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

Sir Larry,
Thanks for the warning. That may be why I never tried Swift/Blackburn, negative reports like yours, but I forgot about it (Sometimer's Disease).
Sunny Hill Enterprises then.
I have ordered twice from them (M70 drop for RUM, M98 drop for .458 WM).
So maybe I try the M98 standard length for .458 WinMag.

Or, if it ain't broke don't fix it.
Must be that the Browning Safari alloy box front is in contact with wall at front of magazine well, well supported.
That front wall inside of magazine does not have any signs of bullet battering. It remains smooth, slick and shiny.

There is a problem with feeding FN solids from first-in-last-out position in the stack of the Browning Safari .458 WinMag.
It feeds top two FN rounds smoothly, then jams on the third.

Might want to load a 404 Shock Hammer on bottom the box with two FN solids on top of it.

"One shot meat, two shot maybe, three shot heap big $#it !"
So said the old injun.
In case of elephant charge, fire the two solids off the top of the magazine after the one chambered aforehand (3+1).
Make the 4th shot a 404-gr Shock Hammer for sepuku, with elephant to second you if he is still coming.

I can try that Sunny Hill drop box on the FN Safari before ordering the standard depth one.

Yes Sir, still on the hunt for a first year African, did get a hit on one, but it has a leather covered pad, pass, absolutely, a 1954 300 H&H is always a fine addition to any hunting camp/collection.

I'll be me running those 500gr solid SAAMI length loads through that Model 70 magnum length action caused the bruises when slamming the front at recoil, damn nice shoring up job, had 'Smith work magic on feed ramp to feed all flat nosed solids i had, 450/500gr Barnes, BBW#13 and Trophy Bonded Sledgehammers, the little FN only ran some round nose Hornadys and Woodleighs, i dont remember having any issues with it cycling a few TBSS's, must not have filled the mag box full of those, do know i never had any feed work done to it, bone stock, they didn't have flat nosed solids when that rifle was a pup ; ]

Thanks Big B, they're great and very accurate rifles.

LOL, that's funny stuff, the very peculiar guy out in Cali at the old American Gunstocks marked my name in that stock, he was a weird guy on the phone, but built a hell of a stock, 500gr Solids at 2300+ fps feel about like a 12 gauge buckshot load, it's the best stock bar none I've ever shot at handling recoil.

BTW Sir Ron, mailbox is loaded with that extra Dakota sling swivel stud and screws, can't believe i found that thing!

Hopefully they are doing better.

Those feeding issues can be some head scratchers, at least for me. Magazine rails, feed lips, followers, springs, side compression on the magazine, etc etc.
As with the 458 Winchester Super Express Classic, it feed the 380 grain Lehigh WFN without issue, once I sorted out COAL for it. Then, with the at that time, 400 Hammers, my COAL was reduced from the usual normal magazine lengths. I don't recall the actual measurement, but shorter than you were loading in standard length magazine.

Pulled the magazine, the front looked malformed, would not allow proper length on the first one or two cartridges. This did not appear to be from bullet nose battering, no visible clues of that. And would feed the shorter standard factory loads without issue. Ordered new 458 Winchester magazine, fed longer Hammers without issue. But, it has issues with the 380 WFN. Its upper ends are parallel with the sides. The original are angled inward at the front. Still need to sort this out.

From an Old functioning stand point. I've always thought that the reason many old African PHs preferred their hunters to shoot solids. Back when all solids were round nosed. They could ricochet their way into the chamber. Where as many of the big round nose lead exposed bullets would hang up terrible after a couple rounds fired had turned the lead nose into a big flat meplat.
Nowadays with modern flat nose solids, feeding becomes a much bigger issue.

Sir Jerry,
For the charitable donation, enaa baasee'.

I will not be knocking any gold out of Mahohbesta's alloy floor plate.
Her bottom metal has been placed in safe keeping for return to all original status PRN.
Whitworth MKX steel fits her perfectly, and she still feeds the same.
I think I can polish her ramp into better shape.
Until then, I will carry a RN solid in her box bottom.
If I cannot stop the charge with 3 shots then the RN is the Hail Mary.

Mahohbesta models her new outerwear, keeping up with Hammerella's new underwear:

So, I tried the Sunny Hill M98 drop box first, but would have to mutilate the original wood to make it fit.
Besides, having a drop box on a standard profile walnut stock is just plumb profane,
especially walnut as fine as Mahohbesta's.
I do not mind drop boxes hanging out of synthetic stocks.
Trying it on Mahohbesta does give the go ahead to using one on the Whitworth MKX .458/.416 Ruger aka the ".458 Winchester Magnum Throated Ruger": .458 WMTR.
Heh-heh-heh.









Feed rail profile looks great:



I might polish this enough to re-shape it a little:



The DGX and DGS and TBSS FN meplats have yet to be tried on the bottom of the stack too ... will do.

Sir Spruce.
Good one ! Funny but true.

Sir Larry,
Bummer to get a magazine box with a birth defect.
May your headscratching yield success.
I am almost there too.

The DGS, DGX and TBSS with their smaller FN meplats and rounded ogives
all feed lickety-split from Mahohbesta, fast and slow.

Even the CEB FN when shortened to 3.1" COL feeds lickety-split from all positions in the mag box.

If fed slowly, the 3.36" COL CEB FN solid will feed from the bottom position in the mag box.
Warp speed is fine from the top two positions in the mag box.

Been watching those CEB FN solids hit the feed ramp in slow motion.
Got a feeling I can polish that ramp to improve it with minimal metal removal.

Happy Mothers' Day !

