The Giant .458 Socom

in Authors, Battle Rifles, Rifles, S.H. Blannelberry

In the video above, DemolitionRanch upgrades to a CMMG AR chambered in .458 Socom.

Why would one need an AR of that caliber? If you have to ask, you’ll never know.

About the author: S.H. Blannelberry is the News Editor of GunsAmerica.

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  • Tyler May 5, 2019, 5:25 pm

    I wouldn’t want to go to war and face combat with anything less then a .308 7.62 SOMETHING harder than a .22 basically.

    At the end if the day our boys are basically HUNTING the enemy (most dangerous game?). Would you use a .22 to hunt an animal the size of a man with the intelligence and abilities we have? Hell no. You’d want a round that’s gonna knock him out the fight the first time.

  • ARCQB January 9, 2018, 12:39 am

    I had a Rock River .556 so for just under a grand retail I purchased a Rock River upper called “The Beast” in .458 SOCOM. It comes with a HD brake/flash hider. It is relatively heavy, (did not weigh it), and the suppressor has saw tooth end for busting door hinges…I have not fired it yet, as I loaded the 25 g Hornady bullets too deep. After the fact and per incorrect internet info, I seated the bullets to the crimp groove. It should be crimped, but to a length fitting the magazine….less pressure and milder recoil. Live and learn. The range of bullets is 300-600gr with some of the heavier for sub-sonic range. I was going to use a forged heavy lower but my std Rock River ar should be fine. Check out The Beast from Rock River…

  • jim January 7, 2018, 11:10 am

    what about the 458 ham’r compare to socom ?

  • Nick M January 5, 2018, 7:46 am

    You just went down a few notches with a video from him. He tries to get primers to strike with BBs. So I occasionally watch hoping to see him hurt himself.

  • Kevin September 17, 2016, 12:53 pm

    C’mon all gun guys, can’t we spell brake correctly? I’ve seen it misspelled more times than not and I usually disregard their entire comment due to such a basic mistake.

    • xLoCxRambo February 27, 2017, 11:30 am

      Brake A device to slow or stop movement in motored or non-motored transportation.
      Break A Period of time or pause that is meant to interrupt usual scheduled events or time or an indication of something that is broken.

  • Duck September 16, 2016, 3:16 pm

    I shoot at 499 LWRC–slightly bigger case than the 50 Beo. I get measured 2300 fps with a 300 gr Hornady FTX (500 S&W bullet.) Took apart the collapsable buttstock and installed a heavy spring from Ace Hardware plus a recoil pad. Now it is very pleasant to shoot and it is a one shot hammer on deer and hogs. Have a Trij Accupoint 1.5 to 4x on it. Built about 7 of them for my friends and they love them. Go big or go home!

    • Ranger Rick September 16, 2016, 7:49 pm

      Duck, spring info please?

    • Rick Lane September 27, 2016, 5:13 am

      Can you give a parts list, so I can build one as well. Thank you, Good day.

  • David September 16, 2016, 3:16 pm

    Have a ORRin 6.5 creedmore and it can drop.a deer, everything else I have is 45CAP and my stringent detriment Ion 45 LC/410 shotgun with triple ought buck. Just shoot what . You can afford and enjoy I say.

  • ROBERT CASELNOVA September 16, 2016, 12:50 pm

    After viewing an actual video made in Afghanicrap of a G.I. shooting a fleeing “arab” three times in the back — center mass — from an approximate distance of 30 yds and witnessing the enemy soldier still running…TWO more rounds brought him down, stumbling, the AR-15 is the very same service weapon to me that it’s always been! A piece of useless junk. SOCOM .458 does seem to be a WOW THING for getting a dirty job done. Still, my early training was with the M-1 Garand and alll of the WWII
    small arms that were around. Anything caliber a .30 at the beginning (almost) is for me! If I had that that enemy soldier with my 30.06 or my .308, 180 grains of bad-ass bullet would have knock him on his face — even with just a shoulder strike. I recall when we were informed of the new AR-15 “replacement” for my Garand, asking what in hell we were going to do with
    a 55 grain .22 !! The obvious bullet of choice by comparison had to be the 30.06. However, we were told that we “could carry three times as many rounds and the AR was a lighter weapon. BULL. We needed three times more rounds. Something
    happened to training too. 3-round bursts and spray and pray arrived on the scene!! The earlier take aim and blow the enemy down with one bullet was left only to the training of snipers. Remember, all three rounds (or more) that the .223 fired had to HIT the enemy soldier to deliver as much “lead” (NOT the foot pounds that accompany it ) as one .30 caliber weighing three
    times a .62 gr tumbler. Oh that’s the other bull crap we were handed. “The .223 tumbles, a factor which can cause more tissue damage than a .06 or 08.” Meanwhile, AK-47’s fire projectiles almost twice the weight of our “.22’s” and make a 7.62 size wound. They could have lightened our Garand, made it full auto, 20 rds (like the BAR) and given the1911 .45 a good make-over with a staggered magazine cap of 13-14 rds. Beretta 9mm to me was a step down. Why would we even think for a minute that our G.I.s deserve anything lesser than the most powerful fire power they can carry? Now, we seem to be seeing the light by introducing heavier-caliber rifles and pistols. It took long enough!

    • Rich Brock February 10, 2017, 9:16 pm

      You nailed it like you were in my head verry well said

  • Ringo Lapua September 16, 2016, 11:08 am

    Carry 200 rounds of .458 in your backpack plus your rifle, pistol + 100 pistol rounds, knife, mags, food, water etc and see how far you get. Then try it with 100 rounds…..NOT FUN. Makes a lot more sense to carry a high powered wheel gun on your hip and a 5.56, 6.8 or .300 blackout AR. If you want a knock down round, then carry a bolt action rifle with .375 HH and up. More power, more range and better accuracy.

