When I framed the title for this brief series of articles on the .458 Winchester Magnum, I was tempted to present it as a question: “Why is the .458 Winchester Magnum Enough?” The answers would turn out to be the same anyway.
Let’s take a ride back on Memory Lane for about 1/4 century. Sometime in 1988 I purchased my first ever lever-action rifle. Not only was it my first lever gun, but it was also my first rifle in .45-70. In addition, it was my first Marlin. Of course, by then the model 1895 Marlin was hot! That is, writers like Layne Simpson and John Wootters were writing articles in the gun media which revealed “astounding” results from a rifle designed in the late 19th century. In fact, results were more in keeping with what Alaskans were experiencing on big bears and moose from their relatively new .338 Winchester Magnums… but, in shorter, lighter and faster handling rifles that were AT LEAST as effective on big brownies and heavy moose in brush country as magnums producing 33% more kinetic energy at the muzzle! And another “Of course”, Elmer Keith had known all that from decades beforehand, but few seemed to be listening as they had just recently returned from The War where they had been trained on bolt-actions. Returning to a lever-gun seemed like going backwards in history that many Americans wanted to forget.
Then, of course, Marlin was the catalyst for keeping woods and brush hunters happy with their “new” shiny lever rifles. The re-introduction in 1972 of the 1895 in .45-70 was a dream come true for followers of Keith and Wootters.
And I became an avid fan of both the 1895 Marlin and the Ruger No.1 in .45-70 before I ever purchased my first Marlin. Why?
When I purchased my first Marlin (Since then, I’ve owned 3 other improved models of the 1895) I was well into fast and powerful magnums, like 7mm, .300’s and at least one .338 magnum. Also, a .375 H&H in a Winchester M70 and a .458 Win Mag in an M77 Ruger with a standard length (.30-06 length) action and 22″ barrel (which I should have kept) were occupying space in my gun cabinet, and should have met any thirst for mega-power!
But the Marlin saw the most “action” over the next several years. I shot my first bear with my first 1895. And results were spectacular to say the very least about that experience. Though I kept a few hard-hitting magnums around, they rarely got used and I was a convinced “Keithite”!
That was the trip down Memory Lane. But, I’m still a fan of two magnums: The .300 Winchester and the .458 Winchester. With those 2, I could hunt anything, anywhere and anyhow. With the proliferation of .30-cal and .458-cal bullets of excellent quality, I’d never look back. I’m not a nostalgic person… I’m more of a futurist. Having said that, I’m much more of a pragmatist than an idealist. It seems logical to me, after trying just about all sizes, and based on considerable experience, that the two most practical calibers are in these: the .30-cal and in .458.
I don’t have an 1895 Marlin anymore. Why? Because I like to try new things and I’ve never been able to see the value of guns (handguns, rifles or shotguns) sitting in my gun cabinet with nothing to do except to be looked at every once in a while! They must be used! And useful! So today, I have two big-game rifles, and both get used. One is in a favorite mid-bore — which makes more sense to me as a one-rifle-do-it-all kind of thing IF most hunts are for big game including, in my case, bear and moose in close quarter woods or brush hunting up to far, as in Northern Ontario. In other words, I’m satisfied that the two I have for big game are perfect for my needs, with the mid-bore 9.3 X 62 being the most adaptable in my light-weight, relatively handy Tikka package. The other, I could never part with — well, I’ll have to one day — it’s my most favorite of all time…. a Ruger No.1 in .45-70 with a long throat that thinks it’s a .458 Winchester Magnum. It’s only 8.4 lbs with scope and sling, and 8.6 lbs with 5 cartridges on the stock. Overall length is 38.25″ It is VERY handy and as powerful as you need/want it to be!
If I didn’t have it, I’d have another .458 Winchester, but this time in a 22 – 23-inch barrel with a standard-length action.
All of that brings me back to the title of these articles: Why the .458 Winchester Magnum is enough. So far, I’ve merely hinted at the answer, now it’s time to fully expose its attributes.
For North American hunters, the .458 Winchester could serve as a turbo charged .45-70… sort of.
I visit a few rifle/hunting forums on the Internet from time to time. A lot of controversy exists there, based mostly on biases and opinions. Not a lot of objective stuff. I like objective.
What sort of opinions? Well, like, “The .45-70 would be a nice gun to have if you’re the nostalgic type, or into cowboy-shooting games or, maybe, BP stuff. But otherwise there are much better rifles and cartridges for moose and elk”.
That sort of thing.
Or, “Yeah, I have one in a SS GG. It’s cute… it looks nice and I like it!”
That sort of thing.
In other words, don’t take it seriously. It’s just a nice toy!
That sort of thing.
But my favorite local gun emporium can’t keep enough on hand to supply demand! And they are located in “the boonies” of Ontario! Almost. Yeah, they sell guns across the country via the Internet, but someone out there wants a Marlin in .45-70 but they are bought out by the scores before that “someone” gets one! Why?
I was recently talking with the “smith” of that gun shop about the Marlins disappearing from their website almost within a day of their listing 40 or 50 of them! He said: “We order 200 and get 50… they are gone in less than a week.”
So, it seems that hundreds of hunters in Ontario, and the rest of Canada, are into Big Bores that shoot .458-inch bullets! Yeah, they sell a few .444 Marlins, but I’d guess that the ratio of .45-70s to .444s is at least 10 to 1. No kidding! That’s where and how I got started.
Another observation worth mentioning, I believe, is that practically NO .458 Win Mags are on their used gun racks or website!! What does that mean? Well, several years ago it was common to see at least a .458 WM on some used gun racks, but not today! Someone might conclude “It’s because few have been owned”. WRONG! It’s because hunters are holding onto them, AND using them in Canadian woods and brush hunting for things like bear and moose!
Why? Because they WORK like a turbo-charged .45-70!
Which brings up the topic of the excellent bullets available today in .458-inch that are suited to big game in Canada (and anywhere else!).
That’s for next time! Gotta go clean the snow off the roof of our trailer (hunt camp) up north! More snow on the way!
Is it ever going to end!!??
Shalom
BOB MITCHELL