Beauty in a BEAST

For the inspiration of this article, go to my blog on October 24, 2024 entitled: “There’s a time to Shoot, and a time to NOT!” In all my reading on black bears, I’ve yet to see words like “gorgeous”, “beautiful”, “awesome” or the like! That is, except for my own post on that date. While the rifle involved in that fall bear hunt was my .375 H&H, the Ruger No.1H in .458 Winchester Magnum had its turn at the same location a couple of years earlier.

I’ve described that bear since with carefully chosen words that really fail to attribute the glory of that bear’s worthiness. As described in the blog referred to above, I was unable to get the camera from its case held by a strap around my neck with the .375 H&H held in one hand, and I deeply regret that. So I attempted to find something on the Net by way of example. It’s not perfect but gives an idea of what I encountered.

Anyway, that experience and that beautiful beast (At the time I said: “In the +400 lb class”) – in reflection, after 40 years of continuously hunting black bears – it was by far the most gorgeous and largest bear of a lifetime in hunting them – I’m now certain that he was a +500 lb bear, but not like a bowl of jello! And his size didn’t grow with more time and imagination! I’ve taken into account the breadth of his shoulders and chest – at least 3 feet – and his unhurried stride, having never before seen such a beast – both massive and beautiful!

The closest pic to “my bear” I’ve found. Do you recall the large deadfall that blocked my trail in to the bait near the end of the spring hunt of 2024? Looked quite alike to that one!

< The one that blocked my path to the bait sight about 75 yards beyond. At first I thought about sawing out a 30″ chunk. But it’s an old hardwood about 15″ thick and I’d sold my chainsaw with our park trailer several years prior. Instead, I put the bait bucket and rifle over first, then sat on it swinging one leg over at a time! That’s what I was doing here:

But, I have no plans to redeem myself and go hunting again in 2026 for that spectacular bear using my Beautiful Beast, the Ruger No.1H in .458 Winchester Magnum! Resting in the .458 loaded ammo box are the vintage 400gr Colorado Custom RNs, sighted in at 50 yds at 2257.4 fps/4525 ft-lbs.

Facing up to reality and the facts of life at +90 years doesn’t permit taking risky chances! But wife’s condition permitting, it will again go to the range . . . . and likely spend some hours in the general area of where that beautiful beast paid me a brief visit on October 15, 2024. But what if we have an accidental meeting, would I shoot him? No, for the same reasons as given in 2024 – unless he forced me to defend myself. My Beautiful Beast will be loaded with either the 400gr Colorado Customs at ~2250 fps or the 300gr TSX at 2750 fps. My goal will be to stay fit for the game. Should I run into a really young bear, I might “miss on purpose” to give him a scare and some training! But if he’s in the 140 lb class, I might “not miss on purpose”!

My .458 is a Beautiful Beast!

It was recently taken out of its carry-case, and I was reminded of its extraordinary quality and features: The first was its balance and handling qualities that belie it’s overall weight – it handles like a carbine. It’s only 40.375 inches in overall length (40 and 3/8″) and balances where I hold it in one hand. Its length-of-pull (LOP) is 13.75 inches – perfect for me! And the scope – a Nikon 2 – 7 x 32 mm – is firmly secured at exactly 4.5 inches from my eye when the rifle is normally brought to shoulder. It’s overall handling is outstanding for a 10.65 lb rifle fully dressed and ready for a fight!

Too heavy? No, it doesn’t seem like it – in its compact but sturdy format.

My carry hand (left or right) fits perfectly where it’s supposed to: On the forearm just in front of the action, and there it balances perfectly! As would be expected, it has a very heavy 24″ barrel that’s Mag-Na-Ported. That’s where most of its extra weight comes from.

It’s not tiring to look at or boring to load when handloads are up for trial. One could never exhaust its potential: There are literally thousands of possible handloads for anything from tin cans, bottles of water, grouse in the bush, groundhogs, fox, coyote, hogs, deer species to wild and very dangerous – and all have been taken at one time or another around the wide world – if a handloader and adventurer.

The sweet bullet weight might be 400grains at anything from 1600 fps to 2600 fps. I’ve tested bullets from the 250gr Hornady MonoFlex at 2650 fps (+3000 fps possible) to the 500gr Speer GS at +2300 fps. In additiion to those two, I’ve handloaded 300s, 330s, 350s, 400s, 405s, 450s, 465 cast, 500s, 550s and 600s. The Barnes 400gr X-Bullet made 2590 fps from my Ruger No1H.

It can be handloaded to duplicate BP and .45-70s on up to 6000 ft-lbs from 400s, 500s and 600s . . . . It stands alone in uniqueness and versatility due to its cartridge case design, scores of bullets and molds available, dozens of propellants that will work -some old and others new – and rifles from several manufacturers both old and new. And while bolt-actions are most common, yet there are doubles and single-shots for savvy hunters of varying economic status, ages, knowledge and experience!

FEATURES: of the Ruger No.1H in .458 Winchester Magnum as seen on the Header.

• Single Shot: Farquharson Falling Block action type noted for strength and reliability.

• Exceptionally strong action: They don’t break or fall apart with long-term use. They can easily handle anything a bolt-action can, and then some! As well, usually COL can exceed SAAMI specs allowing the use of more powder with bullets seated longer than normal.

• Long Seating of bullets: This allows the cartridge case more flexibility in the use of propellants and bullets. The .458 Win Mag chambered in a Ruger No.1H, or other strong single-shots, can attain whatever a .458 Lott can achieve in a bolt-action repeater of the same PSI and barrel length – or surpass it due to the extra-long freebore.
• < The 350gr TSX as seated for my Ruger No.1H at 2750 fps/5876 ft-lbs

• High PSI of loaded projectiles: Today’s SAAMI standard is the same as the .458 Lott’s at 62,500 PSI . Originally it was 60,000 psi.

• Dozens of bullets available over the counter, and dozens more from molds: All major bullet makers produce .458-cal projectiles for both the .45-70 and .458 Win Mag. Those made for the .45-70 find useful employment in .458 Win Mags. I have hundreds from 250s to 600s.
• One lineup – I have others. From L to R here: 480 DGX, 465 hardcast, 450 AF, 450 X, 405 Rem, 405 WW, 400 Hawk, 400 Barnes Buster, 350 Hor., 350 Speer, 350 TSX, 350 Hor (2), 330 Barnes Solid, 325 Hor, 300 Hor, and 300 Sierra.

• Almost any mid-range propellant will work: from A5744 to CFE 223. But the best of those are found near the middle: H4198 to A2460. My favorites are H4198, H335 and H4895.

• Has international experience of excellence in harvesting large wild beasts with reputations of killing their hunters.
• 

• Tough with minimum maintenance . . . .

• No extravagant costs . . . .

• Compact and handy . . . .

• Beauty in proportion . . . .

• Companionable:

• Comfort and protection . . . .

• Regular use makes it a favorite . . . .

And yes, a scope and sling make it still more companionable and useful. My scope is a favorite Nikon 2 – 7 x 32 (sadly, no longer available). A rifle scope for such as a .458 Win should NOT be overly large and heavy with 50mm objectives. That would only add unnecessary weight and upset its balance and handling.

Good all around bullet weights would be premium 300 TSX’s, 350 Speers and TSX’s, 400s and 405s, the 450 AF and 500 DGXB. The 400 Hammer (expanding) could be a 1st consideration, though I’ve no personal experience, and they’re unobtainable in this area. Premiums aren’t cheap for plinking, and unnecessary for most game in .458-cal. Cast bullets are usually the most economical, and there are still some good C&C bullets out there that will do an excellent job on most soft-skinned game, depending on construction, range and MV.

Two cases for loaded .458 Win Mag ammo. In the background is a case of original FEDERAL 400gr TBBCs for the .458. I’ve fired 14 of those in tests, one of which had been disassembled into its various parts: case, powder and bullet for analyses. Then reassembled and shot for verification compared to the other 13. Ten of the fourteen have been reloaded with 300gr TSX’s over 75 grains of H4198 for ~ 2750 fps/5037 ft-lbs – not a max load, but good for North American hunting of medium to large and dangerous game within a reasonable range of about 300 yds. The others loaded in the green box are (top right corner) 400gr Colorado Customs and two 400gr Hawks at ~ 2250 fps. In the left half of the box are a couple of 600gr Barnes O, a 450 AF, one 500 DGXB, some 405 Rems, two 400 Barnes Busters and, finally, four 550gr Woodleigh Weldcors. Then, of course, quite a few that have been fired, including 4 of the original Federal 400 TBBCs.

Did I miss anything?

Till the next. . . .

Shalom

BOB MITCHELL

Why Is .458-Caliber So Meaningful to Me?

That includes various recently manufactured models of .45-70s when handloaded and the .458 Winchester. It does not include the .458 Lott, and I’ve given ample reasons for that decision in past blogs. Mostly, that has to do with the lies, hypocrisy, boasting and put-downs of the great .458 Win Mag; and it really offers little to nothing over a properly chambered .45-70 in a single-shot Ruger No.1 with a 22″ barrel. And I’ll back that last statement with details.

<My second Ruger No.1 in .45-70 that was given the long throat (LT) by my gunsmith. At a later date he also gave it a Pachmayr butt pad. The scope was a new Burris fixed 4x with a long eye-relief of 5.5″. Firing a 500gr RN at +2200 fps from its 22″ barrel it was within 50 fps of Hornady’s handload of that same bullet fired in the .458 Lott. At the time I wrote in my .45-70 manual “Who needs a .458 Lott?”.

< Corrected to MV = 2212 fps/5464 ft-lbs since the 500gr Hornadies from my box averaged 503 grs.

As anyone who has followed these blogs, from the recent past, or from the beginning, already has a sense of my background in rifle ownership over the past seventy years at least. I’ll not repeat all that, except some meaningful details that led to my conviction that all matters considered, .458-caliber in the mentioned rifles is the best overall caliber for truly big game hunting in North America, and most of the world in a single rifle choice where specific handloads are employed.

I didn’t start with .458-cal seventy years ago. I started with a single-shot .22 lr. Then some borrowed rifles for deer: a .303 Enfield and a .30-30 Winchester. My first owned firearm for big game was a 12ga with a tight throat that wouldn’t shoot slugs with sufficient accuracy, but I used it for several years on the abundant grouse of the area. My first owned rifles for big game were ex-military: A Brazilian Mauser in 7 x 57 still in its grease, followed by a ’98 German Mauser military rifle chambered to .30-06 (but the bore was still .323″ so it wasn’t accurate.) It got traded on a very nice (used) M70 in .30-06. Then came three magnums in succession: 7 Rem Mag, .300 Win Mag and .338 Win Mag. All were handloaded with good to excellent results. But not all worked as hopped for or wanted/needed. All 3 magnums were new, not used.< My first .338 Win Mag was identical to this.

The 7 mag was in a BAR with a serious flaw: The neck was too tight from the factory that didn’t allow expansion when fired. It so happened that an in-depth article appeared in RIFLE (owned by the original Wolfe at the time) that detailed that problem for All BAR 7 Rem Mags from the factory. I took it back to the store where bought and was given a new M70 in .300 Win Mag. A great rifle but far too heavy. It should have been chambered in .375 H&H. I only kept it for a year and it go traded on a SAKO FS carbine in .338 Win Mag. I loved it but not the 2-piece stock that fell apart. Etc. But it did go on a moose hunt where it rained every day. I had to dismantle that stock each day (with all its bolts and screws) to attempt to dry it overnight, and then reassemble before hunting the next day. Long story short: It got traded on a “like new” M70 in .375 H&H.

Somewhere, early on in the history of the SAKO .338, I signed up for my first ever bear hunt with an outfitter, and decided I’d like an 1895 Marlin in .45-70 for that hunt – only handloads would be used. I searched everything I could find and used SPEER’s manual for a load – the best for their 400gr FT. That was 56 grains of H322 for 1886 fps according to SPEER. They were using the same make and model of rifle as mine but that load fell short of their numbers, so I loaded 57 grs of H332 for an average of 1865 fps from my new Marlin. Close enough! And I shot my first black bear ever with that load at 100 yds. The bear was broadside at the bait and the 400gr hit low in the chest just behind the shoulder, and was retrieved in the offside armpit retaining 90.4% of initial weight, expanded to 1″ diameter. The bear was a 7 year old and of trophy quality and went 10 yds.

That experience led to a love affair with the .45-70 that continued with various models and handloads to 2018 when my last (the Ruger No.1 LT) got invested in my current Ruger No.1H in .458 Winchester Magnum.

In 1997 I produced my first reloading journal of the .45-70 after nearly a decade of experience with Marlins and a Ruger No.1. Within two years the second edition was published with upgrades to include my Ruger No.1 LT and a NEF single shot. There were more upgrades until I published my 1st manual on the .458 Winchester Magnum in 2008. By then the .45-70 manual was at least 3 – 4x as thick as the .458 manual! I didn’t have the time or resources to do both, so I focused on the .458.

< This is the only remaining copy of the first edition of the reloading journal I offered in 2008. I still have it because of the obvious printing mistake in the title. All others sold rather quickly. It was based almost entirely on handloading results from my CZ 550 in .458 Winchester Magnum. The second edition came out in 2011 as the 2011 Edition and contained about 2x as much material. Even at that it was less than 1/3 the thickness of my last .45-70 manual.

