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

Yep, FN Mauser .458 WinMag in the hands of Ron "Mahohboh" Thomson
probably culled more elephants than any other single rifle in history, about 6000.
More than any "double rifle" too, heh-heh.

For those obsessed with short barrel and light weight, here is my experience
with my two lightest and shortest rifles of equal cartridge ballistics,
6#10oz .458 B&M with 16.9" barrel and 7#10oz .458 WM with 23" barrel
reported at the B&M site,
copied here:

Assuming same scope and ammo load on the 6#10oz rifle and the 7#10oz rifle (add 1#6oz to each rifle)
and easily obtainable velocities with same powder charge and bullet:

16.9″-barreled, 8-pound field-ready rifle with 400-gr bullet at 2350 fps with 80 grains of powder: Recoil = 68.7 ft-lbs @ 23.5 fps
23″-barreled, 9-pound field ready rifle with 400-gr bullet at 2500 fps with 80 grains of powder: Recoil = 66.8 ft-lbs @ 21.8 fps

Velocity loss from my barrel shortening does not reduce recoil as much as the 1-pound reduction in weight increases recoil.
Slightly more recoil with the shorter barrel if velocity loss was 150 fps with the 6.1″ barrel shortening, observed between these two rifles,
with barrel differences:
16.9″ Pac-Nor 1:10″ twist .458 B&M+
23″ McGowen 1:14″ twist .458 WM+

Not enough difference for most insensitive brutes to perceive at shoulder.
The midget rifle will kick a little harder and need a 75-yard handicap to be on par with the longer barrel.

The average .458 WM with 24" barrel will be closer to 10 pounds scoped and topped off with ammo.
Recoil of the 10-pounder for the speedy 400-grainer versus the classic 500-grainer:

400-grainer at 2500 fps with 80 grains of powder: Recoil = 60.1 ft-lbs @ 19.66 fps

500-grainer at 2150 fps with 72 grains of powder: Recoil = 63.4 ft-lbs @ 20.2 fps

(500-gr Hornady RNSN load: 72.0 gr AA-2230, 3.305" COL, not compressed, 53,808 psi, 24" barrel, Winchester brass, F-215 primer.
The 400-gr speedy load may require .458 WM+ handloading techniques, but is easily accomplished
even from a short magazine box by single loading the standard SAAMI .458 WinMag.
No SAAMI .458 Lott need apply, please.
Recoil will be heavier with the Lott because more powder will be required to do the same MV as the .458 WinMag can do at modest pressure.)