Best rifle for 458 WM?

[Cheesehead]

My personal record speed-shooter weighs 9.0 lbs bare, empty, unloaded.
9 lbs 4oz with scope bases and Burris FF3 red dot added.
It is very comfortable to shoot with the Hornady 500-gr DGX&DGS factory loads delivering an honest 2140 fps MV:View attachment 643906

Hey, I've got one of those too! That rear sight is a little weird but the gun makes me happy.

Memo to self: I need to take better pics of my rifles

 

[RLL]

One more M70 Winchester Classic featuring a JES re-bore of a .375 H&H stainless barrel swapped onto another M70 Classic action and some fantastic wood,
A friend with more refined taste than I built this and I unburdened him of it after he took it to Africa and slew buffalo at 30 yards and plains game at close to 200 yards,
using the 404-gr Hammer at +2500 fps, all one shot kills:

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Question for you, Have you tested any other powders beyond AA2230? X-term, TAC, benchmark, W748?

 

[Riflecrank]

RLL,
Yes, many.
Any powder good in the .223/5.56 NATO is excellent in the .458 WinMag.

AA-2230 is always a good choice.
AA-2460s: I SWAG it is same as AA-2230 but with all balls left spherical instead of about half of them squashed flat.
TAC is pretty close to same as AA-2230.
Ditto H335.
Ditto Ramshot X-Terminator.

AA-5744 with 250-grainers at 2700 fps is excellent for a light recoil gamegetter. You can go up to 3000 fps with it too.

H4198 with 250-grainer is excellent if you want +3000 fps with lower pressure than you can do with faster powders. Also +2800 fps with 300-gr (TSX) and +2700 fps with 350-gr (TSX)
300-gr Sierra Hollow Points vaporize at about 2800 fps, don't do that.

Hodgdon BENCHMARK is probably the most temperature stable of all and gets top velocities with the 404-grain Hammer.
It has replaced the old IMR-3031 and IMR-4198 I used in the late 1980s, for 500-grainers and 400-grainers respectively.

H4895 is most flexible, for reduced loads from 60% LR with no filler to 110% LR compressed maximum loads.

CFE 223 is excellent with 500-grain bullets near 2200 fps and that is about as slow a powder burn rate as you need to look to.

I never used Winchester 748 except in the 30-30 when I was a kid, but I have some of the new and improved version called
Winchester StaBALL Match: Temp stable and copper fouling reducing, cleaner burning than 748.

VARGET is a good alternative to Winchester 748 also.

Alliant Power Pro line of powders ...
Etc., etc., too many powder and bullet combos to shake a stick out.

With any powder from Accurate 5744 to CFE 223 on the burn rate table (#71 to #118 out of the total of 176 powders listed in the table I am looking at)
and any bullet weight and bullet type from 250 grains to 600 grains
you can find an excellent choice
in the most excellent cartridge of all, the .458 Winchester Magnum.
Use what you have, you will succeed.

 

[CZDiesel]

This is my 2002 Winchester Custom Shop 458WinMag with a 22” bbl that shoots Hornady DGS to an honest 2170ftps and DGX to 2150ftps! This was verified through both LabRadar and Garmin Doppler double verified! My best friend and @CoElkHunter witnessed…
That easily matches the 450NE or 470NE so what more do you want?!?!
Seriously! All the 458WinMag sceptics WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT!!!
Now I have no hate for the 458 Lott, but as a client I don’t see any imaginable reason for it? None!
The Lott these days is a specialized cartridge, like the Cap and the 500’s, for DG PH’s! And even then as the boys at Dalton and York who hunt a ton of DG will tell you the 458WinMag is plenty as that is what they use…
I have an upcoming DG for both Ele and Buff on the Save. My PH asked me what I’d be bringing and I told him that I have a 375 H&H, a 416 Rem, and a 458WinMg and he said without hesitation “Bring the 458!”. That’s all I need to know on the subject as he does this for a living!

That is the Custom Shop 458 on the bottom that I gave to my nephew and that is a 50 yard three shot group open sight out my 458 with DGS! Again what more do you want?

 

[Riflecrank]

Got it on the other thread, thanks, will go there.

 

[CZDiesel]

Hey, I've got one of those too! That rear sight is a little weird but the gun makes me happy.
View attachment 644067
View attachment 644068
Memo to self: I need to take better pics of my rifles

That is Winchester’s original “Roll” type express sight that they have used for over 75 years. My custom 1950 375 H&H still wears its original one and I really like it!!!
I can only imagine how much game that sight has taken seeing as how poor rifle scopes were back in the 40’s through 60’s…