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

I like pictures.


The .450 Watts O’Connor used on his 1953 safari began life as a
standard 1898 Mauser. Tom Burgess did the extensive metal-smithing.
Harvey Anderson barreled it; Albin Oslin stocked it.


Jim Stiehl bought the rifle, but not the claim. When it arrived,
the floorplate “was a big surprise!”


Fitted with an aperture sight and a 2½x Lyman Alaskan scope in a Griffin & Howe
QD side mount, the .450 saw action on buffalo without the optic.


The .450’s extended tang is unusual, added for a tang safety.
There’s none in the slot. The original Mauser flag safety would have been
as convenient. “I have a .450 that might have been Jack O’Connor’s.”


The .450 Watts (center) was the wildcat predecessor to Winchester’s .458 (left).
The .458 Lott (right) is slightly shorter than the Watts, essentially the same
ballistically. All are based on the .375 H&H.


This photo shows the .450 and O’Connor’s 1953 Cape buffalo. Note the
engraved floorplate. “Always use solids for buffalo,” said Don Ker. Jack had not.


Dr. Jim Stiehl (left) donated the long-lost Mauser to the Jack O’Connor
Center in Lewiston, Idaho. Wayne is in the middle and at right is Buck Buckner,
who helped Lou Scharbau track it down.