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Alright I got my first chance to shoot a 458 Winchester yesterday. A friend of mine has one and after a round of sporting clays we headed over to my uncle’s farm and shot a few rounds.

My first experience with a big bore rifle was a few months ago when I fired another friends Ruger 77 Magnum in 416 Rigby. The recoil was heavy and pushed me around a lot but when I was ready and in a good standing position it was never painful. That was the heaviest rifle I had shot up to this point. Before that the heaviest recoil I had encountered was 3 inch 12 gage slugs (by far the most painful in my experience to date even including the 458 Win) and my 58cal muzzle loader loaded with 555 grain maxi-ball (TC’s maxi hunters).

The 458 Winchester was an interesting gun it was a Mauser model 66. It had a very unusual bolt action that had the bolt handle near the front end of the bolt and a slider that carried the bolt. The magazine was directly on top of the trigger group rather than just in front of it in a typical bolt action configuration. It made for a very handy rifle that shoulder nicely.

When my friend handed me the Mauser I was a slight bit fearful remembering the recoil of the 416 and noticing that this rifle felt about a pound lighter then the Ruger. The first shot was with a 510 grain soft point. I bared down hard on the rifle and attempted to squeeze the rigger, I’m pretty sure I flinch a little as I missed the gopher silhouette we were shooting at about 40 yards away. The gun shoved a lot but to compare it to the 416 Rigby I found the recoil less sharp but with a good bit more push. It was more pleasant to shoot then the 416 Rigby.

I did finally connect with that poor gopher silhouette and a 510 grain soft nose sent it flying. The gopher is cut from 1/2 cold rolled steel plate that is hung from a small frame/base with two short piece of chain. Frame and all weight about 15-20 lbs. Its really meant for pistol and light rifle rounds, but it has had a hard life since I got it. Its been shot with every thing from 22 shorts to 458 Win with stops at 22LR 22Mag, 410 slugs, 357Mag, 44Mag, 223Rem, 450Marlin, 7mmRUM, and 416 Rigby. It about time to get the torch and welder out for a little repair.

The 416 Rigby put by far the biggest dent in the gopher but the 458 Win sent it for the farthest flight. The slower heavier bullet of the 458 Win was not able to penetrate before it pushed the steel out of the way.

Well after a couple 510 grain bullet I tried a few 350 grain soft nose and those were down right friendly to shoot. They also did more local damage to the gopher but did not send it flying at far.

Over all I found the 458 Winchester a lot of fun to shot. I could see myself shooting a 458 Win at a bench to sight it in. I’m not so sure that I would want to shot the 416 Rigby at a bench. The extra sharpness to the recoil I think could hurt if you sat down with that gun.

Today I am just a bit stiff in my right shoulder. But I’m not sure if that is the 458 or the 100 bird sporting clay course and a round of 5 stand. Most likely both.

Now if I can just find someone with a 375 H&H to fire a couple rounds through I think I could get really serious about picking out my first big bore. As I have posted here before I am considering some type of bolt gun in 375H&H, 416 Rigby, 458 Win, or even 458 Lott. Right know the 458 Win is my favorite and one I think I could learn to shoot really well. I like the Ruger rifle having shot one but the CZ is appealing as they seem well made for the price, but I have not handle a 550 magnum only their rim fires and small bore rifles. My real pick if I could find one at the right price would be a pre 64 Winchester model 70 in 458 Winchester. It would look good next to the pre 64 270 Win I have now. I know this has been a lot of aimless rambling but I would enjoy any comments or advise.

Thanks for reading
mcb