“So, What Are You Gonna Hunt With THAT?”

"Chipmunks, squirrels, "whistle-pigs".........is my usual reply, and it usually brings a chuckle or two.

At least ONCE in your lifetime, you HAVE to INTENTIONALLY do something that doesn't make a whole lot of sense..............on purpose.....................just "because"..............

A couple of weeks ago, I brought a few of 'em out to show my son-in-law Keith, including THIS one, and as I was wiping them down later to lock 'em up again, I had to ask myself......."Why DID I buy this thing?  I'll never hunt anything in Idaho with it.

The Model 70 Winchester bolt action rifle has been around "forever", and chambered in all kinds of calibers.........including the massive 458 Winchester Magnum.  The one you're looking at is a Model 70 African Super Grade.  In my earlier hunting years I used to scan through the new gun catalogs whenever they'd come out, and the big 458 always seemed to be cloaked in "mystique"............as an old deer & elk hunter....the 270, 30-30 and 30.06 are "all ya need."

Besides the "African", Winchester also made a slightly "smaller" model called the "Alaskan", in 375 H&H (Holland & Holland) Magnum caliber.

But, while my purchases would always be in the deer/elk category, I always wanted one of those African guns.

Why?..........I didn't have a clue.  Nothing in the northwest requires that much stopping power, not even a grizzly.  I have also never been able to afford to go to Africa ITSELF on a safari................and the 458 was very costly compared to the rest of them.   Ammunition TODAY can run upwards of $130.00 a box (for 20 rounds!).

I DID manage to buy a "converted Mauser" in that caliber back in the mid-70's.............but it WASN'T the WINCHESTER .  And I sold it later.

"Time marches on" as they say, and by 2009, I'm shooting everything from the 30.06 to the AK-47...........just havin' a good ol' time, not bothering anyone................

Then I walked into the gunshop one morning, and there it was.  Not a "converted or sporterized" rifle.........but a genuine Model 70 AFRICAN, that someone had sold to them the evening before.  "Where'd you get THIS?" I asked.

"The guy needed money", said my late buddy & gunsmith, Sam Beach.  The rifle was about 35 years old at the time but still in "like new" condition (rifles that kick this hard, don't get fired very often), and being a USED gun-----it had to sell at a "USED PRICE"........the 'temptation level" immediately went UP about 20 points......

"Practicality and LOGIC" tried to work THEIR way into this, but to no avail......................I don't even hunt DEER anymore, and I can't afford a safari to hunt Rhino (not the "4-legged" kind anyway).  I had also had major neck surgery just 2 years prior in 2007, which brought the question to my mind........can my upper torso TAKE this much recoil today?  (I shoot my 300 Win Mag all afternoon if I want----but that's a 300.........not a 458..........big difference when you're an "old geezer."

The 30-30 Winchester cartridge is a very popular deer round.........but the 458 DWARFS it by comparison, and shoots projectiles the range from 350-grains, to 400, to 460, to 500 and 510. Depending on the weight of the rifle, we're talking about loads up to 90+ lbs of free recoil..........(most 30.06 loads run generate 26 to 40).

So with a triple-disc replacement in my neck, recoil HAD to be a consideration now.

But as I said, at least ONCE in your lifetime...........so even at age 61....."craziness" WON OUT over conventional wisdom.......the gun was there.........not just ANY gun.....but THE gun..................the price was right--------

.....and the next thing I new, I was fillin' out the paperwork.  Didn't take it home right away yet, though.........I left it there in the shop for Sam to mount one of those special "Decelerator" recoil pads on it, which was far better than the one it had left the factory with, so long ago.  (At MY age, I'm not taking any more of a beating than I have to!)

When the rifle was ready, I picked it up, took it home, and waited for good enough weather to sight it in.  You "assume" that the LAST guy DID that already, but not everyone shoots the same, or holds the same sight picture........and as this IS a heavy-recoiling gun, the LAST guy might have gotten "in over his head"....was flinching badly, and just adjusted the sights to "compensate" for it.  You never know----so it would have to be done.

