458 Winchester tidbits

ldmay375

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Here is a snapshot of the 1970 popularity of the .458 Winchester Magnum among African Professional Hunters.
Askins said that of the six PHs with the Safari South Company in Botswana in 1970,
five used .458 Winchester Magnum magazine rifles.
All except for John Kingsley-Heath, who had a pair of .470 NE double rifles by Holland & Holland.
Askins attributed this to Kingsley-Heath being "an Englishman to the very core."
Askins continued:
"Lionel Palmer swore by the .458 cartridge and fired it in a BSA rifle.
Walter Johnson had a pre-1964 Model 70, as did Duggie Wright."

That's ironic and not at the same time.
Wally Johnson was the PH for Jack Lott in 1959 in Mozambique when the cape buffalo tossed Jack Lott.
Jack got in two shots with his .458 WinMag (a soft into the guts and an FMJ-RN that went squirrely).
Wally emptied his .375 H&H into the bull and then picked up Jack's .458 WinMag from the ground, finishing the bull with that.
Irony: Jack Lott thought he needed more power than the .458 WinMag. Funny ha ha.
Irony not: Wally Johnson traded his Winchester M-70 .375 H&H for a Winchester M-70 African .458 WinMag.

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The Norma article by Phil Massaro talks about the 458 WM coming on to mirror the .450 NE which fired a 480 grain bullet at 2150 fps. The original loads were using 500 and in some cases 510 grain bullets and hoping for 2150. That's pretty ambitious given the increased payload and a shorter case by ¾'s of an inch.

Perhaps they should've just said we put this .458 bullet into a handy package for a bolt action. Be happy with it!
 
I need to mention, the above information was a post on another forum. The originator had no issues with me sharing it here. He is a big 458 Winchester fan.
I had meant to state this on the first post. But had a hell of a time with trying to copy and paste. I got a bit frustrated and tried to delete what did transfer, and forgot to mention this.
 
If only 458 win mag came out standard with 480gr or 450gr bullets there would never have been an issue but then the Irony I would never have owned a 458 lott :LOL:
 
I am not a “my choice of cartridge is best”.
There is a hell of a Lott of them that work pretty much the same.
My favorite above .375 is actually a 416 Ruger. The 416 Remington is a close 2nd.
I like rifles and I like several cartridges. I have no tattoos of any of them.
 
I’m writing this from a completely neutral and unbiased point of view. Because while the .458 Winchester Magnum certainly isn’t my favorite caliber, it definitely isn’t my most loathed one either. I actually hunted twice in Africa during the 1970s ( the first time being a mixed bag safari to Kenya in 1974 ) and I have seen first hand exactly what the firearms situation was like, back in those days.

Yes, almost all the white hunters in Africa during the 1970s were using a .458 Winchester Magnum caliber rifle as their primary dangerous game backup. However, it must be borne in mind that this was more out of compulsion rather than by choice.

After World War II ended, ICI ( Imperial Chemical Industries ) Kynoch ( who was the SOLE manufacturer of factory loaded ammunition for British big game large caliber rifles ) had begun to discontinue all of their product lines steadily ( since the British empire had begun to lose all of it’s colonies where big game could be hunted and thus demand began to drop for these large bore calibers ). By 1957, they had already discontinued the .416 Rigby and the .425 Westley Richards and the .505 Gibbs. By 1963, they had discontinued the .476 Nitro Express and the .600 Nitro Express. By 1969, ICI Kynoch only offered ammunition for four big bore calibers: 9.3x62mm Mauser, .375 Holland & Holland Rimless Magnum, 10.75x68mm Mauser and .404 Jeffery. In 1971, ICI Kynoch had completely bulldozed their factory and ceased manufacture of all center fire ammunition without exception.

So during the 1970s ( precisely 1971 to 1981, after which Jim Bell in the U.S.A began to produce factory loaded ammunition for the previously obsolete British big bore calibers ) , those who wished to hunt big game were limited to four choices:
1) .375 Holland & Holland Magnum - Factory Ammunition produced by Winchester ( a dismal 300 grain Silver Tip soft point and an even worse 300 grain lubaloy jacketed flat nosed FMJ solid ), Remington ( a 270 grain Core Lokt soft point and a 300 grain round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solid ) and RWS ( a really good 300 grain TUG soft point and a really strong 300 grain round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solid )
2) 10.75x68mm Mauser - Factory Ammunition produced by RWS ( a very very poorly constructed 347 grain round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solid )
3) .404 Jeffery - Factory Ammunition produced by RWS ( a very very poorly constructed 400 grain round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solid )
4) .458 Winchester Magnum - Ammunition produced by Winchester ( a poorly constructed 510 grain soft point and an even worse 500 grain round nosed cupronickel jacketed FMJ solid ) and Remington ( a 510 grain soft point and a 500 grain round nosed thin steel jacketed FMJ solid )

For obvious reasons, I didn’t include the .378 Weatherby Magnum and the .460 Weatherby Magnum in the list. Given the availability of factory ammunition in these four calibers, it goes without saying that the 10.75x68mm Mauser and the .404 Jeffery were not often chosen during this time. So that essentially left hunters with two choices:
1) .375 Holland & Holland Magnum
2) .458 Winchester Magnum

Understanding the limitations of the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum as a charge stopper in thick cover, most African white hunters had NO CHOICE but to go for the .458 Winchester Magnum. Indeed , I made the exact same observations as Col. Charles Askins did when I visited Kenya in 1974. Every white hunter I crossed paths with, had a .375 Holland & Holland Magnum and a .458 Winchester Magnum in camp.

