I doubt a .454 lead ball will make a very good gas seal in a .458 WM. Leading might be an issue. Maybe a .40-cal ball in a sabot ? Maybe paper-patch the sabot from .450" to .461" and have a better squeeze on the whole affair ? Paper patch shreds in the rifling and discards at the muzzle as does the sabot.
Young Davy Crockett's first Ol' Betsy was a .40-cal, before he went to Texas with a .58-cal. I have killed deer with a .40-cal flintlock. DRT with a neck shot at 50 yards. Little round ball at 2000 fps was the first "Express Rifle." Maybe the .458 WM can recreate the entire history of the hunting rifle ballistics (any worth recreating) from 1700 to 2021 and beyond. Still the best ever, the .458 Winchester Magnum.
Ron aka "Rip" for Riflecrank Internationale Permanente NRA Life Benefactor and Beneficiary .458 Winchester Magnum, Magnanimous in Victory THE WALKING DEAD does so remind me of Democrap voters. Donkeypox.
