Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Anyone shoot/hunt their 458 WM in the US?

My .458 gets a work out every fall and winter, Mostly on Nilgai, but I have killed a few Elk,Whitetails, Pigs, and a few dozen Blacktail Jack Rabbits, It's very effective. killed this pig at 153 yrds with IMR 3031 and 350 gr. hornady soft nose. Rio7

Unfortunately, I've never had the opportunity to need anything more stout than cast in my 45's.

Need???

"An utterly foreign word that is mistakenly an inappropriately used in lieu of want".

John

I used a 350gn speer bullet at roughly 2400 fps on a doe. roughly 150 yards. It worked well other than I misplaced my first shot. 2nd shot put r' down quick. The meat damage was comparable to a 30-06. No reason you should not use your 458 on any game you desire.

Having been guiding for Alaskas biggest bears for 39 years, and killed bears with numerous calibers from a 30-06 up to a 505 Gibbs, ( and one 9mm, but that is a different story)
It is no secret that when I have to follow up a wounded bear my rifle of choice is my 458 Win. The more I used other big calibers like the 9.3's, 375's, 416's , 450/400 and 505 , the more I came to appreciate the 458.

Because even though St Ross claims there are no big bears left in Alaska and that I photoshopped all the bears my clients have taken. There are just as big of bears today as there ever were.


https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/wil...rotund-katmai-bear-during-fat-bear-week/

OK Phil, who the F is St. Ross (Seyfried?)

Sorry, should have been more precise, I meant St Ross the Pure and Infallible

Phil, do you like any big 500 grain roundnose or 450 grain TSX in your 458?

I used to prefer the 400 gr TSX but they dropped it. The 400 Swift and Kodiak work great but from long experience I still gravitate toward 500 Rn bullets and the old Hornady interbonds and Swifts work just fine for me.

My double liked the 450 TSX. No more?

10-4, Thanks Phil, my old FN Browning 458 loves the 500 gr Partitions, caught some blemishes on sale at SPS and bought 300 of them, haven't used them on anything, but cant imagine why they 'wouldn't' work, groups really well at 2150 fps.

I think the 450 TSX is still available Jorge.

For twenty years I begged Nosler to make a .458 bullet and by the time they finally came out with one I was pretty happy with the various RN bullets I was using and in the 458 don't see any need for a spitzer bullet.
But I do plan on giving them a try, maybe this coming year on Cape buffalo

Funny how that works sometime, what got my interest up about the 458 cal 500 gr partitions was the semi-spritzer shape, my rudimentary thought process hoped they would delay expansion a bit longer on really tough game like the cape buffalo you mentioned, had I got a leopard permit, I would have been in Moz chasing buffalo in the long grass exactly right now.

Please keep us posted on your buffalo hunt.

That 400gn Barnes X bullet was terrific, very accurate and deep 5 feet plus penetration if you can find an animal that large.
Still have a few loaded for my .458 but the 350gn TSX would cover the same usage for most game and the 450TSX for dangerous game.

I don't use a lot of 500 grain bullets preferring to jump to the 550gn Woodleigh if I want pure thump on impact, though some of the 500's are equally, very accurate in their own right. Sometimes I have to remind myself the .458 is a purpose build cartridge, because I have carried mine even after deer.
John

Amen...

You preaching to the choir...

DF

The 458 is great fun when loaded to around 45/70 velocities with either cast or jacketed bullets. The 350 grain bullets really get a Jack Rabbits attention they work well on Javelina, Hogs and Deer. It would be fun to try the pointy lever action bullets in a modern express load. Call it a 45 Nitro and go hunting.

So what is it about big bears that keeps you going back?

Fondly remember the first time I shot a .458 Win, a bit over 30 years ago. Fellow I knew had returned from Africa, and though he'd planned to sell his 458 Model 70... He just loved the rifle too much by then. Too many good memories.

So, he downloaded it with the 400 gr Speer bullet and the 350 gr Hornady Round Nose. Happily hunted black bear and whitetail. He loved that doggone rifle.

I enjoyed it too - and those first few shots with 500 gr factory ammo woke me up a bit.

So no, I haven't hunted with a 458 Win, but have good memories of a fellow who did.

Guy

My Old Ugly clone with a nicer paint job!