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

My reply nearly 2 years later is Square Table fundamentals:

Hunter-Habib,
Nice write up, but you forgot to mention the original H. P. White Laboratory tests in 1955.
Julian S. Hatcher, Major General U.S. Army, Retired was Technical Editor for the NRA's AMERICAN RIFLEMAN then. WRAC sent him "the pilot model" .458 Winchester Magnum and ballistics reports: "... no shortcomings in ballistics were noted." This was a recollection recorded in HATCHER'S NOTEBOOK.

He recalled that he got the package from WRAC on November 8, 1955, rifle and ammo and lab data.

His first article on the .458 WinMag in the NRA pub was entitled "For the Biggest Game" and subtitled
"A report on the .458 Winchester Magnum cartridge and rifle," in the August 1956 issue of AR.

The .458 WM exceeded all advertising claims regarding ballistics:
25" barrel
76 degrees F, 59% RH
Bullet: 500-gr WRA FMJ RN
COL: 3.340"
Winchester cases and Winchester 120 primers
Propellant: 71.0 grains of HiVel #2, NOT COMPRESSED
Velocity average for 10 shots: 2160 fps, intstrumental velocity 20 feet from muzzle
Pressure average for 10 shots: 50,410 PSI

Assuming G1 BC was 0.295, corrected to MV = 2174 fps
KE at MV = 5247 ft-lbs

Any of the terrible stuff that happened in the decades after that can be blamed on slobs of one sort or another, mostly at the ammo factories, but end-user abusers as well.

On March 9, 2022 test-fire and dissection of 1957 vintage ammo from WRAC was done by me.
Date code on end flap of the red and yellow Winchester SUPER SPEED box was 91MM8,
indicating Nov. 8, 1957 ammo lot date.
Enaa baasee' to Sir Tony for graciously supplying the ammo.
Advertised MV was 2125 fps for the WRAC 500-grain FMJ RN
This .458 WinMag factory load was 64 years and 4 months old when fired.

25" Shilen barrel
51 degrees F
Bullet: 500-gr WRA FMJ RN
COL: 3.331" (brass length = 2.494")
Winchester case, red sealant around primer
Propellant: 67.0 grains of extruded, small grain tubular, charcoal-grey-black color
5-yard chrono for 5 shots: 2072, 2072, 2061, 2065, 2059 Mean = 2066 fps
If G1 BC = 0.295:
MV = 2080 fps

Ammo was stored in homes with central HVAC climate control FOR OVER 64 YEARS.
If that had been HiVel #2 powder, 4 more grains of it might have been nice.
Anyway, not bad stuff, factory loaded before the Democrat voters took over the factory.

Nowadays powders and bullets are so advanced as to allow handloaders near endless options.

This is undeniable:
Load the .458 WinMag to same COL and higher pressure (MAP) as the .458 Lott
is allowed by SAAMI,
and the .458 WinMag will give higher velocity or lower pressure or both, compared to the SAAMI .458 Lott.
It is all in the throat and a bullet long enough to make the span.
Physics does not lie.
Slick up your action and you can work the longer action fast,
don't feel bad about using an H&H-length action for your .458 WinMag.

Here is a funny. The .458 Lott had its brass lengthened by 0.3"
and was meant for primary use in an action only 0.2" longer.
That is a bit cramped.
Don't get me started on using a 3.000" case length (extra 0.5" length) in an action that
is only 0.2" longer (long action) or even 0.4" longer (true magnum action).

Bullet weight: 404-gr Shock Hammer easily does +2500 fps from a 24" barrel at COL of 3.380".
Nice trajectory.
For the CEB 400-gr brass FN, 2500 fps is fast enough at less than 3.380" COL.
A shorter solid has more inherent stability in an elephant skull.
Fine and dandy in a 3.4" (standard) action length.

Even with the old factory ammo (lousy bullets) Richard Harland and Ron Thomson slew thousands of elephants in control work with their .458 WinMags, circa 1960 and onward.
Thomson guessed he had made 5000-6000 kills, and backup on many more.
"But what is a few thousand elephant among friends" he said, or something like that.

Really, the saddest thing about the whole deal is how James Watts gets so little credit for starting it all with his .450 Watts Magnum with 2.850" case length, and .450 Watts Short with 2.500" case length, long before anyone else.
Alas, the "Winchester Magnum" moniker was necessary for WRAC to get started on their .458, .338, .264, and .300. Watts signed a release to get WRAC going on it.

Jack Lott used a .450 Watts Magnum chamber reamer in a .458 Winchester Magnum barrel with no set back. He was using 2.800" brass length in a chamber of 2.870" length, meant for 2.850" brass.
Stolen valor.