“458 winchester magnum”

Between the .458 Win. Mag and the .458 Lott, which is the better choice for a prospective big-game hunter? Contributor Philip Massaro takes a closer look at what makes each cartridge tick.

If you’re attracted to .45-caliber cartridges for dangerous-game hunting, the .458 Lott is a serious contender for the top of the heap.

Hornady has changed the game with the release of their new DGX Bonded ammunition. Featuring a thicker jacket and a lead core bonded to that jacket, expansion is controlled and structural integrity is maintained, resulting in deep penetration, yet good expansion.

Introduced in 1989, the .416 Remington Magnum is fully capable of handling any and all game, including the heavyweights like elephant, hippo, buffalo and coastal brown bears. Its trajectory is flatter than most would think, and recoil isn’t much heavier than the .375 H&H, yet the terminal results are visibly greater.

Despite its rarity today, we all owe the .450 Nitro Express a debt of gratitude for the simple fact that it established a ballistic formula upon which so many dangerous game hunters rely.

Loosely based on a shortened .404 Jeffery case with the rim rebated to the .535-inch case head of the H&H family, the .270 WSM was the third commercial cartridge using the .277-inch bore diameter, and betters the velocity of the .270 Winchester by 200 to 250 fps.

Introduced in 1955, the 6mm Remington was designed to be a dual-purpose cartridge that could handle varmints and predators just as well as it could deer and similar-sized game.

The .375 Ruger is simple, effective, affordable and shootable, and truly mirrors the velocities of the H&H case in a cartridge housed in a standard long action with a beltless, rimless design.

Not all magnum cartridges bear the name, but still meet all the criteria for the title. Here’s a look at five of the best.