........Hi all ,,, What is the 458 belted 3" I think I read somewhere there was a 3.25" ?? are they just really long Lotts or what ???

You are talking about what is properly called the

.458-3" Belted Express (108.0 grains water capacity claimed)

It is on page 95 of PvdW's book.
Ain't no "African" in the name,
and yes it is just a .375 H&H belted basic cylindrical case necked down to .458-caliber and left 3 inches long.

Pierre van der Walt does have his own wildcat called the

.458 African Express (Rimless) (110.0 grains water capacity claimed)

It is the next cartridge in the book and is a 2.650" long 404 Jeffery necked up and shortened.
Page 98.

/

Alf,
Call me Rip, and say "Hi" to fellow wildcatters Pierre, Koos, and Ken when you see them next.

,,,,,,,,,,,Thank you all ,.,., So how fast does it go ???????.,.,.,.,.,.,

Gumboot...

I'm glad you asked this question....

I saw someone mention it in the 450 Ackley thread...

Rip,

Wouldn't ya be able to fire winnies, Lotts, or Watts in a rifle chambered for a .458-3" Belted Express?

If so....sounds like a pretty versatile chambering....

Perhaps a candiate for one of my MRC PH actions...if they ever show up...

trophyhunter500,
Sure you would.
The Hornady basic cylindrical is close to 2.900" long or would be when sized down to .458 bullet.
It has only an "H" as a headstamp.

A .475-3" Belted Express would be interesting.

All of these 3-Inchers would be best in a 3.85" box: 6-shooter DGR's in CZ 550 Magnums.

gummboot458,
The velocities would be as expected by the case capacities.
Max loads shown by PvdW with 500-grain bullets in 24" barrels:
.458-3" Belted Express: 2250 fps
.458 African Express (Rimless): 2300 fps

These may be loads with SA powders (Somchem) ... and ??? brass! ... but reasonable for our powders too.

Man,
can't wait for my two PH actions to get here...

Rich
DRSS
Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost...

..........That should finally get close to 2400 fps with a 500 gr bullet .......More importantly to me , a full 2800 fps with the 350 gr TSX ....zoom zoom ..