My Latest Big Boomer

SHELL SHUCKER

SHELL SHUCKER

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Super GunNutz
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Location
Southern Vancouver Island
Last week,I bought a Herters U9 Custom in .458 Win. mag. from a fella that
ordered it for himself back in the 60's. He let me have the beasty for a
mere $750.oo and it's a beauty. The metal is in A-1 condition, the bore is
pristine and the walnut stock is very nicely figured and dent free.
The barreled action is a BSA CF2 long action with a Douglas premium tube,
and is fully bedded in Accurglass from the factory. Trigger is adjustable and set at 3 lbs.
The only buggaboo is a missing front sight insert which I'll soon correct.

The owner had only put about 20 shots through this gun and gave me 2
boxes of Winchester brass and 2 boxes of Hornady 500 gr. solids that
are in great shape for their age. The price tag on the brass is $6.95 for
20 & the same price for 50 Hornady solids! :eek:

Anywho, after strippin' the gun down and cleaning, I mounted a Weaver
K-4 w/post reticle on 'er and handloaded up 20 rounds using 30.0 gr.
of SR4759 powder held in place with kapock filler and hit the range today for
initial sight-in. This load gives a bit over 1200 fps. with the jacketed 500 gr.
slugs according to the Lyman 49th edition handbook.

After a quick 2 shot sighting at 25 yds. to get a high center hold, I moved
on to the 80yd. target to put 3 more shots on paper and adjust the scope
for windage, but not elevation. As the photo shows, the first 2 shots were
tight together. I then gave the scope 4 clicks to the left to center it up
and fired the 3rd. shot to verify the scopes' adjustment capability.
The rest of the ammo was used on the 200 yd. gong and to knock over
a 4 inch arbutus tree at 50 yds. The drop at 200 yds. for this load is
only six inches or so. Those big slugs carry well at that range and really
smack the gong with authority. The recoil with this load is quite tolerable
from the bench, and felt about the same as my buddy's Browning 71
in .348 Win.

I'm more than satisfied with this rifle/scope/load combination, and will
use it for both hunting and plinking. For hunting I will use 500 gr. cast
bullets. :)
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Congrats, that rifle looks like it was only very lightly used, I'd say you got good value for your money. The U9 action is the same as the BSA, but there has been criticism of the final finishing of the U9 action, and for that reason the BSA version is considered more desirable by some. If yours appears to have smooth surfaces and no sharp edges, consider it a good one.

The .458 can be surprisingly versatile, with a 350 gr bullet it can shoot reasonably flat, say a foot low at 300 with a 200 yard zero. I load 500s to 2100 from a 21" barrel, and zero for 150, so not much is safe out in front of me out to 300. some folks find that the 450 TSX gives up nothing in terminal performance, but shoots a might flatter. IMHO, TSXs and A Frames are a tad expensive for a round that typically drives bullets in the 2000 fps range, but their reliable performance on the world's biggest game (in circumstances where expanding bullets would be typically chosen) is well documented.

Moderately loaded with cast bullets as you have, the .458 is accurate, pleasant to shoot, and useful for either small game or medium sized big game. I've driven hard cast 500 WFNs to 2200 with good accuracy, and no sign of leading, but I seat the bullet long and crimp into the second grease groove below the crimping groove, allowing a bit more powder capacity. I discovered that the .458 is very sensitive to seating depth, and jacketed bullets of the same weight but different shank lengths below the cannelure require adjustments in the powder charge to prevent pressure issues. I found that 500 gr Hornady Interlocks ahead of 76 grs of H-335 gives me 2100, but when I worked up the 500 gr DGX load, I got 2100 with only 74 grs . . . ditto the 500 gr A Frame. Both of these bullets have longer shanks than the 500 gr Interlock.

Enjoy your rifle.
 
You're only shooting starting 45-70 loads in it! I shot 30 rounds of the 525 gr Postell at 1350 fps at a Cowboy Match, and those were pussycat loads.

You need to at least try a stiffer load. ;)
 
Andy said:
You're only shooting starting 45-70 loads in it! I shot 30 rounds of the 525 gr Postell at 1350 fps at a Cowboy Match, and those were pussycat loads.

You need to at least try a stiffer load. ;)
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Take your time and work up. I like to shoot a few full house loads but keep my practice loads backed off a bit. It's hard to shoot the big boomers lots so why make it harder than it has to be. My 458 is still waiting for a stock so I have only shot it 5 or so times. I like the 458 for some unknown reason. I has no bling to it but I really like it.
 
Boomer said:
Congrats, that rifle looks like it was only very lightly used, I'd say you got good value for your money. The U9 action is the same as the BSA, but there has been criticism of the final finishing of the U9 action, and for that reason the BSA version is considered more desirable by some. If yours appears to have smooth surfaces and no sharp edges, consider it a good one.

Thanks,
This rifle has the BSA made action, as it is stamped "Made in England"
on the receiver, but does not have the BSA logo on top of the reciever ring.
The action is well finished inside and out, and is smooth and bind-free.
Model U9 is stamped on the side of the barrel, just ahead of the reciever.

This is my 4th. .458 magnum that I've owned, and it's the nicest one
of the bunch to me. My previous ones were an M98 Mauser actioned
sporter, a Remington 700 Safari and a P14 Enfield actioned sporter.

As for light loads, I like 'em just fine for plinking as I tend to shoot a
pile of them on range days,(60+) and don't want to beat up my shoulder.

My old favorite load in my past rifles was the 300 gr. Sierra FP driven
to 1850 fps. and I used it for 50yd. Running Deer shoots at the Fish & Game
Club back in the 80's. I won alot of turkeys with that Mauser .458 back then.
This load was great for deer hunting as well, and put lots of meat in the freezer.

This latest .458 is going to get a whole lot of use for target work and
some deer hunting as well. I love the flexability of this cartridge and
this rifle's feel. The California style of this rifle is kinda funky to me.:)
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that is a fine looking 458 ,lighter loads are great and the ole piece is being used and operator is not being beat a win win .Not being stored for posterity
Cheers
 
You got yourself one ###y looking beast there and from what I can tell at one heck of a price too!!Can't beat that,congrats on one fine looking rifle
 
I had to add more pics of this rifle. The wood on 'er is too nice not to share.
Definitely my nicest gun in the safe! A bit of polishing on the bolt knob
as well as front sight replacement, and she'll be done. Me happy. :D

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The recoil pad is pretty stiff, but it ain't cracked or deteriorated yet.
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That little white mark on the fore end is a cig ash. Oops.
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