    • ROBERT CASELNOVA September 16, 2016, 4:43 pm

      Loved the .375 HH bolt. .348 was another great bullet, but the ’71 that fired it was a lever gun. As I said many times before,
      almost any 7.62 bullet or larger is a far better defense than that little .22 pee-shooter some politician or generals got kick-backs selling to our soldiers. Carrying 1/3 the rounds of .308 (or .30 something — anything but .22 !!) in a select-fire rifle would
      certainly make me feel more safe and secure. I know my Winchester 71 bullet (.348) is okay to hunt just about any animal in North America.

      • FuzzKnutz May 18, 2017, 9:25 am

        LOVED my M-14!! 500 yd shots were a breeze! BUT, would have preferred a muzzle brake to a flash hider.

  • Chuck September 16, 2016, 10:56 am

    458 SOCOM is all I own now. 8″ pistol and 16″ rifle. Both have hydraulic buffers and the rifle has a extra padded butt stock. A true believer of 1 shot, 1 kill…….1800 fps and 2400 lb ft of energy with 300gr rounds. Talk about getting hit with a sledge hammer……….

    • Ranger Rick September 16, 2016, 7:48 pm

      Chuck, what’s the max effective range.

  • Steve A September 16, 2016, 10:38 am

    I have a great fondness for the old Sharps cartridges. I’ve wanted a 45-110 ever since I watched “Quigley Down Under” in my youth. I believer that Demolition Ranch bought the Ar-15 from CMMG chambered in 458 SOCOM, rather than upgrading one. The CMMG 458 SOCOM needs a better muzzle break, and a heavier buffer assembly to dampen more of that obnoxious recoil. Interesting round, but not something that I am going to purchase.

  • Adam Jeppson September 16, 2016, 9:37 am

    In one word: ow.

    • David Sciacchitano September 16, 2016, 4:23 pm

      I only fired a rifle in this caliber once, some years ago, and I don’t recall it had much kick at all. I put a variety of loads and bullet types through it, too.

      The .458 Socom cartridge and M-4 type rifle combination put out about the same velocity and energy as rifles chambered in .45-70 that kick a lot harder. And it has nothing like the recoil of really hot cartridges in the same caliber (.458 Winchester, etc.). Compare it to firing standard factory .45-70 rounds in a Marlin 1895, or an old Winchester 1886, or a Sharps, and you will find the .458 Socom in an AR-15 platform with a muzzle brake is a pussycat. SBR Ammo loads some very interesting and very accurate rounds for sale in this cartridge, for anyone who is seriously interested in it.

  • John September 16, 2016, 8:40 am

    This guy needs to stay on the ranch, he is annoying. I had to turn the volume off and just watch the shooting.

  • Mark Tercsak September 16, 2016, 8:07 am

    The-45-70-Govt.-is-the-great-grand-daddy-to-this-modern-stuff.
    Sharps-would-refer-to-is-cartridges-in-caliber-and-case-length.-the-45-70-Govt-was-known-as-45-2.1.-there-was-also-45-90,-45-100,-45-120,-45-125,-Winchester-also-made-45-caliber-cartridges,-for-their-single-shot-model-1885-high-wall-A-John-Browning-design.
    Try-460-Weatherby-or-458-Winchester-or-450-Rigby-there-are-a-ton-of-truly-magnum-45’s-out-there.
    the-458-Socomb-is-a-putty-cat-.

    • Paul Stoute September 16, 2016, 9:08 am

      Actually the Sharps naming conventions followed a caliber-grains of black powder capacity, i.e. the 45-70 was a .45 caliber round loaded with 70 grains of black powder

  • Anthony Leonard September 16, 2016, 7:45 am

    After watching that episode of Demolition ranch and seeing that MONSTER AR15 458 SOCOM. My blood started flowing…. I was getting ready to start my AR10 308 build but shoot…..I think I’ll put it on hold for now and build this monster. Plus Its allot Cheaper to build (cost of parts) compared to the 308. I can’t wait to shoot it but now my wife is really going to kill me when she sees all these parts rolling in. Haaaahaha LOL

    • Boomer September 16, 2016, 11:08 pm

      I was a munitions and light arms expert in the military. You are smart to abandon the AR10. They are fun to play with but through any rigorous testing they all come apart or fail in some way.. Too much bang for the platform. Just as .40 Glocks won\’t hold up, the frames of most polymer pistols were designed for 9mm. That said, the way to go for the .458 socom is the CMMG version which significantly beefs up the supporting components. Add a proper muzzle break and a decent pad to the stock, maybe a hydraulic buffer to take the abuse (guaranteed 1,000,000 rounds) and you\’ll have a lifetime long friend.
      I gotta say this… as a friend… people get distracted from the point at hand by simple things. Things… come in groups, bunches… And lots. A group, a bunch and a lot of something but… (I keep hearing my English teacher screaming in my ear back in Canada…. ) \”a lot is two words.\” Lol. Have fun with you new project… I think I\’ll sell off a couple toya and give CCMG a jingle.

  • Pseudo September 16, 2016, 6:48 am

    Writers block? Hand cramps? So now three sentences is a complete article? And yes I was looking or expecting a somewhat more detailed article, not another YouTube video.

  • Joe September 16, 2016, 6:23 am

    My shoulder at 60 plus years of age feels real tender after running a box of .308 through my PA-10 AR.
    I shudder to think of shooting the three fat boys, .450 bushmaster, .458 socom , and .50 beowulf through an AR platform carbine.
    But, if I were to be in the deep Yukon or north west forest where the big bears go, Id love to be carrying one of those bad boys.

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