My white hunter, Joe Cheffings had a BRNO ZKK602 in .375 Holland & Holland Magnum and a BSA Majestic in .458 Winchester Magnum. He used the BSA Majestic as his backup rifle, while I borrowed the BRNO ZKK602 for hunting the dangerous game elements of my safari ( using RWS 300 grain TUG soft points and Remington 300 grain round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solids ). On my 1978 safari, my white hunter was armed with a Remington Model 700 in .458 Winchester Magnum ( and he openly told me that he would much prefer a .416 Rigby ).

From 1982 onwards, big game hunters began to slowly gravitate towards other calibers as soon as factory loaded ammunition for them began to be available ( such as the .416 Rigby ). For example, Walter Johnson eventually had his .458 Winchester Magnum caliber pre 64 Winchester Model 70 rechambered to .458 Lott.

Also, the information about Wally Johnson ( Walter Johnson’s father ) eventually switching his .375 Holland & Holland Magnum caliber pre War Winchester Model 70 for a .458 Winchester Magnum caliber Model 70 is incorrect. This was a rumor that was perpetuated by Jack Lott in the January 1972 issue of “ Gun Digest”. Wally Johnson later allowed Peter Hathaway Capstick to interview him and write his biography in a book called “ The Last Ivory Hunter: The Saga Of Wally Johnson “. In that book, Wally flatly denies ever personally owning a .458 Winchester Magnum. We goes on to claim that ” I will always consider the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum to be the only gun “. This biography was written at least 14 years after Jack Lott wrote that article.

John Kingsley Heath too was forced to abandon his beloved .470 Nitro Express rifle once ICI Kynoch ceased to manufacture ammunition for this caliber in 1968. He too was forced to switch to a .458 Winchester Magnum custom rifle, which was built on a pre ‘64 Winchester Model 70 action with an extended drop box magazine. That rifle may be seen here : https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-1013119
 

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I’m writing this from a completely neutral and unbiased point of view. Because while the .458 Winchester Magnum certainly isn’t my favorite caliber, it definitely isn’t my most loathed one either. I actually hunted twice in Africa during the 1970s ( the first time being a mixed bag safari to Kenya in 1974 ) and I have seen first hand exactly what the firearms situation was like, back in those days.

Yes, almost all the white hunters in Africa during the 1970s were using a .458 Winchester Magnum caliber rifle as their primary dangerous game backup. However, it must be borne in mind that this was more out of compulsion rather than by choice.

After World War II ended, ICI ( Imperial Chemical Industries ) Kynoch ( who was the SOLE manufacturer of factory loaded ammunition for British big game large caliber rifles ) had begun to discontinue all of their product lines steadily ( since the British empire had begun to lose all of it’s colonies where big game could be hunted and thus demand began to drop for these large bore calibers ). By 1957, they had already discontinued the .416 Rigby and the .425 Westley Richards and the .505 Gibbs. By 1963, they had discontinued the .476 Nitro Express and the .600 Nitro Express. By 1969, ICI Kynoch only offered ammunition for four big bore calibers: 9.3x62mm Mauser, .375 Holland & Holland Rimless Magnum, 10.75x68mm Mauser and .404 Jeffery. In 1971, ICI Kynoch had completely bulldozed their factory and ceased manufacture of all center fire ammunition without exception.

So during the 1970s ( precisely 1971 to 1981, after which Jim Bell in the U.S.A began to produce factory loaded ammunition for the previously obsolete British big bore calibers ) , those who wished to hunt big game were limited to four choices:
1) .375 Holland & Holland Magnum - Factory Ammunition produced by Winchester ( a dismal 300 grain Silver Tip soft point and an even worse 300 grain lubaloy jacketed flat nosed FMJ solid ), Remington ( a 270 grain Core Lokt soft point and a 300 grain round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solid ) and RWS ( a really good 300 grain TUG soft point and a really strong 300 grain round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solid )
2) 10.75x68mm Mauser - Factory Ammunition produced by RWS ( a very very poorly constructed 347 grain round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solid )
3) .404 Jeffery - Factory Ammunition produced by RWS ( a very very poorly constructed 400 grain round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solid )
4) .458 Winchester Magnum - Ammunition produced by Winchester ( a poorly constructed 510 grain soft point and an even worse 500 grain round nosed cupronickel jacketed FMJ solid ) and Remington ( a 510 grain soft point and a 500 grain round nosed thin steel jacketed FMJ solid )

