Saw the reference to the shorter 458 Ultra case.



Has anybody built a 458 Short Ultra Mag that is 2.5 inches long (same as the 458 Win Mag) ? Using RCBSLoad cartridge designer software, keeping a 1/2 inch neck and a 20 degree shoulder...





Cartridge followed by Brass Case Length (inches) then Water Capacity



458 Win Mag/2.5/86

458 Lott/2.8/98

458 Short Ultra Mag/2.5/98

460 Weatherby/2.9/130



This could be built on a 30/06 length action like a Ruger 77. Match a 458 Lott in a short action.



Hammer

Just out of curiosity and it's already been mentioned but shouldn't the .458 RUM be a balistic twin to the 460G&A and the short UM be a balistic twin to the .460 A Square Short? I can definatley see the advatage of doing these rounds off of the UM cases just for brass availabiltiy.sounds like a good idea.

I suspect the 458 Lott will do anything the others will do and its now no longer a wildcat and you can bet more factory ammo other than Hornady is just off the horizon..

A 500 gr. bullet at 2350 FPS is about all the pain and punishment I can take, anything over that is just twaddle as far as killing power goes.....

As the world changes and gun laws increase and other countries are getting on the band wagon unfortunatly I forsee some enforced restrictions coming fourth and a proper stamped case to match the rifle may be on the agenda sooner or later, just a guess....Some tell me that it already exists in some countries, but I have not experienced it as yet.

The Bottom line is with the choices of calibers we have today in factory persuasion, a wildcat is pretty much a poor choice for many reasons...at least that is my opine for today.

I opted for the .458 lott although I wish in some respects that the .450 Rigby had of been the round that Ruger & Hornady legitimised. In regards to "charisma" I feel the .450 Rigby is the winner and Ruger would have had people buying the big brother to there .416 Rigby Rifle. Any way the lott is the way to go now I think as it gets the 2300 fps with a 500 grain bullet and Ray makes a good point about the headstamping etc.

Griz,

Several .458" wildcats on the .404 Jeffery case have been proposed for factory cartridges. None has been adopted because you don't have much in the way of shoulder for positive headspace control. A careful handloader won't have any trouble with hand-loaded ammunition, but the combination of factory tolerances in chambers and factory tolerances in ammunition is not a dog that will hunt.

All of the current non-.375 H&H cartridge case .458" factory cartridges have been built on the A-Square Excalibur case, the .416 Rigby cartridge case of the .378 Weatherby cartridge case (basically the same size, with and without a belt): there is plenty of room with these cases to headspace, either on the belt or on the shoulder for the beltless designs.

As Ray points out, the factory status of the .458 Lott makes for a very easy way to go. IF you want the larger case, I would go with the .450 Dakota (personal preference, no real reason).

jim dodd