quote:

Originally posted by Brian564:
Looking for Africa worthy rifle in 458 win mag, and looking to spend $1300 give or take a couple of hundreds. I will use it for cape buffalo. I was told a controlled feed is the way to go for dangerous game, but I don't mind a very reliable push feed. Suggestions please.

Thanks.

I've got a cherry old tang safety Ruger 458 African I'd sell, very accurate shooter, had my Smith bed it, it's ready to go with a set of Warne QD rings.

PM me if you have interest.

Agree with Dean 119 on the Browning Safari, control round feed.
Shop around and you will find one close to your number. I am sure the owner will negotiate.
One of the best large bore handling rifles I own and shoots lights out. Only short coming is the LOP are 13.5" which can be a bit short for some folks.

EZ

quote:

Originally posted by jerry mcdonald:

quote:

Originally posted by Brian564:
Looking for Africa worthy rifle in 458 win mag, and looking to spend $1300 give or take a couple of hundreds. I will use it for cape buffalo. I was told a controlled feed is the way to go for dangerous game, but I don't mind a very reliable push feed. Suggestions please.

Thanks.

I've got a cherry old tang safety Ruger 458 African I'd sell, very accurate shooter, had my Smith bed it, it's ready to go with a set of Warne QD rings.

PM me if you have interest.

I had one of these as well and it was a great shooter. They are not CRF, but they do have the big claw extractor.

I have a Browning Safari 458 in classifieds for under your number if interested.

The problem I see with the Montana is they say it has a free floated barrel. In a 458 Thats just another way of saying it will split/shatter its stock in the action mortise.
And, its hard to get excited about screwed on sights. I like the look of the slim open wrist.

quote:

Originally posted by Haverluk:
Lots of Interarms / Whitworth rifles out there in your budget. Look around and you could find the rifle, scope, rings and a box or two of ammunition all in you $1300 budget. I would start there as it is hard to beat a CRF M98 factory chambered in the cartridge you are looking for IMO.

I have owned three of the Whitworth safari rifles in both 375 H&H, and 458 Win Mag, and have never had a problem with either of them.

The Whitworth safari rifles were made on FN Mauser equipment,sold to Zestava and are, for all practical purposes FN Mauser rifles.

You can pay a lot more for a rifle but that will not make it better than a Whitworth rifle.

........................................................................

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
zastava makes the interarms, markX, whitworth, and remington 798 rifles

The above is true, however there is a lot of difference between them for fit and finish, with the Whitworth Express being the best finished by far.

I will be posting his one in the classified in a few days with more photos.

It has been kicking around in the safe since about 1985, I never have fired it.

Mark X, Mark X barrel cut to 18 inches, NECG front sight ramp, Williams rear, bedded Bell & Carlson stock, barrel mounted recoil lug, barrel band front swivel lug.

Drilled & tapped for 8-40 screws.

The stock has too high a comb for iron sight use but works OK with a scope. Think I have scope mounts to fit.

For dedicated iron sight use I would put on a stock with a lower comb.

I will include a price when I post in the classified, it will be a lot less than $1300.

I will include brass & dies.

I have a Savage 116 in 458 on GB. It is a controlled feed action (yes Savage did these). ER Shaw barrel and Boyds laminate stock. Pretty tough little gun. We put it together here at our shop. It shoots Hornady ammo into about 2" from a lead sled.
http://www.gunbroker.com/item/639648277

Wood Hunter ; I had one of those stocks and you are definitely right . it is combed too high for iron sights.
The Boyd's Classic is combed low enough for good iron sight use . that rifle and a Boyd's stock would still probably be under his budget. I've debated chopping my 458s barrel to 18" but haven't done it yet .

quote:

Originally posted by ColoradoMatt:

quote:

Originally posted by jerry mcdonald:

quote:

Originally posted by Brian564:
Looking for Africa worthy rifle in 458 win mag, and looking to spend $1300 give or take a couple of hundreds. I will use it for cape buffalo. I was told a controlled feed is the way to go for dangerous game, but I don't mind a very reliable push feed. Suggestions please.

Thanks.

I've got a cherry old tang safety Ruger 458 African I'd sell, very accurate shooter, had my Smith bed it, it's ready to go with a set of Warne QD rings.

