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

Here is a history of the model names used for the post-1963 Winchester Model 70 .458 Winchester Magnum rifles.

Great pictures RC. Finns probably the reason I wanted a 458. I read anything the fella would write.

Ditto Sir Scotty.
Saint Sir Finn first appeared in AMERICAN RIFLEMAN in 1981
after he submitted an unsolicited manuscript "Matching the Bullet to the Game," or something like that.
He became a regular after that.
In 1983 he did an article about "The Professional's Rifle" that was probably the inspiration for Phil Shoemaker's Ol'Ugly.

Just for fun, here is why sportsmen were so eager to put away the 4-bore for the .450 NE,
and the .458 WinMag is all of a .450 NE and more:

Sir Ron, you Kentucky boys are cray-cray!

I had a push feed 70 458 with a 22” barrel when I was a kid in remote Alaska. I shot everything with it and it was my main gun. The sights sucked.

Yeah, maybe they are, but I ain't complainin about them knowledgeable boys.

HS 58

Sir Ron has more information in his head than anyone I have ever met. I have no idea how he remembers all of it!

Kind Sirs, flattery will get you anything.
We are venturing into a higher traffic forum here:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...r-perfection-scope-mounting#Post18544631

Maybe more varmint hunters will start using .458s ?
Long live The King !
King .458 Winchester Magnum !

Very convincing evidence of the strength of the Near rail mounting system.

I have avoided one piece mounts on my heavy caliber DGRs because access to the loading port - both for ejection and reloading - are a higher priority for me in close quarters with DG than the last measure of long range accuracy. YMMV

As much as I’ve gotten to better understand the 458 WM’s capabilities - largely through Sir Ron’s sharing of his encyclopedic knowledge with the Square Table - my use for the 458s, whether in WM, WM+, and now (for me) in 450 Rigby Rimless and 460 G&A chamberings- is definitively dealing with DG inside 50 yards, most often closer.

No matter how good at anatomical shot placement a DG hunter might be, many large DG animals don’t instantaneously collapse at the shot and that 3rd or 4th cartridge, which sometimes requires topping off the magazine and launched rapidly, does frequently save the day.

Having had a chance encounter with a large kudu, now hanging on my wall, at 240+ yards with a DGR 404-375 Ruger in my hands, I appreciate long(er) range accuracy. But IME it’s not my first priority.

Not arguing against the choices described, just offering a complementary perspective. As JOC observed a generation and 1/2 ago, let’s remember that “shooting and hunting is about fun and games,” deadly serious sometimes I would add, but preferences vary as much as our own individuality.

More power to the folks that can make 458s into long range cannons - they are the leading edge of innovation and progress.

It wouldn't surprise me if the Cabela's rifles turn into collector rifles as they did at least at that time, try to do everything right and there are some great rifles out there with wonderful wood for factory rifles. My Cabela's 7x57 is one of the 2 most accurate rifles I have ever shot, the other being a Model 70 Stainless in .300 RUM. So many under half inch groups between them. Wish my eyes could still do it.

Sir Khulu,
I used to fret like that too, until I learned that Ross Seyfried saw no problem with a partially obstructed port,
I call this the "Seyfried-Single-Schtick" because only the rear base is schticking out over the port:



This is what drove me to Near Perfection:





Could a Near, Mfg. rail for the CZ 550 Magnum be next ?
I bet Richard Near could come up with something better than my J-B-Welded monstrosity.
Until then, I'll get by.

Sir Woods,
I like that !
As out of the box, my Cabela's .458 WM could not be improved except by that NEAR MFG rail.

I also refrained from using a Picatinny rail on my Mdl-70 for the same reason. I wanted the action as open as possible. But Sir Ron does have me looking hard at the Near rails. Almost all of my other rifles have rails on them, that sure makes scope swapping easier.

Also, as far as rings, I went with the Leupold Mark4 rings to mount a VX-5HD 1-5x 24mm scope. I figured that a little extra weight would help some of the recoil, but I have been thinking about replacing those rings with the Quick-Release Leupolds, for tool-less scope removal. What is the opinion of the group on rings?

In the past, I thought about a 458 American or a Siamese Mauser in 45/70, for a large bore bolt gun, but this forum makes me glad I got the 458 WM. That is a much more versatile caliber than the others. It truly is a mice to moose rifle.

Yep, no rifle can be perfect for everything, beyond Near Perfection, heh-heh-heh.
You gots to make your choices.
I like the Leupold QRW better than Talley, especially since they work on the Near Picatinny.
I have busted Talley rings, more than once.
Never busted a Leupold QRW on recoil as high as .500 A2 and 12gaFH.
I like the Burris Xtreme Tactical rings too, but have to carry a pocket socket tool with them to fit the 1/2" nut.
Strong, great value for the bucks, uglier than the QRW from Leupold.
No rifle can be perfect in every way for all jobs, even if it is a .458 WinMag, which comes closest of all, near perfect.

Here are some Leupold QRW rings that have survived me and recoil:







The ocular bell on the 30mm tube might have required the medium height rather than low.
Or maybe I didn't have the low 30mm QRW rings at hand ... but I do now !
Sometimes you have to go higher to allow the bolt handle to clear the bell on working.

The Near Picatinny sure does makes it easy to swap a scope for a backup scope or a red dot,
with various ring spacings, etc.

Sirs of the Square Table - I have a quandary.....


I have found an old collection of cast .458 bullets in multiple weights and styles, from 500gr to around 325gr, maybe 200 total. They were lubed with a red colored lube of unknown origin. I would like to remove the lube and try to PC them. Anyone have a good way to get the lube off of 200+ bullets without taking all year? Do I now waste my time and just re-melt them and cast new bullets?

Many thanks in advance!

Humbly your servant,

Sir Thomas

Sir Thomas,
Rooster Red ?
I have never tried to remove the lubes from greaser bullets for PC painting.
I could imagine kerosine soak followed by Gumout spray of your choice then a hot water wash with Blue Dawn,
and rinse, rinse, rinse.
But what a bunch of trouble and expense !
Not to mention, what hardness are the various bullets ?

Since you want to PC paint them, I would not risk leaving traces of lubes, solvents or detergents
after all the elbow grease of trying to get them squeaky clean.
All that old lube will make excellent flux in the melting pot.
Stir it all in and skim it all off the top.
Check for hardness of the batch and use appropriately.

Shoot them as is or melt them.

Sir Ron -
Do you have any experience with these Talley 2-piece Picatinny rail mounts? I was thinking of something that would allow switching between a scope and a reflex red dot sight. I haven't tried to figure out if the 1.35" length of the front rail is enough for mounting an RMR-type reflex sight.




Talley 2-piece Picatinny rail for M70

Remelt as cast anew in the same single mold. Paint and size as previously discussed.
F01

Hannay,

I modified a front extended Warne Weaver-pattern steel mount by milling the forward slot to accommodate the lever-actuated QR OEM base on my Holosun 530C. That along with gluing the base with Loctite Black Max 480 and 8-40 torx screws held in place for 21 shots of 500 grain solids at 2400 fps yesterday.

The rear base is unmodified and spaced to hold a Leupold 1-4x25 scope in Warne steel lever QR rings as a backup.

TOV,

The Warne lever steel rings are a replacement for Leupold lever lever QRs which allowed the 1-4 scope slide on recoil from the 460 G&A. I had the same rings on heavy medium bores in the past with good results but not on this DGR.

Sir Hannay,
Most excellent to see you still at it.
I have not been using any of the Talley stuff since their vertical split rings went south on me.
Now that they have modernized to cross-slot bases and horizontally split rings I say they deserve the benefit of the doubt.