Guys,

Have some 425 gr Rhinos and am thinkin' about the 350 gr TSX in .458.

What sort of experience do you guys have with lighter bullets (350-450 gr) in .458 for lighter game such as Wildebeast and Eland?

Thanks!

I used 260 partitions from a .375 and they were plenty adequate. I am sure the .458 light loads will do the job.
Frank

500gr Woodleigh softs work just fine on Zebra! 500 Woodleigh solids work great on klipspringer too.

I do not understand why someone would want to load light bullets in the 458wm and take it to Africa. The same soft points that work on buff, 450grs - 500grs, work on smaller plains game and the same solids for buff or eles work fine for the very small critters without damaging hides.

If your in dangerous game country that warrants a 458wm, you ought to keep it loaded as a 458wm and not as a light rifle, especially since the heavy bullet weight loadings work just fine for smaller game.

My two cents,

JPK

JPK,

Have seen great performance with the 350gr Barnes X in .416 Rigby on Hartebeast, Gemsbock and Buf. Not all of us can go Buf hunting very often. On my one and only Buf outing the PH carried a Lott with 450gr X's.

Am scheduled to go plains game hunting in South Africa in May. Have this medium weight (9 1/2 pound) .458 AR rifle that needs to shoot something bigger ... but won't likely see a Buf this time.

Given the great performance I've see with heavily constructed bullets that are light for caliber, I thought I'd try something like the Barnes TSX or the Rhino on this trip. Should provide adequate terminal performance and a decent trajectory.

Will try it on piggies in Texas soon. Should make a good first impression

..... Pretty much everyone knows I prefer light monometal bullets in the 458 or 416 ..... The 300 gr TSX 315 gr GS HV and 350 gr TSX are 3 of the very best .458 bullets available ........I bet that 90 plus percent of the guys who say they won,t work as well as their heavy bullets havn,t ever used them on heavy and dangerous game ...... I have and they do , tho I havn,t tried the 315 gr GS HV yet ......... the 458 win mag comfortably shoots the 300 gr @ 2700 fps and the 350 gr @ 2500 fps .. some manuals show the 350 @ close to 2600 fps ..

mstarling

I have not worked with the Rhinos--but have worked extensively with the 400 Swift and 400 Woodleighs.
In 458 Winchester, which I assume that is where you are, the 400 Swift can be run at 2325 fps-2400 fps depending on barrel 22-24 inches with 70/RL 7. Of course start lower work up. I have used this on many animals and it is an absolute show stopper on all thin skinned game, sable, zebra, lion, kudu, wildebeast, bear, elk, and you name it. The Woodleigh bullet is too soft to run at that velocity, it holds together, but expands all the way to the base of the bullet, which limits penetration greatly. Drop the velocity on the 400 Woodleigh to 2150 fps and it performs extremely well, expanding midways on the bullet and driving deeper. While I have shot buffalo with the Swift, I would not do so with the 400 Woodleigh. I was supposed to be in Russia today on a bear hunt, but it was canceled early in the week. I was taking my little 458 B&M loaded with the 400 Woodleighs at 2150 fps. At this velocity it is a hammer of a bullet.

My other choices for the lighter bullets are the 350 Barnes TSX. Without doubt I would put it in the same category as the 400 Swift--it will hit hard and drive deep. I have not used this in the Winchester 458--but have in the 458 B&M. In an 18 inch 458 B&M I can run the bullet up to 2450 fps and would use it on any thin skinned game on the planet with extreme confidence. With this bullet it would not be a stretch at all to be able to use it effectively to 250 yds on plains game. I don't think I would personally push it much further than that, and of course would rather be much closer. Sighted at 1.5 inches hi at 100 it would only drop to around 3 inches at 200.

I have worked up some loads in the 458 B&M with the 300 gr Barnes X, but never taken it to the field. I am able to get 2650 fps from the 300s and I am very sure the 458 Winchester could do the same. Terminal performance should be very good with this, maybe a little less penetration than the 350 gr version. But it would extend your reach somewhat, depending on the animal hunted. For me I would rather use the 350 Barnes, I think a little more bullet makes me feel better especially with any thin skinned dangerous game, lion/bear.

Michael

Mike
Neal and I will be doing some work with either the 480dgx or the 350 TSX this spring.

Neal has taken several critters with the 305gr "hex" bullets, VERY accurate.. blows the petals off, even at 2300, and then 250+grains of .458 solid goes through the animal.

Works basically exactly like the .250 and lower SD .308 bullets.. wonderful performance on thin skinned game. You know, the smaller bore guys, which are like 99% of shooters, use light for caliber (what we would consider) each and every day. They love .200 to .250 SD bullets, and those are the perfect bullets for thin skinned game. Using 500gr .458 bullets on deer and pig, while it works, is nearly the same as using solids...

i've used just about every bullet weight from 500 to 300 in a .458 gun, and with bullet placement, they all work... run a light bullet fast, it will blow up... run a light barnes bullet too fast, and it goes in 6 inches, detonates, huge wound cavity, and it penetrates.. even a pig has a hard time covering up the blood trail with its body!

jeffe

mstarling

Oh my, I just now see where you are shooting a 458 AR! In your reply back to JPK. I am sorry, I did not see that before. You got no issues with that, you can run the 350s and 400s right on up there to big time flat trajectory. The 350 Barnes would be a perfect choice for you. I am sure you could be well over 2500 and probably be all over 2600 fps with these.