But what I experienced and learned from the 2.105″ case in .458-caliber in a new lever-action 1895 Marlin in .45-70 was that at 40,000 – 44,000 psi, it could fire a 400 – 405gr to +2100 fps, and that the momentum of such a load far exceeded anything a .375 H&H was capable of! In addition, the cross-sectional area of the bullets exceeded .375-cal by 50%! In effect, I was working with a system similar to the TKO formula without realizing it, or borrowing from it!

I was convinced that the ancient 1873 cartridge in a modern form, with best bullets and powders was better for DG within acceptable ranges than my .340 Wby or .375 H&H. . . . I’m still convinced of that.

By then I was using 60 grains of A2015 in a 22″ Marlin under the 405gr Remington at 2.6″ COL and 2110 fps. Shot a bear with that load at 100 yds with complete penetration in a going away presentation from left flank to exit behind right shoulder. DRT, literally!

When I killed the 1100 lb bull moose in Northern Ontario, using my .340 Wby at 165 yds, I was convinced that at that range my 1895 Marlin would have dropped it on the spot with the same shot! And that’s nothing to say of my Ruger No.1 in .45-70 LT that fired the 300gr TSX at 2640 fps! In momentum, the .340 would have had to shoot the 250gr Partition at 3168 fps to match it! In addition a .458-cal has nearly twice the cross-sectional bullet area of a .338-cal. Do such physics count? You better believe it!

I had this back-to-back experience with two bears on the same private property, with a tree stand in the same line of trees except one year facing the north pasture and the next year facing the south pasture. The ranges to the bait barrel was ~75 yds to the north and 83 yds to the south.

The north setting was first: from measurements around the chest with guts out, the bear was easily 240 lbs. I was using my NEF single shot in .45-70. The load was a 465gr semi-hardcast at 1900 fps (3727 ft-lbs). One shot frontally and DRT. He dropped right there in tall grass, and that was it! Period.

The south setting was the next year, in the same line of trees facing in the opposite direction: Same bait barrel loaded similarly. Again in tall grass, I noted the bruin looking up in my direction. The rifle was my new Tikka T3 in 9.3 x 62, loaded with a 286gr Nosler Partition at 2622 fps (4365 ft-lbs). I took aim over the rest for center chest as he faced me, and squeezed the trigger. The recoil caused me to temporally lose sight of the picture, but when I focused there was no bear in sight! “Hmmm, maybe he made it to the thick bush behind the bait barrel?” I got down from my tree stand and walked to where he was shot, and still no bear! I looked around for blood – no signs of anything! Did he go directly to bear heaven . . . ., or evaporate? About 20 yds to the left of the barrel (from my view) there was a sharp escarpment that dropped off for 30 – 40 feet. Sure enough, I found him dead at the bottom. He was not as heavy as the one of the previous year on the north side but still in the same class of bears.

Some, being defensive, would probably say “coincidence”, or some other lame suggestion. From physics and experience, I’d say “The .45-70 simply had greater effective ballistics all matters including caliber, bullet weight and force included!”

Of course, aiming and hitting, plus bullet construction are significant factors as well, but the best made, aimed and well hit with .22-cal cannot take the place of a .458-cal with equal hits and constructed bullets!

Nor can a 9.3 x 62 (.366-cal)! Exterior factors were as near identical as possible: range, hits, bear ages and sizes, nurtured in the same ecosystem!

The 286gr Nosler bullet was found in skinning the next day. It was barely poking through the hide of the right flank and retained 73% of original weight. The 465gr was never found as it made exit below the sternum and burried itself in the ground.

I cannot deny what my experience has taught me, confirmed by the application of simple math.

While I’ve given the kinetic energy numbers, that favors the 9.3 x 62, I don’t believe for a moment that KE is meaningless, but neither is it the most important aspect of terminal ballistics. Depending on application, I’d give it at least 50%, more or less. Some say it has no value in terminal ballistics. I strongly disagree because of science, and I’ve witnessed it’s effect in tests and tissue.

That’s a 3-inch hole going into a bear’s chest/heart area! It was found in the opposite arm pit in skinning. The bullet was a Speer 400/.458 at ~ 1535 fps impact. It retained 90.4% of original weight! And that from a 7 yr-old trophy male bear. Even a bullet that expands over 2x its diameter at 1″ could never produce a 3″ cavity like that without kinetic energy! < The SPEER 400gr retrieved from the offside arm pit. It retained 361.4 grains (90.4%).

Unbiased wound cavity study is seriously important for the student of Terminal Ballistics. That is so because it teaches us how to interpret what we are seeing in the field of an animal that was terminated by a rifle or handgun bullet, shotgun slug, or arrow from a bow.

Till the next. . . . Conditions of the shot.

Shalom

BOB MITCHELL

What Rifle Would You Keep If It Came Down To That?

That could be due to several causes or a single one: Financial constraints, aging, divorce, loss of employment or a change therein, a move to a different location, a personal crisis not mentioned, etc. Or just a pragmatic shift in priorities. It’s happened to me at least a couple of times. One was a military surplus in exchange for a real sporter.

Since the focus of these blogs is primarily big-bore rifles and mediums, which of those would be kept as such with the intension of multi-purpose use?

In 2025 I purchased three hunting licenses: small game, bear and wolf/coyote, and I never squeezed a trigger on anything except at the range. Most of that was due to my wife’s physical state which has grown worse at her advanced age of 89 . . . . and I turned 90 a couple of days before the New Year arrived with its many dilemmas for the whole world as well as our personal lives.

Currently, I own three big game rifles: two mediums and a big bore. I’m still a hunter in spirit, and physically capable for what I’d like to hunt this year in 2026. . . but then, there’s my dear wife’s condition that will not likely improve over the next several weeks and months, and she’s my main priority – in fact the only – but to maintain physical and mental health for myself if I want to be of help to her, I must do more than being a care giver! That could drag me down quite quickly if I don’t have other physical, emotional and mental activities!

< Some of my 2025 activities: Testing a new load for my .35 Whelen – a 250gr Partition.

If I could only keep one, what would it be? I’ve said that the .458 Win (Ruger No.1H) would be the last to go. That’s sentiment, but is it practical? They may all have to go! But to keep one for a possible hunt? From a pure pragmatic standpoint, I think the .35 Whelen could be the most practical, and I have a bunch of good loads for it that would suffice for anything from coyote to moose – but moose is out of the question except for possible defence while hunting bear or wolf.

I have 4 loads for the Whelen: a 180 TTSX at +3000 fps, a 225 AB at +2800 fps, a 250 Partition at +2700 fps, and a 300gr Barnes Original at 2355 fps. As a general purpose load the 180 TTSX might be best but I’ve no experience with it as a multi-purpose load – would be excellent for long range wolf though – or close for anything. But I’ve most experience with the 225 AB at +2800 fps. I carried that load for a couple of bear seasons, at least knowing in theory it’s adequacy for any size bear within the ranges afforded me where I hunt them. And, I suspect, good enough for a bull moose with ill intent – though I’d prefer the 250 Partition for security reasons. In fact, I did switch to that load in toting the .35 Whelen as my “walk-about” rifle in 2025. That would also have been ideal for that +500 lb Blackie that showed up the last day of my hunt in October ’24. But I didn’t shoot it with my .375 H&H on that day as it was too big for me alone in that wilderness – and I didn’t need the meat or a trophy. Why the .375 H&H then? As previously explained: For protection as I knew (from all signs) the bear hitting that bait was a dominant one, while I was hoping for one less than 200 lbs.

I don’t do white-tailed deer anymore as it’s too common and crowded in typically favoured Crown Land where most groups and hound hunters chase deer. Private land for deer hunting is usually reserved for owners and friends. They’ll accept bear hunters because they want to be rid of them, but come deer season they want the bear hunters gone! So, personally, deer hunting isn’t worth the bother and expense, even though I did it as a main hunt for over thirty years. In Crown Land bear hunting you mostly have the woods to yourself, as proportionally few residents hunt bear as a main interest, though it is a growing interest among residents due to moose hunting having become more tangled in regulations.

So, if your circumstances led to the choice of one Medium or Big Bore, what would it be, and why? Mediums start at .338 and Big Bores at .40 cal. Thems “da rules”.

The main considerations:

• Where and what do you hunt, and/or hope to – potentially including the largest and/or most dangerous?

• Under all conditions- including, but not limited to: mountains, wildernesses, solo, etc.< Typical Haliburton Highland’s wilderness. That was my former CZ 550 in .458 Win Mag loaded with the 350gr TSX’s at 2750 fps.

• And what part does sentiment have to do with such a choice? Well, no doubt much more than we think! For instance, a symbiotic relationship which usually applies to persons but can symbolically have reference to a hunter and his favorite weapon – in this case a rifle. The union is ideal that cannot easily be expressed in a sentence or words only, anymore than such human relationships can fully be expressed in a paragraph – a book might do it, but I think a film of such a life together would depict touches and nuances unimangined by other means unless you or I were a part of such a relationship. Thus the suggestion of a man and his rifle in such a bond greatly surpasses mere utilitarianism based on numbers alone. The feelings of confidence, trust, familiarity, companionship and constant pleasure will all be associated in such a relationship. Assuming the numbers are there, it would be near unforgivable to leave her standing at the altar in favour of another partner. Therefore, my Ruger No.1H in .458 Win will be the last to go, because I’m not only a rational man but a romantic one as well.
• 

I was just reading a thread on 24hrcampfire.com on the average range at which respondants have shot elk. It varied mostly between 100 – 400 yds, with an average of all responses at about 200 yds. Keep in mind, that was from the Internet with little doubt that stretching matters by more than a little bit had taken place! But let’s say that 200 yds is in fact a fair average. So, if true, and I had one rifle capable for whatever, then I’d want one capable for elk to at least double that average, UNDER ALL CONDITIONS!

That’s the point of this dissertation! Perhaps Elmer Keith and Bob Hagel weren’t far off in their views!

For myself, I don’t think I’d go smaller in a medium than my current .35 Whelen, though a .338 Win Mag has better bullets for a longer reach than that. And it so happens that the American hunter, on average, makes both a .300 Win and .338 Win their top choices for elk at uncertain ranges.

However, among the respondants, very, very few had ever killed an elk – including a trophy bull – beyond 400 yds! And most of the “trophies” were 5 pointers, not 6, and from all the photos, there was never one over 6 points!

Then, of course, we’re not just speaking of elk, but moose, big bears, and potentially Cape buff and lions, in addition to a possible elephant or two! No? Then think smaller, but still we’re speaking of ONE only as a life’s partner in either a Medium or Big Bore.

<Bob and moose. Based on measurements and boned-out meat, about 1100 lbs. That was my .340 Wby Mag.

Some historic men, and perhaps women, have made certain cartridges famous along with their rifles. They may have used others, but one in particular became their partner for life! That’s the theme and intent of this piece. My race is nearly done, and I’ve used a majority of the most popular big game cartridges, but in sheer numbers .458-caliber has been dominant: That includes ten in .45-70 and three in .458 Winchester Magnum. I never fired a single factory load in my .45-70s, and less than 20 in factory .458s. But there were several thousands of handloads from 250gr to 600gr. If I may be permitted some boldness: I think I know something about .458-caliber. The next most familar partner has been in .308-caliber: That includes six in .300 Win Mag, a .300 Wby Mag, a .308 Norma Mag and three .30-06’s.

That’s 13 in .458 and 11 in .308. Nothing else comes close!

A friend. . . . a close friend went to Kenya as a teacher and administrator of the Rift Valley Academy in the early sixties. As a hunter he took two magnum rifles: an original 1956 .458 Winchester Magnum and a new .300 Winchester Magnum. Until hunting was shut down in 1977, he took a slew of African fauna, including the big and dangerous as well as a host of Plains Game. Without copy-catting, years later I followed that same rationale and sentiment without regrets. Unfortunately, it didn’t include Africa, but those choices were fully capable as a duet for anywhere at any time under all conditions. I have no regrets or disappointments! Though the .300 Win Mag isn’t a “Medium”, yet they were capable for 95% of all the big game I’ve ever hunted in 70 years. And the .458 was and is capable for 100% of all my big game hunts of the past or any in the future. If Africa or Alaska were included, nothing more would have been needed.

I made one African trip, not for hunting but for a visit with our oldest son, Brent, and his family in Senegal. They were missionaries there in the outback living in a typical African village. . . yes in three mud-brick huts with thached roofs that they built for themselves. At the time of my visit they were living in a Dakar villa on the Atlantic coast due to his wife’s health and their teens’ education. Brent and I returned via “taxi” – an unforgettable trip of 16 hrs in an old Peugeot with bald tires and no air conditioning – to Badulla, the village that still maintained their huts in the far east corner of Senegal, and spent two days there, one of which was a hunting “safari” for come what may. Brent was also a licensed resident big game hunter for any game including woods buffalo and lion. My “rifle” was a true “big-bore” of .73-caliber: a 12ga Stephens pump loaded with Brenneke slugs. He said: “if we run into a buffalo or lion, shoot it if it charges!” We also had a local native guide who was incredibly talented. He grew up with his brothers using home-made spears to kill buffalo and other wildlife for food and protection. Brent had given him his single-shot 12ga and a handful of Brennekes after he was able to obtain the very used Stephens 12ga pump. That day, the guide’s weapon was his knowledge and a stick with which he pointed out invisible tracks for me. My backup was Brent and his single-shot .22 LR. He’d killed most of his warthogs with it. His 12ga was reserved for really bad and tough critters like woods buffalo and lion. I managed to kill a young warthog with the 12ga and we ate it for supper.

