Being within a couple months of my 86 birthday, and having suffered a severe bout of arthritis last winter, from which I'm still recuperating, I've toned down my loads for the .458 Win to ~40 ft-lbs recoil from upwards of ~60 a couple of years ago. And I still aim to get a consistent MOA, or less, for all my hunting loads in the .458 and 9.3 x 62. I could post pictures here but I do those in my blogs.
My take on Swiftshot is that he has overdone his shooting of .458 Lotts, and no longer can he mentally or emotionally sustain the wack he knows he'll get. I've not been shooting nearly as much at the range over the past couple of years as previously, and have to mentally prepare myself for the wack I'll get every time I pull the trigger.
For over twenty years I mostly shot "hot loads" in my .45-70s, including a Ruger #1 with a long throat that was equal to a 22" .458 Win in ballistics. That rifle with scope and a few cartridges in a buttstock cartridge holder only weighed 8.6 lbs, and recoil was up to nearly 70 ft-lbs so anything below 50 seemed mild to me. That was until I reached age 80 or so. Then due to concern over my one good eye I decided to trade my beloved Ruger #1 in .45-70 LT for a .458 Win in a Ruger #1 that weighed two more pounds to tone down felt recoil. I did that and then Covid hit us that hampered shooting at the range... and then the arthritis attack.
So my takeaway is what I already knew, and what most experts already were saying, that to stay in the game of shooting any hard recoiling rifle we must shoot them often but not overdo it! I think Swiftshot has overdone it, with apologies.
Bob
www.bigbores.ca