Jeffe is 100% correct on thin skinned animals, I call it energy transfer--not to be confused with ft lbs of energy, which is a totally useless number. The lighter bullets at higher velocity and more expansion transfers tremendous amounts of energy to thin skinned animals. Correct velocity depends on the bullet construction, most all are a bit different in this arena. The example of the 400 Swift and 400 Woodleigh come to mind. If I were hunting animals the size of deer, and maybe hogs, impala then the 400 Woodleigh at 2300-2400 fps would be a slammer. Heavier animals a little better constructed bullet like the Swift or 350 Barnes. I would think the 350 Barnes would cover you from everything from impala to eland without any issues at all.

Michael

quote:

Heavier animals a little better constructed bullet like the Swift or 350 Barnes. I would think the 350 Barnes would cover you from everything from impala to eland without any issues at all.

Michael

Michael;

I run that 350 TSX at 2700 fps+ from my CZ550 in 458WM with COL at 3.44" It went moose hunting to Northern Ontario with me in October. Unfortunately, no moose as we ran out of time due to unforseen circumstances. I have absolute confidence in it for large soft-skinned game. It's also MOA accurate in my rifle using RL-7.

Another point: it appears from my tests that the BC of that bullet runs much higher than Barnes Manual No.4 predicts. That load 2" high at 100 was only -8.5" at 300 yds! I spoke with Ty or Dave (I forget which)at Barnes about it and they said the BC number is variable from day to day depending on many factors. My gunsmith concurs. However, that trajectory indicates the BC to be closer to the predicted BC of the original 350-X!

I also use it in my Ruger No.1 45-70 Improved at 2400 fps. It's my go-to load for both rifles.

Added: BTW, I hope to get some 300 TSXs also, and give them a try in both rifles, esp. in the Ruger No.1. I think I should get in excess of 2600 fps from that little gun! From the CZ?? Probably close to 2900 fps!!!

quote:

Originally posted by mstarling:
JPK,

Have seen great performance with the 350gr Barnes X in .416 Rigby on Hartebeast, Gemsbock and Buf. Not all of us can go Buf hunting very often. On my one and only Buf outing the PH carried a Lott with 450gr X's.

Am scheduled to go plains game hunting in South Africa in May. Have this medium weight (9 1/2 pound) .458 AR rifle that needs to shoot something bigger ... but won't likely see a Buf this time.

Given the great performance I've see with heavily constructed bullets that are light for caliber, I thought I'd try something like the Barnes TSX or the Rhino on this trip. Should provide adequate terminal performance and a decent trajectory.

Will try it on piggies in Texas soon. Should make a good first impression

I use 450gr flat noses for elephants. But I still don't see the point in going below .305 in SD. But if you want to take the 458AR for a plains game only trip, why not. Big holes are always better than small holes.

JPK

The Rhino bullet is a solid shank, bonded core bullet made in South Africa. The 425 has a shape similar to the nose of the 350 gr .416 caliber Barnes X. Has the same SD as that bullet as well (0.289). They are noted for their penetration and weight retention (often 95%).

The 350 gr .416 Barnes X has been a stellar performer for me. On a followup shot I had one break the right rear femur of a Cape Buffalo and then proceed through the entire length of the animal. Was found under the skin of the chest after wrecking the lungs and heart. About a 6 foot or more path.

If the Rhino performs as well I'd be tickled!

458only

You are getting some big performance in your 458. RL 7 is a superb powder for the lighter bullets, 400 and under, I concur.

I agree with you concerning the BCs. I know Ty, think I had long conversations with him a few years ago about something. He is the test guy down in the range correct???? I have the capabilities of getting the BCs on my range, but have not worked with this bullet in that capacity. BCs can change up, down, depending on weather, humidity, velocity many factors.

mstarling

I think you are well on the right track for the mission at hand.

I too have had very good luck with the 350 Barnes X in .416. I use this bullet in the 416 B&M-Win M70 WSM action 20 inch barrel. At 2450 fps it is a hammer. I took my boys over to RSA last July where we had a 416 B&M with us. The boys used it on oryx, kudu, and several other critters with great success. In fact my oldest was out with our long time friend PH alone, I was not with, had a hard time getting on this kudu in thick brush. PH tells oldest to shoot him up the bum with the 416. Oldest does so. Kudu goes about 25 yards, back towards me and the youngest and falls over dead. I am looking, no exit, no entrance, nothing??? What happened here, did you scare the kudu to death?

Laughing they tell me they shot it up the rear. While I probably would not have let them do that, it worked just fine! Bullet traveled the entire distance to wreck the lungs and all in between! Did not exit. But traveled from one end to the other! Boys will be boys!

In the 416 B&M the 350 Barnes and the 350 Swift are my go to bullets for the little gun.

I am sure the Rhino will probably do just fine.

Michael

For years I carried a .458 Win. with 300gr. X bullets as my backup rifle for feral pigs. In all the pigs I finished off I never once found a bullet (not so with many other big bores I've used for backup). That included shots on going away pigs that were hit in the hind quarters and the bullets would exit the head. The penetration was rediculous and the trajectory wasn't too bad.