PM me if you have interest.

I had one of these as well and it was a great shooter. They are not CRF, but they do have the big claw extractor.

True, if a man will sit still and fire it, my Ruger 458 WM shoots with varmint rifle accuracy to 100 yards, it's crazy how accurate it is.

quote:

Originally posted by jerry mcdonald:

quote:

Originally posted by ColoradoMatt:

quote:

Originally posted by jerry mcdonald:

quote:

Originally posted by Brian564:
Looking for Africa worthy rifle in 458 win mag, and looking to spend $1300 give or take a couple of hundreds. I will use it for cape buffalo. I was told a controlled feed is the way to go for dangerous game, but I don't mind a very reliable push feed. Suggestions please.

Thanks.

I've got a cherry old tang safety Ruger 458 African I'd sell, very accurate shooter, had my Smith bed it, it's ready to go with a set of Warne QD rings.

PM me if you have interest.

I had one of these as well and it was a great shooter. They are not CRF, but they do have the big claw extractor.

True, if a man will sit still and fire it, my Ruger 458 WM shoots with varmint rifle accuracy to 100 yards, it's crazy how accurate it is.

It might for a single three shot group over its life time but a 458WM will never shoot like a varmint rifle.

Just my limited experience, but I have owned two .458's over the years.

The first was one of the Tang Safety Modell 77 Ruger's, the second was a CZ 550.

Just my impressions and observations from using both. Since I have never had a real desire to go to Africa, I used these to hunt white tails here in Texas.

Forget the powder or grains used but the bullet I used in both were the 350 grain .458 Hornady R.N..

I found the Ruger with a K6 Weaver and a full magazine with one in the chamber, weighing in at right at 11 pounds to be a bitch off the bench, and even with one of the PAST sissy pads, I could only go about 10 rounds from the bench and that was it.

I did kill some deer with that rifle but just found it unpleasant to shoot and carry. At that point in time the majority of my deer hunting was Spot and Stalk.

My CZ was a lot different story. It was one of the Luxe models, at least I think that is what called, the one with the rounded comb, which whether it was my imagination or not, seemed to roll to the side at the shot instead of straight back like the Ruger.

I did not mount a scope on this rifle, but did kill a couple of deer with it at 100-120 yards using just the factory iron sights. Loaded it went about 9 pounds I believe and was a lot more pleasurable to shoot and carry than the Ruger.

quote:

Originally posted by shootaway:

quote:

Originally posted by jerry mcdonald:

quote:

Originally posted by ColoradoMatt:

quote:

Originally posted by jerry mcdonald:

quote:

Originally posted by Brian564:
Looking for Africa worthy rifle in 458 win mag, and looking to spend $1300 give or take a couple of hundreds. I will use it for cape buffalo. I was told a controlled feed is the way to go for dangerous game, but I don't mind a very reliable push feed. Suggestions please.

Thanks.

I've got a cherry old tang safety Ruger 458 African I'd sell, very accurate shooter, had my Smith bed it, it's ready to go with a set of Warne QD rings.

PM me if you have interest.

I had one of these as well and it was a great shooter. They are not CRF, but they do have the big claw extractor.

True, if a man will sit still and fire it, my Ruger 458 WM shoots with varmint rifle accuracy to 100 yards, it's crazy how accurate it is.

It might for a single three shot group over its life time but a 458WM will never shoot like a varmint rifle.

Technically on bore diameter alone, yes, with the 458 nearly being a half inch per shot, but, three shots into a ragged hole of around and inch and a quarter at 100 yards is way above and beyond what's needed, or required accuracy for the 458 WM.

500 gr Woodleigh PP bullets at 2150 fps is a perfect soft point load IMHO.

Another vote for the CZ550 American Safari Magnum in .458 Lott/ .458 WM.

I have one, love it! Bought in from a member here, along with a matching CZ550 American in 9.3 x 62.Rather the perfect safari duo!

There is a steal of a buy in the classifieds for a Montana actioned 458 Lott.

The New CRF M70 Safari Express is far better balanced and finished than the CZ.

Out the box the Winchester is ready to shoot and feeds flat nose solids well.
The CZ is a rough rifle by comparison and generally needs work before using it.

The Winchester also has sub MOA accuracy out the box.