Not this one but similar. I also wounded a really big matriarch with a troup when they came around a sharp corner and surprised me. I hit her a bit high in the shoulder and the Brenneke skidded off and she left in a hurry with her little troup. Madi, my guide told my son later that he came across her in the same area and she seemed fine but had some missing hair and skin from her shoulder.

I cite that history once again to help maintain perspective on one rifle for all big game. Brent even finished off a marauding lion that had killed a teenage boy from the village and several cattle, with a shot to the brain from his .22 LR. Of course, the men of the village had it on the ground with blood pouring from various spear wounds and asked Brent to kill it with his “magic gun”. Their saying was that “Brenties’ bullets went faster and faster the further they went”. Though he did kill a wild cow with long horns, that was also harassing the village, with a single shot to the brain using his .22 LR single-shot! Those were 40gr “solids” at very close range! He was once offered the loan of a fellow missionary’s .375 H&H for a particular hunt of some large PG, but after giving it a try he returned it saying “It was too heavy and uncomfortable” (compared to his .22 LR and 12ga). Today, back in Canada on the East Coast, he has the gift of my 9.3 x 62 and all handloading components. He say’s it will be “My moose rifle”. Actually, the 9.3 x 62 was for a decade my favourite “Medium”. The 9.3 x 62 Mauser has been successfully used on all manner of African fauna, including Cape buff, lion and elephant in the hands of settlers from Europe since 1905.

So . . . . What’s your perspective and choice?

Till the next. . . .

Shalom

BOB MITCHELL

Efficient RIFLE Cartridges

Efficient: “producing a desired effect with a minimum of effort, expense or waste”. (New World Dictionary of The American Language – Second College Edition).

I’ve always liked and preferred efficient rifle cartridges, and the best of them are straight-wall cases without the typical “bottle neck”. The second best are those with a minimal bottle neck on a straight-wall cartridge. Simply stated: You get the best bang for your buck!

As evidence, consider the lowly .22 Short and Long Rifles. And on the .22-cal end of matters, the .22 WMR. As far as cartridges go for large and dangerous game is concerned, we need not look beyond the .458 Winchester Magnum when handloaded by savvy advanced laymen, they have come up with +6000 ft-lbs of kinetic smash! From a miserly 78 grains of one of the best propellants, I’ve reached 2590 fps from a Barnes 400gr X-Bullet = 5959 ft-lbs! Let’s see now, that works out to 76.4 ft-lbs per grain of a suitable rifle powder. . . . Still not as good as a .22 LR firing a 40gr at 1280 fps – Efficiency rating: 97 ft-lbs per grain!

The .458 Winchester Magnum is very efficient in bullet weights ranging from 250grs to 600grs. This is far from a complete lineup, but they range from left to right: a 600gr Barnes Original to a 300gr Hornady HP. There are a couple of Barnes’ mono X-bullets, cup-n-cores with varying jacket thicknesses, a bronze-jacket “solid” and a couple of cast bullets. Only six of those are still manufactured today. But many new monos are in production as well as bonded versions:

On the left are Federal 400gr TBBC bonded bullets in .458 Win. On the right are handloads of 300gr TSXs using once fired Federal cases. They are mono bullets with hollow cavities. The Federal factory are making 2280 fps (advertised at 2250 fps), and the 300gr TSX’s are leaving at ~2750 fps.

One of the most efficient “mediums” is the .35 Whelen that delivers about 63 ft-lbs per grain of CFE-223. How does all that compare with “extreme” bottleneck magnums? One of my long-term favorites among those is the .300 Win Mag: It’s efficiency rating is about 50 ft-lbs per grain of an appropriate propellant for a 180 – 200gr.

Modern shooters who rave over the .260 Rem and 7-08 Rem seem oblivious of the fact that both are based on the .308 Winchester. And writers of introductions to those cartridges in recent handloading manuals no longer mention that fact as though they came into being from outer space or miracle by their own means!

Neither of those two cartridges have the efficiency of their parent cartridge, nor it’s ultimate power and usefulness! For deer, coyote, hogs, maybe, but the .308 Winchester is a far more useful tool on large game – in other words it’s more versatile AND efficient!

Anytime a cartridge is “necked down” from its original, it becomes less efficient; and when it’s “necked up” it becomes more efficient. Consider those based on the historic .30-06: The .270 Win is not as efficient, nor does it have the upper end power or usefulness. I’ve owned a win 70 in .25-06, and handloads were made for every available bullet weight: a 120gr Partition maxed-out at 3100 fps from the 22″ barrel = 2560 ft-lbs. Plus, the SD of that bullet was only .260 with a BC of 391. I never shot a game animal with it, not even a ground hog! But it was a nice rifle, accurate and useless to me as an all-purpose rifle. It burnt more powder than a .308 Win but was less powerful and efficient. Etc.

If we want to consider one of the Weatherby Mags, like the .460, the ratio is about 1:67. Not as good as the .458, but better than a lot of other BIG-BORES because of bore size compared to chamber size. But you don’t get 8000 ft-lbs from your everyday rifle either!

Let’s look at a few more common cartridges used in everyday hunting for the likes of whitetails:

270 Win: 22″ barrel/150gr/2800 fps/2611 ft-lbs/55 grs powder = 47.5 ft-lbs per grain.

.30-06: 22″ barrel/ 180gr/2700 fps/2913 ft-lbs/60 grs powder = 48.5 ft-lbs per grain.

308 Win: 22″ barrel/165gr/2700 fps/2670 ft-lbs/42 grs powder = 63.5 ft-lbs per grain (very efficient).

6.5 Creedmoor: 22″ barrel/142gr/2700 fps/2298 ft-lbs/44 grs powder = 52 ft-lbs per grain.

• Those are average results from 22″ barrels.

• Some improvements are assumed from 24″ barrels – perhaps up to 50 fps.

• These results are based on NOSLER 9 which used a 24″ barrel for each. I reduced each by 50 fps.

• These don’t have a fudge factor, but perhaps many handloaders would complain over these results due to their “fudge factors”.

Perhaps each one could be slightly improved in efficiency, but that’s about average.

Of the rifles left in my locker, that I am still making handloads for, could be a bit more efficient through downloading them. And that’s generally true for any centerfire rifle. But I’ve always worked for best performance, not the least or minimal. Though some downloads have been used in my .458 as full power isn’t needed for both where and what I hunt. Though I’ve also wanted to know it’s limits, and I’ve found that out: About 6000 ft-lbs from a 400gr X-Bullet, a 500gr Hornady RN and a 350gr TSX. There were no undue stresses on the rifle. . . but that cannot be said about my body!

From the .458 about 5000 ft-lbs is plenty for any wild/dangerous creature from an excellent premium 300, 350, 400, 450 or 500gr in the right place!

Of course, those results are at the muzzles of each rifle. Downrange results will depend not only on the construction of the bullet and it’s placement, but also the bullets efficiency, or its BC. The question then is: will the impact velocity be sufficient for adequate bullet expansion? And, at what range?< A 250gr Nos. Part. launched from my 22-inch .35 Whelen. If Nosler’s .446 BC is nearly correct then at 500 yds 1834 fps/1867 ft-lbs should result at -42″. That’s better than the 225 AB at 2840 fps MV. An impact speed of 1834 fps should be adequate for full expansion, and 1867 ft-lbs should be adequate for a mature bull moose with good placement. Efficiency rating = 63 from 65 grs of CFE-223.

< From the 250gr TTSX in my 22″ .375 H&H. That’s over 100 fps faster than the 250 NP from my .35 Whelen, and with a similar .424 BC, it maintains velocity about as well, resulting in a slightly better trajectory and higher impact speed of 1881 fps and 1965 ft-lbs, at -39″. Efficiency rating = 57 from 77 grains of CFE-223. Using 77 grains of RL-17 under a 300gr the efficiency rate is 63 at 2700 fps.

The lighter the bullet is for most cartridges, the faster it will generally leave the muzzle – but there are some exceptions depending on IF there’s a suitable faster powder in burn rate to maximize MV for the chosen lightweight bullet in the chosen caliber. For example, in .458 Win the 300gr TSX or TTSX are worthy contenders for hogs to bull moose, or even Brown bear. But they have a relatively poor BC that means range is limited – especially the 300 TSX. And it’s tougher than its sibling 300gr TTSX with a larger cavity and poly tip. So for moose and grizzly, overall the 404gr Stone Hammer is the better/best choice. The 300 TSX/TTSX, 350 TSX and 404 SH should give adequate expansion at 400 yds when pushed to max velocities: about 2600 fps from the 404gr, 2800 fps from the 350 TSX and 2950 fps from the 300gr TSX/TTSX. But how many grizzlies will be shot at 400 yds? Or bull moose for that matter.

So efficiency can be manipulated to a certain extent for most big game cartridges, especially if you are a handloader. And efficiency is not intended to necessarily mean “more cheaply”. Read again the dictionary definition. Implied is the “best results” without unnecessary costs or labour. Efficient cartridges is normally expressed as energy per grain of gun powder, and we’ve presented some examples. Straight-wall cases and those nearly so are by far the most efficient, which also means the use of less powder for higher energy at less recoil, assuming other things are equal; i.e: barrel lengths, energy at the muzzle and PSI.

AND, btw, large, powerful magnums are among the most efficient: A 26″ .340 WBY is near the top in that regard: 2727 fps from a 300gr Nosler ABLR from 75 grs of IMR4350 =4953 ft-lbs =66 efficiency rating! That’s right up there with the .460 WBY, and much more than your typical deer rifle!!

Hummmm . . . . If only I were 50 again!

Till the next . . . . .

Shalom

BOB MITCHELL

What’s the Best Moose Rifle?

Implied is the cartridge. . . . then the rifle. I was standing at the rear of the bull, but that’s my son, Phil’s .338 Win Mag. My .340 Wby put it down where it was standing at 165 yds. When Phil approached it, it managed to get up but wasn’t going anywhere. Another 250 Partition to its rump from my .340 put it down to stay, but its eyes were following us so he brained it with his .338 Win.

Recently, I compared the ballistics I’ve actually used in moose hunts as well as others that didn’t make the trip. On different trips, separated by a decade, I’ve taken a .340 Wby Mag and a .458 Win Mag to the exact same area of Northern Ontario, the Province in which we’ve lived for a total of 9 + 38 years = 47 years. That’s more than half our lifetimes. Of those 47 years, I’ve hunted 42 in Ontario, and that has included varmints, birds, medium, big and large game.

For moose, in particular for bulls (have never had a cow tag), I’ve toted a .300 Win Mag, .338 Win Mag, .340 Wby, .375 H&H, .45-70 and .458 Win Mag. A fully mature Canada moose, both male and female, will average 1100 lbs. That’s average which means some are heavier and others are lighter. Genetics, age, physical condition, location and food sources are all factors in ultimate weight. Not too many years ago, two large bulls fought it out in locked antlers in our area. They were both dead when discovered by hunters who reported it to The Ministry of Natural Resources. They sent personnel to check it out and found matters to be as reported. After separating the bulls, they called in a helicopter to remove each separately. Using a special net and scales each was weighed. It turned out that each weighed the same within a few pounds at an average of ~1400 lbs. Rare, but it happened!

<Not my pic,but it couldn’t be better if it were. I had a bull moose appear like that directly behind me as I was watching a bear bait 75 yds in the opposite direction just outside the south-east corner of Algonquin Park when I was still hunting with outfitter/guide, the late Norm Easto. This is a late fall image, my hunt was in the month of May, but the bull had fully developed antlers about like in this photo. I had my Marlin .45-70 loaded for bear, which at that range would have worked equally well on moose. I stood, faced the bull and raised my rifle while shouting “GET OUT OF HERE!”. The bull left for the ridge beyond. Halfway up he stopped, looking back. I raised the Marlin to my shoulder, pointing it at him. . . he snorted, took off over the top crashing trees like a bulldozer and disappeared. When he appeared he was as silent as a mouse!

Some might question my sanity, because they’ve successfully used and/or read/heard of the .30-30, .30-06, .308, .270. . . . and even less powerful rifles being successful on said species! Our oldest son’s FIL used a .30-30, and when he and I discussed the matter it was clear that we were literally worlds apart – he in central New Brunswick, surrounded by forest loaded with moose and I in Ontario with no more than one in every 25 sq-kilometers of Northern Ontario (one in every 9 sq-miles). (As a point of interest for some: Newfoundland, famous for its moose, had none until about 1900 when a bull and cow were taken there from New Brunswick to start the breeding process! And today, New Brunswick has more moose per sq kilometer than Newfoundland, which has more than any other province, territory, state or country per sq-kilometer). Plus he lived among them, and shots were all within 50 yards!

So there are some very significant territorial distinctions that have permitted some moose hunters to “walk out their back door and shoot a moose”! New Brunswick, my native Province, is still largely undeveloped with huge tracts of rough and ready country where untamed creatures live and die while having never encountered a hunter!

Though I was born, grew up and received foundational education in New Brunswick, in my mid to late twenties, my wife and I with a couple of small boys found ourselves uprooted and dwelling in Eastern Canada’s largest urban centers: Montreal, Hamilton, Toronto and Halifax – then back to Ontario in a mid-sized town in close proximity to a real wildlife area again for the past 38 years. But there are still no moose on our street! There were a few bears nearby, and some wolf-coyote and lots of groundhogs, but nothing we can hunt in our neighborhood anymore of that nature. Occasionally, someone’s pet dog or cat goes missing, but that’s about it!

