Do any of you more experienced big bore fanatics see validity in down-loading any of the 458s to 45-70 velocitys in order to get in more hunting time with a rifle that would otherwise only get range time and occasional DG use?
Pros and cons please.
Your opinions are respected.
boet

ABSOLUTELY...
I have worked up a couple of cast bullet loads for my .458 win mag DG rifle. They do a great job on hogs and whitetail in the thick stuff.

remmie 405s at 1900fps is fun to shoot with.

jeffe

Why not just shoot lighter (400gr.) bullets faster than the .45-70 can propel them? You gain a flatter trajectory that way, and stay acclimated to the heavier loads.

George

I shoot Hornady 350 gr. RN's out of my 458. I forget what I have them loaded at 2100 fps. or so I think. I will never go to Africa but I have used them on whitetail and plan on using them on feral hogs.

Boet,

To expand on George's comment you might consider the 350X. It shoots very nice in my 458 at 2550fps which makes it an easy 250 yd rifle with a big wallop.

Mark

You can still get plenty of hunting time using full power loads, they work on just about anything. And many people would argue that its good practice, and kind of silly get a big rifle to shoot light loads.

With that said I just got back from the range shooting some remington 405s using XMP5744 at about 1700 fps. It is amazingly accutate even though the charge only fills about half the case. My rifle is a very light browning safari that handles like a deer rifle, it would seem silly to me to shoot these loads out of a 10-11 pound rifle, but in that rifle they I think its a reasonable combination.

My favorite load in that rifle is a 400g swift A frame at 2150-2200 fps, which is a better choice if you need more range and its still lighter than full power.

Bottom line, do what ever you want as long as its safe, who cares if its reasonable or not.

The 458 lives on three power levels, at least all of mine have:
1. Trapdoor Springfield: a cast 300gr bullet at 1500fps
2. Ruger #1: a 350-400gr jacketed bullets at 1800-2400fps
3. 458WM factory and a little up.

The 458 is about as versatile as the 30-06 as far as bullet weights and velocities. My first Ruger M77, back about thirty years ago, used to go tincan shooting with me and my cousin Bob, who had its twin. We had fifty round Mills belts full or 400gr Speers hollowpointed with a 3/16"s drill about 1/4" deep. Those rounds would vaporize a ground squirrel or Rockchuck, and we shot up a beltful some afternoons.

Download, and enjoy

Rich

Most encouraging guys. So far nobody has mentioned any cons. In maintaining familiarity with a particular gun I think similar tragectory
is probably more important than similar recoil.
With that in mind, I´m gonna play with loads untill I find a brush load for nonDG with the same POI as a good DG load. Hopefully familiarity will breed contentment (pardon)
Thanks
boet

One little "con" is the POI change, which can be managed one way or another.

quote:

Originally posted by boet:
Do any of you more experienced big bore fanatics see validity in down-loading any of the 458s to 45-70 velocitys in order to get in more hunting time with a rifle that would otherwise only get range time and occasional DG use?
Pros and cons please.
Your opinions are respected.
boet

Downloading per se is not necessary, but feel free to if you want lighter loads. However, 350 or 400 grain loads at full Lott power levels are pleasant to shoot as well. You can also get really cheap 500 grain lead bullets and push them to 1500 fps for practice loads.

I think that the more rounds you fire with your hunting rifle the better. So I would encourage any practice, including downloading, that results in you shooting more rounds.

I don't have a 458 Win but I used to have a 458 Lott that I never hunted with before I sold it. However, I do have a 416 Rem that I have shot 2 deer with. I used 400 grain, full-bore trophy-bonded to take those deer. The damn thing expanded and even split the gut on one deer from hydrostatic shock on impact. I would load the 458 Win with a 400 grain bonded or Barnes at 2200-2350 fps and tear it up for light game.

By the way, I got my 416 from MARK H. YOUNG that posted above, in 2003. I love it Mark, and I got it to feed everything I put in it now, including Bridger bluff points. Thanks! I bet you would barely recognize it now with the 1/4 rib, milled bridges and Warne mounts. Hah!