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

Some elaboration on the point to EdM on another thread needs to be posted here for its
pertinence to the history of the .458 Winchester Magnum:


You can even make better birdshot/snake loads with the .458 WinMag than with a .416 RemMag.
I will concede the .458 Lott might make a better shotgun.


.416/400-gr SD = 0.330
.458/500-gr SD = 0.341

.416 RemMag: 400-gr at 2400 fps and 65,000 psi

.458 WinMag: 500-gr at 2200 fps at 60,000 psi:

The .458 WinMag will out penetrate the .416 RemMag on game animals if a proper FN monometal solid is used.
When you get to 2200 fps little is gained on penetration by going faster,
other than shock and awe,
more to the shooter than the shootee.

Thus the .458 WinMag is better at long range with 404-gr Shock Hammer.
It is better on elephant at close range with a 500-gr FN.

Those are routinely attained MV's with 24" barrels.
Winchester is loading the 500-gr Nosler Partition and Solid at 2,240 fps.
Hornady used to offer 500-grainers at 2260 fps, soft and solid, when their bullets could not handle it.
Lately they have backed off to 2140 fps with better bullets.

This reminds us of a possible explanation for why Winchester reduced the MV of .458 WM factory loads
from 2125 fps with their 500 & 510-grainers (standard from 25" barrel since 1956),
to only 2050 fps in 26"-barreled double rifles.
They were catering to the .458 WinMag double rifle craze that sprung up when the rimmed DR ammo got scarce.
It was not because of any problems with the .458 WinMag.
It was because of the abuses of the ammo by shooters of double rifles,
lower pressures for the delicate things.
Factory goofs and bad storage of aged ammo can explain any anecdotes of the
.458 WinMag bullets dropping to the ground right out of the barrel in deepest Africa

The .458 Winchester Magnum is without peer. It is the King of +.40-bore hunting rifles.
Everybody ought to have at least one of them as a show of good judgement.
Re-barrel or re-bore your .416 RemMag to .SAAMI .458 WinMag, and you will have two rifles in one.
A SAAMI .458 WM and a .458 WM+.