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

Seasons greetings to you too, Sir Joe,
and thanks for the belated Christmas present:
I could not resist. Got one on the way.
Any Mauser 98 action is now at risk of being converted to a .458 WinMag.

Ad says the maker is "Mauser" ... ?

Good stuff Sir Ron, glad to see you gents are running along full steam ahead with all things 458 Win Mag, a buddy tried to buy my 458 WM+ i took on last safari after i showed him the pics of all the one shot stopped animals...........i didn't slap him LOL!

I am not so sure I would consider myself a Knight, but after reading and learning about the great 458 Winchester Magnum I have become a member of the 458 WM club. I have a 458 WM barrel for my Blaser R8 that I plan on shooting this weekend for the 1st time. I also have 308, 30-06, 300 WM, and 9.3x62 barrels, along with a few other rifle platforms. I am going to start reloading and just placed an order for a Co-Ax press. As for being a Blaser fan, I know! I know! hopefully God will forgive me?

Only Heaven has just one door. The Square Table of the 458WM can be entered through many ways. The willingness to accept the truth of its magnificence is all that is required.
F01

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/galleries/17963328/blaser-458


I am one of those poor souls that have crossed over to the dark side. I am a Blaser fan, I admit I have a problem, and I could not be happier, enough so that I have sold many rifles, pistols, and revolvers to support the barrel addiction. Here are some specs on this particular setup. Obviously it starts with the 458 WM barrel. I had the stock cut 1 inch, the insert reinstalled, and a 1" Limbsaver grind to fit recoil pad installed by the folks at Limbsaver for a total LOP of 14". I replaced the Blaser low scope rings with Leupold low scope rings that let the scope sit a good bit lower. The Leupold rings had to be drilled and tapped to make them work. I attached a Schmidt & Bender Zenith flash dot 1.1-4x24 with a Reticle No. 9. The rifle, scope, and fully loaded weighs 10lbs 4.6oz. The OAL is 41". The total barrel length is 23 3/4", the effective barrel length from the bolt face to the end of the barrel is 23". Center of Gravity for the complete setup is 5 1/4" forward of the trigger. I shot this setup today for the first time. I used DoubleTap 350GR Barnes TSX Ammunition, and the kick was not much harder than my similar setup with an Elmer's 300WM barrel installed, which is the same length but thinner and weighs less. Since the same bolt face and magazine insert are used for both these barrels, loosening the two captured nuts, replace 1 barrel with the other, tighten the captured nuts, and you are good to go in less than a minute. By the way the magazine insert is the same for the 458 Lott so there is plenty of room to load long. I eyeballed the scope with the Iron Sights, then fired 2 shots at the stump shown in the pics which was ten yards away, and then fired a third shot with the open/iron sights. I have to admit I was a bit nervous touching off the 1st round, to say I was happy with results and recoil is an understatement. Moving up to 400GR will be the next step and should be as heavy as I will need to go for my purposes. If this qualifies me to become a member of the Knights of The Square Table, I will choose a shortened version of Blaser to "Sir Blase".

I just want to clarify I was not shooting for accuracy in any way, form, or fashion. Since I am unfamiliar with the 458 WM, the sole purpose of this exercise was to get a feel for the recoil of the 458 WM using a low weight bullet at a moderate velocity. I will properly sight in the scope and test for accuracy hopefully sooner than later.

Sir Blase,
Welcome to the Square Table.



Another year of supremacy for the .458 WinMag,
whether in M98 or Blaser R8.
Going on 67 years now of nothing better.

Just a little bussing of the Square Table, however.
About "Blase" pronunciation, should it be pronounced like "blaze"
or like this ?

The dinosaur hunter would do well with a .458 WinMag and proper-bulleted load.

Michael McCourry is pictured below with his 18"-barreled .458 B&M proprietary chambering (short throated)
that, with 3.000" COL and 2.240" brass length (based on RUM brass),
can almost equal an 18"-barreled SAAMI .458 WinMag with 3.340" COL and 2.500" brass length.



