Which .458 Socom Upper Should I Buy?

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Capybara

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Hi all:

I have become a bit bored with my regular 5.56 AR rifle and pistol. I want to build a .458 Socom AR but I am a bit confused by all of the choices. I will mostly use it to shoot steel at 200 yards and under, possibly hogs at some point if I get ambitious. Cannot spend a lot of money but I don't want to buy junk either. I reload so ammo is taken care of but I am undecided on which upper to buy to build the rifle. Anyone have any builder/user experiences they want to relate? Love your upper? Regret buying your upper? Does such a thing as a full length A2 older AR style upper in .458 exist? I would like to build with an A2 stock and an A2 stock with a modern long length keymod handguard would probably look stupid, right? I am thinking a full length, traditional AR handguard with an 18" barrel might look cooler but I don't know if that even exists in .458 Socom? Everything I see looks like 14.7" with a pinned comp with a full length keymod handguard.

Anything else I need to look out for as I put together a parts list?
 
I have had a RRA 458 for many years. Great rifle and very accurate. It tears up lumber like my 375 h&h. I reload also and had trouble with the Lee dies. Sent them back for another brand and solved the problem. I do not hunt with the round as I need to be able to shoot to 400 yds where I hunt. I like it with 300g bullets. Would really anchor a pig or deer. Would also do well on elk within 150 yds.
 
I have had a couple but not that I can really recommend. They were both RRA. I only shot Corbon factory 300 grain ammo in them and one or two of the locking lugs in the chamber broke off. To RRA's credit they replaced it no problem. Then they had a notice on their website for quite some time, something about Corbon ammo or certain Corbon ammo having some kind of problem.

So I don't know if it was the ammo or the gun to blame. But since I don't know, I can't make a recommendation.

Also, the extractor on one of the guns was horribly overground. Evidently they hand grind and extractor from another cartridge (don't remember if it is 556 or something else) so that it will slip up under the major diameter of the case and grab the rim.

Because mine was ground so small it was tearing up the rims of the very expensive cases on one firing. Again, RRA replaced it with a good one, no problem.

I also found that 405 grain bullets wouldn't feed reliably without modifying the magazine feed lips. Not a big deal, but the ability to use unmodified magazines was supposedly one of the 458 socom's selling points.

In any case they are fun to shoot, especially on steel. Pretty accurate too, but there is a fair bit of drop at even 200 yards. If I recall it is about 16" with a 100 yard zero.

Pressure tested load data was still scarce the last I checked. Like the previous poster I also found Lee dies to be problematic. They would really mash the case down near the head causing stuck cases. I sent the dies back and the returned them saying they were fine and told me I was using the wrong lube - they included some Lee lube which was no improvement over the Redding sizing wax I was using, the dies were simply too small. So I bought some others when they came out, Hornady I believe, which worked fine.
 
I have seen barrels for sale periodically very reasonably priced. You could probably snag a barrel and build the upper how you want it without sinking a fortune into it. That's the first route I would investigate, second route would be complete uppers and aftermarket bits to make it what I wanted, a cost comparison would drive the final decision for me.

And I agree. A2 with a crapholder hand guard would be odd, especially on a big bore long barrel upper. Big and slow round limits range, so I think your onto something with a traditional build. Were it me, I would go 18 or 20" with rifle length Vietnam style triangle hand guard, and then just finish out the retro build with an old school m16 style. No real need for optics at limited range, but if you got the hankering you can always mount in the trough of the handle.
 
I have a Tromix bbl/comp/block/tube/and BCG for my .458. So most of an upper. ;)

It has been excellent and I'd buy another.
 
Years ago I had one. RRA maybe. Don't remember. Did take one deer with it. Hits like the hammer of Thor. When we were testing loads, it left very impressive trenches in the sod. Very light recoil for such a hard hitter.
 
I like that line of thinking Kentucky, an A2 Vietnam era style 18" or 20" barrel would look pretty sweet. The whole aesthetic of 15" keymod HGs paired with Magpul stocks looks dorky to me, reminds of a tricked out frat boy 4x4 look. I much prefer the traditional AR look.Thanks for the feedback SuperNaut.
 
While developed for big bore needs for the AR, I've been sitting back and I think we've been rewarded by the recent introduction of the .375 Socom.

It can propel up to 500 gn bullets, seems to be even more selection, it has a better short barrel dynamic window of operation, too. But what impressed me was the ballistic curve, literally. .375 will only drop 14 inches at 300m, .458 drops three feet and more.

