My dealer buddy in Atlanta has CZ 550's in .458 for $550. At this price, I can hardly resist picking one up. What about a wild cat? Something different that would require just a rechambering. I have no love for the .458 and already have a .460WM. Any ideas? I will ask when I visit his shop this weekend about the new stock design that is supposed to be in the works. Thanks, BOB

.458 Lott, .450 Watts, .460 G&A, .450 Ackley, .450 Rigby, .450 Dakota (although a couple of those might require magazine and boltface work).

George

"Good Wildcat", Thats ALMOST, an oxymoron!

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

List of good wildcats......25/06, the 7mm08, the .260 Remington, the .22BR, .416 Hoffman (Rem), 7mmSTW plus a host of others. Wildcat simply means the factory didn't do it first. Plus don't forget the proprietary cartridges like the. 375 H&H and all the British cartridges before others started chambering for them, the whole Dakota line, the Lazzeroni line, Ken Howell's line etc etc..

Almost forgot the good old .257 Roberts, the .243 Win and the 6mm (.244) Rem.

I'd go with a 475 ackley or a .510" barnes superme which is very close to the 50 peacekeeper for ssk industries

Since you already have the 460 wby, the bigger 458 wildcats would be redundant. And since you can load the weatherby down, the smaller 458 wildcats would be redundant (although I would pick the 450 Ackley or 460 G&A).

Therefore I would get a .475 wildcat, such as the 475 Rigby (416 Rigby necked to .475) or the 470 capstick. Of course that means a new barrel. While you are buying a new barrel, you might as well get a nice custom stock...

What you need is something serious, if you want to keep it a 45 caliber, then what you should do is have a 458/505 made, or a 458/585. Just think, you could have a 45 that would shoot as flat as a 270 ;-) I had John Ricks run a quickload sim, and a 458/500 Jeffrey will do 500 gr @ 3000 fps from a 28" barrel, if you go up to a 505 or 585, you should be able to do that in a 24" tube.

Paul your a sick man , I like it!!

Mike

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Victory through superior firepower!

RNS,
One small detail: that was a 505 Barnes Supreme, not the 510 Barnes Supreme. The 475 Ackley was what was renamed "470 Capstick" by Art Alphin. I always thought that if Art wanted to honor Capstick he should have called the 500 A-Square the "500 Capstick."

Paul H,
I have often thought similar thoughts myself, but thus far have managed to regain my senses. A few more shots with Mitch's T. rex and I might be daft enough to do a 510 Nyati on a 10 pound gun.

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Good huntin' and shootin',
RAB

Bob,
You state that you don't like .45s but you only want to re-chamber.
How are you going to avoid the fact that your bore is still .458?

George

GeorgeS,
He implied that he didn't like the 458 Winchester, it would seem, but is looking for a wildcat in .458 caliber with better performance, the whole point of this thread, if I may be so presumptuous as to butt in. That is a common sentiment regarding the 458 Winnie.
PS: Forgive me, I am going for a thousand and one posts.
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Good huntin' and shootin',
RAB

[This message has been edited by R. A. Berry (edited 06-16-2001).]

Thanks, RAB. In that case my initial post applies.
When he said he didn't like .458, I later though he meant the caliber, not the .458WM cartridge.

George

Actually I'm half serious about a 458/500 Jeffrey. I figure once I get the 500 Jeffrey, and work out the bugs, I'll have an action already set up, so ~$150 for a .45 barrel blank, and hopefully John's 500 Jeffrey reamer could just have a .45 pilot put on it, then go back with a necker/throater. I figure a 30" barrel blank, left at 1.3" the whole length, with the first 2 inches configured as a clam shell muzzle brake will take all the sting out, not to mention the weight of the truck axle barrel. I'd actually be curious to try it on game, but I'm not sure there are any 500 gr 45 slugs that are up to 3000 fps impact.

Paul,

How much more powder capacity does the 500 jeff case have than the 460 wby?

It seems to me if you are going to make a big balls 458 high velocity wildcat, then a 458 x 577 tyrannosaur is the way to go. I predict 3200 fps with a 500 grain bullet.

Gentlemen:
Why would you want to push a 458 caliber bullet faster than a .458 Lott or 460 Weatherby will push it. Tests have been done in Zimbabwe by Mike LaGrange, that found that when you get past 2400 aps you gain very little but recoil. If you need more punch, then go up in caliber and keep the vel. around 2400 fps.
George

Paul,

I think the 500 Jeffrey is about 12% bigger than the 460 case.

Is this is the case then 450/500 should only increase the 460's velocity by about 3%.

However, the brass available might mean it is no quicker than the 460.

What about the 408 Chey Tac case which is supposed to be the 505 Gibbs but with good brass.

Mike

Sir George Hoffman,
You have brought me back to my senses again. You and Ray keep riding herd here to keep us from squandering good rifle actions and barrels. I will go for the 2400 fps ballpark with my big bores, and if I don't get enough abuse at either end of the rifle, then I will satisfy my cravings by getting a bigger bore diameter. That means .585 Nyati or bust! That should allow me to get enough punishment at either end.

BTW, I finally got home to start reading your book. It arrived there in perfect condition. It is a high quality book both in content and construction. I am enjoying it greatly, and do appreciate the inscribed note and autograph in the numbered first edition of "A Country Boy in Africa."

I am a country boy from Kentucky.

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Good huntin' and shootin',
RAB

R.A.BERRY--- Thanks for the correction but it was not a mistake you missed the reference to the 50 peacekeeper which uses a .510" bullet and yes all of us that can read should know that the 505 barnes supreme uses a .505" that is why I called it a .510" and made reference to the 50 peacekeeper as to go with the wider selection of bullets.

I guess the 475 a&m mag would do just as good which is supposed to have 10,000 ft/lbs. Well you all have settled on the 2400 fps mark whick is my orginal choice a 50 peacekeeper at 2400fps witha 650 gr bullet which is also a more efficient case/round. Any ways I hope you enjoy the bite what ever you choose.

George,

The only reason I'd build a 458/500, or 458/505 is I hate high velocity and muzzlebrakes, and this gun would be a high speed braked nasty gun. I would call it the 458 Alaskan Varminter. It would essentially be a gag gun, something to upset the firing line when those inconsiderates have their 300-378's kicking up dust and making a ruckus. I figure a 350 gr X at ~3300 fps would be my idea of a long range gun. My practicle 45 will be a 450 Howell on a mauser 98, w/ a ruger #1 take off that should finish to ~23", and give me reasonable lott type performance from a std action.

Ron

Most of the velocity gain would be from the longer barrel, not the larger case. Since I will have an action set up for the 500 Jeffrey, it would be easier to set it up as a 458/500. I'm actually considering using the 500 AHR brass for a bit more capacity, and just rebating the rims. I think 20 cases would take care of whatever use I'd put the gun to.

RNS,
You are not making much sense to me. I am well aware of the 505 Barnes Supreme, being a student of the big bores, and the 510 Wells which begat the 500 A-Square, which begat the 510 JAB and finally the 50 Peacekeeper. I think that J. D. Jones and SSK got wind of my experiments with the 510 JAB and followed suit with the 50 Peacekeeper. LOL.

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Good huntin' and shootin',
RAB