I myself have never worked with the .458 Winchester. Nor have I hunted in the environment where such a gun is needed/used. I have shot them. I only know the pro's and cons written about the cartridge.

I remember visiting the A-Square booth at the SHOT Show in 89 or 90. There were a number of these massive rifles on display. They were Impressive. I have shot one of these rifles, but do not remember what it was.

As to what it says in the A-Square catalog. It seems to match the commentary on the .458 in the time. But keep in mind Mr. Alphin was trying to Market his propriatary cartridges. I would expect him to say what he said about a competitor.

His loading manual entry on the .458 repeats this criticism of the era. But he also seems to say the .458 had a strong following.

I haven't heard much about the .458 in more recent times-what do PH's use thes days for back up-stopper rifles?

What is the status of the .458 these days?

I did try build one of these rifles using a P-14 action and chambering in .416 Remington Magnum. Never could get the gun to feed right, so I disassemble it and sold the parts all separately on Gunbroker.