Author Topic: Lehigh makes one for all the States.  (Read 874 times)

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Offline grouse

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Lehigh makes one for all the States.
« on: May 02, 2009, 05:12:18 PM »
The brand new .458 275grn Bullet is only .985" long. Sabotloader was explaining to me how some states don't allow a bullet to be 1" or longer. The lehigh .458 300grn is 1.1" inches long. So in some states that's to long. Dave at Lehigh corrected that problem real fast for the guy's looking for a Moose, Elk, Bear, and Mule Deer bullet. And the good news is it shoots extremely well in a variety of twist's and Muzzleloaders.

The first Muzzleloader up was my Stainless Steel and Black Knight Vision. Ever since changing the rings and bases to warne this gun seems to be very accurate and reliable with BH209 and the new breech plug. This gun was very clean and oiled pretty well so i snapped off three primers before loading and shooting.

Now i loaded the ML up with 120grns of BH209 by volume. I really wanted to put more in but i didn't. I figured i would use a factory reccomended load of BH209. I do know Knights manual suggests up to 150grns of loose 777 with a 275grn bullet. And most people know BH209 works with equal or less pressure then 777 with equal bullets and powder charge.

The first group here was a 5 shot group at 100yds. This group included the fouling shot which was a pretty oily barrel. The average MV with 120grns by volume with a Orange .458 MMP sabot was 1992fps. This was also with a Federal 209A primer.



Later on in the evening i decided to shoot this same load at 200yds. I can tell you i do not practice this at all. And to be honest i hardly ever shoot at 200yds. This is no means great but plenty good for me. I really believe someone else could cut this group in half. The first two shots are one hole. The third shot is the one to the right. I will say it was a little breezy when shooting these.

BTW- This is a $175.00 Muzzleloader in the Sportsman's guide. ;)



As you can see i am extremely happy with this bullet and Muzzleloader.


I will say i spent alot of time at the range today and decided to shoot BH209 in my Savage. I did make a slight change with it. The Savage only has a 24" barrel so i decided to up the powder charge to 130grns of BH209 by volume. I used the same .458 275grn Lehigh bullet. I really didn't expect to see this that's for sure. And yes, i quit after three shots. I was going to shoot 5 shots but decided not to mess this one up. ;D



After seeing 2 Rams and 5 Hogs shot with Lehigh bullets. It's very safe for me to say it's by far the best bullet i ever used. All other bullets really arent even close in performance on game. Some are more accurate and have better BC'S no doubt. But for harvesting animals, the Lehigh design is superior. And i know alot of people are going to see that this fall for themselves.  ;)




Offline grouse

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Re: Lehigh makes one for all the States.
« Reply #1 on: May 02, 2009, 05:30:14 PM »
Some other pics.










Offline rt_con

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Re: Lehigh makes one for all the States.
« Reply #2 on: May 03, 2009, 04:37:22 AM »
Grouse:   Thanks for the report and pics !

If you get a chance, can you post a picture of this new bullet...  in the MMP sabot too ?

Thanks !!
Rob C

Offline grouse

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Re: Lehigh makes one for all the States.
« Reply #3 on: May 03, 2009, 06:22:01 AM »
Grouse:   Thanks for the report and pics !

If you get a chance, can you post a picture of this new bullet...  in the MMP sabot too ?

This is the .458 275grn Bullet in a orange .458 MMP sabot.






Offline sabotloader

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Re: Lehigh makes one for all the States.
« Reply #4 on: May 03, 2009, 06:26:42 AM »
rt_con

He did send me a picture last night...



From this picture there are a couple of thing I would like to mention, and the pciture is not complete yet as there will probably be one more bullet to add to this collection, a .400/185 grain.  But the other things that are notible, in the background you can see the red case with all those good looking blonde bullets neatly tucked in - that is the way they come to your door - packaging that protects...

Another thing, something that I personally like, look at the bullets themselves - they look like bullets - smooth lines and they have a great taper.  For a lack of a better term, somebody that knows the term can correct me, but notice the barrel (body) of the bullet it offers a long surface area - that surface area pushed into a sabot then pushed down the bore will offer more surface for the bullet to catch the lands and grooves and get the best rotation possible out of the barrel.

This new 275 is a vision, if I can call it that.  Here is one of my first pictures of Lehighs.



If you look at the bullet on the far right - it is a .458/300 grain Lehigh currently offered by Lehigh to 45-70 shooters and it has proven to be very successful for them.  You can see i compared it to my current elk bullet a .458/300 gr. Nosler Partition PP - this bullet has been my bread and butter for elk.  The Lehigh when I first looked at it - I did not like the the length nor did I like the deep grooves - the grooves prove to be very helpfull for 45-70 and the twist rates of the 45-70 can handle the length just fine - I was concerned about a 1/28 twist rate.

My question to Lehigh Dave and Tom was can you produce this bullet without the grooves and under 1 inch long.  My thoughts... with out the deep grooves would not the bullet be more areodynamic and there are some states out west and maybe in the east that require the bullet to be no longer than 2x the bore.  I also asked if the cannureling(sp) ring be put in the bullet to add grip to the sabot.  My thoughts again in my mind - this just might make an excellent elk-moose-bear bullet - especially if the new theory of Lehigh actually worked.

From this discussion came the .458/275 (i think) but right now I do not care how it came about - Lehigh Dave built it - Tom proved that it will shoot - Lehigh Dave says the tip works - Tom and others showed that on the hog trip.  I am really thinking this might be a great all-around bullet for big game in the west - probably way more than you need for whitetail - but if you are hunting elk and deer at the same time - got to be a consideration.  Another thought some of you guys that shoot 45-70's would this bullet be of interest to that crowd?

So all I have got to say get them up on the web site so I can buy some.

Sorry about the length - but I am excited about this offering....
Keep shooting muzzleloaders - they are a blast....

Offline rt_con

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Re: Lehigh makes one for all the States.
« Reply #5 on: May 03, 2009, 07:08:45 AM »
Grouse and sabotloader:   Thanks for the info and pictures.

I'm currently awaiting an order from Lehigh for 250grs bullets.  Now I see some more options.... that new 275gr .458 is very tempting.  And a 185gr .40... think that'll work in my .45 Elite ? ;D    I know some .45 guys that will be all over that one !
Rob C

Offline grouse

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Re: Lehigh makes one for all the States.
« Reply #6 on: May 30, 2009, 02:50:31 PM »
The .458 275grn are now for sale on the web-site.

Offline burntmuch

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Re: Lehigh makes one for all the States.
« Reply #7 on: June 01, 2009, 09:08:09 AM »
Grouse. Couple questions, The 458 275s have sparked my interest. Cause I shoot a 45/70 as well as ML. What effect does the brass have on rifling if any . & whats the range of velocitys tht these work. I have no interest in pushing these 2000fps. Im thinking more along the lines of 1600-1700 for ML & 45/70 Im not recoil sensitive but my ML is an X7 & my 45/70 is an NEF. Both pretty light guns, Plus here in Michigan you gotta look pretty hard for for a 200 yard shot
I dont care what gun Im using as long as Im hunting