Our son, Brent, and wife Deb, just had a visit with us from New Brunswick. They, with kids, had spent about two decades in Africa as missionaries. He became a licensed resident big game hunter there. Over a year ago I gifted him with the Tikka T3 Lite in 9.3 x 62 with all reloading components. He said it would be his moose gun. He and Deb both applied for moose tags this year (2025) in New Brunswick, but didn’t succeed. They plan to apply again in 2026. But Brent was invited by some friends to go along on a moose hunt in N.B. this year (2025). The group shot two bulls, and the first was by a young woman using a .30-06. He sat beside her when she fired. The bull dropped at the shot! Her brother was there with a more powerful rifle just in case! But the bull was shot in the spine! They all agreed it was a “lucky shot”.

If I ever went on another bull moose hunt – which will not happen for a number of reasons – it would have to be at a long distance from home for the best chance at an adult tag. It was 1600 kilometers/1000 miles from home where I shot “our bull” in 1997. Son Phil was partner and finished the deed with his .338 Win Mag. The moose went nowhere. It was dressed-out that night and we were on our way home about 24 hrs later – driving through the night, arriving home late the next day.

Would I do it again if I were still in my sixties? Yes, if I knew as much about that kind of thing as I do now – but, you have to live it to know it! That’s the catch! Far, far different than for somebody who’s grown up with moose growing up! Or within easy range and 3 adult moose within a sq-mile!

The deal also is that for moose hunting to be reasonably done, you need lots of equipment and help! We had a plan but compared to the reality of the physical conditions, it was infantile. The bull was down where shot, but where it was shot was in a more or less open area, yet that open area had been logged-out ten to fifteen years earlier, and entirely apart from the brush that had grown up, there were hidden ruts, some a foot or more deep, made by the heavy logging machinery. Plus the pieces of logs that were like deadfalls all over the place! And the bull was down about 350 yds from camp that was just off the old main logging road. A long story shortened: We got help from another camp 6 miles from us who hadn’t seen moose, and there were a cow and calf still within range of our operation, so knowing that they gladly gave us a hand.

So, the issue of what rifle is reatively minor compared to all other considerations.

I didn’t shoot that big bruin last year, mostly because of all the other considerations – I didn’t want or need a trophy for bragging rights, and couldn’t deal with all the meat, and I was alone!

But for a bull moose of a half-ton or more, we must be prepared for the physical conditions that confront us. If the only possible shot is 400+ yards – and it could well be – the rifle and it’s load must be capable. In addition to range, there’s the matter of the potential variable angles of the shot: 1/4 away or toward; straight away or frontal, or any angle between those. As well: Is the moose travelling? Is it about to disappear in forest, bush or lake, and so on? Do I have access to a natural rest for the rifle? I didn’t, and was constrained to shoot the bull at 165 yds from offhand! I wasn’t nervous over that as I knew the rifle, its load and trajectory. But from only 165 yds it was pretty much a point-blank shot from a 250gr Partition at 3000 fps.

A realistic and serious matter to consider is: will this be my only chance on this moose? It’s not like there are several others standing around to be shot! And at 1600 kms from home, this could be the only chance on a moose in my lifetime – which it was!

About a decade later, I was on another bull moose hunt in the same area, and my rifle was the CZ 550 in .458 Win Mag. The load was a 350gr Barnes TSX at 2700 fps. I figured that was good for 400 yds, but loads cooked up at home in 70*F temps may not turn out to be 2700 fps at 35* – 40* temps F. Back at home with temps at 45*F, my beautiful 2700 fps load was only making ~2600 fps! Would that have made any difference on a potential 400 yd shot? Well yes! Because the forecasted results was on the margin for adequate expansion at 1800 fps! Yeah, I know Barnes was claiming expansion at 1600 fps for the TSX’s, but reports didn’t favor their proclamations!

Anyway, back home I ditched RL7 in favor of H4198 for 2750 fps from the 350 TSX and shot a bear with that. It also proved to be temp stable.

We don’t want to be 1000 miles from home on the hunt of a lifetime with ammo that falls short of promises! Also, for various reasons – including some already mentioned – I much prefer to be “overgunned” than marginally so. Something that’s ideal under many conditions may not be in others.

If I took my Ruger No.1H in .458 Win on a moose hunt that might stretch the string, it would not be the 350gr TSX but a 404gr Stone Hammer at near 2600 fps. From the 400gr Barnes X-Bullet, I’ve reached 2590 fps MV/5957 ft-lbs. This is the bullet several of us complained about to Barnes for having dropped it, nor having replaced it with a TSX. It has a .457 BC, and I’ve kept a few that I’d use on a bear or moose.

Get this!

Rifle: Ruger No.1H in .458 Winchester Magnum

Bullet: 400gr Barnes X

BC = .457

SD = .272

MV = 2590 fps/5957 ft-lbs

50 yds = 2498 fps/5543 ft-lbs/ +1.74″

100 = 2409 fps/5152 ft-lbs/ +3.68″

200 = 2235 fps/4436 ft-lbs/ +2.93″

300 = 2068 fps/3799 ft-lbs/ -4.79″

400 = 1909 fps/3237 ft-lbs/ -20.65″

• The velocity and trajectory are similar to a 180gr from a .308 Winchester.

• The recoil from my Ruger No.1H in .458 Win would be ~50 ft-lbs with the brake. That would only be ~ 10% more than my .375 H&H firing a 300gr at 2675 fps.

A .300 Winchester Magnum went along as backup to the .458. And the year prior to shooting the bull, my backup rifle was the Ruger No.1 in .45-70 LT. The main rifle was a .338 Win Mag. That was my first trip to that area seeing first hand the clear-cuts and potential distances for taking a moose. It was a world I’d never previously experienced. But I did find a fresh rut pit and went back to that exact location the following year to find the bull knowing if it had not been chased by hunters or shot, he’d still be hanging out in that area. That paid off as he was shot on opening day at 3 pm less than 200 yds from the rut pit he’d made the year before. There’s something a lot of hunters don’t understand is that wild animals are territorial if there’s ample food, water and relative security, unless they’re chased or driven out. Males wander further than females in searching for a mate, or driven out by another male that’s bigger and stronger (or injured by them). Hunting hounds are a scourge in that sense, and some of those get lost or abandoned and become wild and chase/catch game for survival. As I’ve previously mentioned – the same with ATV’s or other machines like snow mobiles or trucks, cars and motor bikes that race and tear around in back country. Game animals quickly learn to get away from all the noise and disturbances caused by men who want to “have fun” in God’s wildernesses.

But where I’ve hunted moose in the Near North and Far North, the disturbances are relatively rare and minor. Most living critters have yet to meet man – the hunter, so react accordingly: curiosity with a tinge of fear. Yet in many other places they get used to the rumble of traffic on highways, and ATVs racing across fields, and act as though this is all normal, so rarely a hair is ruffled until they get shot! Coyotes and some bears make a living in suburban centers, along with coons and fox. In our town, that has doubled in size over the past couple of decades, I was somewhat surprised one day on a street I’d rarely taken in my vehicle, when a fox ran out from the back yard of a home with a cat in its mouth! Then one morning as I stepped out our back sliding door onto the deck to be met with an opossum . It slipped down the steps to our back yard, across to the chain-linked fence, went over into the trees of our neighbour to be never seen again.

Nearly the same thing before we had neighbours back there: In March, with 4″ of fresh snow, I went to the same door to look out and saw a beautifully furred Wolf-coyote hybrid at the end of our lot, broadside looking south at fresh rabbit tracks. I didn’t have my camera handy. And we’ve had bears in our community in days past. . . . but all that is now paved over with brick and mortar. I’d prefer the bears and wolves to all that’s been happening over the past two decades. I’m not a city man, with its crowds, traffic and humdrum!

< Reverse this photo and it would be very similar to what I saw in our back yard early one March morning. (credit Internet)

And I have lots of loads remaining to be shot at the range: Some examples of trials in 2025 (summer and fall):

< From a 250gr TTSX in .375 H&H<From a 300gr Sierra in .375 H&H<From a 250gr Partition in .35 Whelen<From a Barnes180 TTSX in .35 Whelen<From a 400gr Colorado Custom in .458 Win.

Would any of those be suitable for adult moose? A big bear? Which would you choose in a remote unspoiled area?

Till the next. . . . .

Shalom

BOB MITCHELL

Why Not a .35 WHELEN? – P2

This is the second part of a three-part series on the 3 Rifles I would pick (keep) if I could do the seventy years of hunting over again.

In P1 the wonderful .458 Winchester Magnum would be my first choice being a handloader.

My second choice would be a .35 Whelen. Why?

That’s the subject of P2.

As a background to that answer, off the cuff I’ll confess to owning a fair number of mediums as I see them as the best all-around class of cartridges for my type of hunting. Under variable conditions and distinct ecological frameworks, and variety of game from medium to large with the possibility of danger around the next corner, or 20 yards away, there has grown the keen awareness that a single shot may well be the only, and it better hit the mark with explosive effect! That could be a bear, moose or a 130 lb wolf! Multiple quick shots – in panic – will rarely compensate if the first one is missplaced or indecisive!

A well aimed (from prone) 165gr Nosler BT from a Win 70 in .30-06 into the chest of a 400 lb monster whitetail at 153 yds failed to impress that buck more than only enough to leave the trail in one bound never to be seen again (except by other hunters on another property separated by a swamp from me). They got that wounded “trophy”. I literally lost sleep, and sought several solutions to such an occurance if it ever happened again – semis and magnum power.

After some serious reflection, honesty and increasing knowledge from broader experiences, wisdom said “Bob, a slug gun is great up close, but they don’t have the reach needed for many conditions. . . You need a rifle with a bigger hole than .30-caliber, that throws heaver bullets than 165s but just as fast.”! There was some stumbling around for a year or so, but “bigger is better” started with a .338 Win Mag and a .45-70.

I’ll not reherse more than that, but that theme became dominant throughout the last 50 years of my hunting life!

I’ve now owned three in .35 Whelen: the first a Rem 7400 (semi) that I simply “loved”. None of the nonsense often attributed by critics to Remington’s semi’s was experienced during my time with that rifle! The action was as strong as a bolt action (indeed it IS a bolt action). It digested anything and everything I fed it, same as it would if a 700. 250gr Speers and Interlocs at +2600 using RL-15. I killed a bear using the 200gr X-Bullet at 2835 fps. The bear was going away and took the Barnes bullet mid-ships, making exit through the offside shoulder taking out shoulder joint leaving a 2″ gaping hole. Bear went 10 yds.A 750 Remington semi in .35 Whelen – near identical to mine in a 7400.

Out for a walk one day on my favorite Haliburton Highland trail, my companion was that 7400 loaded with 250gr Interlocs at +2600 fps. As I came to the crest of a hill, on top about 75 yds away was a cock pheasant putting on a show for his unseen girlfriend. An inspirational moment: I raised the rifle, took off the safety, aimed through the scope and fired! There was a cloud of feathers that burst into the air! When the dust. . . er, feathers settled there stood the naked pheasant who took off in flight, or was it running, into thick underbrush – didn’t want his girlfriend to see him naked I guess – never to be found by me! So that was shocking power that denuded that bird sans bloody-ing him or his gal! Proof positive of the extraordinary qualities of a .358, 250gr bullet at +2600 fps to not only lay bear the skin of a big male pheasant but to migrate it to parts unknown!

My current .35 Whelen has had different experiences: So far, 79 handloads have been fired at the range for testing, and 6 more are ready. Some of those have also served while toting bait to my bear-bait site in

2023 – 2024.

The bullets tested so far: 180 TTSX; 225 Partitions and 225 ABs (these have also made the trips to my bear hunting site); 225 Sierra BTs and 250gr Hor Interocs. Initially, I also tried some 225-X and 200gr Hornadys. I also tried the 300gr Barnes Originals – which also made the hunting trip a few times. I’ve yet to shoot game with any of those in my current single-shot Traditions G3 Outfitter.

< 300gr Barnes Originals in the buttstock cartridge holder.

My main hunting loads for bear have mostly been the 225gr AB at 2840 fps/4029 ft-lbs, and the 300gr Barnes O. at 2355 fps. They shoot into the same group as the 225s at 100 yds.

The rifle is handy and tough. It has almost too many features to remember: Cerakoted, rebounding hammer, hammer spur on both sides, button safety, break action and brake porting. Weight: 8.25 lbs with scope, sling and 4 cartridges (3 in stock cartridge holder). Overall length – 39″ including muzzle brake and 22″ fluted barrel.

Performance: basically equal to a .338 Win Mag or a .300 Win Mag depending on handloads. With heavy bullets its on the heels of a .375 H&H, depending on handloads for each respectively.

Recoil is “up there” in the 40s range but mitigated by up to 20% by the ports. So, depending on how “hot” it’s loaded, for instance: the 225gr AB at 2840 fps over 69grs of CFE 223 makes 37 ft-lbs recoil, minus 20% = ~7 = 30 ft-lbs. How that’s “felt” depends on several other factors, of course. In a purely technical sense, that could be more than a typical 7 Rem Mag or less than a .300 Win Mag. But considering the output of over 4000 ft-lbs at the muzzle, that is considerably less than a typical .338 Win Mag without ports at around 40 + ft-lbs, or less than a typical .375 H&H at 45 ft-lbs recoil.

