.458 Express. Experience and info

[375 Ruger Man]

Go the way of the CZ 550 in 458wm, ream it out to 458 Express, and you're in the market of about 15k..... you can always change the stock, cut the barrel back, add a barrel band etc in stages at a later stage or when budget allows

+1 lower pressure also maker recoil kinder in the big bores

[458Exp]

Hi all

I had my Brno 602 in 458 reamed out to Express about 3 years ago.
And shot it alot in those 3 years.

I'm also a member at Big Bore and funny..... the link that you have here is what i posted a while ago.

Have the job done (reaming and getting work done on the feeding) plus some extra was less than R2000 but every cent worth it.

My load is 80gr S335 with a 500gr Swift A-frame or Claw (for paper punching) and at a recent BASA shoot I got 2264 f/ps over a chrony.

Recoil is a dream and for those that think one would not use such a calibre alot ..... think again .

I use this rifle every time i do bushveld hunting, no need to go and look for that wildebees..... it's lying exactly where it was standing when the shot went off.

Brass was also no prob ...... R 12 a piece from PMP

[Ross]

I've got a .458WM with an 18" barrel and have never had the desire to ream it to Lott or anything else.
I'm lucky that the hammerforged barrel / chamber just seems to give higher velocities!

My standard loads are as follows;

Practise load / 400gr Frontier CMJ (Moly) / 78gr of S321 / Fed215 LRMP / PMP cases = 2285 fps (pretty mild can still be pushed up if so desired)
Practise load / 510gr Frontier CMJ (Moly) / 68gr of S321 / Fed215 LRMP / PMP cases = 2300 fps
Barnes / 450gr XFB (Moly) / 76 gr of S321 / Fed215 LRMP / PMP cases = 2250 fps

Just did some load develoment on a new locally manufactured bullet for Mauritz;
353gr Titan (Moly) / 82gr of S321 / Fed215 LRMP / WW cases = 2345 fps ...... as a comparison
350 gr Impala / 73.5gr of S321 / Fed215 LRMP / PMP cases = 2411 fps

Amazing how much velocity / pressure drops with cases that have larger capacity!

[Sarel]

[QUOTE=Ross;215077]I've got a .458WM with an 18" barrel and have never had the desire to ream it to Lott or anything else.

Ja Swaer!! No sound advice will cure "The Itch” oncea man decides on a new toy, be it car or gun. I own a number of big bores and have hunted around quite a bid, Africa, USAand Canada. Hopefully my advice is of value:
a) If you don’t reload then you obviously have tostick to off the shelve calibres.
b) If you reload it is easier to down load a hotcalibre than to up-load a mild calibre. i.e. you can down load a 460 Weatherby Mag to 458 Express velocity but notthe other way round.
c) For your once off Buff. hunt the 357H&H Mag isthe most logic, wise and sensible choice. Backhome you can load it with 270Gr bullets @ 2500ft/s for bush veld hunting and2700ft/s for Springbuck in the Free State up to 300m.
d) For your Buff. you can use the excellent 300Gr. BarnsX or Swift A-Frame at 2650ft/s or what might be an even beter choice the 380grRhino @ 2200ft/s. Any of these will killa Buff effectively with a well placed shot.
e) However, when sanity is overruled and you knowthat you cannot live without a .45 calibre (and I will not blame you), buy the.458WM and leave it standard. Don’t letthe malfunctions of the past influence you, you will be using fresh ammo and the .458WM will not let you down.
f) Again if you must go bigger then forget the nonstandard Wild Cats and go all the way to the 460 Weatherby Mag. This calibre is un-beatable when down loaded. Yes I know it kicks the snot out of you withfactory loads, I have one, but the beauty is that you can down load it from thefactory load of 2700ft/s to easily fire a 500gr bullet at 2500ft/s. If you feel like it, you can even further download it to .458 Express or Lott velocities. However, at 2500ft/s you have an easy shooting Buff. Slayer. Furthermore it is a standard cartridge whichyou might be able to buy in the country where you do your hunting should yourun out of cartridges. This happens easywhen your scope gets banged and you need to shoot in again etc.
Let us know the end result
Regards
Sarel

[David Schoeman]

I must agree with you Sarel for a once of Buff a 375 loaded with 380gr Rhino will do an excellent job...but if you really have an itch then don't hesitate and go big!
I have this constant itch to buy a 500 Jeffery and even though I have used my 375 on elephant with very good results I still want to go bigger! The more you shoot a big bore the more you want to shoot it, and the more often you want to use it...Life is to short to shoot a small gun!

[Dick]

I have no experience with 458 x 3" Express, but I know something about it because I was asked to build one a few years back. It was never done for reasons I won't go into, but this is what I found. It was invented by Prof Badenhorst, and is called the poor man's 416 Rigby because it provides the performance for big game that the 458 Win lacks. I discussed it with Prof Badenhorst, but I'd need to find my notes for complete certainty about the details.

As I recall, the Express will drive a 500 grain bullet at well over 2000FPS. But barrel length is vital. In this thread, cutting a barrel to 22" has been mentioned more than once. 24" is needed for the Express. If it is shortened the calibre conversion is pointless.