My LH M1999 now barreled action in 6.5x55 supposedly is on the way to Jim Brockman for a stock and basic finishing, but the real toy, the Magnum Action for the 458 Lott should be right behind.
Since ordering the Lott action about two years ago, I have acquired two boxes of Hornady loaded ammo, Hornady dies, Hornady unprimed brass, LBT Gas Checked Lead bullets in 405 & 420 grain weights. I've still got a box or two of the Hornady 500 Gr. jacketed solids and soft points (70's vintage), and at least 400 of the 300 gr Remington JHP bullets from my 45-70 days.

Does anyone out there have a favorite recipe for practice in the 458 Lott case that may safely use any of these bullets?

I will also post this on the reloading forum.

Thanks, and I will post photos once the rifles are completed.

Safe Hunting
Clint

For what its worth, shooting your big bore at full throtle is the best thing you can do, shooting mild ammo gains nothing..You can shoot a 30-06 all day long and it does not help one get used to the grim recoil of a Lott....better to shoot the hotest loads and then cut back to 2100 FPS to hunt with and it will feel like a maidens caress...

To me down loading the big bores is a cop out that one should have bought a 375 H&H, but thats just a personal opinnion and I never met anyone that would admit it

However, I do know a lot of folks on this board and worldwide shoot lead bullets for fun and games..for all kinds of reasons.

Try the new Barnes reloading manual, they have a couple reduced loads. Can't wait for the pictures.

I half disagree with Atkinson on this one. True that shooting full power loads will get you used to firing them when hunting , but I liked to practice with milder loads and 405 gn cast bullets and go through 50 rounds in a session. They might not be kicking like a full power load (maybe 75%) ,but they got me used to the gun ,the trigger ,the saftey,bolt pull length,stock and still a bit more recoil than my 300 weatherby ,while not causing quite as much wear on the barrel,stock,action,scope etc.
They were good fun for practice shooting at charging ant hills and tree stumps.
I was using ADI AR2206, I cant remember what the Hodgdon equivalent is or the exact load ,but it was about 75% full.Cant help much on the load.

Southpaw,

I shoot a Lott by Ruger their African rifle M77..the new production rifle...Why shoot a big bore if you dont want the recoil and the feel of it..I also agree with Ray, shooting the full loads or at least if you want to tame it down to 2100fps...Will send you a way to shoot it and not get the snot knocked out you in a private message..also I have a video clip of me shooting 3 rapid fire shots all of 6 seconds...Taking my Lott to Zim for buff with bridger solids..

Mike

Clint,



With out getting into the merits and faults of loading down for practice, here is the load that I use:



Cartridge Load Information

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Load Name: 458 Lott plinking load

Bullet Mfg: Hornady

Bullet Type: #4507 FMJRN

Bullet Caliber: .458

Bullet Weight: 500

Ballistic Coeff: 0.295

Powder Mfg: IMR

Powder Type: 4320

Powder Weight: 82.000

Powder Lot Number: Unknown

Primer Mfg: FEDERAL

Primer Size: 215 LRM-MATCH

Primer Type:

Primer Lot Number: unknown

Case Mfg:

Case Length: 0.000

Case # Times Loaded: 0

Cartridge OAL: 0.000

Comparator OAL: 0.000

Av. Group size: 0.693

Av. Group Velocity: 2155

Cartridge Mfg Date:

Cartridge Lot Number:

Moly Coated: No

Crimped: No



Shot String Data

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

# 1) X Distance: -1.427 Y Distance: 0.435 Radius: 1.492 Velocity: 2162

# 2) X Distance: -1.737 Y Distance: 0.600 Radius: 1.838 Velocity: 2153

# 3) X Distance: -1.210 Y Distance: 1.050 Radius: 1.602 Velocity: 2151



Take Care,



-Steve

There are a few things to consider here on the subject and with the previous posts. I have shot my Lott well over 1000 times now since I had it built. Not all loads are full power but there is a catch to that too.

I think Ray's point is that if you buy a dangerous game rifle and want to practice with it, you need to do your speed shooting and "last resort" practice with it under full load conditions. Your ability to handle the recoil and cycle the action quickly must be known and practiced well ahead of the time when you NEED it! Shooting reduced loads for "practice" is not really practice at all. At least not within the real hunting design of the gun and load, and certainly not for it's DG purpose.

