Finally got the reloading done and got to start breaking in the barrel. Fit, finish, and wood is well done (checkering is not bad for being machined). Action is very smooth: rounds feed & chamber like they're not even there.... VERY smooth! Barrel mounted recoil lug, receiver recoil lug, and rear of receiver are bedded.
My first 4 shots went into a 3 leaf clover at 50yds off the bench w/ open sights, less than an inch to the 7:00 of the dead center of the bullseye.
110% happy!
Posts: 132 | Location: WI. | Registered: 02 June 2009
4sixteen - Just getting started with the 458 Win. These loads were 500gr Hornady's w/ 70gr Varget @ 2040fps. I'll move to another powder soon due to Barnes are compacting the Varget a lot even at this weight.
Posts: 132 | Location: WI. | Registered: 02 June 2009
Standard load for my .458 WM is 70.0 gr of RE15 with the Hornady 500 gr soft nose bullet (#4504) at a MV of 2000 fps (23" barrel). Also tried 62.0 gr of RE7 for about the same MV.
I seem to recall the M70 has the handier 22" barrel (?). My 798 had a 26" barrel, a bit unwieldly so I got it reduced to 23".
Woodleigh and Bertram make 458 480grn bullets for the Winchester Magnum which can easily duplicate the the classic 450NE loads at 2100+fps. Well worth considering.
Posts: 5886 | Location: Sydney,Australia | Registered: 03 July 2005
These rifles feel very nice to handle. Slimmer than a Safari Express and just plain nice. I personally think if Winchester made ALL of the Safari rifles with this stock they'd make a lot of people happy and sell a few more rifles.
$1700 is a very good price. Most Cabelas have had these at $2199 for a long time. Too much for me; I bought a 458 wm in Safari Express for less than $1200 and it shoots and feeds awesome as well. Very nice rifles for the money.
Also there is alot of load data on this site; use AA2230 and you'll get much better performance out of your 500 gr loads.
I hunt to live and live to hunt!
Posts: 299 | Location: Big Sky Country! | Registered: 19 March 2011
That's a fine looking rifle. Can't say that I care for the commemorative floorplate but the overall design looks well executed. And it shoots too.
SCI Life Member DRSS
"In those savage countries success frequently depends upon one particular moment; you may lose or win according to your action at that critical instant."
Sir Samuel Baker
Posts: 297 | Location: New Scotland, Canada | Registered: 01 August 2007
I'd speculate that the commemorative floorplate, while otherwise doing nothing for me,may serve as a permanent value enhancer in suggest ing that a little bit of care was taken in picking out components, such as that fine piece of wood.
I once had one of the post-64 .458s and disliked it intensely because of the tight curve of the grip, which placed my middle finger knuckle right next to the trigger guard. Ouch. From the pictures, it looks like that may not have changed.
Norman Solberg International lawyer back in the US after 25 years and, having met a few of the bad guys and governments here and around the world, now focusing on private trusts that protect wealth from them. NRA Life Member for 50 years, NRA Endowment Member from 2014, NRA Patron from 2016.
I was debating getting the non-commemorative version, but I just really liked everything this version offered, and then I got to hand pick my specific rifle out of 4 they had in stock.
The one real advantage to having a piece of equipment with "Cabelas" written on it, is if there is ever a problem, it will be taken care of. I have always been extremely impressed with their customer service - when its rarely needed.
I haven't had any problems with the trigger guard hitting any of my fingers. 100% happy so far; smooth, accurate, good fit & finish, well balanced, and fits me perfect.
Posts: 132 | Location: WI. | Registered: 02 June 2009
