A long long time ago when I was very young shooter, the local gunsmith arrived at the range with two scoped hunting rifles he was sighting in for a customer who was going on a safari in Africa.

One was a Weatherby in .460, the other one a Winchester in .458. He was kind enough to let a few of us youngsters have a go with them. Needless to say it was a blast and a kick. And I remember the 458 being a lighter rifle and kicking more than the 460.

And obviously dirty Harry Callahan used one (unsuccessfully though) against Scorpio.

Fast forward 25 years, I decided to see if I could find one, so I placed a WTB ad and within two weeks a gentleman offered me a new one for sale. Well new is relative since the serial number indicates it was built in 1967, just one year before I was born, and has a few tiny handling marks.

Price was $ 1700. It also came with NOS Burris rings and mount. I’m not sure I will put a scope on it. Firstly this is not a long-range rifle and the open sights are more than adequate up to one hundred metres. Secondly the scope kiss in the face is a very real hazard with a rifle like that, kicking like a mule.











Since I had recently bought some cheap ammo for it ($ 1 per round) I took it straight to the range.

The first three shots below the bull’s-eye were taken at 25 m just to get a feel for where the rifle hits. The last two shots above the bull’s-eye were taken at 50 m. In both case standing, as it is the best way to absorb the massive recoil.





Now I have dirty Harry’s revolver, semi auto pistol and bolt action rifle. If anyone has a nice harpoon for sale, hit me up.