458 Express

458 Express

The ".458 Express R"

During discussions with Professor Koos Badenhorst on Saturday 25-October-2008 at the shooting range I shared my passion and desire with Prof. Koos to own a custom built Double Barrel rifle. As per usual his enthusiasm encouraged me immediately and soon we were on the caliber of choice issue!

Professor Koos Badenhorst suggested that before we do anything else we must go and shoot the .458 Express he brought along, and I was happy to oblige. After a few shots we came back to the topic of what caliber to use in the Double Barrel rifle I dream about, and I suggested the ".458 Express R", a rimmed version of the current .458 Express as it is known.

"Well that is a thought"..... was Prof Koos's answer and we carried on with the conversation. Later that Saturday evening he wrote me a SMS saying that a rimmed .450 - 3''(three inch) version is already in the market place as a wildcat cartridge. I gladly answered immediately: " I dislike the naming convention of the .450 and the .458 Express I want to have must be the correct size, thus, .458 Express R in .458 caliber with a 3.00 inch case length.

I immediately used the internet and ordered some .450 3.25 inch cases and we'll test the ".458 Express R" sooner that what I anticipated. Naturally the "we" in this is Professor Koos Badenhorst and me.

My dream started many years ago when I saw the pair of .375 calibers available, as the .375 Holland and Holland Magnum and the .375 Flanged Magnum, rimless belted and a flanged caliber. The .375 H&H is one of the most popular calibers for large game ever designed.

Picture from Norma Catalogue (2008)

The perfect pair, for a bolt action .375 H&H and for a Double the .375 Flanged Magnum.

There is doubt in my mind that most hunters and collectors would love to own a Custom made bolt action and double barrel rifle, even more so if the caliber compliments your set of rifles. I am convinced the .458 Express and the .458 Express R will find favor amongst hunters and collectors. The ballistic comparison for the .458 Express and .458 Express R remains to be worked out, but the expectations based on the current performance of the .458 Express indicates a huge winner in the making. There is absolute no reason to think that the .458 Express R is a new caliber, indeed it is new in terms of the rimmed case and the year of development being 2008, but in my mind it is purely an adoption to accommodate the double rifle's mechanics. The .458 Express is the principle round and foundation.

It is a wonderful prospect to develop the .458 Express R and have the blessing and help of Professor Koos Badenhorst. So one hundred and ten years after the popular .450 NE 3.25'' of John Rigby in 1898, follows the ".458 Express R" in 2008. A legend is born. In the ".458 Calibers" section I write more about the beloved .450 Nitro Express 3.25''. We approached our gunsmith Danie Joubert and will commence with the building of a .450 NE 3.25'' as soon as the SAPS documentation is in place during 2009. The action will be a Ruger No.1, owned by Prof Koos Badenhorst.

I ordered a reamer from Dave Manson in America and my drawings were received pronto. The reamer is in the manufacturing process now and will be ready for shipping in January 2009. I can truly recommend Dave Manson to any person wanting design and develop a caliber, his service was fast, reliable and a man understanding ballistics answered my questions. My sincere thanks to Dave Manson!

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