Discussion Forums

Ryan Nafe

Fellas,

What have you guys observed as being the differences in terminal performance of the larger .475’s and .50’s when compared to the .458 bore?

I would assume you’d see a continued decline in the minimum impact velocity for fast killing with hollow points, as well as wider wounding with things like wide-flat-nose hard cast bullets (assuming the meplat is actually wider than the one on the .458 bullet)

But how significant are the differences? Significant enough to make it worth getting set up with a more oddball cartridge in the larger bore diameters, or is the .458 close enough to be a better option for economy and simplicity’s sake?

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I’ve been thinking of getting a modern 30” barrel inline muzzleloader to try some of the Hawk hollow points on deer, this would allow experimenting with everything from .429 to .475 diameter at muzzle velocities from 2,300 FPS (240 grain .44 Mag bullets) to 1,850 (350 grain .475’s). Or I can also just get a long-barrel .45-70 and be done with it. The .500” or .510” bore would probably necessitate a different rifle altogether, something with a custom barrel like a single shot .50 Alaskan or something.

The real trouble with the muzzleloader is that even with the most modern stuff (stiff charges of Blackhorn 209 and a 30” barrel) I would be topped out at about 2,000 FPS with the .458” or .475” bullets, which is easily beaten by a modern .45-70 rifle.