A fun day with the .458WM

[Badboymelvin]

Hey guys,

Well, today is my 44th birthday so I thought I'd celebrate with a busy but fun day with the .458!

Got up early and drove to several different gun shops getting powder, projectiles and new dies then like a kid in a candy store spent an enjoyable hour or so loading up a few rounds to try out.

I was working up a new load for the big 550gn Woodleigh weldcore RNSP and was trying ADI Benchmark 2 powder from the recommendation of Geoff McDonald from Woodleigh.

I've never tried BM2 powder but it ended up being an AWESOME powder for the 550's.
Using a drop tube I was surprised how much room was left in the case to seat the projectiles. They seated to the cannelure no problems - and with no crazy compression.

Then I drove to my usual spot from to try a couple of these new reloads through the chronograph.

Well, the .458 came to the party and after 3 shots through the chronograph - there was only 7fps variation between them.
Velocity with the 550gn Woodleigh RNSP projectiles was 2080fps for a muzzle energy of 5285ft/lbs

I reckon that should get the attention of whatever it hits a little...!

The empties flicked out of the chamber without a hint of stickiness or resistance and the fired primers looked great. On top of that it was a beautiful sunny day without a hint of breeze.

What a FANTASTIC day! You just gotta love when a plan comes together

Cheers,

Russ

 

[BenKK]

Nice work, Russ, and happy birthday! That’s serious medicine!

 

[Von S.]

Happy birthday Russ and many more.

 

[crs]

Happy birthday + congrats on learning the beauty of the drop tube!

A very experienced loader of big bore calibers taught me about the 24 inch drop tube back when I was first working up loads for my then new 1895 .405 wcf. The shot to shot deviation was amazing as was accuracy.

Keep that .458 barrel hot and the freezer full!

 

[machinistbutler]

Fired my new 458 win for the first time yesterday. Tried some 400 grain sp to start, then some Barnes 450 TSX, and a few 500 gr nosler solids. Great fun. Pushed them from Norma cases with 3031 powder. Loads were all a bit over 2000-2100 fps, the 500 at 2000. Recoil wasn't bad at all off the sticks. Might do a few more today after work.

Love this forum , it helps me get into some pretty cool guns lol..

Craig.

 

[Major Khan]

Wishing you a very Happy Birthday , Russ . Your posts always make me wonder ... If I am , perhaps a little TOO unforgiving of the .458 Winchester magnum .

Nevertheless , should you ever have an African elephant or Cape buffalo on the menu ... You will do well to choose a load , which can achieve a velocity of 2130 feet per second .

 

[Forrest Halley]

So you teased us with all this load development and no pictures? Very lucky that you have woodleigh so near.
Happy Birthday!

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Happy birthday Russ. I'm pleased you had a blast with your 458. Benchmark 1 is a great powder and meters well.
You've got to love it when a plan comes together.
Bob

 

[CoElkHunter]

Happy Birthday! What a great idea for a birthday party! The .458WM, bullets and peacefulness!

 

[Badboymelvin]

Thank you for the replies guys.

Pt 2 will hopefully come in the next couple of days when I try for some groups.
I doubt I'll be disappointed though... the .458 has never failed to deliver good groups with the heavy projectiles, but good or bad I'll post what happens

Some pics...

Big bullets!

Loaded round with the 550gn Woodleigh

My .458

 

[Badboymelvin]

Wishing you a very Happy Birthday , Russ . Your posts always make me wonder ... If I am , perhaps a little TOO unforgiving of the .458 Winchester magnum .

Nevertheless , should you ever have an African elephant or Cape buffalo on the menu ... You will do well to choose a load , which can achieve a velocity of 2130 feet per second .

Thank you Major Khan!

It's always a pleasure hearing from you.

Yep, the .458 Winchester Magnum has finally delivered what it has always promised!
Today, it really is a great round.

Was the .458's design a good idea when first released? Hmmmm..... maybe... maybe not, that depends who you ask!
Some people had no problems - but for others it was an unmitigated disaster. For some people it even cost them their life... which is unforgivable for a DG round...

BUT!!!

... with the powders/ projectiles we have today it really is a different kettle of fish. You no longer have the crazy compress loads (not that I personally think compressed loads are bad...) and you now get the promised velocities - without crazy pressure. 5000+ ft/lbs are available on a .30-06 length action. I love it.

I just wish we we weren't half a world away from each other! I reckon a few hunting trips together with the .458 of today I could make you a convert!!!

Kindest regards,

Russ

 

[CoElkHunter]

Thank you for the replies guys.

Pt 2 will hopefully come in the next couple of days when I try for some groups.
I doubt I'll be disappointed though... the .458 has never failed to deliver good groups with the heavy projectiles, but good or bad I'll post what happens

Some pics...

Big bullets!

Loaded round with the 550gn Woodleigh

My .458

Yeah I didn’t know you could load a 550gr bullet to the top cannelure? Interesting?

 

[BenKK]

Russ, why BM2 instead of 2206H? What do they say about heat stability of BM2? I’ve only ever used ADI. I’m also paying attention to what you said about the drop tube.

 

[BenKK]

I didn’t read properly and see my question is answered already in your post, my apologies! I have learned something, thank you.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

It my fathers birthday also today. Really good news about that load. Should work for anything.

 

[Newboomer]

Old ideas and impressions die hard sometimes. I think many people were influenced by the disastrous instances with the 458 way back when. Obviously, with today's technology, the 458 has redeemed itself and is proving to be very effective. For a long time I was very hesitant to use any Hornady projectiles because of their bad rap. Until I tried some ELD-X 143 gr in 5.6 CR on my last safari. Totally devastating on springbok and impala out to 286 yds, Never knew what hit them. Didn't get a chance at anything else but maybe next time.

 

[Badboymelvin]

I didn’t read properly and see my question is answered already in your post, my apologies! I have learned something, thank you.

Haha! No worries Ben!

Hey mate, give the drop-tube a try, it worked great for me.

I’ve never used one before - but when I saw how huge the 550’s looked I thought I’d give one a try. It did settle the powder a bit more...

I must say though that even without the drop-tube I could still load the 550 Woodleigh’s no problem in the .458 case

Cheers,

Russ

 

[Forrest Halley]

Forgive my ignorance, is there any advantage to using the drop tube on ball powder or is it limited to extruded powders only? I'm loading .375 H&H and .458 Lott.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Also how long is your drop tube @Badboymelvin

 

[Badboymelvin]

Forgive my ignorance, is there any advantage to using the drop tube on ball powder or is it limited to extruded powders only? I'm loading .375 H&H and .458 Lott.

That I can't tell you as I've never used ball powder in the .458 and this is the first time using a drop tube.
Using a drop tube I did manage to obtain the smallest fps variation between shots than I have ever achieved before.

I can tell you though that you should definitely try BENCHMARK powder in your .458Lott if you ever want to use the 550gn projectile. I'm getting nearly 2100fps in the .458WM so it should go really well in your Lott

Cheers,

Russ