For obvious reasons, I didn’t include the .378 Weatherby Magnum and the .460 Weatherby Magnum in the list. Given the availability of factory ammunition in these four calibers, it goes without saying that the 10.75x68mm Mauser and the .404 Jeffery were not often chosen during this time. So that essentially left hunters with two choices:
1) .375 Holland & Holland Magnum
2) .458 Winchester Magnum

Understanding the limitations of the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum as a charge stopper in thick cover, most African white hunters had NO CHOICE but to go for the .458 Winchester Magnum. Indeed , I made the exact same observations as Col. Charles Askins did when I visited Kenya in 1974. Every white hunter I crossed paths with, had a .375 Holland & Holland Magnum and a .458 Winchester Magnum in camp.

My white hunter, Joe Cheffings had a BRNO ZKK602 in .375 Holland & Holland Magnum and a BSA Majestic in .458 Winchester Magnum. He used the BSA Majestic as his backup rifle, while I borrowed the BRNO ZKK602 for hunting the dangerous game elements of my safari ( using RWS 300 grain TUG soft points and Remington 300 grain round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solids ). On my 1978 safari, my white hunter was armed with a Remington Model 700 in .458 Winchester Magnum ( and he openly told me that he would much prefer a .416 Rigby ).

From 1982 onwards, big game hunters began to slowly gravitate towards other calibers as soon as factory loaded ammunition for them began to be available ( such as the .416 Rigby ). For example, Walter Johnson eventually had his .458 Winchester Magnum caliber pre 64 Winchester Model 70 rechambered to .458 Lott.

Also, the information about Wally Johnson ( Walter Johnson’s father ) eventually switching his .375 Holland & Holland Magnum caliber pre War Winchester Model 70 for a .458 Winchester Magnum caliber Model 70 is incorrect. This was a rumor that was perpetuated by Jack Lott in the January 1972 issue of “ Gun Digest”. Wally Johnson later allowed Peter Hathaway Capstick to interview him and write his biography in a book called “ The Last Ivory Hunter: The Saga Of Wally Johnson “. In that book, Wally flatly denies ever personally owning a .458 Winchester Magnum. We goes on to claim that ” I will always consider the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum to be the only gun “. This biography was written at least 14 years after Jack Lott wrote that article.

John Kingsley Heath too was forced to abandon his beloved .470 Nitro Express rifle once ICI Kynoch ceased to manufacture ammunition for this caliber in 1968. He too was forced to switch to a .458 Winchester Magnum custom rifle, which was built on a pre ‘64 Winchester Model 70 action with an extended drop box magazine. That rifle may be seen here : https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-1013119
Thanks for the excellent post and information
 
I have a signed copy of the Colonels book from when first published. To say that it would be met today with an "are you serious?" is an understatement. I dont think that book could buy a publisher in our new woke, politically correct society today.
It is however very entertaining and his experiences are beyond question I think.
My PH in Botswana in 1990, the late Willie Englebrecht carried a SXS double in .458 Win.
I would rank him right up there with the Colonel in irascibility.
 
I wish, I had bought one when they were first published. The Colonel may have been a lot of things. Regardless if I agreed with all his views or actions, I never considered him an intentional liar nor misrepresenter of the truth as he saw it.
No, today’s “woke-society” would not handle him nor his book well. Particularly on the 44 use.
 
I wish, I had bought one when they were first published. The Colonel may have been a lot of things. Regardless if I agreed with all his views or actions, I never considered him an intentional liar nor misrepresenter of the truth as he saw it.
No, today’s “woke-society” would not handle him nor his book well. Particularly on the 44 use.
Just ordered a copy, sounds interesting.
 
Its a good book,and i found his jook which the NRA published also,its good that there is some people who is unwoke and unpc ,it gives courage for others that there is a way to be found to give the wokers their rightful bit of misery in the return to them.

And his shikariis are very good ,since he was in old India Bengal regions and are known there to this day as a surgeon of bullets and good guy.

He liked 8mm very much, 8mmx 404 250 Speer soft, 8x.340, 8x06,, 8mm Rm he had ,and even a 8x68S ,not much of them then in the US.
 
Hopefully it's not that guy that thanks you for contributing to the mission. He deserves a perpetual swift kick in the pants until Jesus returns.
Sir, I resemble that remark.
However The Mission at a certain Arab-owned website became The Crusade at another forum.
Now, the war is over. The .458 Winchester Magnum is truly victorious. The WinMag won. Now we celebrate The Brotherhood of the .458 Winchester Magnum. Honorary Knighthood in this Brotherhood is part of that celebration.
 

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