I have a Whitworth rifle in 458 win mag,converting it to a 458 Lott didn't quite work out to plan,still needs a mag box,cheapest I can find is 550$,the rifle has been just sitting at my gunsmith's for awhile,I have acquired other rifles since then & see no need for the Lott conversion anymore,
I am thinking of maybe rebarreling it to the 375 R or the 416 R?
I would appreciate any opinions on this,thanks.

If you picked up a Lott or still the 458 Win then my pick would be the 375 for it's versatility.
But if you like, want or have need for more of a stopper the 416 is a good round and with lighter bullets is not bad in the versatility department either.

416 would be the one I would go with.

used the 416 Ruger a bit in Australia with woodliegh bullets. Just a Cracker Jack buffalo rifle.

I have occasionally come across the .375 R in the field and it works very well.

Nothing wrong with the .458WM for closer work.

If you look at the mag boxes used on .375 Mark X (which I think is the same as Whitworth) you will see that the bottom metal is nothing more than a regular length with a piece of round metal welded on the end of the box to make it longer, meaning you don't have to pay $550 for a magnum length bottom metal if you can find a nice regular length and cut out the front end and add a little length.

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:
Nothing wrong with the .458WM for closer work.

I like the 416. Mine is on a std length Mauser 98.

for MI deer, any of them will work
the .458 is the cheapest of all big bores to feed, if you reload

the 375 kicks the least, an is fun to shoot

the 416 is rather expensive for bullets, even if you reload

Any of the cases based on the belted H&H case will be easier to find brass for than the ruger case IMO. Shouldn't take a lot to do the work needed to fit a full length H&H case into the whitwork/mark x/798 action. They came in 375.

Is the .458 complete? If so, I just have the gunsmith put it back together and sell it and then buy a new Ruger. You'd come out a lot better financially that way.

I'd go for the .416 Ruger if it were me.

quote:

Originally posted by streetglideok:
Any of the cases based on the belted H&H case will be easier to find brass for than the ruger case IMO. Shouldn't take a lot to do the work needed to fit a full length H&H case into the whitwork/mark x/798 action. They came in 375.

Don't have a problem finding 375 Ruger cases.My local sporting good dealer always carries at least 100rds.in stock. Also you can order online if need to be.

We're speaking about a dangerous game rifle here. Should minor difficulties encountered acquiring cases and minor cost differences even enter into this conversation?

Plenty of good comments,rifle is not finished so I cannot sell it as is,the mag box modification suggested is not very appealing to my smith,& as I said earlier,I no longer need a 458,I have some other heavies now.
Actually I have enough guns to hunt anything,but just gotta see this through,when the rifle is finished,which caliber would bring a better re-sale? what do you think?if I just decide to sell it & re-coup my money?

quote:

which caliber would bring a better re-sale? what do you think?if I just decide to sell it & re-coup my money?

Hardly ever done with a custom.

458wm might be easier to sell.

I just got back from testing some loads on my wife's 375Ruger.

There are really quite a few nice bullets for general plains game hunting.

For example, I think that my wife will rely on the GSC HV 200 grain at 2828fps over 73.0 grains IMR4166 and Rem 9.5M primers. In her rifle the 9.5M primer seems more accurate with the IMR4166 than the WLRM primer (the WLRM groups were 1.25"-1.5"). Below is the basic group, at 100 yards:

The 0.83" will work fine. The load is light for the caliber and case capacity, but my wife is only 110-115lbs and 2800fps with a 200grain monolithic GSC bullet should get the job done.

Other bullets might be nicer if a buffalo were on the menu. Below is the CEB Extended Range Raptor 235 grains.

This is a extended raptor 235 grain, and providing a reasonable group at 2820fps over 72.0 grains IMR4166 and the Rem9.5M primer.

Next are two loads for the 250grain TTSX. The first load is with 81grains IMR 4451 for 2683fps. A first photo is a little larger in scope showing the general target, then a more focused close up.

more focused:

As can be seen, it is a tight, 0.49" group at 2683 fps.

The second load is a bit faster, 2849fps.

