Let's Talk Big Bores

If there is such a thing, what would be considered the most "affordable" of the big bore cartridges that is also readily available at gun shops? I love the idea of owning one of these but not being able to source (or afford) ammo would make the rifle a wall piece. I'm guessing .458 WM would be one of the more common offerings?
 
Load all my own.

One of my most favourites was my 444 Marlin.

I’ve owned a number of 45-70’s.

I put together a number of smokeless 458 ml’s - bullet to bore with precut rifled bullets and after doing so let all 45-70 444 etc go away as they don’t even fall in the same ball park.

When you can dial a load down to 1200 fps or less up to 3200 fps with quarter MOA accuracy it’s down right addictive!

One project I’d like to take on is an ML in 50 cal (not a savage ml2) with a custom heavy barrel pushing 400-600 grain projectiles. It will be an absolute beast of a gun.

I’ve run 500 grain in 458 at speeds which will wake you up with recoil.

I think 44 and up can be considered big bore - IMO
 
I had always thought the medium bores ended at 375 and so I assumed big bores started just past, reading my way through this series I see it is not that straight forward, I own a 416 Ruger and very unlikely I will ever go bigger. It also appears there is some disagreement here and elsewhere over if big bores begin at .40 or .45, so far on this site .45 appears to be the number with some exceptions.
 
Milt Dale said:
I had always thought the medium bores ended at 375 and so I assumed big bores started just past, reading my way through this series I see it is not that straight forward, I own a 416 Ruger and very unlikely I will ever go bigger. It also appears there is some disagreement here and elsewhere over if big bores begin at .40 or .45, so far on this site .45 appears to be the number with some exceptions.
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I originally thought 375H&H counted as big bore but It would make sense to be a medium bore but still dangerous game cartridge.

I would have then thought that 30cal up to just shy of 40 would be the medium bores and anything 40 and above would be big bore.

But as another user pointed out that is not the case by definition.
 
Northern Shooter said:
If there is such a thing, what would be considered the most "affordable" of the big bore cartridges that is also readily available at gun shops? I love the idea of owning one of these but not being able to source (or afford) ammo would make the rifle a wall piece. I'm guessing .458 WM would be one of the more common offerings?
Click to expand...

I think the 458wm is the most common. Handloading is almost a must if you plan to shoot with any frequency. It also allows the cartridge to become much more versatile. Factory loads are basically only safari loads for thick skinned dangerous game. Reloading gets you a bolt action big bore pellet gun with trail boss and cast bullets. Move up to trapdoor loads and then to low and mid level 4570 loads. Swap powder again and it becomes what the 4570 can only dream of. 250gr bullets to 600gr bullets. Bullets aren't that hard to find. Another option is the 458 lott which brass is easier to source but the wm brass is available
 
rpcw said:
Load all my own.

One of my most favourites was my 444 Marlin.

I’ve owned a number of 45-70’s.

I put together a number of smokeless 458 ml’s - bullet to bore with precut rifled bullets and after doing so let all 45-70 444 etc go away as they don’t even fall in the same ball park.

When you can dial a load down to 1200 fps or less up to 3200 fps with quarter MOA accuracy it’s down right addictive!

One project I’d like to take on is an ML in 50 cal (not a savage ml2) with a custom heavy barrel pushing 400-600 grain projectiles. It will be an absolute beast of a gun.

I’ve run 500 grain in 458 at speeds which will wake you up with recoil.

I think 44 and up can be considered big bore - IMO
Click to expand...

What 458 bullet are you getting to 3200fps? Or are you using sabots?
 
brybenn said:
I think the 458wm is the most common. Handloading is almost a must if you plan to shoot with any frequency. It also allows the cartridge to become much more versatile. Factory loads are basically only safari loads for thick skinned dangerous game. Reloading gets you a bolt action big bore pellet gun with trail boss and cast bullets. Move up to trapdoor loads and then to low and mid level 4570 loads. Swap powder again and it becomes what the 4570 can only dream of. 250gr bullets to 600gr bullets. Bullets aren't that hard to find. Another option is the 458 lott which brass is easier to source but the wm brass is available
Click to expand...

Gonna have to agree with everything said here. Once you source brass, dies, and a bullet mold (or cast bullets), something like the 458 WM is very affordable. As for the cost of a rifle chambered in it? I imagine even the Zastava offering isn't cheap like it once was.
 
