Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Worth building a 458 for fun?

I’ve had two 458 Win Mags and had fun deer hunting with them. However after hiking on friend’s ranch in Montana I built a good bear stopping rifle in 458 x 2 American on a Ruger 77 Mark II short action. Light and easy to tote on a hike in the back country. I built it two months before the announcement of Marlins’ 450 Marlin cartridge, which would be the more affordable round to build on today.

I have a 458 Lott in a Model 70 and a 458 WM in a Remington 798 just because. Both at great deals.

I also had a Mark X in .458. I had no need but fun to play with. I took some smaller game with that rifle, but after suffering a Severe whiplass injury & going thru several versions of treatment, I saw a Neurosurgeon. I asked him how long before My problem would go away, he said "HELL SON, IT'S NOT GOING AWAY". After talking with me further & questioning me about my LIFESTYLE, he told me to stop playing around with that ELEPHANT GUN, if I wanted to live a halfway healthy life !!!! I did as he said.

To be honest, I think every shot I've taken or considered taking probably could have been accomplished with my 6.5x55. Definitely with my 30-06. I absolutely haven't needed anything more powerful than that. Unfortunately, I found out that I like rifles that make a big boom so as a warning, it can be addictive. I got a 9.3x74r & loved it. So I bought a 375 H&H. I liked it so much it turned into a pair of them. Added a 405 Winchester to the mix & the fun didn't stop. So now the 458 WM enthusiasm of some of the other posters in this thread has rubbed off on me & I'm currently building one out of a Ruger M77 MkII. Just because!

Intuition tells me that at some point, I'll reach a threshold where I'll tell myself "Well that was unpleasant..." but I haven't made it there yet. Much like my love of spicy food and the progression from jalapeños to habaneros and on to ghost peppers & Carolina Reapers, there's a mindset that if too much heat is fun then more is going to be even better...until one day it isn't.

If you want some fun, buy a Ruger No. 1 and rebarrel it to 500 NE! Just don't shoot it wearing a T-shirt.

Not sure if the OP ever followed through, I hope he did.
I was gifted a few big bores when a long time friend passed. One, a 4 diget BRNO in 458, being one of them. Not real practical in CA or western hunting.(it's not even D&T'ed) One thing Not mentioned about the fun factor is letting someone else shoot it at the range. The grins and the groans can be a real smile maker. Haven't shot it in a while, going to have rectify that. One of the other big bores I received was a CZ in 416 Rigby. That one is a bit expensive to pull the trigger on.