heavy big bores – .458 calibers

Well, the .45-70 has attracted a lot of attention to this site, as expected. But we must move on to other .458 cartridges. Before we do that, however, let me just add that one of the great attractions to .458-caliber is the super-abundance of bullets available to handloaders from a vast array of manufacturers and suppliers. And this, in no small way, is attributable to the popularity of the .45-70! In other words, bullets lighter than 500-grains in soft-point configuration have also become popular in .458 magnums due to a vast supply of them being readily available for the .45-70!  Now, of course, lighter premium bullets from 300-gr to 450-gr are manufactured specifically for the .458 magnums as they are now being used on thin-skinned game in Africa as well as moose, elk and bear in North America. To bottom-line it: hunters are now using their Big Bores on game other than elephant and Cape buffalo. They’ve discovered they work very well on North American game such as those mentioned as well as bison, deer, wolf, sheep, goats and caribou.

Obviously, there’s an advantage to using one rifle and load for N.A. game! If I were stuck with one rifle it might well be my CZ550 in .458 Winchester Magnum! It’s pic is on the header. But before I talk about my CZ 550, I need to make a few observations/statements about something else… 

The .450 Marlin came about because of the obvious popularity of the .45-70 using handloads. Not many 1895 Marlins would be sold if it depended upon weak factory fodder for effectiveness on really big, dangerous game like the Big Bears. But Marlins in .45-70 were being effectively used on such game by handloaders. So Marlin and Hornady conceived a plan to reinvent the .45-70 so it could be safely loaded to higher pressure than SAAMI specs allow (28,000 cup) without the attendant paranoia of blowing up a Springfield, Rolling Block, or some other relic of the past and spoiling some hunter’s appetite for adventure… The .450 Marlin is the .45-70 case with a belt to keep it from being chambered in one of the relics of the past. Understandably so! But, it also has a slightly thicker case – especially in the head area – making it incapable of having as much volume as the various .45-70 cases from several manufacturers.

Being the same rifle as the 1895 Marlin in .45-70, it will never be able to surpass the .45-70 when handloaded. In fact, it will always be “the runner up”, not numero-uno! Hornady makes the cases so there will be no opportunity to choose among various brands as is the situation with the .45-70. Plus, the .45-70 comes in a much broader range of makes and models, and it has history and nostalgia going for it, so I don’t have any anticipation of the .450 Marlin cutting into the .45-70’s popularity, much less taking over from it. My survey of two large local dealerships indicate a 10 to 1 ratio in sales in favor of the .45-70. But the .450 Marlin is almost as good, just not quite. There are a couple of factory loads from Hornady. Both are good enough for deer hunting and smallish black bear but nothing really special.  My choice is still the .45-70 in a Marlin and Ruger No.1. And, as already stated, I’ve also owned a NEF Handi-Rifle that for the dollars invested has very high value in my view.

To turn now to the .458 Winchester Magnum. This is my all-time favorite big-bore magnum. I’ve owned a couple of ’em, and the current version is the CZ 550 with a 25″ barrel and double square-bridge magnum-length action. It can be loaded, if wanted, like a .458 Lott. On the other hand, it can be loaded, if wanted, like an 1895 Marlin in .45-70! That’s the beauty and versatility of the .458 Winchester Magnum. It can be used with cast lead bullets at 1000 fps for plinking, or shooting crows, up to screamers like the 300-grain Barnes TSX at 2900 fps! In between I can load it like I’m on safari with 500’s at 2200 to 2300 fps, if a Cape buff gets attracted to my bear baits!

But, my real hunting load for North American big game is Barnes 350-grain TSX’s at 2753 fps and 5890 ft-lbs of ka-smash-like-a-wrecking-ball meeting a moose or bear!

See ya next time… in a week (more or less).

Bob Mitchell

medium-heavy big bores – the .404 Jeffery

The .404 Jeffery is a hot button topic on the various Internet hunting/shooting forums of late.  It dates to 1910 and was the product of the famed gun making firm of Jeffery. The intent was to duplicate the ballistics of the .450/400 NE in a bolt-action magazine rifle. Original ballistics were a 300-grain SP at 2600 fps and a Kynoch solid 400-grain at a nominal 2125 fps. The 300-grain was intended, of course, for thin-skinned plains game and the 400-gr solid for the thick-skinned DG. It was used successfully up into the ’70’s on DG, such as elephant, rhino and buff.

The nominal bore diameter is .423-inch, and has recently been reintroduced by CZ and even a few Ruger No.1’s. But, for some unknown reason to me, it’s no longer cataloged by Ruger. Perhaps there are just too many old/new cartridges that have been brought to market in the last few years for the economical downturn to sustain. Anyway, it makes great fodder/debate for those who have little else to do (seemingly) but dream of a “by-gone era”! 

Yet, there’s no question that it will do whatever it has successfully accomplished in the first half of the 20th century in Africa. And in a strong action, with today’s powders and bullets, a couple hundred more fps can be safely added to its muscle by handloaders.

Hornady produces a DGS and DGX load (soft and a solid). You would need to phone for the ballistics as they are not yet published on their website. Those are 400-grainers, by the way. And, of course, you can also purchase the brass and bullets wherever Hornady’s products are sold (hopefully). Barnes makes a 400-grain TSX and Banded Solid. The thing with the Barnes TSX and Banded Solid is that they are very long and eat up a lot of powder space, so the potential MV will usually be less than if a lead core soft or solid is used. Norma of Sweden and Kynoch also manufacture ammo for it.

I notice, to this point, that there hasn’t been much traffic re the oddball stuff on this site, so I have to assume the interest isn’t out there (much anyway) for the likes of the .404 Jeffery or .450/400 NE, and others of their ilk. On the “forums”, some will debate/ discuss these kinds of cartridges ’till the cows come home, but, in the stark reality of things, few actually purchase new rifles that shoot ancient-obscure big-bore cartridges that were not born in “America”. Of course,  the .45-70 is the sole exception to that, and that will be coming up shortly when we get into Heavy Big Bores.  I fully expect much more interest and response when I suggest that the .45-70 qualifies to be included in the Heavy Big Bore section! That, without doubt, will prove to be an understatement!

To make things clear: I’m not negative of someone using an “obscure” cartridge and rifle, if that is their reasoned choice in the pursuit of DG. I think we have to give the benefit of the doubt, without being too critical or negative, if someone chooses a rifle and cartridge that is reasonable for the task at hand even though it may not stir our own passions.

That said, it is clear that there are certain rifles and cartridges that I would not choose (or will not) for all-around hunting in North America if  bears and moose are included. And, I have personal preferences for those two challenging game animals under less than ideal conditions. My hunting career well surpasses one-half century and my decision to use Big Bores for most of my personal hunting is well reasoned… I think! But if I were hunting Africa for the first time where DG are involved, NO WAY would I use an obscure, borderline cartridge, or rifle, to prove a point, either to myself or others, that doesn’t in the least need proving!

So, for the next few weeks, we’ll be looking at Heavy Big Bores, .458″ to .475″ calibers. Most of my rifles live there!

Untill then…

Shalom

Bob Mitchell