458 Winchester Magnum Centerfire Rifle Ammunition

The 458 Winchester Magnum was introduced in 1956 in a new "African" version of the Winchester Model 70. Timing couldn't have been better: Kynoch was discontinuing the Nitro Express cartridges, and the 458 Winchester Magnum soon became the world's most popular big-bore cartridge, adopted by almost all African game departments and thus probably responsible for the taking of as many buffaloes and elephants as all other cartridges combined. Today it's popular to bash the 458 because, with its 2.5-inch case, it ultimately proved impossible to maintain its original published ballistics of a 500-grain bullet at 2150 feet per second, for 5000 foot-pounds. With modern propellants the original ballistics are possible, but current standard loads use a 500-grain bullet at 2040 fps for 4620 foot-pounds. Either way, the 458 Winchester Magnum is adequate for the largest game, but in recent years has fallen to the sidelines due to the rebirth of older cartridges and the popularity of the 416s.  -- Craig Boddington