As the acronym implies (Special Operations Command), members of special operations units were unhappy with the 5.56 rounds ability to bring down the enemy quickly and with as few shots as possible in combat while using platforms such as the M4 and M16.After deliberations and experimentation, the .458 SOCOM came to be in the early 2000’s. In .223/5.56 caliber, cartridges stack in a staggered (double stack) fashion. The more grains they consume, the more the speed drops. The.458 HAM’R Ultimate Hunter Rifle The HAM'R has the same retained energy at 200 yards that the SOCOM has at 125 yards." A wide diversity of powders have also proven accurate in the SOCOM from Hodgdon's Lil Gun to 4198. The .308, .223, 7mm Mauser, and venerable .30-06 were all created this way. There is an ACE skeletonized buttstock that comes with a ½- or 1-inch rubber pad, and my order went in to Brownells immediately after doing the testing. The initial prototype brass still bore the .50 AE head stamp and this has caused some confusion, as the SOCOM case is longer with a narrower rim. Other loads for reloaders are available from the Teppo Jutsu Web site, and a lively reloading discussion is always underway at the .458 SOCOM Forum. Then, there are the guys in lab jackets at the commercial plants who try to bring out new commercial cartridges with a little more oomph and, hopefully, sales appeal. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The exact number varies with … Because of the small size of the AR-15 action and receiver area, and the timing of the bolt cycle rate, you can't really use cartridges much longer in overall length than the .223 (a max of 2.26 inches OL). If you're like me you soon get pretty suspicious of gun writers who seem to get sub 1-inch, 100-yard groups from everything they shoot. 458 Socom works with bullets ranging from 140 to 600 grains. It was shown as effective in terms of ballistics, firing a 500 grain bullet subsonically, but not ideally suited for its role due to the size and weight of the platform. These were the design limitations Marty ter Weeme had to work around to give the little AR-15 real muscle, but it didn't stop there. On the other hand, the Bushmaster is designed to have less power potential of about 250 grains, not even a match for SOCOM’s 600-grain bullet. A gun lover since young, served the country for the last 20 years. There was never a failure to feed, it never jammed, or gave me a problem of any sort. Hello there, it’s Michael here. Much of the research on the capabilities of big-bore AR-15 rounds like the .458 SOCOM concentrate in the area of subsonic (1,050 fps and lower velocities) and suppressed loads. What do you get when you cross an AR-15 with a crossbow? That's not the way things are in the real world. Pros. The cartridge case design was finalized based on discussions with Tony Rumore at Tromix suggesting a lengthened .50 AE case would work well in the magazines as well as be the largest diameter case to be able to feed through the barrel extension. Two traditional jacketed hollow point loads are offered: A 300 grain JHP is the most popular and is considered by more and more customers as the best value in 458 SOCOM. Back in the late '50s, the military decided to replace the venerable Garand. A standard 20-round 5.56mm NATO magazine can hold seven .458 SOCOM rounds and a standard 30-round 5.56mm NATO magazine can hold ten .458 SOCOM rounds. ArmaLite's entry, called the AR-10, was a semi-auto of simple design (with a full-auto option) chambered in .308. As noted above, the cartridge was designed to be 100% compatible with the M4 platform. The 458 Socom has come a long way since its adoption in the early 2000s by members of special operations, thus the name Socom (special operations command). It seems it took multiple hits to permanently take the opposition "out of the game" in Mogadishu, Somalia. a common use The 458 SOCOM cartridge offers the practical ballistics of the legendary.45-70 in a modern AR platform rifle and is capable of firing 250 to 600 grain.458 caliber bullets in a lightweight, controllable package. [citation needed]. The lightest offering is a 200grain ARX (2,200 fps muzzle velocity / 2,150 ft/lb muzzle energy) to his heaviest, a 500g Jacketed Soft Point (JSP) available in Subsonic (980 fps muzzle velocity / 1,599 ft/lb muzzle energy) or JSP-High Velocity (1,280 fps muzzle velocity /1,818 … Want to wear when you're heading into the wild? Range. Even the lightest.458 SOCOM round is more than three times heavier than the M855 round. Dies are available from Hornady, Lee, CH, and soon will be available from Redding. The real cleverness in the design of the .458 SOCOM is that nothing but the upper need be changed — same magazine as the .223, same buffer spring in the buttstock, same everything. I am not surprised. It's a very easy case to load for, as long as your dies don't push the minimal shoulder back. Thinking about trying out a kayak when it comes to getting those skinny-water fish? The 458 SOCOM cartridge offers the practical ballistics of the legendary .45-70 in a modern AR platform rifle and is capable of firing 250 to 600 grain .458 caliber bullets in a lightweight, controllable package. If you want your 458 to handle heavier rounds, you will need to have an upper receiver that’s strong and durable enough. Good shooters will no doubt stretch that a lot, with high BC bullets, but big game is way different than steel gongs. Thanks. The recent rush of short and super-short cases that followed the .300 RUM are a perfect example of this, as are the .444 Marlin, .338 Federal along with many others. The .50 AE rim diameter was reduced from .514 inch to .473 inch for compatibility with other platforms, primarily bolt-action rifles. As is often the case with government requests, about halfway through the trials, the higher brass decided the emerging dust-up in Asia would be a close quarter affair, and it might be better to abandon the bulkier, heavier .30 caliber and move to a smaller, lighter, faster round. They are made by Starline and available from them, Midway or Graf & Sons, but due to a fast-rising demand and the general shortages we've experienced since the last election, there are currently brass shortages, and orders are going on backorder. My test rifle is a Rock River A4 upper and