Here is a basic work-up of exterior ballistics that I do (as an example) in comparison of my .35 Whelen with a generic .300 Winchester Magnum that might help me decide which to choose/own for large game like moose or brown bear under realistic hunting conditions:

The .300 Win Mag: 24″ barrel; wt ready to hunt at 8.75 lbs. Zero @ 250 yds.

Bullet: 200gr AB/SD = .301/BC = .588

MV = 2990 fps/3970 ft-lbs/ -1.6″

100 = 2837 fps/3574 ft-lbs/ +2.4″

200 = 2689 fps/3211 ft-lbs/ +2″

300 = 2546 fps/2879 ft-lbs/ -3.2″

400 = 2408 fps/2575 ft-lbs/ -13.8″

500 = 2274 fps/2296 ft-lbs/ -30.3″

##########################

The .35 Whelen: 22″ barrel; 8.25 lbs ready to hunt. Zero @ 250 yds

Bullet: 250gr NP/SD = .279/BC = .446

MV = 2700 fps/4046 fp-lbs

100 = 2512 fps/3502 ft-lbs/ +3.3″

200 = 2332 fps/3017 ft-lbs/ +2.67″

300 = 2159 fps/2586 ft-lbs/ -4.37″

400 = 1993 fps/2205 ft-lbs/ -18.9″

500 = 1836 fps/1870 ft-lbs/ -42.2″

Analyses: the .300 Win is flatter shooting and has more KE past 100 yds. But the rifle is longer and heavier. The .35 Whelen is shorter and lighter, but has more momentum from muzzle to 500 yds with a heavier bullet by 25% and bullet cross-sectional area by 36.5%. On heavy and potential dangerous game I’ve chosen the .35 Whelen over the .300 magnums I’ve owned. For dangerous game such as grizzly or brown bears – and I’d personally include certain black bears – I’d choose the heavier and wider bullets of .358-caliber over .308-caliber.

One caveat: I’ve not yet tried the 250 NPs in my single-shot Traditions with it’s 22″ barrel. But I expect to do so in the near future since I still have 20 left-overs from my former 7400. But I can seat them much longer in the single shot to a COL of: 3.45″, allowing more powder than “normal” to be safely used. I know that 2650 fps will be easy to attain, and so 2700 fps should safely be within reasonable limits using the best of modern powders like CFE 223, MR2000 or Big Game. I’ll report on that at the appropriate time.

As to recoil: many factors are involved or course, but I don’t think there would be enough distinction to let it determine which I’d choose. For extreme ranges for lighter game, the .300 has an advantage, but I’ve never “been there” in seventy years of hunting small to large animals.

The “upsides” of a .35 Whelen are many with few “downsides”.

• While .35 Whelen brass is available, in its absence ubiquitous .30-06 cases necked to .358″ will do.

• Relatively meagre powder loads will transform it from “regular” to “magnum” capabilities.

• Like its parent case, the .35 Whelen is generally seen with a 22″ barrel instead of a 24″ or more.

• As it’s popularity grows, more “premiums” are available, yet generally they are not needed.

• Even pistol bullets in .357″ will generally work very well for varmints and small critters.

• On the upper end, bullets from 250gr to 310gr are available.

• The 250gr Partition is perhaps the best overall for big game like moose and bears – even grizzly and brown bears. From most .35 Whelens with 22″ barrels, the 250 Partition can be driven to 2660 fps/3927 ft-lbs (right up there with a .338 Win Mag factory load). Modern powders like MR2000 and CFE 223 are likely best. From a 24″, 2700 fps is possible.

• While new bolt action repeaters in .35 Whelen are scarce these days, there’s a growing number in single-shooters, similar to mine. There are some advantages to a single-shot rifle. As I noted at the beginning: most of the physical conditions of my hunting over the past seventy years does not favour a bolt-action repeater. It’s too slow – especially when the bolt handle is on the wrong side, as in my case. So, a single-shooter is practical for such scenarios. Otherwise, I’d choose a semi if available in something like the 7400 I owned, or a BAR in .338 Win Mag. I did early on own a BAR in 7 Rem Mag, but it had a serious flaw that needed to go back to where it was made – that would have left me without a decent big game rifle for at least a year. So it went back to where purchased and I was given a Winchester 70 XTR in .300 Win Mag as a replacement. But that didn’t solve my problem with having to deal with a powerful bolt-action repeating rifle from my left side using a right-handed rifle. A semi was ambidextrous as were levers and single-shooters!

• Unfortunately, due to Remington’s poor marketing strategy after having SAAMI make it legit in 1988, many still think of a .35 Whelen as an odd-ball deer rifle at woods ranges! Yep, it works great for that, but it’s also a very serious rifle for open country and large game like eland, moose and elk. And there’s little doubt it could take care of a nasty dugga boy with the right bullet where permitted. It’s only a half-step behind the historic and famed 9.3 x 62 Mauser. But I’d use a bullet with more weight than a 250gr and higher SD than .279. The 310gr Woodleigh Weldcore PP (if they can still be found) at 2350 fps -2400 fps could sure put the hurt on most any animal short of elephant and rhinos.

• About 2 and a half years ago, I had an email from someone who thanked me for promoting a .35 Whelen for moose and elk at up to 400/500 yds. He asked not to have his name used but I could use his testimony in my blog writing if I saw fit. His testimony was this: He and his boys (young men) were using 6.5 Creedmoors and some other light calibers pushing some of the super-high BC bullets at their velocity limits to kill elk at long range – 400 to 600 yds, and loosing several of them that had been wounded. That caused concern. Around that time he read my blogs promoting the .35 Whelen as an all-around rifle/cartridge for such game to 400yds and more. So they were able to purchase several, built loads for them and had never lost a wounded elk since. . . so he wanted to let me know with thanks.

He didn’t want me to use his name because he had previously been well known as a user and promoter of 6.5s in days past, and had many friends who knew him well as such.

Right now there are more 6.5 Creeds for sale at Epps than any other big game rifle. It’s the “hot” item! But that will not last forever. Something else will come along or some hunters will return to “old standbys” and realize that their past favorites could handle matters just as well or even better! But variety in rifle choices is entertaining and keeps all related businesses humming!

So. . . . . . . .

After 3 attempts to find a .375 H&H that was suitable and worked correctly, I finally succeeded with the find and purchase of the Zastava 70 in a left-handed bolt-action repeater. More on that next time when I discuss the .375 H&H as my 3rd choice of a rifle to live with until I’m done.< The Zastava M70 in .375 H&H LH on display at Epps before I purchased it.

. . . .and now>

Till the next. . . . .

Shalom

BOB MITCHELL

The Three Rifles I’d choose for All Hunting – P1

In hindsight, after seventy years involved in hunting activities, and in addition to a .22 LR and a 12 gauge, I know a single big game rifle could suffice. What might it be? Certainly not a small bore like a .223 or .243 or .257. Because I’ve hunted both moose and bear a lot, I’d want something appropriate for those critters in addition to small and medium game like coyote, wolf and deer in addition to the larger and meaner creatures. Then, with the potential of longer ranges thrown in, I’d want it to have some juce!

There are obviously many choices among today’s common cartridges. But a single rifle cartridge for all things North American would of necessity be a compromise at the small game end of matters, but doable. And that’s due to the fact of having been – and I still am – a medium and big game hunter over these many years. From coyote to moose? Humm. . . . . At up to and including long range? Yup.

Then it would have to be a .300 magnum, and the Winchester would be the best choice for, I think, obvious reasons. Handloads, of course. With hunting bullets from 125gr to 220gr, all potential scenarios would amply be covered.

A 125gr Nosler BT or AB at over 3500 fps from a 24″ tube would be dynamite on almost anything smaller than moose, elk and large bear. But that’s not the forte of a .300 Win Mag. In wanting to keep matters efficient, my general purpose rounds would be 180s and 200s from Nosler at 3160 fps for the 180s, and 3000 fps for the 200 AB or Partition. Then there’s a 190gr ABLR with a high .597 BC. that could reach waaaaay out there for the likes of caribou, elk and wolf at an MV of over 3000 fps. But for tough places, close or far, for a bull moose, the choice would always be the 200gr Partition or AB with a high BC of .588. At 600 yds that’s still making ~2000 fps/1776 ft-lbs – in the right place enough for a sturdy 1000 lb critter. But that would rarely ever be needed. A more realistic extreme range for a big moose might be 450 yds.

<Typical Ontario moose country.

BUT! That’s a one-gun for all things big and small – if I had to. But that’s not what I started to discuss if it were (seriously) 3 different rifles/cartridges, aside from a 12ga and a .22 LR. And that’s about where I am today, any one of which in the centerfires could get the various scenarios done. I’d choose three with some overlapping capabilities – not with huge gaps between them.

With about 100,000 registered moose hunters in my home province of Ontario, the average hunter will be toting a .30-caliber: .308 Win, .30-06 or .300 Win Mag. All three are very versatile, with the .308 most common for the average hunter, who primarily is a deer hunter with the occasional hunt for both larger and smaller game. On the other hand, a .30-06 is an all-time favorite for moose in Ontario, as well as being suitable for deer and occasionally lesser game. For some of us, we prefer no compromises when the game is large and potentially far away – so the .300 WIN or WBY is our choice.

Yet, I’m talking “IF” I had to do “it” (seventy years of hunting) all over again knowing what I now know from thousands of handloads in 50 rifles from the .22 Hornet to the mighty .458 Win Mag. Those rifles include single-shots, bolt-actions, levers and semis.

So here we go. . . . this has been fun, but tough on the Decision Making Department! Why? Because there are simply too many others just as worthy. . . It’s not a hill I would die on. . . . But my choices are mine and reflect who I am and how I think. It’s not just a matter of making choices, but why? I’m not a particularly nostalgic person and rarely waste time in reflection on the past or in worrying over past sins or mistakes. I hope to learn from them, get up and get on with living. Yes, I do confess my failures and shortcomings to my Heavenly Father, accept His forgivness and advice and get on with life, leaving regrets in the rearview mirror! And I’ve had regrets over some rifles I’ve purchased for one reason or another – but this piece isn’t about any of that, rather it’s about a-half handful I’d keep, if for whatever reason – legal, finances or “whatever” else might intervene – who knows?

In regard to rifle ownership: My thinking is not reflected in the blase’ comment “One can never have too many”, sort of thing. On the face of it, that is an irresponsable comment. A serious hunter, to my way of thinking, is one who, within reasonable limits on time, energy and finances, invests several hours of the week in his pastime, and several weeks of the year in pursuing game. I’ve left that open-ended so as not to impose decrees on anyone else. I’m talking here in general terms. I think I’ve sense enough to know what those limits are at given periods of my own life. Then there are not only differences in personalities but often sharp distinctions in economic status as to what can or cannot be reasonable in regard to the acquisition of rifles:

A SAKO 85 Grizzly in .375 H&H could be an all-rounder for anything from deer to elephant.

I’ve gone on record in saying that over that lifetime of hunting, I could have gotten by with a single rifle: a .45-70 using handloads as it’s very versatile in using cast bullets as well as components from manufacturers. Here, after all these years and places, I’d nominate a .300 Win Mag as my choice being a handloader. Why not? It’s like a .30-06 on steroids!

Basically, I’ve divided my centerfire rifle hunting experience down to groundhogs, coyote, wolf, deer, black bear and moose, in a variety of places and under variable conditions. The longest shots I’ve taken on any of those were on groundhogs/woodchucks – which might be expected. Hunting here in the thickly forested northeast, ranges are generally limited to less than 200 yds, except for the “far north” of our Province of Ontario with it clear cuts, and in the vacinity of lakes, marshes, etc. Shots on moose and bear could be “in your face” or 500 – 600 yds in more open areas. So the rifle should be capable for any potential scenario. Groundhog shooting has always been on private land with permission – mostly farmland – and for a fair amount of that a .22 LR was employed, but for ranges beyond about 150 yds a .223 Rem was in service with handloads.

Then, I’ve been both a student of ballistics and made applications of that through handloading. And I’ve been more inclined toward “magnum power” than “standard” ballistics. Some of that is temperament and a lot of it is from analyses of both best and worst case scenarios. I always like to be prepared for potential worst cases, not only the best.

So if I could only have three what might they be? Many years ago, I wrote a manual on this that never got published, but I presented several potential trios, and suggested what mine would be. And frankly, I don’t recall what they were, but I know a .45-70 got in there somewhere – that is with handloads. I had a ball handloading .45-70s.

Today, in hindsight?

Instead of a .45-70, I’ve recently declared that my .458 Win Mag would be the last to go. So there you have one for sure! And I’ve shared load data, testing bullets, accuracy, and on and on. It’s all there in my blogs. At one time I published a manual – two editions on the formidable .458 Winchester Magnum, and that got to be too much to keep up with. So now I contribute through blog writing and participating in the http://www.24hrcampfire.com big bore section on “The Great .458 Winchester Magnum . . . . “. If you don’t know Dr. Ron Berry, you’ll get to know him there as “Riflecrank”. He’s the engine of that thread that’s now closing in on 300 pages!

In a normal world – whatever that is – a .458 Win Mag is not usually the first rifle chosen on anyone’s list as a hunting rifle. Granted, but now knowing what I do, it heads my list and would be my first choice as a handloader – as a .45-70 would have been a number of years ago (I’ve owned 10), and it introduced me to .458 Win power. As a handloader since 1980, 98% of my shooting centerfire rifles have been my own handloads. More recently, I introduced myself to a .458 Win Mag factory product out of curiosity and wanting the experience of firing a prime factory product from Federal. I’ve written some blogs about that experience. That satisfied me that my handloads lacked nothing in comparison. I still have 6 of the 20 left for testing.