Now once that practice is well known and you are very good with the gun in every aspect of the safety, trigger pull, sight allignment, cycling the action at speed, etc etc, then I see no reason not to plink and screw off with some 45/70 hardcast bullets just to have some shooting time. The serious down side to this from what I have already seen others do, (and I myself almost got sucked into) was liking those reduced loads so much I contemplated actually shooting my rifle with lower power loads in the bush.

There is no point in having a 458 Lott and using it with reduced loads in the field. Truth is the Lott can be made to shoot very effective with a comfortable load. A 500 grain bullet at 2100-2150 fps is an easy load to shoot and 100% effective for any hunting you will do. At 2250 the recoil becomes much more noticable without a huge improvement in performance on game. At 2350fps the recoil is severe in most if not all 458 Lott's I have shot. It's OK for DG work but it's not a gun that practice is easy with and certainly shooting it will likely be far less frequent meaning less skill with it. At 2350fps I believe you have gained about all that is possible with the 458 daimater bullets available. Exceeding 2350fps gains nothing in performance IMO and causes problems with stock breaking,scope eye, case extraction, short case life, bullet breakup, etc etc.

A nice easy load of 2100-2200 fps with a 500 grain bullet or in my case I prefer the 450 Barnes X bullet is an easy load with a proper fitting gun.

Dear Crumudgeon, et. al.

Ray, in the four years I've been posting on this site and it's previous incarnation, I never thought I'd be at such disagreement with you. "shooting mild ammo gains nothing..". That is an unbelievably incorrect response. Especially when we're talking of guns designed to stop things that can STOP YOU.

The recoil is not the issue here. I've been shooting big 45 calibers off and on for decades. I don't presently have a flinch, and this was bourn out when a 450 Dakota misfired and I didn't flinch. I am interested in firing hundreds and hundreds of rounds, not ten or twenty. My goal for these loads is PRACTICE of the OPERATION of the rifle, specifically becoming totally accustomed to pulling the trigger, working the bolt, topping off the mag (without taking your eyes off the target and while moving/running), fumbling with cigar sized cases, clearing jams, and otherwise preventing all the things that CAN GO WRONG during stressful firing of a bolt action rifle. Due to the huge difference in case size, my 270 practice rifle does not properly simulate many of the loading and jam clearing operations.

Can you tell how many rounds are left in your stopping rifle by feel and while running (doubles don't count)? Do you even know which side the last round is "stacked" on, or what a "full magazine" feels like? These things come with practice, and by shooting hundreds of times. My drill involves ten rounds (2ea. @ 5 targets)fired while covering just over 200 yards of wooded uneven terrain. The drill is run repeatedly with breaks to refill the AMD, and repaint the steel target faces. The reason for all the movement is to simulate the stress and fatigue of hunting. The reason for ten shots is to require one or more reloads. Of course I will practice with full power loads, but 100+ full power loads in a day WILL inflame the nerve that runs across the front of your shoulder, and that inflamation leads to finger numbness (loss of feel). I've done that before, been to the Neurologist, etc. It takes weeks or months to return to normal. BAD IDEA. That much full power shooting in a small time frame is also pretty rough on equipment. Also, I will be hunting deer with this rifle in order to become familiar with low light shooting, dight picture on fur, (do I want a larger aperture),etc.

While I was venting, JJHACK logged a response. JJ, Thanks for the comments. You bring up a point that is in line with my reason for the 458 Lott. It easily generates 2100fps w/ 500 gr bullet. The negative side of a 500 grain bullet at 2350 wsa first impressed upon me the day we were shooting that 450 Dakota and a 416 Rigby. The 450 Dakota wasn't painful, but the muzzle rise and the time it took to get off a second shot was vastly greater. I will conduct plenty of practice with the full Lott loads, but expect I will be much faster in follow up with something in the 2150 fps range.

To wrap up. Guys, if you don't have any experience with loads for the above mentioned bullets, then you don't need to respond. However, this habit of posting for the sake of displaying your purported intelligence is getting out of hand.

Let's go back to the way it was four years ago. Remember, you don't know it all, your opinion is just that, and check your ego at the door!

Saeed, if you notice this, thanks again for hosting such a wonderful site.

Safe Hunting,
Clint #199
aka Southpaw #10804