I've always looked at anything under .400" as a medium bore, anything over as a big bore, and anything over a .458" as a stopper. That's just how it works in my head, and I'm okay with that not matching the common perspective as .458" being the starting point for big bores and .500" being a minimum for a real stopping rifle. I'm no stranger to being wrong, according to my wife.

I've owned a few big bores (in the common vernacular), and hunted with a .458 Win Mag for a while. It's a devastating bear gun! When you're hunting over baits and have the ability to dictate range, the trajectory becomes irrelevant. Energy dump is everything, and a 510gr soft point was *quite* authoritative. If I was going to do another, as a handloader I would probably choose a Lott. But maybe not, the Win Mag is a sledgehammer. I might even have dies still, and have more that one long action, Magnum bolt face action kicking around.

I just see more utility in the .416s, most of those same actions will eat .416 Rem Mag which is no slouch and would probably be my Africa choice if it ever rained Lotto 649 at my house. The others will eat the lesser .416 Ruger as well (the princess of the .416s).
 
Definitions are all arbitrary. Nobody will convince me that a 375 or 378 Weatherby Magnum isn't a big bore! I think any "big bore" needs to meet two definitions: Muzzle energy greater than 4000 ft lbs, give or take, and be in the range of .40 calibre and greater, give or take (with exceptions as noted above). If you go by this definition, there's a far greater list of powerful cartridges than the usual suspects.
 
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mikeyb said:
I've always looked at anything under .400" as a medium bore, anything over as a big bore, and anything over a .458" as a stopper. That's just how it works in my head, and I'm okay with that not matching the common perspective as .458" being the starting point for big bores and .500" being a minimum for a real stopping rifle. I'm no stranger to being wrong, according to my wife.

I've owned a few big bores (in the common vernacular), and hunted with a .458 Win Mag for a while. It's a devastating bear gun! When you're hunting over baits and have the ability to dictate range, the trajectory becomes irrelevant. Energy dump is everything, and a 510gr soft point was *quite* authoritative. If I was going to do another, as a handloader I would probably choose a Lott. But maybe not, the Win Mag is a sledgehammer. I might even have dies still, and have more that one long action, Magnum bolt face action kicking around.

I just see more utility in the .416s, most of those same actions will eat .416 Rem Mag which is no slouch and would probably be my Africa choice if it ever rained Lotto 649 at my house. The others will eat the lesser .416 Ruger as well (the princess of the .416s).
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At this point I'm considering 458WM vs 416Rigby/Ruger. I need to compare typical ammo and rifle costs between the two. The smaller 416s seem to be producing then higher muzzle energy by a good margin.

458 Lott seems like another animal altogether.
 
The Kurgan said:
Definitions are all arbitrary. Nobody will convince me that a 375 or 378 Weatherby Magnum isn't a big bore! I think any "big bore" needs to meet two definitions: Muzzle energy greater than 4000 ft lbs, give or take, and be in the range of .40 calibre and greater, give or take (with exceptions as noted above). If you go by this definition, there's a far greater list of powerful cartridges than the usual suspects.
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Especially those Weatherby cartridges, they all seem to hit with the energy of cartridges a class above. i.e.

257 Weatherby putting up 30cal numbers

300 Weatherby putting up 375 numbers

338-378 Weatherby putting up 40 cal numbers

460 Weatherby putting up 50 cal numbers
 
The Kurgan said:
Definitions are all arbitrary. Nobody will convince me that a 375 or 378 Weatherby Magnum isn't a big bore! I think any "big bore" needs to meet two definitions: Muzzle energy greater than 4000 ft lbs, give or take, and be in the range of .40 calibre and greater, give or take (with exceptions as noted above). If you go by this definition, there's a far greater list of powerful cartridges than the usual suspects.
Click to expand...

if the oic is reversed one day im getting a 460 wea mag mark V just because ... it is a so cool sniper rifle and a good big bore lol ...
 
The Kurgan said:
Definitions are all arbitrary. Nobody will convince me that a 375 or 378 Weatherby Magnum isn't a big bore! I think any "big bore" needs to meet two definitions: Muzzle energy greater than 4000 ft lbs, give or take, and be in the range of .40 calibre and greater, give or take (with exceptions as noted above). If you go by this definition, there's a far greater list of powerful cartridges than the usual suspects.
Click to expand...

this is what i love in discussion nobody will twist your arms on your opinion ...
 
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