Buffalo hunting with a .458 Win Mag

[Quaticman]

If you owned a bolt action rifle chambered in .458 Win Mag and wanted to handload the perfect load for a cape buffalo hunt, what bullet would you use?

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

If you owned a bolt action rifle chambered in .458 Win Mag and wanted to handload the perfect load for a cape buffalo hunt, what bullet would you use?

North Fork Bonded Core if they were available. But with the close of North Fork, I'd gladly use the Swift A-Frame. Presuming you meant soft points.

 

[crs]

PP,
Good choices! What weights ?

 

[fourfive8]

500 gr A-Frame. And just like Phil, the choice would be a tie if the North Fork soft point was still around. The only bullet, that I'm aware of that is of comparable design to the North Fork bonded soft point is the Rhino made in East London, South Africa and I don't believe they have a supplier here in the US, yet?

 

[HWL]

If you owned a bolt action rifle chambered in .458 Win Mag and wanted to handload the perfect load for a cape buffalo hunt, what bullet would you use?

What I learned in this forum....

You will die.....for sure...no matter what bullet you chose.... your bullets will bounce of the buffalos skin, and the cape buffalo will eat you for breakfast.



HWL

 

[BeeMaa]

What I learned in this forum....

You will die.....for sure...no matter what bullet you chose.... your bullets will bounce of the buffalos skin, and the cape buffalo will eat you for breakfast.



HWL

No, no, no...not even close.
Let me answer this in the proper AH way.

Why would you use a 458WM in a bolt action rifle when it has a belted cartridge?
What are you crazy or just have a death wish?

You need a proper Buffalo cartridge that is rimless, like the 416Rigby, 404Jeffery or 505Gibbs.
Otherwise yes, you will end up as Buffalo breakfast.

And don't even get me started on going DG hunting with a rifle that doesn't have CRF...

 

[TOBY458]

I have a 458 WM that I haven't hunted with yet. When I do use it, I plan to try the 450 Gr Swift or Barnes TSX at a velocity of around 2300 fps. Should be good Buffalo medicine.

 

[Major Khan]

During our time , the best .458 Winchester magnum cartridges available on the market , came from the company Remington . The client would use 510 grain soft point bullets for the first shot ( preferably a double lung shot from broad side position ) . Follow up shots were made , using 500 grain metal covered solid bullets .
However , that was 50 years ago .
I was reading a book written by a Mr. Pierre Van Der Walt written in 2011 , and he recommends Solid Shank bullets from the African company , Rhino . These bullets open up , into 4 petals inside the animal .

A word about the .458 Winchester magnum cartridge . The cartridge capacity for holding powder is disproportionately less for the 500 grain weight bullet . This used to lead to small fluctuations in velocity , during our time .
Fortunately , modern propellants seem to have solved this problem ( one can hope )
Since a 500 grain modern monolithic ( meaning single piece of metal ) bullet needs to be longer to weigh the same as a 500 grain old fashioned metal covered bullet , this means that powder capacity is sacrificed even more .
So , to use monolithic bullets in small capacity cartridges , such as the .458 Winchester magnum , one should opt for a lighter bullet of 465 grains to 470 grains , to allow a fair amount of powder in the case . Of course , bullet weight gets compromised , but that is ( in my humble opinion ) what the .458 Winchester magnum calibre is : A compromise .

 

[tarbe]

Every cartridge is a compromise.

 

[CoElkHunter]

What I learned in this forum....

You will die.....for sure...no matter what bullet you chose.... your bullets will bounce of the buffalos skin, and the cape buffalo will eat you for breakfast.



HWL

Horns and fangs? I’m not going!

 

[crs]

HWL,
You beat me to it!
CEH - you are wise beyond your years.

Fortunately, buffalo can not read and I was able to kill one with a (gasp) lever action rifle of less than 45 caliber and a 400 grain bullet at less than 2100 fps! Of course, I did have to sneak up to within 20 yards and shoot it from behind; cowardly indeed! I also cheated by shooting it only twice( darn exploding bullets are expensive).

 

[CoElkHunter]

HWL,
You beat me to it!
CEH - you are wise beyond your years.

Fortunately, buffalo can not read and I was able to kill one with a (gasp) lever action rifle of less than 45 caliber and a 400 grain bullet at less than 2100 fps! Of course, I did have to sneak up to within 20 yards and shoot it from behind; cowardly indeed! I also cheated by shooting it only twice( darn exploding bullets are expensive).

Yeah, well if you shot ANYTHING bigger than a Jack A Lope with a lever action, we need empirical, photographic PROOF!

