The .458×2-inch American is a straight, belted, .458 caliber (.11.6 mm) big bore cartridge designed by Frank Barnes. It is based on the .458 Winchester Magnum

.458 Winchester Magnum

The .458 Winchester Magnum is a belted, straight-taper cased, dangerous game rifle cartridge. It was introduced commercially in 1956 by Winchester and first chambered in the Winchester Model 70 African rifle. It was designed to compete against the .450 Nitro Express and the .470 Nitro Express...

 shortened to 2 inches (5.1 cm).

General Information

The .458×2-inch American was designed as a medium power big bore cartridge by Frank Barnes for North American big game. Frank Barnes found that the .458 Winchester Magnum and the .460 Weatherby Magnum

.460 Weatherby Magnum

The .460 Weatherby Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked rifle cartridge, developed by Roy Weatherby in 1957. The cartridge is based on the .378 Weatherby Magnum necked up to accept the bullet. The original .378 Weatherby Magnum parent case was inspired by the .416 Rigby...

 too powerful for North American big game and believed that a cartridge of lesser power would be ample for the task.

The cartridge has the power required to take all North American big game species. It is also adequate for African dangerous game in close cover.

The .450 Marlin

.450 Marlin

The .450 Marlin is a firearms cartridge designed as a modernized equivalent to the venerable .45-70 lever-action cartridge. It was designed by a joint team of Marlin and Hornady engineers headed by Hornady's Mitch Mittelstaedt, and was released in 2000, with cartridges manufactured by Hornady and...

 and the .458×2-inch American are very similar cartridges. The cartridges are essentially the same length. However, the .450 Marlin will not chamber in the .458×2-inch American as the belt on the .450 Marlin is considerably wider. The .458×2-inch American should not be fired in a .450 Marlin as failures may occur. While not interchangeable, the .458×2-inch American will do anything the .450 Marlin is capable of accomplishing.

The .458×2-inch American was intended for bolt action rifles. The first rifle chambered for the cartridge was a Remington Model 722. The cartridge also can be chambered for the Winchester Model 94 lever action rifle.

Ammunition can be made from most .375 H&H Magnum

.375 H&H Magnum

The .375 Holland & Holland Magnum is a powerful rifle round and one of the best-known and most popular medium-bore cartridges in the world. The .375 H&H was only the second cartridge ever to feature a belt, now common among magnum rounds. A popular misconception is that the belt is for headspace,...

cases including the .458 Winchester Magnum. Dies are available from RCBS and chamber reamers from H&M Tool Company.