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

My first .458 WM was that same Ruger M77 with the tang safety and 3.34" box. But it had the long throat that John Kronfeld explained to me when I couldn't get the accuracy wanted with the short 350gr Speer. But I did kill a bear with the 350 Speer using a reduced load of around 2345 fps. And it did a wrecking-ball job on that going away bear at about 75 yards. The 500gr Hornadys shot into cloverleafs however. That Hornady load went as backup on a moose hunt. My rifle had a 22" barrel.

Sir Bob

www.bigbores.ca

Thank you !

Schit it won't take 2900 fps to do that, 2500 fps does that already.

400 grain Speer at about 75 yards.


The spot of impact.


This one was about 45-50 yards away.

Well, that settles that. The .458 Winchester Magnum is definitely adequate for jackrabbits.
The 400-gr Speer is indeed explosive at 2500 fps.
The 300-gr Sierra Pro Hunter hollow point will explode at the muzzle if you get it over 2800 fps.
That is too easily done with the .458 WM.
I had the devil of a time cleaning the trash out of my muzzle brake on Bobbarrella CZ 550.
But the 400-gr Woodleigh PPSN, recommended for big game impact up to 2500 fps,
will require higher speed than 2500 fpr for such explosive results.
+2600 fps should do for shots inside of 50 yards on varmints.
The .458 WM with 24" barrel can do that.

Here is the first installment of Bill Bagwell's GOEX African Safari.





















The solid copper penny front sight.
I started saving pre-1980 pennies in a jug after I learned about that.
Apparently each reply is limited to 10 images displayed in all their splendor for full impact.
Speaking of impacts, they are coming soon.

After the obligatory checking of rifle sights, the full moon gave it's blessing for the next days' hunting, Hunter's Moon.

First kudu was Bagwelled at 302 yards.
Second kudu was Bagwelled at about 75 yards, on the run, just before PH could say anything. Bill is quick when he wants to be.

Dust cloud behind the wildebeest is what came off his body as bullet passed through.



A split second later wildebeest has launched himself reflexively 6 feet straight up.





There is more, just getting started.

Prepare for grocery shopping with loads imitating Bill Bagwell's .45-110 and .45-70 in your .458 WM.
Use a scope it you gots to eat.

Damn, impressive.

Impressive indeed. Ron, thanks for posting - just to be clear,do I understand correctly - in these still shots from the videos, Mr. Bagwell is using: "... the 480-ish-grain, semi-hard, Lyman PH (Parker Hale) bullet at about 1300 fps (with BP)"? I think that should be doable in a trapdoor Springfield...

Hannay,
That is correct, 17,000 CUP limit on a .45-70 Govt.Trapdoor in good condition. Smokeless for sure. BP I will defer to THE MASTERS Sir Jerry and Sir Bill Bagwell.
Looking in the old Lyman CAST BULLET HANDBOOK THIRD EDITION, I see they have screwed up quoting different weights for the #457406.
They called it 451-gr in the .45-70 section and 482-gr in the .458 WM section, both done in Lyman #2 Alloy.
I cannot find the mould in same book 4th Ed. nor more recent editions of the Lyman general handloading manual.
You are going to need to cast some and see what you have.

The running Kudu was dumped by Trapdoor ballistics. The zebra bang-flop was done with same .45-70 load.
If the load data shown above says GOEX Pinnacle 3F 67.5 grains, it was the .45-70 Shiloh Sharps being used.
His other rifle uses 106 gr of GOEX 2F in the .45-110 Shiloh Sharps.

Get to work with your mould !
The hard Flat Nose has something to do with the effectiveness. You might figure out a nose flattener if your mould is Round-Nosed.
Those ballistics are like super-magnum handgun ballistics, which other professional small boys use on all sorts of game.
Of course they usually have to get closer than Bill has to get to place his shot.
But he can shoot kudu on the run at 75 yards just fine with those ballistics.
Piled up with a single shot, IIRC.

Ron,
Well it may take me awhile to get everything together for casting bullets. In the meantime, I'm reading:



Other advice for the novice casting bullets is welcome. I've got the mould, an electric casting pot, a modest supply of lead from wheelweights. No sizer/luber or press set up to press on gas checks. No gas checks yet, either!

Jeff

Sir Ron, Thanks for those, You know, 12 years ago I showed up at Bill's place at his invitation with my first Sharps rifle, a 45 3-1/4 with some store bought 20 to 1 alloy 540gr Creedmoor bullets from Sagebrush hand loaded with holy black at 1550 fps, Bill looked at the load data and said holy fu-k man, we need to slow those down, at that point I hadn't even raised the ladder on my rear sight, was just trying to be flat.

He said lets go to school, class is in session! went inside with two giant cold glasses of iced tea and watched both his videos, we then went to his range, he had me slapping 500 meter steel [540ish yards] within 15 minutes using my barrel sights 'after' he made me a brand new copper penny front sight! spent the whole weekend there with he and his lovely Wife Sidra, BTW, she's a hell of a cook, how Bill doesn't weigh 900lbs is beyond me ; ] I'm blessed with the same problem with my Wife.

Long story short, we cast bullets, shot rifles, even learned to paper patch, and ate some hellacious meals in between, I remember as if it were 5 minutes ago, the 3 hour and 45 minute ride home was without stereo or cell phone in my truck, I was simply astounded at the events that had just taken place, and reflecting on each and every one, 8 Sharps rifles later it's over for me, I'm hooked!

Hannay, I'm in the S.E. Leflore Co Oklahoma mountain country, may I ask where you reside?

I'm up in Payne County near Stillwater.

Dang, about 200 miles, still, certainly not too far for a casting, mould, loading, shooting session if you ever have the need, it'll be fun.

Great to see a Master offering to take on an apprentice.
Hannay would do well to take it up.
Correction:
The zebra was flattened with the 480-ish-grain PH bullet from the 45-70 in the second video "Smoke Over Africa."
In the first video the running kudu was Bagwelled with a 45-70
520-gr Steve Brooks (Tru-Bore) bullet using about same charge as used with PH.
We are about half way through the first video.
I'll post more soon.
Hopefully Sir Bill Bagwell is home soon.

So, does this look like it would be a good boolit ?

I know that is a dumb question.

Sir Spruce:

Perfect for the .458 WM.
485-gr in clip-on wheel weights, 470-480-ish in harder alloy
Perfect for Bagwelling with a .458 WM.
Wish I had that one too, but I can't own them all.
From Accurate Molds, aluminum 4-cavity or brass 2-cavity,
are my preference.
I have a couple with two different bullets in the same blocks, etc.

To Bagwell is a verb meaning the opposite of "to Walter."
Bagwellable is an adjective meaning the opposite of Walterable.

Gunner500 - thanks - I may take you up on that at some point!