Gentlemen, I am wanting a LH .458 Win. What are your opinions on rebarreling a Ruger LH .300 Win Mag? Have any of you gone this route? I am concerned with feeding problems. It seems to me that it should be a straight forward rebarreling job but want some input from others smarter than me. Thanks,

SFC E7

quote:

it should be a straight forward rebarreling job

I agree.

Yep, but ocassionally, you might have to do some rail work for proper feeding. Of course, there are .458s from the factory that need this!

Hey Sarge,

As a lefty as well I also try to stay tuned to potential Left Hand enhancements also - good idea!

vapo & prof are right-on, it's an easy barrel switch making the technical side the easiest part. My additional potential considerations would be:

1. Stock, most likely the barrel channel will have to be opend up a little to accomodate the larger diameter barrel. The stock may also end up being a little light for such a thumper with a little less wood all around (action area/buttstock) to compensate for the (considerably) increased recoil. My opinion would at a minimum require stock bedding & crossbolts installed and perhaps an additional barrel recoil lug, too.

2. Magazine, for feeding considerations like you've already mentioned. If it was my conversion I'd call Ruger and ask if they make a magazine specificaly for the .458 WM cartridge and if so, replace it with the current .300 WM unit. While I'm pretty sure the current magazine may just require some minor tweaking to make the feeding reliable I'd nevertheless ensure the gunsmith doing the work was familiar with DG cartridges.

Just my $0.02 worth - Have fun with your project.

On a ruger 77mkII, 300 win, this would be an easy conversion. In fact, it should be NOTHING more than a rebarrel

I did the first 416 AR on a ruger tang safety, then the 470 AR on a mkII ... the markII has a VERY wide feed ramp, and it's a pretty easy job.

http://www.weaponsmith.com/AR-rounds1.html

if you have any feeding issues whatsoever, start with cutting "windows" in the mag box

in fact, you could do a 458 AR on this, have at least 200 FPS more than you can get from from a 458 winmag, and it'll feed NICE

jeffe

Thanks all,
I have emailed my son to find me a LH ruger in 300 win. I really appreciate the input and look forward to this project now. 114 in the shade and 129 in the sun today! Jeffe, you have a PM.

SFC E7

Jeffe,

what would mag box windows do to increase feeding reliability? Just curious...

Mag box windows reduce friction and give the shoulder a little more room.