lower, flat top receiver with a 3-9 scope mounted on medium rings. Verify range and wind, aim a foot high of the boiler room and you are having venison for supper for the next few months. Thoughts of AR-15s automatically lean towards their most familiar load, the versatile.223, and the expansion to .204, 6.8, .30 Remington AR, and the like have given it solid deer and antelope hunting credentials. With those weights, you don't have enough powder capacity in the .458. Prompted by the lack of power offered by the 5.56 NATO cartridge used in the M4 carbine and the M16 rifle, the .458 SOCOM came about from informal discussion of members of the special operations command, specifically Task Force Ranger's experience that multiple shots were required to incapacitate members of the opposing force in Mogadishu during Operation Gothic Serpent. All Gun Parts and Range Gear; Pistol Parts . It's a size and timing thing. Hornady’s FTX – The spire point and overall design of this bullet offer greater range and terminal ballistics. The 300-grain (19 g) round offers a supersonic muzzle velocity of 1,900 ft/s (580 m/s) and 2,405 ft⋅lbf (3,261 J),[1] similar to a light .45-70 but with a much smaller case. Cons. Rifle Magazines; AR15 PARTS & … This cartridge, however, the .458 SOCOM (.458 Special Operations Command) was reportedly given birth over a barbeque and some cold brew. Generally, hunters don't take well to change, but ARs and modern files are becoming more common on the hunt. Corbon factory loads with what appears to be a 300-grain Sierra FBHP were the only loads I had available. During the development phase, various other cartridges were considered and proposed to the project sponsor, but rejected as not meeting all the requirements. Standard magazines can be used for the bigger caliber, but do have to be modified slightly, and the sheer size of the round significantly reduces magazine capacity. There’s no dearth of .458 bullets up to 500 grains for reloading thanks to the 458’s faster twist rate but hard-copy data is a bit skimpy. Added bonus: our load often achieves sub-MOA accuracy. This factory load from this unmodified rifle never exceeded 2 inches at 100 yards, with most groups holding at 11⁄2 inches and several sub 1-inch clusters in the mix. Low recoil – maximized velocity. While the differences between them (450 Bushmaster vs 458 SOCOM vs 50 Beowulf) are relatively large in a few areas, they’re all good choices for a wide range of hunting tasks. It's certainly big enough for elk, and there's not a deer alive that will walk away from a solid hit. A 300-grain, well-constructed bullet moving at about 2,000 fps is 150- to 200-yard bad medicine for just about anything, including bear and moose. I primarily bought it because of the availability of a second shot if the first goes astray and how great it will be hunting the thick pines and … Bullet choices are vast with Nosler, Hornady, Barnes, Speer, Woodleigh, Swift, A-Frame, Sierra, and Lost River all offering great bullets in .458 from 250 to 600 grains. After the accuracy testing, the more precise, higher-magnification scope will be replaced with either a 3X or 4X ACOG or a red dot for faster target acquisition. As of now, they only offer a 16-inch chrome barrel with a flash hider (good to protect the crown, even if you're not concerned about flash), and no front sight. © Copyright 2020 Military.com. I'm anxious to work up reloads, but you can't hotrod AR loads. The .473-inch/12mm-diameter rim was designed in 1888 for the German Commission Rifle chambered in 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge, and is arguably the most common rim size globally, as all bolt actions chambered in cartridges derived from that shell, such as .30-06 Springfield, .308 Winchester or cartridges derived from them share this rim size. I have done some research and watched a bunch of youtube videos but also wanted to ask here. The Brush Country of south Texas is usually hot, dry, and covered with thorny brush thick enough to stall a bulldozer. If you are a shooter who is looking to stretch range limits of the .458 SOCOM cartridge with appropriate accessories, then this barrel will certainly meet your needs. Outstanding marine fishing is available from coastal piers. There are multiple bullet weights and grains when it comes to the 458 SOCOM. Many Somalis would chew the drug Khat all day and the effects of the drug would both curb their appetite (in a country plagued by famine) and increase their pain tolerance. Brass typically ships either same or next day with an estimated arrival time of 2-3 days. When it comes to a range of power, that’s absolutely incredible and is certainly sufficient for handling larger game. In 2000 a sledgehammer cartridge that would launch 250- to 600-grain .45 caliber bullets from a standard size AR-15 with a proper barrel and chamber was born — enter the .458 SOCOM. Casings are Tumble Polished and ready to reload out of box. With great power comes great durability, hopefully. All rights reserved. Looking to find some special fishing holes? Any other recommendations regarding the 458(triggers, upgraded lower parts, mags, etc) is also appreciated. Big, heavy bullets moving at moderate velocities are proven game-stoppers when a fast stop is the vital objective. It was intended to make up for the limitations of the 5.56 rounds by accommodating larger diameter bullets with more destructive force. The website dedicated to the .458SOCOM, where load data and other info also available. Bill Wilson developed the HAM'R to ensure full expansion of the bullets at longer ranges. The ,458 SOCOM round performs best with barrels 16’ or longer. 5 458 SOCOM Barrel & Bolt Combo – … The.458 SOCOM (which stands for Special Operations Command, by the way) can handle bullets ranging 140 to 600-grains. .458 SOCOM * Polished * Range Brass - 25 count. With the introduction of the .458 SOCOM, the trim AR-15 is more than tough enough for the big guys. This AR design likes this load. I have it on good authority that DPMS will be offering an A2 buttstock with a real recoil pad in the near future. The .458 SOCOM, by nature, will not enable you to accurately shoot at long ranges, but that means accuracy at the upper end of its range is all the more important. 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