Ok I have been reading about all this nice big bores, so I had to get one myself
Off course I took the one that has been most critizied, the 458Win since I could not think off any animal in Scandinavia that need more punch and I don�t think I could hit anything +200m so I do not need a cartridge for longer shoots at big game
My thought is to use the Hornady 350gr RN as hunting load to all game and I am thinking of use the Hornady round lead bullets for practicing at the ranch.
What is your experience of the 458Win as Big game gun (We do not talk about Africa now )
PerN

Per,

When I had my 458 lott, my favorite load was either a 350 gr speer @ 2400 or a 350 gr hornady at 2500, using Reloader 7 powder. This was "downloaded" to 458 win mag levels. There is no doubt in my mind that such loads are entirely sufficient on the largest of non dangerous game. A friend up here has taken several moose with the 350 speer @ 2500 out of his 458 win mag and says the performance is outstanding.

The criticism of the 458 win mag is in regards to how it performed in Africa, and how the design for thick skinned dangerous game in tropical conditions comes up a bit short.

I doubt the gun scribes would have taken to the 458 win mag as a general purpose gun, but it is a shame that 350 gr 2500 fps factory loads weren't available.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by PerN:
Hi PerN,
Try the 400 or 350 grain Barnes X also. They will range better than the round nose bullets and will perform really well. My buddy shoots the 400 grainers in his 458 with good results. I'm sorry I can't remember the the velocity but I think it was in the 2250 fps range. 470 Mbogo

I have tried most bullets in my 458, and the ones I have settled on as my do anything bullets are the 400 gr. X for an expanding bullet and the 400 gr. solid for a non-expanding bullet. While I have never hunted African game with them, nor any big game for that matter (rifles are illegal in my state), these bullets have performed quite admirably in every test that I have given them. I know the 300 gr. X bullet is absolute murder on deer sized game when shot out of a 45-70 handgun so I see no reason why they would not perform equally well in the 458. What I like about the X bullet is that they expand down to 1600 fps, retain 95-100% of their weight, give complete penetration, and won't come apart at velocities as high as 2300 fps, which is all the higher I have taken them. While I have not taken any game with the 350 gr. Hornady roundnose, I can tell you that my rifle will put 5 shots through one ragged hole in my 458 at 100 yards. It's been 15 years since I tried any, so I can only guess that the velocity is around 2350 fps, but in test media (wet paper) I usually lost between 30-40% of the bullet weight at 25 yards. I would not use this bullet on anything dangerous, but deer sized game should pose no problem for it. For larger game I would stick with an X bullet between 300 and 450 grs., depending on game size and the ability of the animal to bite back.

Thanks for the respons
After Trying to shoot the 500gr Hornady bullets (at only ~605m/s or 1985f/s)that was included in the deal I am more convinced then ever that I should go for the lighter 350gr bullets. I have been trying to sight it in from the bench and already at that low velocity with the 500gr bullets the recoil are noticable.
My local gunstore (55km away) have Speer 350gr and BarnesX 350gr so I will try to get over there next week and buy some. Thanks again/
PerN

PerN:

I don't have any experience with the .458 Win. in Africa, but the caliber has a great reputation for the hunting of bears in Alaska---especially in areas of heavy brush. As far as I'm concerned, the .458 Win. is just fun to shoot and play with. The ammo is not too expensive, the recoil is heavy but tolerable, and has a reputation for very good accuracy, especially with the heavier 500gr bullets. A nice compact rifle can be built araound this caliber. Having a barrel longer than 22" really doesn't help you. A 20" barrel will still deliver almost all of the power for launching the bullet to full velocity potential. Also, a rifle chambered in this cartridge can be built on a standard length action (30-06 length, and without any modifications to the magazine or bolt face, a compact rifle can be built on any action originaly set up for a standard belted magnum case. (ie. 300 Win, .264 Win, 7mm Rem mag. etc.) Have fun.