Just purchased a 458Win Mag and searching for a good whitetail bullet...

What .458 rifle bullet have you found that is best suited for shots on whitetail?

There must be a few guys out there who aren't disgusted by using a little extra gun for deer...?

Hornady 350gn RN's @ around 2650 fps work wonderfully on hogs. Probably be the ticket for whitetails too, but they will splatter stuff if you hit bone.

Well, funny as it may seem, I have actually killed deer with 458s and 460s both. Why?
Why not?
You will find that most bullets made for the 458 will not expand at all on deer, so they are killed without much blood shot meat. it also doesn't drop them on the spot in most cases, but lets them run a short way.
The other option is to use bullets that were made for the 45-70 and reduce their speed a bit from full throttle. If you run them too fast they are "too soft". If you run them at full speed the wound channels are REALLY large and dramatic.

I found the best load was a 500 grain LBT style hard cast gas-checked bullet loaded at "only" 1800 FPS. In my 2 458s I owned then, both would hold this at about 1.25" at 100 yards. Hits on deer would kill a bit faster than the round nosed jacketed bullets. Keep in mind that a45 colt with a heavy round nose bullet works OK on deer, so increasing the bullet weight 250 grains and the velocity 2X can't make it worse.

I have had a lot of .458 Winchesters and reviewed others over the years and learned many loads that work well on deer sized game.
Using the 300gn Hornady I like the following;
71gn of Rel 7 for 2386fps
69gn of IMR 4198 for 2514fps
74gn H 4198 for 2585fps

Barnes makes a 300gn X bullet for the 45/70. Try the following;
75gn H 4198 for 2640fps
78gn H 322 for 2534fps ( This load shoots under MOA in my current .458)

There is a wonderful 350gn Barnes TSX which is a great all round bullet for US hunting.
I have used H 4198, VARGET,, AA2230 and H 322 and all shoot well. Start at 70 grains and work up to a velocity between 2450 and 2500fps.

Another good bullet for Deer and up that will expand is the Woodleigh Weldcore at 400 grains.
Try 74 grains of H 322 for 2336fps
74gn of H 4198 for 2434fps
77gn of Rel 7 for 2283fps

All of these loads workd well and are accurate in the rifles I have tried. If you are using a longer barreled rifle such as the CZ 550, the velocities could be as much as 200fps higher for the same loads.

Start a few grains under my loads for the 300 and 350 grain loads please.
John

JAT - Hornady's 9th edition reloading manual shows both .458WM and .45/70 Ruger #1 info. Loads for 350gr.RN show several useful powders (H4198, RL7, H322) that cover both rounds. Hi end .45/70 Ruger #1 recipes that overlap the
.458WM's starting loads is a good place to begin. You don't need 500 grain loads for white tails... Have had fun with un-sized .45 Colt lead slugs (single loaded approx. 260+ grains), on a whim, hunting the local swamp bunnies. No danger
of a crazed "charge" here but great fun none the less. "szihn" remarks are very similar to my own experiences. Homesteader

Full power load with a 450 gr Swift-"A" will kill deer without much damage to the meat!!!

Dead is Dead

Thank You to everyone for taking the time to share the wealth of information!

I think I'm going to start out with a Hornady 300 or 350gr bullet over H4198 and see where I go from there... Lots of .458 rifle bullets out there for various applications. Thanks for helping me flatten the learning curve a bit!

We used 350 Hornadays at hot 45-70 velocities and Jack Rabbits hated them. Never pushed them too hard and dropped deer and hogs pronto.
Used 4198 and R15 at starting load levels don't have the exact charge weights handy.

Hawk offers .458 bullets of varying jacket thicknesses and have one, a 480 grain with a .025 jacket that ought to work great on whitetails. I've used their 400 grain round nose in my 400 Whelen to take a moose. The bullet had a .035 jacket and performed well on the cow moose.

I think a 50 BMG would do a MUCH better on the really tough whitetails. Remember, you certainly can't use too much gun.

Somehow I knew there would be one...

mart - Thanks for the Hawk bullet suggestion...I'll definitely check them out.

Tejano - Thanks for the vote! There's so much versatility in the 458. It's definitely going to be fun experimenting with all the options.

Justin, are you sure you shouldn't step up to a Lott? :-)

If I only knew where to get one...

Your Bijou Creek 458 Lott is incredible!

Heck, you're shooting a "pre-expanded" bullet that starts with as much frontal area as a .243 that doubles its diameter. A bullet with a big flat nose would really whomp 'em whether it expands or not.

Might want to try the Speer 400 gr bullet.

Use the same bullet and powder charge you'll hunt heavy game with, get good with, and accustomed to full power loads, they kill deer just fine, and when chit hittin' the fan time comes you will know your weapon and how to shoot it, 500 gr Woodleigh PP Weldcores at 2150 is about perfect, IMHO.

Sasha and Abby - " I think a 50 BMG would do a MUCH better on the really tough whitetails. Remember, you certainly can't use too much gun." Spoken like true fan of Elmer Keith... .50BMG has been around for a loong, loong time so you must "modernize" your selection by using Raufoss Mk211 rounds. By doing so you IF you line up your shots jus' so you can both penetrate multiple targets AND cook them at the same time. What's not to like about it ! Homessteader

Yes, it's a Big Boy rifle :-)