.458 project

[bigted]

so here i set fondling my newest addition to my big bore collection...

a ruger hawk-eye that started life as their proprietary 375ruger which i never got along with. i had this factory 458 WM barrel laying around for just this project so had it mounted on the hawk-eye frame and the stock...[the rubber haog type that is stock on the hawk-eye] ...enlarged thru the barrel channel to fit the larger profile of the 458 barrel.

this is a treat as ruger now does not chamber a 458WM in any rifle that i know of let alone their super nice model 77.

i loaded some 405 remingtons in the large cases with 40gr of rl-7 and filled the case up to the bottom of the bullet with corn meal as fill. this shot ok but not the boolits i have dreampt of for this rifle.

next i tryed some of my 457125 boolits over 20gr of trail boss. this is a very lite load for this rifle and i am going to try it for accuracy as this is a real powderpuff of a load.

i intend trying 2f black powder thru it as well with these same 457125 boolits lubed with my own bp lube. has anybody tryed this 458WM case with bp...if so can i pick your brain as to the success of it?

these 457125's feed so well thru it that i am going to have trouble going to another type boolit till i see if they feed as well...i just don't really like this super round nose profile for a cast hunter...just does not seem as perfect as the wide me-plate of say a rcbs 45-500 boolit...but i want the feeding reliability of the long round nose...hmmmmm?

anybody have input for this rifle...not looking to leave snot rings on the stock so wont be loading up to potential for this round...just wanted the longer case in this caliber for hunting that will leave my shoulder and body fluids inside the skin. i like the 4 and 500 gr boolits available for this 458 caliber so am looking for some tamer loads for it.

thanks in advance and i look forward to reading your success and failures with this beast.

[Bullshop]

Ted
One of the issues with the SAAMI standard 458 Win mag chamber and cast is the very long free bore designed into the cartridge. It was the only way to fit enough powder into the case and still get the ADVERTIZED velocity.
It makes for quite a long jump to the rifling which is usually not a good thing for cast.
Can be done just a bit more challenging. Same with Weatherby chambers and might be why you dont see too many folks raving about cast accuracy in Weatherby chambers.

I have found the long free bore in the standard 458 chamber to be well suited to paper patching. A boolit patched to groove diameter or a bit over has worked well for me in the standard 458.
Another option is the 458 Lott. The SAAMI standard design for the 458 Lott does not have the long free bore as does the 458 Win design. The Lott has conventional lead length to the rifling. I believe a 458 Win can be simply re-chambered to 458 Lott without setting the barrel back. The big issue there is mag length.
Anyway just trying to pass along a few tidbits of my own experiance with the two cartridges
If I were to build a 458 Win today I would want a custom reamer without the free bore and I would also ditch the standard 1/14" factory twist and go with a 1/20" that would be more than adequate for 500+gn boolits and more cast friendly. The one little thingy with that would be that factory 500's would not chamber. But hay have you seen the price of factory 458 ammo?!!!!? I would never miss them but the next owner might. No biggie though as it would clean up to standard by just running a standard reamer in it.
BTW if you do ever decide to go to the 458 Lott I have a reamer.

[bigted]

wowww time gets away huh! thanks bullshop,,,i am tempted to do the lott but i want to be sure that the boolit mentioned will still function thru the mag with my rifle.