hockea

Nice forum folks! I'm new here but perhaps you might know of;

I have a commercial FN mauser that is chambered in .458 MCW Express. I carried it around in Alaska for years.

Anyone know anything about this caliber?

frizzellr

Never heard of that one. Now you have me curious though. I will have to do some research.

eldeguello

Welcome, hockea!! Never heard of it. It is NOT in COTW!! How about some cartridge case dimensions??

hockea

thanks for the response(s)!

It will chamber and fire a standard 458Win Mag.
The only identifying markings on it are: the serial number, 4-digit, and the floor plate is stamped .458 MCW Express" (it really has just the one quote mark) There is no indication of who might have made it.
It has a 20" barrell and mannlicher style stock

I did a google search and all I have been able to find is on one of the exotic ammo makers sites there is a listing of this as an individual caliber, but contained no other info.

frizzellr

Ever consider having a cast made of the chamber? That way you could get all the measurements.

Nomercy

Any ideas at all on what MCW stands for? I've never heard of the round, but it might be something simple like the FN was imported and stamped with MCW for "Magnum Cartridge Winchester", like a translation thing...otherwise I have no idea....

One thing I'm going to ask, did you have it checked out to be sure that firing .458WM ammo is safe, or does it just shoot it? My .35 Whelen will chamber and fire .243, .270, .308, .30-06, and .25-06, if not many others, but that doesn't make it safe!!

eldeguello

Frizz is right. Need a chamber cast to find out how long the chamber is. Then using some cylindrical belted magnum type basic cases, some proper ammo could be made. Maybe it's like the .458 Lott! Who knows??

Then perhaps Nomercy has it! It could be the dreaded .458 Magnum Cartridge Winchester, Mon Dieu!!

hockea

That's an interesting thought; could be just a translational thing.
The reason I brought it up was I noticed it's listing at this site

http://www.owlnet.com/quality/exotic.htm

I originally bought it from the newspaper and was listed as a 458win mag; I intended to use reduced loads (about like a super 45-70) in it and place one full load at the bottom of the stack because there is no such thing as moose hunting in Alaska. It is always moose AND bear.