Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only The great 458 Winchester. Everyone should own one at least once

Speaking of iron sights on my thumpers, I consider putting 3 shots into 2 inches at 50 yards on paper to be OK for me !
The iron sights on my .450 Ted Williams Thumper do that just fine, and with a scope she shoots as well as my scoped .458 WM and .458 WM+ rifles.







These are the iron sights that work for me, using a hold such that the rifle shoots to top edge of bead at 50 yards POA,
load being 500-gr TSX with 96.0 grains of RL-15, 2372 fps 5-yd chrono, about 2382 fps MV, from 22" barrel, 90*F.
The last inch of the 23" barrel was ported by a gunsmith in Alaska, while it was a .460 WBY.
For a closer target and faster shooting: Combat bead covering the POA for a DOA at the POI.



The .450 Thumper(s) were chambered by Rusty McGee, using a PT&G .338 Lapua Magnum reamer with a .45-bore pilot in a McGowen barrel, standard headspace gages for .338 LM.
Neck and throat were done with a SAAMI .458 WM reamer, inserted to maximum chamber length of 2.720", for 2.700" brass maximum.

Neck length is 0.469" for 2.700" brass, 0.459" for 2.690" brass length.



.450 Thumper the First:





With that 22"-barreled rifle and a 2.5X Leupold scope, at 74*F, using RL-15 and the 450-grain North Fork Soft Point, 5-yd velocities, 3-shot averages:

98.0 gr >>> 2545 fps sd = 5 fps
99.0 gr >>> 2556 fps sd = 3 fps
100.0 gr >>> 2581 fps sd = 5 fps
101.0 gr >>> 2590 fps sd = 8 fps
102.0 gr >>> 2598 fps sd = 5 fps

Accuracy was best with the 98.0 gr RL-15, 0.31 MOA, three into one hole at 50 yards.
Groups opened up just a little at 99.0 and 100.0 grains but were one-holers again on the 50-yard target for 101.0 and 102.0 grains.
Well over 2600 fps for the 102.0 gr load if corrected to MV.
KE of 450-grainer at 2600 fps = 6754 ft-lbs.

.450 Thumper the Second had a 25" skinny barrel:



The point of it all ? As Tom Siatos said in the 1973 G&A ANNUAL in his article "The .460 G&A Goes to Africa":

The shooting world needs another wildcat cartridge about as much as we need another "Federal Gun Control Act." ...
... So why a wildcat .458 load? No other reason than just the satisfaction and fun of developing it, putting it together and finally
using it in the field. Afterall, isn't this what it's all about."

Exactly the same can be said about the .458 WM+.
The .458 WM+ is not far behind .450 Thumper ballistics in the same weight and length rifle.
The critter will never know the difference, but the hunter will.
He will get thumped less.