I just hate mentioning it again, but in five months I’ll be 90, and my chosen rifle for this fall’s bear hunt is my Ruger No.1H in .458 Win. And the load will be a handload! Likely a 400gr at ~2200 fps/4298 ft-lbs. (Our range has been closed to me – and other rifle shooters – due to a week of international shotgun sports taking place at the shotgun range. With well over a hundred competitors, plus friends and visitors, the rifle range was shut down; then this past week it was shut down for mandated repair work. It – the rifle range – is scheduled to be open again today (Saturday), but I’ll not be there because of being overcrowded. I’ll restart my testing program for the .458 on Monday, God willing.)

My .458 Win is the Ruger No.1H pictured on the header. It bellies its weight, power and handling. Ready for action, when hand held just in front of the falling block lever, the balance is perfect. In length it is only 40 and 1/4″, the same as a bolt-action .30-06 with a stubby 20″ barrel. It therefore gives the impression of a quick-handling carbine! Of course, such isn’t the case due to its weight of over 10 and 1/2 lbs, but nevertheless, it is quicker than the average big-bore rifle due to its compact size. It doesn’t seem overwhelming.

If you drive a Ferrari, you don’t need to go 200 mph all the time – indeed, that would be lawless and irresponsable. But it can become a daily commuter, if you choose. On the weekends, you can go to your nearest track and let ‘er rip! I do that at the range with my .458! As a “daily commute” I drive her at ~ 75 – 90%. A 400gr at 2200 fps instead of 2550 fps = 86%. That reduces recoil from 57 ft-lbs down to 40 ft-lbs, which is only about 70% of a max load for that bullet. Minus another 10 – 12% due to the Mag-Na-Porting on my Ruger No.1H = minus 4 to 5 ft-lbs = 35 – 36 ft-lbs (about the same as a .300 Win Mag). That’s quite tolerable if you practice with it weekly shooting 5 – 6 rounds mixed in with some other firearms. After eight weeks (~2 months) of that, anyone should be ready for a fall hunt or African Safari as minimum practice (about 50 rounds). But twice or three times that amount might be better for particular individuals. But fifty to sixty rounds or so should be more than enough for those who shoot powerful big bores on a regular basis. But someone who regularly does that will have no qualms over 40+ ft-lbs recoil – similar to a .375 H&H firing 270s or 300s full bore!

Of course, range will be shortened in effect by about 100 yds in shooting 75 – 80% loads, but then most larger and potentially dangerous game aren’t normally shot beyond 250 yds anyway. . . . . And most are shot much closer than that!

Here’s the “TOP SECRET” details on my load (for security reasons) for your eyes only:

Rifle: .458 Win Mag in a Ruger No.1H

Bullet: 400gr Colorado Custom RN (0.049″ copper jacket)

MV = 2200 fps/4300 ft-lbs

BC = .302

SD = .272

25 yds = 2137/4055/ +.05

50 yds = 2075/3825/ +2″

100 yds = 1955/3395/ +4″

150 yds = 1839/3005/ +3″

200 yds = 1729/2653/ 0.0

250 yds = 1623/2339/ -6″ (TE: 105).

*I could use that load on wolf, deer, hogs, bear or moose – or anything else within range that would fall within those parameters.

Of course, there is a multitude of loads available for the handloader to cover any potential scenario from a big bull elephant at 20 yds to moose or deer at 400 + yards! The 404gr Stone Hammer can be pushed out the muzzle of a 24″ barrel from a discretionary load at up to 2600 fps! That could make an effective hit on elk and moose to 500 yds! (Only insiders know this!)That would indeed be a very rare moose taken under any conditions at 500 yds. And the recoil would be less than a .378 Weatherby! About 60 ft-lbs for the .458 Winchester and 61 ft-lbs for the .378 Wby. . . that’s before brakes on either, and at the same weight.

All of that, of course, is to document the versatility of the wonderful creation of Winchester in 1956. It has become an Icon in the Winchester M70 bolt action. And it’s not reserved to Winchester’s own, but could be found in Rem 700s, Brownings, Savages, Rugers, a number of European models and single-shots as well as doubles and custom jobs!

Most choose it in a bolt-action, and for good reasons as it was created in particular for Africa’s D5, with many assuming that four or more on tap is the better part of wisdom in facing off against agressive DG in particular. And who could blame them? Not I. I’ve owned two in bolt-action guise: the first a Ruger 77 with a 22″ barrel and tang safety. It worked plenty well enough with handloads, and a black bear got shot at 75 yards going away using a 350gr SPEER mag tip at 2345 fps. In walking away from the bait set-up, going back into the woods, the bullet hit the left flank and came out through the spine at the back of its head going off into the woods beyond.

A Ruger 77 with the tang safety: Identical to my first .458 Winchester Magnum.

My second .458 was also a bolt-action in a CZ 550 with a long 25″ barrel and true Mauser-type long action. With the typical long throat of the .458 Win, as a handloader I seated all bullets as long as possible keeping enough of the shank inside the case for crimping (when possible) and security. That made handloads at least equal to the .458 Lott, and even potentially more so.

Apart from that rifle being the basis of my first reloading manual on the .458 Win Mag, it was used for hunting services as well – moose and bear in particular. The CZ 550 taught me how to handle such a heavy, long and powerful rifle in both tight quarters and open terrain.

After it was sold, I found myself yearning for another .458 Winchester Magnum. Many years prior to owning the Ruger 77 in .458, I saw an encased in glass beautiful Ruger No.1 in .458 Win. I then and there lusted for that rifle and was granted permission to handle it. But alas, it was then well beyond my means. Several years later I was able to purchase a Ruger No.1 in .45-70, though used it was immaculately kept. It became my pride and joy, and I developed loads for it unheard of and found in no reloading books. Ultimately, I was able to send the information for that particular load to the powder company who’s gun powder I was using. The gist was a 500gr Hornady RN at 2015 fps over an extended period of time with an ES of less than 15 fps. Interestingly, the propellant was AA2015 with the bullet crimped at the cannelure. The brass was Remington nickle-plated .45-70, and using WLRM primers.

Later, that rifle became my second son, Phil’s rifle, and I purchased a new Ruger No.1 in .45-70. But that one had a shorter throat than the previous, so it was delivered to Mr. VonAtzigen for cleaning up the throat with a free-bore of at least 0.30″. Being a single-shot, that meant I could seat all bullets out of the case by at least 1/4″ – which I did, making it about equal to a 22″ .458 Winchester Magnum. It became my favorite rifle.

<Corrected to muzzle velocity = 2212 fps/5432 ft-lbs. You can see from the .45-70 cartridge to the left of the box, that the actual case is as though it were 2.4″ rather than the nominal 2.105″. That’s only 1/10″ shorter than the SAAMI .458 Win Mag case. And since the typical .45-70 case walls are a bit thinner than the magnum .458’s, it’s nip ‘n tuck with the .458 in actual powder space when the latter is held to SAAMI COL. I took my load for the 500 Hornady from Hodgdon’s Data Manual No.27 for the .458, using H335, and transferred their max load minus 1/2 gr for ~ 2200 fps. What is the PSI for my load? The evidence is very clear from extraction and effect on the primers and cases, that it was considerably less than Accurate’s test using AA2015 under the 500gr Hornady that was giving a consistent 2015 fps in my former No.1 in .45-70, with the factory Ruger throat, and 2096 fps at the Accurate facility from their 24″. But they seated the 500gr Hornady 1/10″ deeper in the case than what I was doing (I was crimping into the cannelure, same as Hornady and Lyman), raising the PSI greater than mine. Their PSI was 63,200 mean, which was NOT considered excessive for that rifle by their head ballistician, Bill Falen Jr, who phoned me in person. A Ruger rep told me that the Ruger No.1 in .458 and .45-70 had the same strength and could handle the same PSI. But the load using AA2015 showed significantly higher PSI than the load of H335 that gave an increase of ~200 fps. I was using 60.5 grs of AA2015 and 75 grs of H335 respectively. WLRM primers in each, as well as Rem nickle -plated brass which lasted “forever”.

My current Ruger No.1H in .458 Win (also on the header above) replaced the Ruger No.1 in .45-70 LT (long-throat).

The No.1H in .458 has a 24″ ported barrel vs the standard 22″ on the No.1 in .45-70. When “push comes to shove”, I can attain +2300 fps from a 500gr in the .458 vs ~2200 from the .45-70. With lighter bullets, the distinction is greater in favour of the .458. A 350gr could attain 2500 fps from the No.1 .45-70 LT and up to 2800 fps in the No.1H in .458, though I typically run it at 2750 fps. The same Hodgdon powders: H335 and H4198 have been used in each for best results. Although H4895 is close to H335 in burn rate (depending on application), H4895 will give slightly higher velocity on the upper end but with less consistency and accuracy – at least in my experience. All that in seating bullets longer than SAAMI in both cases.

<These two propellants will be more than adequate for any loads used in a .458 Winchester Magnum, or “hot” .45-70 loads.

At the upper end firing 500s, crunching powder using H4895 will work until no more can physically be added. But it might become erratic and less accurate, at least in some applications. H335 acts somewhat differently: There’s a point beyond which adding more powder doesn’t add more velocity, or even increase PSI. When and if that happens, back off a grain or two. About 78 grs is max for H335 under the 500gr Hornady with the bullet seated “long” to ~ 3.56″.

The two Accurate powders (2230 and 2460) are ball powders, like H335, and made in the same Florida plant at St. Marks. So the technology is the same though the formulation isn’t. And the current H335 isn’t the same as “back in the day”, that some critics seem to remember and refuse to accept that all current powders, wherever manufactured, have similar technologies. I spoke by phone with the head ballistician at Hodgdon several years ago about H335 and he gave me the technical updates, in effect saying it was not the “old” H335, while still having application for similar cartridges as in the past, but also more suited to others. For example: Hornady recommends it as best for both the .458 Win and Lott for their 500gr. That in spite of 2230 also being represented in their manual for the .458. I still have far too many heavy .458″ bullets but, if I ever shoot some of them again, it will be at modest speeds (and some for testing in media). I just don’t need or want anything more than 405s for hunting. I have 250s, 300s, 350 and 400/405s, any of which could serve me well. And even those will not be pushed at max speeds. This fall season for bear, it will be a 400 at 2200 – about 100 fps more than my max load for 1895 Marlins.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The SECOND choice for a big-game rifle is the 9.3 x 62 Mauser.

Since I made a gift of my Tikka T3 Lite chambered in that cartridge to our eldest son, Brent, I’ll not replace it with another at this time of my life. But it displaced all mediums. With its best handloads (286gr Partitions at +2600 fps, 250gr AB at +2700 fps, and +2400 fps from the 320gr Woodleigh Weldcore) it practically duplicated the renowned .375 H&H!

So what I’ve done for compensation is purchase both a .35 Whelen and a .375 H&H.

If the 9.3 x 62 has a failing it is in a lack of lighter-weight bullets for small to medium weight game. The .35 Whelen compensates for that lack through light-weight pistol bullets and rifle bullets of 180gr, 200gr and 225gr. And, of course, it also has heavy-weight projectiles available in 250s, 280s and 310 grs. But having a slightly smaller diameter of .358″ vs .366″, and slightly smaller case capacity of 72 grs water vs 77 grs (depending on case brands), any advantage goes to the 9.3 x 62, psi and barrel length being equal, etc.

So. . . . . . .

For wolf: a 180 TTSX from my .35 Whelen at 2960 fps, as well for deer. I’ve just loaded some over 64 grs of H335 – which brings up my second rifle of choice. It would have been my Tikka T3 Lite in 9.3 x 62. As an all-rounder, it’s hard to beat. It replaced all my mediums, but this year it was given as a gift to our oldest son, Brent, with all handloading supplies. He says it will be his moose gun. So the .35 Whelen, while not a 9.3 x 62, is perhaps close enough as an all-rounder.

Then, a .375 H&H was added in Febuary of 2023. Between the .35 Whelen and .375 H&H, I have almost the equivalent of what the 9.3 x 62 could do on its own. The 9.3 x 62 preceeded both in time and purpose! We’ll get into some of that next time. There’s nothing a .375 H&H or a .35 Whelen does, or could do, or has done, that the wonderful 9.3 x 62 can’t do or has done! But in North America, the .33s, especially the magnums, have taken over the middle ground. I’ll confront that!

Till the next: Why not a .35 Whelen?

Shalom

BOB MITCHELL

Ballistic Realities of Mediums and Big Bores – P3

There’s an immediate impression of power when we see the hole at the end of the barrel of a handgun or rifle that spans nearly 1/2 inch! Such an impression doesn’t come from .22 calibers.

<An impressive group from my bolt-action CZ 455 – five into sub-moa at 100 yds! But the holes, individually, are far less than impressive.

<And three .458″ at sub-moa at 100 yds.

<And this from a single .458″/400gr Speer FP at 100 yds.

I’m a firm believer in big holes in rifle barrels!

With all of today’s hoopla over extra-long, high BC small bore bullets, and new cartridges and rifles to make them functionally adequate for specialized hunting purposes, we must remind ourselves that they are still relatively small and therefore cannot create the measure of damage that a medium to large bore can, assuming the normal capacities and pressures used for each class of cartridge.

