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

From Sir Bob, and my responses in red:

Thanks for your comments on my latest blog.

Welcome. My pleasure to be sure. A week is greatly diminished without another Bob Blog Installment.

Say, did you pull the trigger on the 340 when that bear tried to poke it's nose through the tent wall? I was picturing that in my mind and thought what a "blast" that would be! When I shot the moose with mine the blast was dissipated in the open clear cut, never noticing it.

I rolled away from the side of the tent that the Kodiak bear was pressing on and toward the tent flap,
stuck the muzzle of the 340 Wby through the tent flap and fired.
The earth moved as he fled. I suppose the noise and muzzle flash both were not to his liking on a moonless night.
I had a flashlight on his 8-footer's butt as he vanished into the tall grass of Spiridon Moor, beside Spiridon Lake, beside Spiridon Bay,
on the northwest by west side of Kodiak.


But years ago when I shot my first bear with a .458 WIN (Ruger 77) with a 22" barrel, the blast permanently damaged my right ear drum. I fired a shot off before arriving at the site and noticed no effect on my ears. I'm now almost totally deaf in my right ear (the one closest to the muzzle, and swore off ever having another 22" .458 Win). However, the 22" Ruger No.1 in .45-70 LT was never an issue, so I figured another 22", .458 might be acceptable since the .45-70 LT's muzzle was closer still to my right ear not having an action. I enquired at the time (on AR) as to potential causes and I believe you were the only one who responded, suggesting I may have had an infection in the ear. I didn't know you were a medic. But the truth is/was that I did have a throat infection that affected my speech.

That is why a cold, allergies, sorethroat can ground a pilot. A little inflamation or swelling around the eustachian tube opening in the throat can make the eardrum prone to rupture with pressure changes, barotrauma, muzzle blasts, altitude changes, when pressures on both sides of the eardrum cannot rapidly equalize.
You must have been as much or more a victim of your throat condition as of the muzzleblast.

So the long and short of that is I'd gladly have another Ruger 77. The current Ruger No.1 in .458 is 40" overall and has the Mag-na-ports, which makes muzzle blast closer still to my right ear than the Ruger bolt action 77. I'm not offended by the No.1 in wooded areas but I do use ear plugs.

Question: I have used muffs both at the range and in hunting with the built-in audio system, permitting good hearing in hunting (In fact, too good as in walking I hear crunching sounds under my feet, and carpenter ants in a tree next to me sounded like a woodsman with a chain saw!) but in shooting at the range they do adequately block muzzle blast. However, for hunting purposes I've stopped using them as they amplify all sounds too much and become uncomfortable.

I have a set of electronic muffs too, and think about them same as you.

So, any recommendations as to those electronic ear plugs that seem to work well and yet are unobtrusive?

Bob
www.bigbores.ca
END BOB QUOTE

Riflecrank says:
I have not tried the in-the-ear-canal electronic aid/hearing protection method.
I really ought to.
I do not have any professional opinion to offer on them.
Will have to "look" into that, for others' experience and opinions.
First I need to try a different method, the suppressor/silencer, on the .458 WM.
Dang if all the hunting shows haven't started showing rifles like the 28 Nosler with big, long cans on the muzzles, muzzle mufflers.













It took fingerprinting and 7 months for the ATFE, FBI, local Sheriff and whomever to provide the $200 tax stamp
that must accompany a suppressor at all times.
Of course it should not be used with paper-patched and gas-checked cast bullets, BP, fillers and sabots.
Probably even .461" hardcast with PC paint should be avoided.
Oh well, I'll have to shoot smokeless and jacketed/monometal for Bushwhacker 46-ing.
Monoflex 250-grainer for a supersonic crack.
Subsonic heavies at close range, how slow can I go in a 1:14" twist ?
Ah ha ! An 18" barrel will help slow it down without a too-empty case.
Finally, a use for a short barrel.