Same bullet case, most build components the same other than the barrel. Big Bores have a place and this is also a choice that should be considered. If it's not what someone wants fine, we have our preferences. It's only meant to help make a well rounded decision.

I see .375 as a more versatile choice for hunting and with the flatter trajectory it takes a lot of bullet drop figuring out of a longer distance shot. It would appear to nearly double the point blank range targeting game in the field.

It's been out just over a year and there is already ammo on the market for it (as if any of the SOCOM or big bores are cheap plinking rounds. Not.) You do plan to reload, yes?

FWIW.
 
While developed for big bore needs for the AR, I've been sitting back and I think we've been rewarded by the recent introduction of the .375 Socom.

It can propel up to 500 gn bullets, seems to be even more selection, it has a better short barrel dynamic window of operation, too. But what impressed me was the ballistic curve, literally. .375 will only drop 14 inches at 300m, .458 drops three feet and more.

Same bullet case, most build components the same other than the barrel. Big Bores have a place and this is also a choice that should be considered. If it's not what someone wants fine, we have our preferences. It's only meant to help make a well rounded decision.

I see .375 as a more versatile choice for hunting and with the flatter trajectory it takes a lot of bullet drop figuring out of a longer distance shot. It would appear to nearly double the point blank range targeting game in the field.

It's been out just over a year and there is already ammo on the market for it (as if any of the SOCOM or big bores are cheap plinking rounds. Not.) You do plan to reload, yes?

FWIW.
Hmmm, intrigued...
 
This will sound dumb SuperNaut but one of my main reasons for this build is to just a have big bore, stupidly loud thumper that will mostly get used for ringing steel at 100-200 yards. So not sure if the .375 is more appealing to me than the .458, isn't bigger better? ;-) I do reload, I am an NRA certified reloading instructor so either would be fun for me to reload. We had a student who reloaded .458 Socom and it looked like a fun, for goofs round for me to get into. I am a bit bored with my .223 ARs. Nothing wrong with them, but big bore = more fun!
 
This will sound dumb SuperNaut but one of my main reasons for this build is to just a have big bore, stupidly loud thumper that will mostly get used for ringing steel at 100-200 yards. So not sure if the .375 is more appealing to me than the .458, isn't bigger better? ;-) I do reload, I am an NRA certified reloading instructor so either would be fun for me to reload. We had a student who reloaded .458 Socom and it looked like a fun, for goofs round for me to get into. I am a bit bored with my .223 ARs. Nothing wrong with them, but big bore = more fun!
Doesn't sound dumb to me! That was my reasoning as well. Check out this video of me and my son reloading .458 SOCOM in the field. Why? For Fun!

 
This will sound dumb SuperNaut but one of my main reasons for this build is to just a have big bore,

I bought mine to have a subsonic rifle that had the most energy I could have at a given speed and not be too expensive to shoot.

Built my suppressor on a form 1 and cast and coat my own 500 grain bullets.
 
I vote for Tromix. They are the legit manufacturers for the cartridge now. I have a short upper inbound from them right now. Very good customer service.

They blend the upper receiver feed ramp for you to help with feeding. Not sure if others do that. Barrel twist is 1/14 as well, so it will stabilize the heavies just fine.
 
"I Built my suppressor on a form 1 and cast and coat my own 500 grain bullets."

That's why I'm considering a .458 build. Already have a suppressed SBR in .300 Blackout but the .458 just looks fun.
 
If you want a big thumper don't forget 50 Beowulf either. I've been asking myself these same questions and comparing them to a 30-06 wildcat trying to decide which is more useful, but a big bore ALWAYS has a place...

Sent from my LGLS740 using Tapatalk
 
Probably not a lot. I've built many (and I do mean build) but have not done a .458 yet.

I'm confused by your question. You say "build" a couple times which makes me thing you are looking for an upper receiver but then you say "a full length A2 older AR style upper" which makes me think you want to buy a complete upper.

It's an efficient underbore cartridge and there is no advantage going over 16", but you should be able to find 16".

Build or buy, the thing to look our for is muzzle threads. Every company and barrel maker seems to use a different tread that might not work with your muzzle device of choice of silencer (this cartridge cries out fr a silencer).

If you did mean upper receiver, there is not a lot of difference. The key is if your can enlarge the ejection port yourself or want it already done.

Mike
 
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