Yet “small” can still pack a punch! Just look at some athletes in their chosen fields. I’m amazed at a fellow like Lindor of the NYM baseball team. He’s not very big in terms of some others on the same team, but he’s muscular, fast and can sure smack that baseball over the fences! But in hockey, which is a much more robust body-contact sport, it was the biggest and physically strongest team (the Florida Panthers with also plenty of talent) that won the cup – but not necessarily the most skilled!

It is said by “pundits” that it’s easier to hit the vital areas of an animal with a rifle that kicks less than one that is more brutal, not only to the shoulder, but to the whole body. . . . . maybe, maybe not! There are too many variables for such a statement or belief to be true more than 50% of the time because it’s a toss-up with individuals: Some are bothered by it; others not! Some shoot mostly Big Bores for breakfast, lunch and supper. . . . others shoot small cartridges 85 – 90% of their shooting/hunting experiences, and rarely shoot even a medium, and never a true Big Bore in their life time. That is until one dark night when they can’t sleep, they dream of going to Africa, not on a safari for PG, but DG! So having a good bank account they want the best! So they hire a friend to sight-in their .500 NE. Well, it’s a bit heavier than their prized 7-08 that’s their “big gun” for elk at 300 yds, but they’re sure they can manage the 10+ pounder when the moment of truth arrives to stop that beast before they get stomped by it! Well, you know the rest of that story, so I’ll not bother you about it . . . .

There are youngish women that go on safari these days – as in the past – and shoot lions, dugga boys, crocs and what have you with their .375s, .416s and, dare I mention, their .458s! And some return with their partners or husbands on a semi-regular basis!

But someone with a bonefide aversion to recoil over 30 -35 ft-lbs are not without hope if they get in shape, practice as they should and get a 9.3 x 62 or .375 H&H – that can, with good bullets in the right places, and backed by a reputable PH, enjoy a good safari for the biggest and deadliest of Africa’s fauna!

Having the “right gun” loaded with a proper cartridge and suitable bullet leaves all results with the shooter!

The RIGHT GUN: That’s an individual thing, but it must also fit the shooter/hunter. In weight, balance and other dimensions it must be comfortable, giving confidence in its handling and shooting. And some of that may come as a result of adjustable features built into the stock, such as length-of-pull (LOP). Some clients may add or adjust features like a special scope, trigger pull, or loose/add some weight by the purchase of an after-market stock, etc. The whole point being to insure that the rifle fits, is not too light or too heavy, and is relatively comfortable to shoot – once getting used to it’s recoil. If handloads are involved in a powerful rifle, for practice and break-in, downloads are helpful for the initial stage of getting used to the rifle’s handling and functioning. After that we need to become accustomed to it’s full power, otherwise there’s little point in having chosen that rifle.

< My former CZ 550 in .458 Winchester Magnum. It got fed handloads from 300gr TSX’s to Hornady’s 500gr SPRN, and went bear and moose hunting. It was accurate and powerful. The scope is a Burris 4x with a long 5″ eye relief. It weighed nearly 11 lbs ready to hunt with scope, 4 cartridges (It could hold 5) and a light 1″ nylon sling.

A PROPER CARTRIDGE: The purpose of mediums, as previously introduced, is their inherent ability to cleanly take medium game using a suitable load – approximately 350 to 600 lbs – and larger game that may include soft skinned DG and large ungulates – to approximately 3000 lbs. The Mediums on today’s market range from .338 magnums to the .375s. Factory offerings favor the most popular among them, such as: the .338 Win Mag and .375 H&H. For any of the others there are usually ample component bullets, but cartridge cases may be a challenge to find for some: The .375 Ruger is one that many have complained about as lacking new cases for reloads. I went with the .375 H&H due to .375 Ruger brass as well as dies being unavailable. On the other hand, three big bags of Remington brass were available in .375 H&H where I bought the rifle as well as dies and bullets.

< Two premium bullets for my .375 H&H: 300gr TSX on left and a 300gr Sierra BT. The Barnes TSX is all copper making it longer than the Sierra of the same weight, leaving less space for powder. The Sierra also has a much better B.C of .480 vs .357 for the TSX, making the SBT much better for long-range hunting. Either will give close to 2700 fps from my Zastava 70 with a 22″ barrel using the best double-base powders (RL-17 and StaBall 6.5) and WLRM primers.

< Four 300gr SBTs at 100 yds.

For the largest, and most dangerous of the thick-skinned African DG, there are larger bore rifles and more powerful cartridges to suite them. While a .375 H&H is considered adequate for African DG under most conditions, and recommended by many PH’s, yet it is also recognized that the larger bores of the magnum variety are somewhat more effective and produce a more forceful impact. Of course, that would be true and expected based on the pure physics of the matter assuming an equal ability on the part of the shooter to place the bullet where intended and needed for best results. And that’s the rub! Some can and some can’t! And any of us must be honest with ourselves (and any others that may be involved in some way) in regard to these facts! I can shoot my .458 Win Mag as well as my .375 H&H IF I give equal attention and time to them. It’s mostly a psychological matter, as I’ve written many times.

<Here, I was sighting my CZ 550 in .458. The load was the 350gr TSX at 2750 fps/5877 ft-lbs. Any of Ontario’s large, medium and small game could be found in that area of the Haliburton Highlands.

Shortly after I started writing blogs, more than a dozen years ago, I wrote a series on comparing all other common big bores found in reloading manuals with my favorite .458 Win Mag. Starting with the .40s to the .577 NE, after all was said and done, I came to the conclusion that all were equally capable in ballistics for their intended purpose. Out of ten criteria, each worth 10 points, I gave a 10 for ballistics to all of them, including the .458 Win Mag and the .460 Wby, .416 Wby, .458 Lott, .577 NE, etc. But there were ten criteria not just one. And the .458 Win Mag won on the basis of those othe nine criteria: For example: availability of rifles and components, and costs. So if you choose “whatever” as your Big Bore, don’t say it was due to its superior ballistics, cause any of the .40s on up can kill the baddest beast with a single, properly built bullet in the right place!

A SUITABLE BULLET: Yes, or course, the only thing to touch the game in our rifle’s sights, among all the other things we tote in hunting any game, small, medium or large, is the BULLET! We should entertain NO DOUBTS over its effectiveness when we do our part in getting the shot off within the window of opportunity in a timely manner and requisite precision!

<This photo is representative of the bear coming to my bear-bait setup for the last two years (2023 – 2024). I knew he was big and dominant, and I asked my Lord God to see him on the last day of the hunt on Oct 15, 2024. The request was hardly wispered when he emerged from the thick woods into a slightly more open area and came directly and unhesitatingly from about 75 yards to 25 yds just below me. My .375 H&H was raised with the scope on him. Then I turned and walked away. Though the load of the 300gr SBT at nearly 2700 fps was more than ample, I never squeezed the trigger. It’s best to be fittingly equipped – for any situation that may suddenly turn unfriendly – than armed with something that’s minimal for an existential threat to your very life!

<The Zastava 70 in .375 H&H in last year’s hunt (Fall – 2024).

I’d never previously shot a bear with that bullet, but I entertained no doubts as to it’s potential to kill that bear had I needed to. And of course, the famed .375 H&H has been used to terminate many African lions, and that bear was larger than most lions . . . But I had no intentions of shooting a bear that size for practical reasons. I don’t need another “trophy” bear. . . . but one less than half that size that I could manage on my own in that wilderness area. Plus the meat can’t be left to rot!

A projectile’s construction and reputation is what builds confidence in it. I had thoroughly researched that bullet many years ago and had chosen it for my first .375 H&H in a Winchester M70. I’d also loaded their 250gr SBT in my first .338 Win Mag for a moose hunt. I knew from a lot of research that the 300gr Sierra BT had been successfully used from .375 magnum rifles on Africa’s soft-skinned large game as well as North America’s large game: like moose, elk and bears.

Whatever we chose to use in our mediums or big bores, it’s vital to have confidence that it can do the job without doubts or questions. That requires research – a lot of it – and the experience of others we trust.

As I wrote last time in P2: While I like and use several premium-type bullets, I still have on hand and will be using again older types that have proven themselves and maintain stellar reputations. Those include the few 400gr Colorado Custom in .458″ that I’ve reserved for this fall’s bear hunt at the same location as the last two years.

Will that huge bear of the past couple of years show up again? Well. . . . I’ve had a strong indication that he will! When I brought the tote for bear grub home on the 15th of June (2025) because that was the last day of the spring hunt (I baited until then to keep any bears interested – with no intent to shoot one – till this fall hunt arrives on Sept 1st/25), the bait had been cleaned by “that big bear” – all the evidence said so!

Anyway – I do this for “fun and games” at the ripe old age of 89! The rifle I’ll tote for this fall’s hunt will be the Ruger No.1H in .458 Win. Why? Because: 1) it’s her turn, and 2) because if I have to shoot for protection’s sake, I’ll want it to decisively count!

About 80 yds from my current bear-bait site – a late fall pic in 2022 with skiffs of snow.

Till the next: After seventy years of hunting, if I had to do it again, what three rifles would I choose?

Shalom

BOB MITCHELL

BALLISTIC Realities (of BIG BORES) – P2

In this segment we’ll discuss the construction and profile of bullets for medium and big bores: i.e – .338 to .458 calibers in particular, including projectiles for dangerous game (DG).

Since the .338 Winchester Magnum was conceived for hunting Alaska’s giant moose and big bears, and produced in 1958, it has amply fulfilled that purpose. As well, it has successfully taken on other large and/or hazardous creatures that roam the Earth and are legitimate targets in legal hunting activities.

So it has become a prime representative of where to start when mediums are being discussed for hunting larger and potential dangerous game on the menu. I’ve suggested 4000 ft-lbs/.338-caliber at the muzzle as a basic entry level into this club. If we also qualify handloads in meeting that criteria, then the .338 Win Mag easily fits this domain as ~ 2800 ft-lbs is likely at 300 yds and 2200 ft-lbs at 500 yds, easily.

The upper end is arbitraryly chosen as anything beyond a .458 Win Mag adds little to nothing in my view, though obviously they also qualify for large and dangerous game – if one is happy with the extra costs, recoil, weight and other inconveniences.

The issues or matters of importance regarding bullets are several and complex – somewhat in the following order, but may vary due to what species they are to be used on and under what conditions:

1) INTENTION: What is a particular bullet built for in the medium to large bores? Usually the manufacturers of factory ammo will promote on their boxes what the primary focus is for that ammo. For example: Federal Premium Safari is intended for large and/or dangerous African game, like buffalo, the cats, elephant, etc.

This is one of very few cases of factory ammo I’ve ever purchased for centerfire rifles. Those are 400gr TBBC in .458 Win Mag for the critters pictured on the plastic case of 20 rounds. They were not cheap! I’ve fired fourteen of ’em leaving another six for a bear hunt. I’ve tested them for MV and accuracy. They exceeded specs for MV at 2283 fps avg vs the advertised 2250 fps. The bullet used is a premium Trophy Bonded Bear Claw (TBBC). I could have used them in last year’s bear hunt on that big five-hundred pounder, but didn’t want a bear that size, and on a “small bear” of only 150 to 200 lbs I thought they might pass through without expansion.

The same with Winchester’s ammo. Then, as it concerns component bullets for handloaders, Hornady lists all of their bullets to fit under one or more of the following headings: Target, Varmint, Medium Game, Large Game, and Dangerous Game. Depending on caliber and bullet weight, some fit under two or more catergories.

Yet most of us will check out the bullets listed for the cartridge(s) we’ll be using for large and/or dangerous game. And that brings up the various methods, means and materials used in todays “wonder bullets”, called Premiums, that supposedly will cleanly kill any of the monsters that could kill us with a swipe of their claws or crunch of their jaws to getting trampled to dust by 12,000 lb eles or run over by 2000 lbs of “Black Death! And speaking of BLACK – we have a N.A. critter going anywhere from 100 to 700 lbs who loves to sneak up on unwary moose . . . . and yes, even unwary hunters with their big guns!

2) CONSTRUCTION: What are your favorites? Oh yeah. . . . then why? There are Barnes, Hornady, Nosler, Sierra and Speer brands of bullets for us handloaders. And a few other boutique brands like CEB, Cutting Edge, Hawk, North Fork and Woodleigh. And I’ve probably missed a few. But the real point is: They are competting with each other. So that means many offerings – too many actually, but it does tend to keep pricing from going through the roof! And the future isn’t bright in that regard with the tariff wars and scrambling for rare earth minerals to help “everybody” get ready for Armageddon!

(Because with all the talk of “peace”, the Book of Revelation, 6th chapter, in the Bible are the Four Horsemen: White horse: The rider bent on conquest as a conqueror. Red Horse: “It’s rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other”. Black horse: world wide famine = death! Pale horse: “It’s rider was named DEATH and Hades was following close behind him”.

Not good news at all, except for those who are given new life – eternal – by the One who died on a cross and yet lives eternally at the Father’s side! Hallelujah to the Lamb!)

Just some realities as we dream of our conquests of the dangerous beasts of the Earth!

Monometal bullets: from several sources, Barnes in particular, with others attempting the same with slight (insignificant) modifications. These are all copper, yet some with additional material to make them harder or more slippery, or both. Then slight changes are made to the cavity, nose profile, and “petals” that will break off on impact or shortly thereafter. So the “slug” that remains acts as a “solid” for better penetration:

<A report from Dr. Ron Berry (aka: “Rifecrank” on 24hr campfire.com).

