Any experience hunting Moose or Bear with .458 WinMag?

Northern Shooter said:
This is all the .458 Ammo prices that Arsenalforce is showing in country. Is anyone seeing cheaper than these prices at retailers not listed on the website?

https://arsenalforce.ca/ammunition/ammo/458-winchester-magnum?searchText=&inStock=true&deals=false&ammo=false&cities=&sortBy=price&orderBy=asc

$162/box of 20 for Federal 500 grain solids.

Federal Trophy Bonded Bear Claw and Hornady DGX for $190/box and a few others above that.
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Wow that’s a wicked web site!
Searches almost all the dealers but I guess they can add some if you let them know.
 
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No experience yet on big game, but hoping to change that this fall.
I try to shoot it as much as I can, but I don't buy factory ammo, crazy prices! I can load my own for the same cost as any other centerfire cartridge. I got a bunch of Barnes tsx 300gr bullets that I want to see how they shoot at 25-2600ish fps. I'm currently shooting 500gr hornady rn that I acquired a good supply of a while back but figure they are not really needed for what we have here, and a lighter, faster bullet should help flatten 'er out a bit.
Ruger No.1-H
 
I have two 458’s a Ruger 77 and a #1 I load the 350 Hornady for both with a reduced load going at 2300 ish performance is great.
 
Not a .458 but I did shoot a moose last October with my .450-400 3" Nitro Express and Hornady factory load 400 grain DGX bonded. Range about 80 yd. Bullet expanded just fine despite only 2050 FPS muzzle velocity. 1st shot broadside thru the lungs and exited, good size hole and damage to vitals. Second shot was not necessary and not placed well ( it was getting dark) but shot the moose again as it turned to leave, entered right ham, broke femur, went thru entire body and was found under the skin of the opposite shoulder, expanded nicely and still retaining almost all of its weight. Didn't mess up much meat either. I'd use Hornady DGX bonded bullets again for moose or bear. Suspect they'll do fine in your .458.
 

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Some examples .458's work great for me -

  • Hornady 500gr RN IL on Moose .458 WM ~1950 fps mv impact ~1700 fps broadside clear thru dropped DRT
  • 300gr TSX ~2600 fps mv .45-70 Ruger No.1 close to .458 WM ballistics on Elk impact ~2350 fps broadside DDRT
  • Hornady 300gr HP mv ~2600 fps Ruger No.1 close to .458 WM ballistics on Bighorn Sheep ~2450 fps angle shot clear thru DDRT
 
Friend uses a mild loaded 350 gr Hdy in his No.1. Definitely easier on the shoulder than the 500 gr loads!
It apparently smashed a marauding mid-sized black bear on his farm.
I did pack it on a hunt once, but never had a chance to try it out.
 
BlackRam said:
Friend uses a mild loaded 350 gr Hdy in his No.1. Definitely easier on the shoulder than the 500 gr loads!
It apparently smashed a marauding mid-sized black bear on his farm.
I did pack it on a hunt once, but never had a chance to try it out.
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I have heard those No.1's kick like a mule with these full power big bore loads, the rifle seems pretty light for >0.40 cal.
 
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Longwalker said:
Not a .458 but I did shoot a moose last October with my .450-400 3" Nitro Express and Hornady factory load 400 grain DGX bonded. Range about 80 yd. Bullet expanded just fine despite only 2050 FPS muzzle velocity. 1st shot broadside thru the lungs and exited, good size hole and damage to vitals. Second shot was not necessary and not placed well ( it was getting dark) but shot the moose again as it turned to leave, entered right ham, broke femur, went thru entire body and was found under the skin of the opposite shoulder, expanded nicely and still retaining almost all of its weight. Didn't mess up much meat either. I'd use Hornady DGX bonded bullets again for moose or bear. Suspect they'll do fine in your .458.
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the dgx second generation are really something.
 
I haven’t used the .458 Win, except brief use of a borrowed one in Africa. I did use the .505 Gibbs on bear, and 350gr .375. Neither I would consider stunning performers on bear though without question, lethal. That is to say, both sent much of the useful energy out the other side of the bear, where it does no work, and the bullets were inordinately stiff for the job.

I don’t subscribe to the bore size argument, as even the biggest at .577 aren’t at all big holes in reality, fractions of an inch bigger than .30 cal / standard bores. When even a Brenekke slug at .720 doesn’t outperform a 7mm or .30-06 on bears, I start asking questions about how much bore size really matters.

This said bullet weight and sufficient speed mattered in grizzlies, as it does in anything else. Faster worked better, so I like 4figty8’s 350gr TSX recipe if going the .458 path. And a .458 will certainly penetrate, it’s why I carried a .375 when guiding grizz, while advising clients to carry .300s. So they have their place.
 
Trimmer 905 said:
I'm not a fan of massive thumpers like a .458Win. Shoulder dislocates are no fun.
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Along these same thoughts I prefer 458x2inch American.
I can't shoot it like a mortar ssoo within 100 yards is viable.
Same diameter of bullets that often are the same as 458 win mag. I would not feel undergunned anywhere in northern Canada & Alaska, if all I had was 458x2 in a bolt action Mauser. And if one ends up say in a target rich environment, as you could with wild boar, you are less likely to hurt oneself with recoil energy. Is why mine has a mercury recoil reducer within its stock. I think it's a Benelli name brand.

Sure. I cannot buy ammo over the counter. But at our CT store I cannot purchase 458 win mag ammo either.
 
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Brutus said:
Along these same thoughts I prefer 458x2inch American.
I can't shoot it like a mortar ssoo within 100 yards is viable.
Same diameter of bullets that often are the same as 458 win mag. I would not feel undergunned anywhere in northern Canada & Alaska, if all I had was 458x2 in a bolt action Mauser. And if one ends up say in a target rich environment, as you could with wild boar, you are less likely to hurt oneself with recoil energy. Is why mine has a mercury recoil reducer within its stock. I think it's a Benelli name brand.

Sure. I cannot buy ammo over the counter. But at our CT store I cannot purchase 458 win mag ammo either.
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458WM ammo hasn't been as readily available as I would have guessed, only a handful of places across the country seem to have it in stock at the moment, Prophet River being one of the better stocked retailers.
 
Hunted white tail with a 375H&H ... reloaded with a 235gr speer semi spitzer ... hit slightly high took a 3 inch section of the spine out and the deer was down for good. Fun to shoot and very accurate. Cant imagine why a 458 couldnt be loaded and used like a light 45/70.
 
I have a BRNO 602 in .458 Win Mag. My one and only experience was a close broadside shoulder shot on a black bear using factory Rem. 510 gr. soft points. Shot was only about 30 yards, bear dropped in its tracks like it was struck by lightning. A few seconds later gets up and disappears in the bush. Found an odd bit of blood here and there but never did recover the bear. My guess is the bullet did not even expand and just drilled right through. The way he dropped in a cloud of dust my friend and I were absolutely stunned as to how he could get up and disappear after being hit with an elephant gun.
 
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