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I have a 458 Win Mag that I had made up on a Mauser VZ24 action. I also had it tapped for a scope and Talley makes a set of rings that also has an interchangable ghost sight in the rear. This rifle has a 22 inch Douglas XX air gauge barrel and I had the action fully blueprinted. Fred Zeglin built the rifle for me.

I loaded up Hornady 500 solids, using the min load of H4895 listed in the Hodgdon's #27 manual and I got 2003 fps at the chronograph about 15 feet in front of the muzzle. I will also add that I had a custom leade when the barrel was chambered.

This was the old style solid, with the steel jacket, kind of like the Woodleigh design. I shot my best ever group with that rifle, 3/4 inches at 100 yards, 4 shots group, measured across the widest points. When I purchased another box of these solids, I found Hornady switched to the homogenous solid they are now using. Unfortunately, these bullets wouldn't group worth a dang. At that point, I quit developing loads for it using the 500 g slug. I am told that the Hornady has improved this bullet and it now shoots quite well, but I haven't tried it. It would be interesting to try the Woodleigh and see how that shoots, but I haven't quite gotten around to do that.

I now load the 350 g Hornady round nose bullet. I haven't chronographed this one yet, but will soon. This bullet is probably the best choice for a 458 here in the states, as it is designed for muzzle velocites from a 460 Weatherby down to a terminal velocity of 1600 fps, according to Hornady.

This was my first big bore and I am very happy with it. My second big bore is a 416 Rigby, but that is another story.

RobertD

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