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Michael Fell PH on the .458 Winchester Magnum

The .458 Winchester Magnum in Africa: A Professional Hunter's Perspective
Pictured is my “old-faithful” double rifle- Lebeau-Courally Best side-lock in .458 win. This rifle is my primary weapon for all of my pachyderm hunts. I am fully confident in its reliability, as it offers a combination of speed, handling, and minimal recoil, ensuring exceptional accuracy.

From a professional hunter's perspective, the .458 Winchester Magnum is a proven cartridge for dangerous game in Africa, particularly Cape buffalo and elephants, but its reputation has been shaped by its historical context. Initially designed to match the performance of older British cartridges like the .450 Nitro Express, its main advantages were being the first US-made .458 caliber cartridge and being chambered in popular American rifles like the Model 70. Professional hunters frequently used it as a backup rifle, but its early versions faced issues with powder capacity and bullet seating due to hot temperatures, which were later addressed with improved powders and bullet technology.

The 458 Winchester Magnum cartridge, one of the few large-bore options available in American-made rifles and ammunition, has become a practical and accessible choice for many hunters. Advancements in bullet design, such as the introduction of flat-nose solids and improved powders, have significantly enhanced the cartridge’s performance. These improvements enable the cartridge to achieve better penetration and velocities compared to earlier versions.

458-diameter bullets, when properly constructed, possess formidable capabilities. For instance, I am particularly fond of the Buffalo Bore 450-grain flat-nose monolithic solids, designed to penetrate through substantial muscle and bone in any animal without expanding or altering its shape.

While I do not favor the under-stabilization of 500-grain bullets in the 458 Winchester Magnum, I believe that the 450-grain bullet was the intended design for the cartridge. When using 500-grain solids, the bullet often fails to maintain a straight trajectory in medium-sized targets, such as flesh and bone, due to the 1-14 twist not providing sufficient stabilization for such a heavy and long bullet. In contrast, the 450-grain bullet was originally designed to address this issue. A 450-grain bullet with a properly designed nose can effectively penetrate and track straightly through any dangerous African animal, and the flat-nose design ensures that the bullet penetrates deeply and maintains a straight trajectory.

Generally, a straight-tracking 450-grain solid bullet will significantly out-penetrate a 500-grain solid bullet that deviates from its intended path within the animal. Hunters who utilize the 458 Winchester Magnum have observed that, all other factors being equal, 450-grain bullets tend to penetrate deeper.

The 450-grain bullet is undoubtedly more compatible with the case of the 458 Winchester Magnum cartridge, particularly in terms of powder capacity. Many reloaders exploit this advantage to achieve a well-balanced performance from this controversial cartridge. A 450-grain FMJ or monolithic bullet caliber .458 Winchester Magnum is sufficient for elephant hunting.

Reposted from Michael Fee Safaris
Private Group
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CWBhP3dD3/

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John aka NitroX

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Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
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