Harvester Crush Rib + .458" bullets

HeathSexton · Nov 27, 2013

I have used the Harvester Crush Rib black sabot in my Encore for a few years now with .452" bullets and BH209. I know BH209 needs a very good seal for proper ignition so after reading an article about using .458" bullets in the blacks I decided to try it out. I used the 350 Hornady FP with a weighed charge of 73.5grs BH 209 and accuracy was 1" @ 100yds. Loading was not overly difficult, I pulled the breech plug and shoved a sabot+bullet down the bore to be sure it wasn't going to take gorilla strength to load. Anyways, the .458's shoot great and I found a taste tester in our MZ season. A big doe, 145 live weight, trotted out behind me and then ran back to within 40yds of my tree. I had a hole about the size of a volleyball that exposed her shoulder so I touched it off. The big 350 slammed her to the ground, I have never had a deer react like that, it was like someone jerked a rug from under her.

So, short story long, try the Harvester Crush rib black with a .458" bullet of your choice if you are looking for a new load to try in your muzzleloader.

Tobey284 · Nov 27, 2013

got a box of those sabots under the bench and some .458 bullets coming in, may have to give it a try as my omega is fairly picky about the plastic part...for those of us cretans that measure charges by volume, what does 73.5 grains work out to?

HeathSexton · Nov 27, 2013

It's 105 by volume.

Tobey284 · Nov 27, 2013

Thanks, congrats on the doe, that sounds like a stout load for sure. I've been using 110 grains (volume) and the 300 grain sst for elk with excellent results. Just curious, as I never thought to try it, do you see noticeable gains in accuracy with weighed versus measured charges?

HeathSexton · Nov 28, 2013

Honestly, no I have seen a difference weighed vs measured it's just easier for me to dip it out on my scales than it is to pour and spill in a volumetric measurer.

It's weighed grains x 1.428 = measured by volume grains

SJB358 · Nov 28, 2013

Great info Heath. We use the MMP sabot's and the .458 Hornady 325 grain FTX in the .458 sabot (orange) and the .429 Speer 300 Unicor in the .429 sabots (green). Accuracy with 777 Magnum is pretty danged good. My buddy took a few deer with the 325 FTX and the blood trails were short and very heavy, BUT, literally, when we butchered those deer, you could literally "eat to the bullet hole". I know alot of folks say it, but it wasted no meat, and nothing was ruined, except for the deers lungs. Just a nice 45 caliber hole in and out. I think that 350 FP would be better yet. The .429 Speer 300 grain'er is a hammer as well with that big flap point. Great report. Thank you.

JD338 · Nov 28, 2013

Heath,

Good info, congratulations on the doe.

I have been using the Nosler .458 300 gr BST with a .458 MMP sabot (orange) in my T/C Omega since this bullet was first introduced a d it has pro on to be very effective
On WT deer.
I shot a buck last week with this combo at 100 yds and pole axed him
right where he stood. Hit the point of the shoulder going in and exited
Behind the off shoulder leaving an exit wound the size of a quarter.

JD338

HeathSexton · Nov 28, 2013

I was going to order some of the .458 BT's and I started to use some 300gr Speers but then I remembered I have 500+ Hornady 350 FP's so they got the 1st go. The 300 would be more than enough. The article talked about using 400gr bullets, now while I am a heavy bullet guy touching that 350 off standing twisted around in a treestand really made me glad I did not have 120gr BH209 and a 405 bullet.

Here is the article I read: http://www.namlhunt.com/mlbullets12.html