Then today, there’s a multitude of “solids” for DG – elephants in particular – made of solid copper or bronze, so as not to loose weight or deform, either of which would lessen effectiveness. Then through a lot of work and experimentation, it is deemed that solids in particular must NOT have a round nose (RN) but a flat point (FP). And even that must be of a certain % of the bullets caliber – somewhere around 67%. The reason? It’s been “discovered” through tests that RN solids will sometimes “veer-off” as their velocity slows in media tests – perhaps indicating the same might happen in an animal’s flesh and bones, failing to reach vital areas – maybe. . . Honestly, while I find that intriguing, yet thousands upon thousands of tough and dangerous animals have been effectively terminated by RN “solids”! And Barnes, for one, went back to RN brass solids for DG because they were proven effective and the FP solids didn’t always work well (jamming) in bolt-action repeaters.

However. . . . as “they say” – it is what it is!

And, as they say,”some innovations are too extreme in costs”! Question: Has anyone died lately because they were using RN solids (from old stock) rather than the latest FT ones? And how many safari goers are shooting eles?

I just recently learned that my favorite coffee will no longer be available at Loblaws, Canada! They say the costs to them (Loblaws) has more than doubled! COFFEE is half my day! C’mon guys, get with the program! I can live without FP brass solids in .458″, but not without my favorite coffee! Then the price of coffee beans (not made in Canada) has doubled, and the bad news is that for the foreseeable future, you (I) will only get it in Heaven! Well. . . that’s not so bad, but some of us want Heaven on Earth!

Look! I’ve got bullets that date back to the “dirty thirties” as to construction type and materials, and that’s of the 20th century, not the 21st! And they’re in .458″, and will be shot in my .458 Win Mag! And how’s that for stuffing it? Will they be accurate enough? Why not? Will they kill anything? I’d bet my bottom dollar (that’s not worth much these days) they’ll kill anything I’d want to kill including most of Africa’s fauna of the soft-skinned type – including the big cats. . . . But if you can afford a lion or two, what is an extra buck for a bullet? . . . or so it goes!

400gr/.458″ Colorado Custom with 0.049″ copper jacket and lead core. Don’t know if it’s pure copper and lead but from my pressure tests they’re much tougher than the 400 Hawk, 400 Speer and 405 Remington. And I like the 405 Rem in particular.

With copper being in high demand by several countries, shooters and handloaders are going to feel the pinch in coming days – that’s why I want to use what I already have in inventory, rather than investing more in the latest and “best” that will get nothing more done than from what I already have! “New” is rarely needed (except for boasting). We are in what psychologists refer to as a “post modern era”, with an unsatiable thirst for change. Be aware of what that’s producing and where/when it will inevitably fail! God said through the prophet Jeremiah (ch 2:13); “My people have comitted two evils: They have forsaken me the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Jesus said: “I am the water of life.”

Some of our most useful and best cartridges date back a half-century or more: .308 Win, .338 Win and .458 Win. Others, at least a century: .375 H&H, 9.3 x 62, .30-06, 7 x 57 etc.

Not all “old” tech bullets are obsolete. I’ve partial boxes and nearly full ones of cup-and-core bullets that I’d not hesitate to use on big game, including bears and moose: .35 cal 250gr Hor Inter. for my .35 Whelen as one example. At 2500 to 2650 fps they’ll kill any Canada moose when placed right. And, currently, those 300gr Sierra BTs for my .375 H&H, that cost about 1/2 the 300gr Partitions. I had those loaded for a bear last fall season when that 500 lb mega bear showed up. I had no fears of them not doing their job on that bear at 25 yds, though I didn’t shoot him with the crosshairs of the 3 – 9 x 40 Fullfield 11, set on 3x, covering him; he was just too big and awesome for little ol’ me who wanted a bear about a-third his size! After all, ya can’t just leave ’em to rot in the woods!

I like Hornady Interloc bullets, especially the heavier kind – which implies larger bores. And usually larger-bore bullets aren’t pushed beyond 2700 or so fps. The first animal terminated by my 9.3 x 62 was a wounded black bear by my young partner. Two legs were injured – a left front and a right rear – so he wasn’t running real fast in trying to escape through 30″ tall grass. I ran and caught up enough to give him a finisher in front of the rear wounded leg as he was moving away from me. The 286gr SPRP from Hornady came out through his spine taking out 5 – 6 vertebrae back of his head and kept on going off into the unknown. There wasn’t a fragment of that bullet to be found anywhere near that bruin. Impact velocity was about 2400 fps. Would a TSX or Partition have improved his sudden demise on the spot. You’d have a hard time convincing me!

286gr/9.3 mm Hornady SPRP

Some bullets work as planned, but sometimes don’t regardless of their brand status!

An X-Bullet that failed to expand:

Velocity was too low at impact. There are many things to be learned by testing bullets before hunting particular game with them under certain conditions. It was fired from a weapon – either shotgun or ML using a sabot – so no rifling marks.

Next time: the 3rd matter of importance regarding rifle ballistics and their bullets: We’ve had a look at 1) Intention, and 2) Construction. The 3rd will be Caliber and Bullet weight. They are intimately connected. As a potential situation: What bullet weight and brand would you seriously consider best from a .338 magnum in an Alaskan Brown Bear hunt – and why? Or should that be a .375 or .416 or .458 caliber? That’s the kind of topic we’ll be looking into next time, because it’s about RIFLE BALLISTICS, and that matters!

Shalom

BOB MITCHELL

Why is .338-Caliber So Popular?

That it is the most popular mid-bore isn’t merely an assumption, but a fact easily proven by the number and variety of .338 cartridges, but also rifles available and bullets manufactured and sold in that caliber.

Here are seven that I ground and filed to reveal their inner construction a number of years ago when handloading them. The one on the far left is a .264 (6.5) for comparison. From L to R: 270gr Speer, 250gr Sierra BT, 210gr Partition, 250gr Partition, 250gr Speer GS, 250gr Hornady SP Interloc and 225gr Hornady SP Interloc.

I’ve tried all of those and more. The 250gr Partition was used in my .340 Wby to kill a moose, and my son Phil has used both the 225 and 250 Hornadys on moose hunts. Note that the 225 Hornady has a thicker jacket in the top half than their 250gr. It has an excellent reputation on tough game. And while a couple of these have been dropped, many others have been added, especially from Barnes.

In checking NOSLER’s Reloading Guide 9, there are these in .338-caliber: .338 Federal, .338-06 A-Square, .338 Winchester Magnum, 33 Nosler, .340 Weatherby Magnum, .338 RUM, .338 Lapua Magnum, and .338-378 Wby Mag.

In additiion, Nosler alone makes 16 bullets, 14 of which are hunting bullets from 180gr (AB) to 300gr (ABLR). The other 2 (300gr) are for competition. And not all are suitable for smaller cases like the .338 Federal that’s limited to the 225gr projectiles at the upper end.

The full list of hunting bullets for suitable rifles is:

AccuBonds: 180, 200, 225, 250 and 300.

Partitions: 210, 225 and 250.

Ballistic Silvertip: 200.

Expansion Tip: 200, 225 and 250.

AccuBond LRS: 265 and 300.

True, we will not find all of those at a given location, but that is still indicative of the popularity of .338-caliber. And it’s also true that most of those that are bought and used in hunting will be found in the magnum cartridges.

Only a few of those were available 30 yrs ago when I was loading for a .338 Win, and later for my .340 Wby. For the .340 Wby, after much load development, I settled on the 250 Partition as my hunting load for moose, and they worked very well without any disappointments or failure.

What is it then that makes .338 caliber, especially in the magnums, so well-liked and in demand?

There are at least these common sense reasons:

• Logic: It just “makes sense” that a larger caliber than .28 or .30 can handle larger and heavier bullets for larger and heavier game animals better than small and lighter ones, if all else is equal. For example: The .338 – 06 (based on the .30-06), using the same amount of the “right” powder can fire a 200gr at the same MV as the parent case can shoot a 180gr at the same psi, all else equal. It’s called “expansion ratio”. The best powder for the .338-06 for a 210gr is likely faster burning and more efficient than the same amount of a slower powder in the .30-06.

Nosler lists 52grs of IMR4320 for 2690 fps from their 210 Partition for the .338-06 =3374 ft-lbs. Their .30-06 load for their 180s is 62 grs of RL-22 for 2819 fps = 3176 ft-lbs. That’s 62 grs vs 52 grs for the .338 -06 for less energy and a lot less momentum. I’m also quite certain that had an appropriately slower powder been used in the .338-06, the difference would have been even more favourable for the .338-06. So a heavier bullet that’s also larger in diameter, that produces more energy and momentum at impact is logically going to produce more harm to the animal assuming a proper hit in the case of both projectiles. Therefore, .338-caliber is assumed to be more lethal than lesser calibers, other matters being equal.

• HISTORY: Going back to Keith, at least, experience has proven that .333 – .338 caliber rifles, firing heavier bullets to 250grs have a greater effect on larger game, like moose, assuming at least equal energy at impact, and at least equal bullet construction. Should honesty prevail in any such discussion, there’s no legitimate argument against that as a fact.

• I’m aware, of course, that there’s always someone with an axe to grind who want’s to prove that the .270 Win or .30-06 is all anyone ever needs for anything on planet Earth! Please don’t confront me because you won’t want to hear what I have to say on such a stupid idea!

Yeah, I know about the native woman who killed a record grizzly with her .22. . . and also about my son who killed dozens of warthogs in Africa with his single-shot ,22LR. But when he took me on safari, he handed me his pump 12ga loaded with Brennekes for “come what may”!

CHOICES: There’s no denying the fact that when it comes to choices of a medium-caliber for larger game in North America, that a .338-caliber is by far the favorite! And of those, the .338 Win Mag is by far the historical choice. Today, there are others, riding on the popularity of Winchester’s creation of 1958, but they haven’t displaced it yet! And there are good reasons:

better than ever: with superior powders and projectiles (the same for most cartridges old and new). It’s now nipping on the heels of what the .340 Wby was in the past (250gr at 2860 fps). But of course the .340 has officially been nudged along to 2950 fps for a premium 250gr from a 26″ barrel. Handloads from mine were ~3000 fps from the 250gr Partition from its 26″ barrel.

momentum: better and more bullets and powders create greater purchasing interest that, in turn, motivates increased manufacturing activities.

perception: even if someone has yet to own a more powerful rifle than a .30-06, the .338 Winchester Magnum seems the most logical step to another level – based on it’s popularity, history and ballistics.

size and weight: That depends on a number of factors, including what a particular manufacturer thinks would sell to the average hunter of larger and/or potentially dangerous game in a variety of venues. Usually, for instance, in a Winchester M70, it might be a clone of their .300 Win Mag with a cross-bolt or two added. Some are offered with 24″ barrels and others in 26″. Depending on loads used, recoil could be around 40 ft-lbs average compared to about 35 ft-lbs for a .300 Win Mag. So the average weight out of the box should be at least 7 and 1/2 lbs. Ready to go with scope and ammo will make it about 8.75 lbs.

<My son, Phil, used his Remington 700 in .338 Win Mag to give a finisher to this moose . Notice the dark spot on the forehead under the rack and a little to the right using a 250gr Hornady Int SP. From about ten feet he put it to sleep as it was still breathing and its eyes were following us. I’d dropped it with my .340. Butchers found the bullet case in the neck and the lead had gone on to its destiny. It had done its job as the bullet casing was found in the part we took home not in the part left in the woods which included the head (minus the rack) and part of the neck. All of which transpired many moons ago.

Shooting a handload of 250gr Noslers at 2780 fps from a 24″ could produce ~39.4 ft-lbs recoil using Nosler’s data.

My recommendation is: Don’t leave such a rifle and load sitting in your safe until an upcoming elk/moose/bear hunt that’s six months away before dusting it off! Shoot it at a minimum of 50x before hiking after such game. That’s MINIMUM! More is better, including hiking in the kind of terrain you’ll be hunting in – toting that rifle!

practical: becoming a handloader opens the way to creating near endless possibilities of power – both minimum and maximum. With component bullets from 180grs to 300grs, from several component manufacturers, the .338 Win Mag can become in the hands of its loader, whatever he wants it to be for a particular hunt. Too many rifles in the safe spoils that possibility IF it’s only afforded its turn!

handloads: check Nosler, Barnes, Hornady, Speer and Sierra manuals, plus more if needed.

conclusion: Depending on who you are and what you hunt, a .338 Win Mag is an excellent investment IF you intend to USE it, not just on an elk hunt sometime in the future, but on a variety of big game hunts – even bambi as very useful practice. And might I add: on skunks, rabbits, weasels, etc. All is investment in becoming proficient with the mighty .338 Winchester Magnum. And yes, it’ll work very well in Africa and Alaska for which it was originally crafted by Winchester and offered to the hunting public way back in 1958, sixty-seven years ago. It hasn’t become obsolescent since, like some short-magnums, but rather is more popular than ever!

< (credit: NPS) Yes, and it’ll work very well on Brown Bears for which it was also created by Winchester. A favorite of Alaskan hunters.

Till the next . . . .

Shalom

BOB MITCHELL

“If you declare with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in you heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess your faith and are saved.” – Paul’s epistle to the Romans, ch 10, verses 9 and 10.