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

Proof:



Loaded over 19 years ago. Must have had Africa with a .300 H&H on his mind for 20 years.

And proof that prices have risen on propellants, let's go Brandon and the horse he rode in on.
$40 dollars a pound is gladly paid nowadays, if you can find the powder you want:



Some nickled R-P brass for the 404g/.458 Shock Hammer:



Starting at 78.0 gr of AA-2460 and working up is the wise thing to do with this component change.
Sir Jerry's plan.

So many powders recently developed for the .223/5.56 etc. cartridges and they are all perfect for the .458 WM.
Maybe not planned that way but it has happened !
And so many of the oldies are goldies too.
No excuse for not being able to load a .458 WM.
Even if we have to make our own BP and primers and cast our own bullets,
the .458 WM is better than any other cart for that, all things considered.
I would probably draw the line at having to convert .458 WM rifles to flintlock.

404g Hammer and smokeless cartridges do have some advantages.

Yessir, 20 years Sir Ron, looks like some of the adhesive on the Cabelas stickers is bleeding through, those rounds have been sitting on a safe top patiently waiting for too long, i'm going to use those loads on this hunt, brass is new and i know all components are still sound, it's time to get the old girl over for some light work, 458 WM+ and 404gr Hammers will handle the heavy lifting, speaking of, and iirc you said a b.c. of .419, if so and 2500 fps reached, +3 at 100 should be no lower than 7 inches at 300 yards and maybe around a foot at 325, vel should still be 1900 fps at 325, hope they would open at that speed, bet they would.

That nickle R-P brass is brand new, i FL sized then measured it, lengths were all over the place from 2.492 to 2.499, trimmed it all at 2.492, i'll still have plenty of working room with the 2460 drop tubed in with a COL of 3.480, she's gonna be a bitch burner of a load, Mr. Davis at Hammer bullets told me today to slam the biggest Buffalo i could find dead through both shoulders, i said even at 15 yards? YESSIR he said, then asked for video of the event, i'll get it to him on return.

I also had a lot of fun today loading that 40 pack of 2700 fps Fury-ous drill bits!

Old times. Look at the box the 220 H solids were in. I bought 7 boxes, 700, of them 10'ish years ago from a Classified Ad on the other website. He said he had a whole bunch more of them, but when I reached back out a few years later, he had made the trip over the Great Mountain Pass and all his stuff was gone.

I am stirring the pot at the B&M site as well as the Hammer site.
They are on notice of gunner500's upcoming safari video of a Shock Hammer strike on a cape buffalo,
Lord willin' and the creeks don't rise.

Good stuff Fury, Thanks again for the bullets Sir.

Sir Ron, yes, 40 bucks i paid for the H-4831 in a neighboring lgs, my old powder Bud treats me much nicer, 'more proof' on the way LOL, glad you're keeping a fire lit on other sites about the 404 Hammer/458 WM+ deal, i cant wait.

The Suspense is Killin Me! LOL!

me too an waiting on the blood bath vido. went to the store and got 6 cases of beer with 36 boxes of popcorn😁😁😁👍

Good powder and good price in the current economy.
A score by Sir Jerry.



I expect Sir Allen is going to gain some weight if he is starting on the beer and popcorn while Sir Jerry is still on this side of the pond.

Use the .35 Whelen with 225-gr Nosler partition to duplicate trajectory of the .458 WM+ with 404g Shock Hammer.
Sir Bob's latest:



That is a about a six-pounder with 22" barrel that I assume includes the length of the brake.

The CVA is an 8-pounder with 25" barrel that does indeed include the brake and scope base,
Comes with a thread protector and it is 7#13oz and 23-1/4" with thread protector instead of brake.
Muzzle diameter is 0.835" where it meets the brake/thread-protector. Pretty thick, though also fluted.
Overall length of rifle is 40" with brake and 38-1/4" with thread protector replacing brake.
LOP is 14.0" as shown here:



I wonder what the Traditions Outfitter muzzle diameter is where it meets the brake ?
Amazingly light and handy that one.

LOL! all good here Sir Tony and 44MC, i stay on a slow simmer patiently awaiting liftoff, plenty of time to focus on the task [hunt] at hand, while very thrilling and much fun to go, a man absolutely has to place those shots with the upmost accuracy, that's job number one for me.

Sir Ron, Yes! 2460 is going to be a great fuel for the 404gr Hammer, i'll use the new can on the bullets you're sending, the rest of the old lot [near 1.5lbs in one can] will be used for the 450gr TSX/500gr TBSS loads as i have established it's load max with these bullets, my old powder bud is a retired postman and wont penalize me for 35 years of being a customer, not like nosler and sps!

Speaking of those 35W single shooters, i was at my 'Smiths yesterday too, i asked him what he ever did with that box of 310gr 358 cal Woodleigh Weldcores i gave him, he said giving them back to you, walked over to a shelf in the shop and handed them back to me, i believe those bullets loaded max in the 35 Whelen would be an all game basher out to 200 yards, and if allowed, would handily dispatch a Cape Buffalo, 2400 fps maybe possible with today's newer powders would do the deal.

I gotta stock up!

Sir Jerry,
All kidding aside!

Your going to Thourally Enjoy the Moment's to Come!

All the practice shooting! The Preparation! The Conversation here, and the Backing that you Have!

Tremendous!

LOL Sir Tony, you bet, man did i ever send Sir Ron a load of sweetness in pictures a couple hours ago, one thing about the 458 WM+, work up to max velocity and the thing is going to be a shooter, wait till you see the group i got with a 5-6 mph wind out of the S/SW firing dew North, holy damn those bullets shoot!

Steve Davis at Hammer bullets told me to slam the biggest buffalo i could find right in the shoulders, i asked even at 15 yards? YES, he said! ; ] if those bullets perform like they say they will, it's a done deal.

Sir Jerry,
I can't wait to see what Sir "RIP" (aka Sir Ron), puts up!

I know for a fact that Shooting Confidence, when Hunting is Everything, and Knowing your Equipment goes Hand in Hand! As You Know!!!

Your Wifey keeping the Journal up to snuff so we can hear the Hunt/Trip Stories, will be Magical!

I don't care how many times you tell em, were gonna Enjoy it!

Nice, and thanks Sir Tony, it's sincerely my pleasure, she has her journal, but we'll have it on video! Steve Davis wants a copy too LOL!

Nice work indeed and speedy !
Sir Jerry wasted no time, gotterdun pronto. He is ready and willin', now just waitin' for a cape buffalo.
How he got started on the warp speed workup:

gunner name your price on a copy for me . it will be as close to being there as i will ever get

Self-explanatory below.











100-yard three-shot group was wind aided on one of the three holes.
I'd say Sir Jerry has it pretty well zeroed for 3" high at 100 yards.
No better hunter-shooter exists to blood the 404g Shock Hammer on cape buffalo for the first time.

That’s a fact! That chrono should write a book it’s had so much variety over it