing it is no biggie as it can be converted back to the two recoil lug system and glass bedded...

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com