 

[crs]

Toby 458,
You should be OK.

My GASP, .458 2.4(45-90) is more of a compromise than your .458 2,5 and it has taken ele, leopard, and multiple Cape buff, none of which could read and therefore did not know that they were immune to modern bullets from old rifles.

 

[Major Khan]

Yeah, well if you shot ANYTHING bigger than a Jack A Lope with a lever action, we need empirical, photographic PROOF!

My maternal grandfather took 2 royal Bengal tigers and 5 Panthers with a .405 Winchester calibre Model 1895 lever rifle , Co Elk Hunter . I have shared 1 of the accounts on these forums. Perhaps it may interest you . I grew up seeing that magnificent rifle .
He would also hunt sambhur and cheetal deer with it , very successfully.

 

[DrBob]

The 480 grain bullets used in the 450 Nitro are a good choice for the 458. Woodleigh and Hornady make good bullets in solids and softs. The Hornady are tougher. Makes getting 2150 fps easier without as much concern for compressed loads.

 

[CoElkHunter]

My maternal grandfather took 2 royal Bengal tigers and 5 Panthers with a .405 Winchester calibre Model 1895 lever rifle , Co Elk Hunter . I have shared 1 of the accounts on these forums. Perhaps it may interest you . I grew up seeing that magnificent rifle .
He would also hunt sambhur and cheetal deer with it , very successfully.

Major Khan,
I was just being facetious on my post on this. Lever action rifles are great for all types of hunting, but through some previous threads and posts, some members here on AH have alluded to the myth that lever actions are ONLY appropriate for deer hunting. I don’t own one and prefer bolt action rifles. But two of my hunting friends have shot a number of elk (wapiti) in addition to deer and pronghorn with their Browning BLRs. To each their own with choice of rifle actions? Thanks!
CEH

 

[Major Khan]

Major Khan,
I was just being facetious on my post on this. Lever action rifles are great for all types of hunting, but through some previous threads and posts, some members here on AH have alluded to the myth that lever actions are ONLY appropriate for deer hunting. I don’t own one and prefer bolt action rifles. But two of my hunting friends have shot a number of elk (wapiti) in addition to deer and pronghorn with their Browning BLRs. To each their own with choice of rifle actions? Thanks!
CEH

Of course , l knew that you were being humorous , Co Elk Hunter. I have seen many of your posts and they always bring a smile to my face . I just wanted to show you an account of lever rifles being used on dangerous game , as it would perhaps interest you , for entertainment purposes.
Sadly , the lever rifle gets overshadowed these days , but it should not be so.
And l agree with you , wholeheartedly . I have a soft spot for double barreled rifles , but l find lever rifles and bolt rifles , most admirable as well.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Of course , l knew that you were being humorous , Co Elk Hunter. I have seen many of your posts and they always bring a smile to my face . I just wanted to show you an account of lever rifles being used on dangerous game , as it would perhaps interest you , for entertainment purposes.
Sadly , the lever rifle gets overshadowed these days , but it should not be so.
And l agree with you , wholeheartedly . I have a soft spot for double barreled rifles , but l find lever rifles and bolt rifles , most admirable as well.

I think the “stigma” of lever actions may stem from their less than potent cartridges they were chambered for in the past? Today, a Browning BLR, as an example, can be had in 7mm, .300 WM and various short magnums, which I would think would be sufficient for African PG as it is appropriate for elk and moose sized game in North America?

 

[Major Khan]

I think the “stigma” of lever actions may stem from their less than potent cartridges they were chambered for in the past? Today, a Browning BLR, as an example, can be had in 7mm, .300 WM and various short magnums, which I would think would be sufficient for African PG as it is appropriate for elk and moose sized game in North America?

Oh , yes. That tube magazine was a limiting factor back in those days , regarding bullet choices .
Today , Models like the Savage Model 99 and the Winchester Model 1895 , with their vertical magazines have solved such problems. There is a saying , however that lever rifles are inherently less accurate than bolt rifles at longer ranges . I cannot assess the truth of this statement , because my maternal grandfather never shot an animal further than 125 yards with that rifle.

 

[fourfive8]

The 480 grain bullets used in the 450 Nitro are a good choice for the 458. Woodleigh and Hornady make good bullets in solids and softs. The Hornady are tougher. Makes getting 2150 fps easier without as much concern for compressed loads.

I'm unsure about the new Hornady bonded DGX. But, I ordered some to give them a go in my wetpack test media- it is a real test and I have quite a few other bullet tests in the log for comparison. And that's absolutely correct in that the 480 gr "Nitros" offer a very good, extra option.