The 250TTSX over 84grains of Rel-17 produced 2849fps in the little 20" barrel and a nice 0.8" group. A person could do quite a bit of hunting with that load.

Hopefully, the pictures above worked out in their reduced-pixal formatting.

So the 375 Ruger has some nice bullets and loads. As mentioned, my wife will probably use the 200 grain GSC as her bread and butter bullet. The 250TTSX will be for larger animals, buffalo and eland, and for longer range. The 250 appears to impact 1/2" higher than the GSC, which will work out fine for a 300-yard shot, should that rare need arise.

Well, having illustrated that the 375 Ruger is a versatile tool, I would probably go with the 416 Ruger, myself. It can match the 2800fps trajectories by using the CEB 307grain tipped Raptor. For largest animals and better BC one can use the 350TTSX, though velocities will be reduced to around 2650fps.

Some people just prefer .416". My wife prefers .375". It a rifle shoots like hers, it's good to go for hunting.

quote:

Originally posted by 700xcr:

quote:

Originally posted by streetglideok:
Any of the cases based on the belted H&H case will be easier to find brass for than the ruger case IMO. Shouldn't take a lot to do the work needed to fit a full length H&H case into the whitwork/mark x/798 action. They came in 375.

Don't have a problem finding 375 Ruger cases.My local sporting good dealer always carries at least 100rds.in stock. Also you can order online if need to be.

I said the same exact thing about my 300rum until 2013. Luckily I'm well stocked, but new brass for it now is hard to come by. Will the ruger hold out? How has the other ruger chsmberings done?

I like and use both. Between the two for my purposes, the 375R because of more versatility as Phil has already stated.
I use the 270 TSX in the 375, and the 350 TSX in the 416R.
------------------------------------------------

quote:

Originally posted by Bill73:
I have a Whitworth rifle in 458 win mag,converting it to a 458 Lott didn't quite work out to plan,still needs a mag box,cheapest I can find is 550$,the rifle has been just sitting at my gunsmith's for awhile,I have acquired other rifles since then & see no need for the Lott conversion anymore,
I am thinking of maybe rebarreling it to the 375 R or the 416 R?
I would appreciate any opinions on this,thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by streetglideok:

quote:

Originally posted by 700xcr:

quote:

Originally posted by streetglideok:
Any of the cases based on the belted H&H case will be easier to find brass for than the ruger case IMO. Shouldn't take a lot to do the work needed to fit a full length H&H case into the whitwork/mark x/798 action. They came in 375.

Don't have a problem finding 375 Ruger cases.My local sporting good dealer always carries at least 100rds.in stock. Also you can order online if need to be.

I said the same exact thing about my 300rum until 2013. Luckily I'm well stocked, but new brass for it now is hard to come by. Will the ruger hold out? How has the other ruger chsmberings done?

I believe with more gun manufactures are producing 375 Ruger in their production line. Like Savage, Howa and Mossberg. Also Nosler is starting to produce 375 Ruger cases. Wildcatter's are making different calibers based off the 375 Ruger case. Necking the 375 Ruger case down to 338, 308 and even 6,5 caliber. So I think the 375 Ruger will be around a little bit longer.

quote:

So I think the 375 Ruger will be around a little bit longer.

Me too

Lol, Yes, and the same was true with the Rum series. Multiple wildcats of them, more than of the ruger case. Multiple gun makers even chambered for it. The ruger case may hang around for a bit, only time will tell. Plenty of guns can handle the H&H with ease though. Cross our fingers the brass makers start meeting demand soon and start making the lesser popular cases

The 375 is the best bet from an all around standpoint and will certainly kill anything on this planet..This coined term of a stopper is determined by shot placement, rather than caliber IMO.. but if you hunt a lot of DG, then the 416 in one form or another is probably the best way to go if you can handle the recoil with "ease" and that's a critical word in this conversation...

I have always favored the .416 Rem and 404 Jefferys for DG of any sort, but there are many options that work just as well, but for me the recoil of the 40s is my "comfort zone" and I can shoot them without any thought of recoil, the 458 Lott makes me think recoil, I can shoot it but the recoil is foremost in my mind at times..so I will pass on it.

Bal, why quibble...get both! :-)