Weight gain of Mahohbesta with MKX Whitworth bottom metal:

She went from 7#14.2oz (with the alloy bottom metal, Weaver bases and Bo Peep)
to 8#4.9 oz with the steel bottom metal.

She gained 6.7 ounces.
To nearest ounce her new fighting weight is 8 pounds 5 ounces.
That is unloaded and with no scope.
With a Leupold 2.5x20mm in classic steel-strap Weaver rings still under nine pounds.
Adding ammunition flirts with 9 pounds, +/-.
Sexy.

The Browning FN and Whitworth MKX mag boxes are both 3.395" long inside.
The Sunny Hill is 3.470" long inside box.
The extra length is at rear of box.
The factory M98 boxes from Whitworth and Browning are perfect for .458 WinMag with 3 down in box,
but too tight to fit 3 of the .458/.416 Ruger carts, aka .458 WMR.
I am in need of another Sunny Hill drop box for the .458 WMR Mauser.
I don't mind whittling on a Whitworth stock or replacing it with a B&C.

Mahohbesta seems to be a 1965 model.
Have to call BACO/WRAC to get the year Hammerella's action was made: 800-333-3288
Winchester M70 Classic information is classified, "cosmic squirrel secret."

I called 800-333-3288 and pressed #1 on menu.
A helpful person, in Utah I presume, said Hammerella was made in 1997
according to the serial number on her receiver.
Little does he know that the action was the only thing about her made in 1997.

Mahohbesta's organ transplant pictured here as it was on donor rifle:



The only other way I might change Mahohbesta's fashion accesories is to
get the Bo Peep installed on a set of bases like these:



But if it ain't broke, why fix it ?
And besides my Gunsmith is required for such precision surgery as the Bo Peep re-attachment,
and he ain't back on his feet yet.

I am re-enthused about getting a new mag box for Woodella "Woodie" Whitworth Mauser the .458 WMR.
Woodie was the organ donor for Mahohbesta.
She is languishing on life support now, awaiting a Sunny Hill drop box,
hoping someday she may be able to hold three, maybe even four cartridges in her magazine box.

Life has been rough for Woodie.
First she had her SAAMI .458 WinMag chamber boogered by reamer chatter at the Whitworth factory,
producing horrible chamber rings.
So she valiantly accepted being turned into a .458/.416 Ruger wildcat, a SAAMI .458 WinMag no more, so sad.
Now she faces more surgery on her wood stock to make the drop box fit .
She may look permanently pregnant after that, but she would gladly accept that to get off life support in the gun safe.
Then she and Freki can send their matching in-the-white Sunny Hills off to be Cerakoted matte black.
Or maybe polished and rust blued, they have not decided. BGFF.







Initially max brass length of 2.580" was specified.
This has now been changed to 2.570" max and trim to 2.560" just so it is perfect length after initial fire-forming.
No waiting for length growth required.

Hallelujah !
Shortening the COL to 3.275" instead of 3.360" allows even the CEB
to feed at any speed in Mahohbesta.
Haven't even polished the ramp yet.

Apologies for carelessly besmirching the reputation of a straight factory 1965 Browning FN Safari,
long extractor, no salt wood.

Discovery was made by matching the CEB COL to the shorter COL of the 500-gr TBSS
loaded within SAAMI spec COL, on the proper cannelure.











A Peregrine falcon hits a flying duck like a 242 mph sledgehammer from Asgaard.

Beauteous bullet, Hammerella can run it through her +3.6" magazine at 3.575" COL,
Mahohbesta requires 3.275" COL for smooth sailing through her 3.395" magazine inside length:

This is a scan of the little card that comes inside each box of the TBSS component bullets.
The TBSS in a SAAMI .458 WinMag is no slouch at 3.275" COL and 60,000 psi.

The card may give bragging rights to the SAAMI .458 Lott at 3.580" COL and 62,500 psi and compressed loads,
but a handloaded .458 WM+ at 3.550" COL turns the SAAMI .458 Lott into the .458 Loser.
Rerun to rub it in:





The Federal data used Federal brass for the SAAMI .458 WinMag,
but they used Norma brass for the .458 Lott.
I call foul.
Use of Norma .458 WinMag brass would add nearly 5 grains (4.7 gr.) of gross water capacity:

Federal Nickel-Plated .458 WM brass: 94.4 grains
Federal Non-plated .458 WM brass: 94.6 grains
Norma Non-plated .458 WM brass: 99.3 grains

A .458 WMR with 2.560" brass (trim-to-length) with a 500-gr TBSS seated deep has a COL of 3.340".

With recent acquisitions of .458 WinMag rifles,
that 20"-barreled .458 WM in the works might turn into a second .458 WMR.
This time with a single, proper reamer,
and on a Ruger Hawkeye in a B&C stock, with that Alaska Arms drop floor plate.
Her name will be "Ruby" after maternal grandmother of my better half.

Woodie will be the pioneer in walnut.
I have some data from her already, from before she donated her mag box to Mohohbesta.
She can handle whatever I can dish out.
Comparing her 24" Whitworth-barreled velocities to a 20"-barreled Pac-Nor or McGowen on Ruby will be interesting.

Why Woodie will stay in walnut stock with a Turkish accent,
even with a Sunny Hill drop magazine box hanging down: Just too good to abandon.
This is the sort of bedding job needed on a walnut stocked .458 Winchester Magnum.











Oops. Rear Mauser action spacer will be epoxied in as rear pillar.



Woodie's stock has already been trimmed down on the right side to allow attachment of Lyman peep sight base.
Won't hurt anything to hog out for the drop box.
Suits my aesthetics like a mullet on a redneck.