Michael is trying to induce a charge from the T.rex,
holding fire until he gets a scrotum shot.
Behind him is PH Andrew Schoeman of Baobab Hunting Safaris
saying “Wait wait wait …”

If we put a .458 WinMag throat on the .458 B&M and load it out to 3.260" COL (.458 B&M+)
and load the .458 WinMag out to 3.600" COL (.458 WM+),
then they both have the same case capacity as the .458 Lott,
and both will beat the .458 Lott for higher velocity or lower pressure or both,
due to the throat,
if all three chamberings are used in barrels of identical length and rifling characteristics.

Laughing out loud on picture and narration 😂

HAHAHAHA!

Happy New Year!

You can definitely see Micheal aiming low

That is funny!

Sir Ron, Let’s pronounce Blase like in blazing fire.

OK then, Sir Blase as in blazing fire.
Glad you did not claim "Sir Blaseralott,"
but even if you had, and still had a .458 WinMag barrel on your R8, you would be good.
"Sir Shootalot" or "Sir Launchalot" or "Sir Boomalot" anyone ?

A more usual bag with the .458 B&M 18" barrel shooting 450-gr brass FN solids by CEB,
Sir Michael again:

I report that the magnificent 458 WM is a great spot and stalk coyote gun. A 485 grain flat nose delivered to the back of neck shoulder junction exits the throat and coyote dies just fine.
The hunt for a tasty doe continues.
F01

Jolly good show, Sir Dennis !
The .458 Win Mag wins again !
Coyote, venison, or elephant, no worries.

Here is an interesting copper monometal solid to push some envelopes:
Meplat too small for best performance, but would be a slick feeder in rifles that balk at the perfect FN.
It has the overall shape and length of an Accurate Molds 485-grainer in WW alloy, IIRC:

And thanks to Sir Joe, now in my possession:







Beware any M98 fouled by a .458 Lott reamer.

I suppose I should buy one of those for a spare for my Whitworth… but shooting cast I’ll never wear the first one out.

The elephant killer load from Sir Michael's .458 B&M/18"-barrel

"Same load for many years, proven over and over again……… 76/TAC……….. 450 #13 and in this case I think around 2210 fps or so…… "

(That would be using the R-P .300 RUM brass cut and necked to 2.240" length.)

"Broadside heart shot, burned through the elephant like he was hot butter, exited far side and still may be roaming around Zimbabwe as we speak…
... centered heart, continued on for maybe 30-35 yards and down……….."

If that is a pass-through on elephant broadside, heart shot, then it will be more than sufficient for any brain shooting.

Richard Harland reported many good results on elephant with brass FN solids of 450-gr weight
at 2300 fps MV from the usual barrel length in SAAMI .458 WinMag.

Another bullet for any .458-caliber rifle from .458 SOCOM on up:





(Above photos by Michael McCourry of MIB.)

From a 9mm Glock 19,
the 90-gr Xtreme Defense gave a "triple-wide" wound channel and 18" penetration in ballistic gelatin
compared to a 115-grain Xtreme Penetrator that gave a "single wide" wound channel and over 30" of penetration.
Both are impervious to hollow-point-plugging-pinching due to not having hollow points,
hydrodynamic fluting at tip instead.





The CEB brass Raptor is impervious to plugging-pinching too, due to Talon Tip initiation and certain petal shear
at all velocities slightly greater than if thrown by hand.
The proposed 4-band brass CEB Raptor of 250-ish-grain weight with Talon Tip installed (adds about 8 grains weight)
will be particularly good in the .458 WM and .458 WM+.
Get your orders in here if it ever gets done.
Recoil reduction with effectiveness retention.
Muzzle brakes need not apply.

Hey Riflecrank, is there a possibility you could include the James Watt biography in the .458 Winchester reloading manual that you are going to have printed? It would be a wonderful source of history to go with the .458 data...just a thought. Thanks.

......whether you include the James Watt material or not, when do you think your .458 manual would be printed?