Just a quick question for all you guys that have whitworth 458s. The rifle I bought this morning is gorgeous I have to say. I shot it this afternoon... Far superior to the m70. Thanks all for the votes! I never owned one so good call.

Here's the question... I was reading the other night on the internet, so it must be true, that they have soft barrels and the rifling gets shot out very quickly. Is there any truth to this? Or wives tail?

I'd be shocked if that were true. Collectors dig the things and that wouldn't be the case if they had that sort of systemic issue.

JDA

True. Hadn't thought of it that way...

quote:

Originally posted by Sean1975:

Here's the question... I was reading the other night on the internet, so it must be true, that they have soft barrels and the rifling gets shot out very quickly. Is there any truth to this? Or wives tail?

I have read this too. In 10+ years of being around internet boards with people that actually own them I have yet to meet anyone who has had a problem. I have also never seen one that has been re-barreled in the same caliber.

But as you said, if its on the net me must be true so I defer ...

its a myth

I have two of them a 458 and a 375. Barrels are just fine, the 375 has had hundreds of rounds down it. The 458 has had maybe 200. Nice crisp rifling still in both barrels.

Glad to hear you went with the Whitworth.
IMO, still the best choice for a reasonably priced big bore bolt gun.
They seem to be all business and I agree with the gents above that if the barrels were an issue, they would have close to zero following.
As it is, sounds like you have quite a nice rifle now.

I would assume the 375 barrels are the same maker.

I have shot 100's of rounds (at whistle pigs) and the rifling still looks brand new.

Only the Lord can save a whistle pig that pokes it head up within 200 yards of 'Maggie"

Well I'm glad to hear that it would appear to be a myth. The rifle I bought has not a blemish anywhere. It's immaculate. It was fired once in its life before I got my greedy hands on it. It is superior to the m70 in my now educated opinion

Even if they did and thats doubtful, it takes several generations or some terrible abuse to shoot the barrel out of the .375...High velocity and light bullets are hard on barrels as hot powder cuts at the throat...For a hunting only rifle, I doubt that anyone can shoot the barrel out of the slower big bores. I sure wouldn't worry about a Whitworth.

It is one of those typical gun myths that once it appears in writing it will get perpetuated by other writers who have no experience with the matter.

223 and 30-06 have somewhat similar bore to capacity ratios and barrels last 5-15,000 rounds depending on what you expect from them.

Just shoot a few Viagras through it every now and then.

I can't imagine anyone shooting out the barrels of a moderately heavy rifle like a .458.
Cal

Funny, I never heard that myth about Whitworth Mark X barrels being soft.
All of mine have been hard as woodpecker lips.

Well that stupid myth is out there. Swear. I read it a couple times but bought the rifle anyway thinking it must be BS. So glad to hear my gut was right. It's a fabulous rifle. Not a rigby but damn fine and shoots far better than that.

How does one determine a barrel is soft?

Does the barrel bulge or crack? Does the rifling wear out after several hundred rounds?

Has anyone had a Rockwell hardness test performed on one of these barrels, if possible?

From my experience with a good number of them they are very well made rifles with accurate barrels that seem to last as long as any other.
The "reports" that I have read claiming that they were "soft" came from someone in Africa who said they wore out quickly when shooting solids. Maybe his did, maybe it was worn when he got it, who knows, but that same report has been repeated in print by a number of other writers since.
I can tell you that my .458 Win MK X hasn't had nearly as many round put through it over the past 30 years as those used by African cullers but it has been used a lot, including with solids, and it still is a MOA rifle.

Amazing what trash there is on the net. All barrels are soft, comparatively. (RC 28 or so) And the 458 is actually a very low velocity round. If true, he must have been shooting bare steel bullets out of it.
Do not believe it, nor worry about it. If your barrels wears smooth inside, I will install a new one for you for free labor.

I have read that some FN Mauser rifles used to have barrels with micro grooves i.e. same solution as some older SAKOs used to have. That kind of barrel could be shot out quite fast.