Favorite 458 Win Mag Factory Loads

[6.5 wildcatter]

I’ve used CEB BBW#13s exclusively for elephant with excellent results. The 0.458” 450 grain CEB solids loaded in the 458 Win Mag is an excellent choice.

 

[SETH RINGER]

There is only one place on Ammo Seek that has it right now, and they only have two boxes in stock. I've never seen it in real life.

THINK I JUST BOUGHT THOSE TWO BOXES THIS MORNING!

 

[hoytcanon]

I don't shoot factory ammo, but there are many good bullets available when you start reloading. For NA game you can do a slight download and use the plethora of bullets designed for the .45/70. I converted my .450 Marlin bear load with 350 RN's to my .458 WM rifles using filler for more consistent ignition and they have proven to be excellent... will use these on deer this fall. The Hornady DGX and DGS are good bullets and cover a lot of scenarios... I can even see using it on plains game with full loads and 300 or 350 grain projectiles... trajectories to 250 yards are easily doable.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Unfortunately, we are not allowed to use solids to hunt deer around here. I like your suggestion to use some of the lighter bullets.

I think I will look into some of the custom ammo manufacturers to find a load that my rifle likes and is tailored for my target.

Ammoseek is one of my favorite places to look. I did see some 400 grain loads there. One from Buffalo Bore with TSX and the Federal TBBC load mentioned earlier. I'll probably give those a try soon.

In the meantime, I just ordered a few boxes of these to get familiar with my new rifle.

https://wisconsincartridge.com/product/458wm-400-gr-sp-20-rounds/?attribute_rounds=(20+Rounds)+-+$70.00

A 405gr soft point (probably designed for the 45-70) at about 2100fps should be pretty mild. I can work up from there to full power 458s.

I haven't shot any deer with my .458, or PG for that matter, but I have killed a couple of buffalo with it. From what I can tell a 500 DGX or similar is unlikely to expand much on a deer sized animal. It is a big, tough bullet designed to penetrate big, tough animals. A lighter bullet at higher velocity would be much more destructive on a deer.