I would also wait for PERFECT weather.....no wind at all.....(a tough chore sometimes, here in Elmore County).  I KNEW that even with the 'Decelerator" on it,  it would still try to kick the snot out of me.....so if the sights WERE "off" from the last guy.......and the gun had to be "dialed-in" as we say........I didn't want to have to shoot this sucker ANY MORE THAN NECESSARY!

And so the day came.  Beautiful morning, not even the slightest breeze.  Along with the rifle, ammo, target stand and earmuffs, I also brought along an old "skeet vest" that has a "sewn-in" recoil pad, that would hopefully supplement the one on the rifle.

The 458 is not a long-range gun.  It was designed specifically to STOP large charging animals in the brush or tundra.  From the muzzle to the first 50 yards or so, it generates over 5,100 ft lbs of energy (knockdown).  Target stand is at 50 yards.  Rifle is resting on some high-stacked heavy pads on the hood of the truck so it won't shift around. 

I loaded one of those Winchester Super-X cartridges (that THIS morning, looked as big as a White Owl Cigar) into the chamber, snugged it up good and tight into my shoulder, eased the safety off,  took 5 or 6 deep breaths, let half of the next one out, and touched the trigger.

................."KA-FRIGGIN'-BOOM!!!!!"......(because I don't have any other words to describe that)..........those slugs are so big, you can seemingly almost CRAWL down the bore of that rifle.

I was laying over the fender and hood of the truck,  and the recoil lifted me off of it, stood me straight up and pushed me back about a half step.  Muzzle up in a 45-degree angle, shoulder felt NUMB for a moment, stars jumpin' around a bit------Oh it was "wonderful!"

,,,,and the trigger pull was also LIGHTER than I'd expected (especially on a gun this size), and it had gone off before I'd put the pressure on the trigger I normally use.................the shot was on the paper, but low.

It was STRAIGHT however,( in the "left to right" sense), and my first impulse was to just make an "elevation adjustment" to bring the shots UP...........but, as it had gone off before I was ready,  and I may have flinched forward a bit in "pre-anticipation" of the unknown recoil, I elected NOT to do any adjustments just yet, so I extracted the empty and loaded another one in there.

It kicked like a mule, but not enough to where I couldn't handle it for a few more shots, upon which I'd probably HAVE to put it down.

So, with "artillery round" number TWO in there, I laid back across the hood, "settled down" a bit this time, and slammed the next one in the "9" ring, entering into the "10" at about "4 O'clock."

I used to think my 300 Win Mag was a lot of gun............no........no.

I decided to shoot a 3rd round through it before I ever put a screwdriver to the rear sight adjustment.  I waited for the shoulder to quit throbbing, so there would be no "movement" on MY end while I was lining up the sights, then loaded the chamber and stayed OFF that light trigger until I was actually ready to "go for it"

Looking through a "peepsight" instead of a scope, that little "orange center" isn't a very big target at 50 yards  for eyes over a half century old.  My shoulder was "feeling it" already after just two rounds, but I  "practice what I preach" about recoil, and held that butt in there good and snug, took that last breath, let half of it out, and gently squeezed.

Almost center of the orange........and shooting this "howitzer", that was "PLENTY GOOD ENOUGH" for me.....at 50 yards with open sights.

It was ALSO GOOD that whoever the last owner was, obviously shot and adjusted the same way I do, so I never had to touch those sights------all I had to do was to get familiar with the recoil, settle-down and do it.  After the first two rounds, the thought of having to do a shot-after-shot full "sight-in" session was NOT something I'd have looked forward to.

It might also have gotten a bit "expensive"----------those 3 "empties" you see there, cost over $20.00.  You can shoot about THIRTY rounds of 30.06 for that!

So.......what AM I gonna hunt with this thing?...........well......just about anything I WANT to, I guess............

That was incidently, the LAST time I shot that thing, and still ask myself occasionally 3 years later...........why DID I buy this thing?

Anybody wanna go to Africa?................ah, that's ok.............spring is SUPPOSED to be here sometime soon........."whistlepigs" will be out.......maybe I'll just leave the 22's home and make this more "interesting!"