30-06 to 458 Win Mag conversion

My dad and I converted a 303 to 458.....it was a P14 Enfield. Worked out great, we straightened the floor plate, straightened the bolt handle, chopped off the ears and rounded the action and added a speed ####. One of the best large actions available.
 
On a Savage it's as easy as changing the bolt head and screwing a prechambered barrel on with a go guage in the chamber. On a rem or win or ruger it takes a serious amount more screwing around. I toyed with the idea of converting a Stevens from 7 mag or 300 to 458 but have yet to take the project on. No good reason not to do it, particularly given how affordable the Stevens is.
 
Ever shot a .458?
You'd want a magnum action to start with. The .458's case is 59 thou bigger at the head than the '06. The bolt face would require opening, the mag well extended to accomodate the .552" difference in case length alone and you'd have to convert from rimless to belted.
Buying one would definitely be less expensive, but you're likely looking at a special order and paying up front. Not a lot of demand for .458's.
 
Demand for a 458?

After I bought a 416 Rigby (makes a 458 seem a little anemic) to go along with my 458, I asked around if anyone would be interested in a "Big Game Rifle" shoot/match. The response here in Edmonton has been eye-opening. The number of people with BIG Game rifles is realy quite amazing.

Look in any gunshop at the supply of 458 and 416 bullets and ammo.

If you would like a set of rules (copied from the Shooting Sports Association of Australia) pm me.
 
Yeah, would be much easier if you find a gun that's already chambered to the same case family. (7 RM, 264 WM, 338 WM etc.)

Otherwise some other long actions would work but it wont be a cheap conversion.
 
Well thanks for the answers ... I have a left handed Remington model 700 30-06 that has a barrel that has decided to be less accurate than I would like. I have always wanted to do a project gun so ... have been doing some searching on caliber conversions. I own a .300, .338, 7mm Mag so ... wanted something with MORE power. I find myself fairly immune to recoil at the .338 level (consistantly can shoot .75 inch groups at 200 yards) so wanted to do something different as a left handed large bore is very hard to come by.
 
If it were me and I was in your lefthanded shoes I would make it into a .411 Hawk, probably the most stomp one can get with that boltface, least exp. conversion, with the exception of the dies/reamer.
 
$6-700 for the bbl and $100 for opening up the bolt face and you might need a few extra bits from the bin like a follower or extractor so add $50 then the smiths time and your over a grand easy if it feeds. It would be easier to sell and buy then you can get something more interesting than a 458Win. Or at least start with a better action.
 
A M-700 is a magnum lenght action,so 416RM is do-able,more interesting,too.Think about the stock,too. A BDL pattern is very low on my list of recoil absorbing designs.
 
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