You may think you are saving money by buying the CZ, but if you want to have the CZ work like the Winchester you are going to end up spending more than the difference to get it there.

Choose what you like, but I have only seen good things from the new M70

If I were to buy another CZ big bore and was planning on hunting dangerous game, I'd first pin down a smith who really knows how to slick up this action. The three or four that I have owned have all been stiff and rough out of the box. Once smoothed, they make a fine rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
having had issues with winchesters,and being TOTALLY unwilling to pay for a "pre-fn classic" knowing the faults there, I stand by my recommendation ...

and, since the 458 winmag can be fired in the lott chamber with no important issues, just grab a CZ

+1 CZ

My .458 Lott is a CZ 550 .458 WM rechambered to Lott. Super reliable, 5 down plus 1 in the chamber, and having owned both I find the stock design and footprint of the CZ much more comfortable to shoot than the Winchesters. Very accurate and the action is so slick it feels like it almost works itself.

I have a CZ 458 Lott that started life as a 458 WM. My observations of the good and bad. I cut the barrel off to 22". installed a decelerator pad. The reason I converted to a Lott was not performance but the WM cartridges rattled around in that BIG magazine.
Good: Very accurate, exceed velocity expected in 22" pipe. A lot of firepower with 5 down and one in the magazine.
Bad; 2X4 stock, crummy front sight
I did some additional work on the gun. Installed a NECG barrel band front sight and sling band.
A 3 position safety bolt shroud, glassed in the gun. Slicked up the action myself.
A very functional rifle to my taste, however until I have a custom stock made for it I will carry my Browning Safari Grade 458 WM 10-1 over this rifle. I have more money in the CZ!!
Both function flawlessly.

EZ

I'd say CZ. Especially after so-so results with having a win 70 converted to 458 lott.

I just picked up a CZ 458 win with the kevlar stock for a good price online.

The gun almost holds 7 rounds! (gurus, please tell me how)

If it can be made to feed 100 percent, it'd be the obvious choice IMO.

I'd suggest you shop around and find a Whitworth Express, they can be had for as little as $800 to $850 on up to $1000..Good buy and a fine hunting rifle..Another option is a Ruger No. 1, or a Ruger 77....all excellent rifles that come in .458..

Despite the 458WM's excellent gas-expansion ratio, there would still be some power loss from shortening the barrel and an increase in muzzle blast.

So, considering the calibre is considered marginal by some, and safari hunting is a communal activity, I would not want a barrel shorter than 22 inches, and would prefer 24.

If you find the right rifle and have doubts about the stock Bell and Carlson makes their medalist stock for the Win M70, CZ550 and Montana actions. Less than $300 and has aluminum bedding. I put them on my CZ 416 Rigby and M70 416 Rem. They work really well. Only thing I had to do was sand the barrel channel a bit.

As others have said don't skimp on your weapon. Make sure it is in good working order so it doesn't ruin your hunt.

If you have time be patient finding a rifle. I was at a gun show and a booth had the CZ 550 416 Rigby for $750. The original owner shot it 7 times and put it up for sale. I offered $700 out the door. He even threw in the remaining 33 rounds and 7 empties. I was so proud of that find I even told my wife. It came back to haunt me tho. She used that as an excuse to go buy a new Iphone. One day I will learn.

Be very careful about inspecting Browning Safari rifles from the 1960's as a lot of them had salt wood on them. If so, the action will be very rusted and pitted under the stock. Always remove the stock and inspect the action and barrel under the wood.
I have three Zastava Mausers and am very pleased with them. They function well and are very accurate, I have a 7x57, 30/06 and a 458. THey are all sub-moa with good loads. I'm certain that my 7x57 has at least 2500 rounds through it and the barrel is in excellent condition.
458's of all makes are infamous for short barrel life. 800-1,000 rounds is about it for any .458. But very few people shoot a .458 that much. The barrel will last most hunters for several lifetimes. Very seldom do shooters get over 100 rounds out of a wood stocked .458 before the stock breaks. .458's are very hard on wood stocks. Always inspect stocks closely for cracks.

I also have a Sako, 375 H&H built on an FN Supreme action early 1950's vintage. A very fine rifle but my Zastava Mausers are every bit as good IMHO.