WHERE CAN ONE FIND .458 LOTT BRASS AND LOADING DATA FOR THIS CAL. THANKS MD

MD -
Check out Saeed's loads in this forum, or,http://stevespages.com/458.html.
Also, loud-n-boomer (he hangs out over in the "Big Bores" section a lot) has been doing some work with this one.
Good luck,
R-WEST

MADDOG,
I've just gone down the route of having a CZ550 rechambered to the Lott. I take delivery of the firearm tomorrow, and will be testing it 5 minutes later! For brass I've reloaded using MAST .375 basic cases and will tomorrow fireform some Winchester 375 H&H cases as they are a much cheaper option. The gunsmith that rechambered the CZ will also be supplying me with 10 Bertram '458 Lott' cases. I plan to run these head to head with the MAST and reformed Winchesters to see which lasts longest. For loading data, I've chosen to begin with maximum loads for the 458 Win Mag and work upwards using AR 2208 (Varget). Hopefully, by Monday I'll be able to share some chronographed loads.
Cheers...
Con

Con- Thanks for the reply that would be great. I have done a good amount of reloading, but there is not much info out there on this cal. Do you think that I can get 2300 FPS with a 500 gr. bullet or is that asking to much, my barrel is 22" long. MD

[This message has been edited by MADDOG (edited 11-02-2001).]

Maddog,

There is info out there, you just have to look for it! There are many folks here who have owned and shot lotts, many that still do, and several that have them in the works. I have some articles stashed at home, also have some notes I wrote up when I sold mine, and can e-mail them to you.

As far as 2300 w/ 500's from a 22" tube, should be possible, mine had a 21 1/2" barrel, but back bored and ported, so effectively 20" long. I got 2280 fps w/ 500 gr hornady softs and Reloader 15.

If you get the Barnes #2 manual, there is data for the lott in it. I will warn you that X bullets heavier then 400 gr are way too long for the lott, and velocity will fall way off. The 350 and 400 gr X are superb for the lott, but for 500's you need to go with a jacketed round nose.

I made all my brass from Rem 416 rem mag cases, but there are several other options. Hornady offers belted basic brass, as well as others, and Huntington's and Midway carry properly headstamped Lott brass.

MAD:

I got my brass from Huntington's in Oroville, CA. It is Bell brass and is headstamped ".458 Lott". I have also used resized .375 H&H. As I recall, I paid around $22.00 for 20 rounds. So far, I have developed loads for the 400 and 450 grain Barnes X and Solids, 400 grain Speer flatpoint, 465 grain A-square soft and solid, and 500 grain Hornady and Speer softs and solids. I will try to post them this weekend.

L-N-B

Loading data can be found at:

http://stevespages.com/page8c.htm

MADDOG;

Rifle Magazine No. 135, May-June 1991, carries an article by G.Sitton about the .458 Lott. The loads were developed in a Ruger No.1. Highest velocity with a 500gr bullet was 2321fps (IMR-4320), all the other loads developing less than 2300fps with this bullet weight.

Vasa

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The only powder in the Lott is IMR-4320 and with it you can muster up 2350 FPS with a 500 gr. bullet in any rifle with ease..No other powder will do this...I actually got 2500 in one 26" barreled rifle I built..It had a fast barrel and shot fast...but recoil was such that I backed it off to 2350 as thats about perfect with a 500 gr. bullet......I used Barnes Brass from Huntingtons (actually WW brass)..Now several companies make cylinder brass....This stuff gets you a little more powder space than converted 375 brass...thus more velocity.

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

Paul H --I would appreciate the loading info from you if you can. I can also give you a fax # if you would rather.. Thanks MD

Maddog:

I load the .458 Watts, which is essentially the twin to the Lott, except that the brass is 0.050 inches longer. I use either HDS (Bell) .458 Lott brass, or HDS (Bell) .458 cylindrical brass, which is 2.870 inches long. I trim the basic cases to 2.840 inches and leave the Lott cases at 2.800 inches. From what I have been told, the standard Lott reamer from Clymer is actually ground for the 2.850 case (I don't know this for a fact), so check your chamber, it may actually be for the longer case.

Now, for my serious loads, I load the 500 grain Speer AGS solids in the Lott brass, and either Hornady or Speer 500 grain softs in the basic brass, which I engrave with an electric engraver with the caliber. The reason for the different brass is that the solid is just enough shorter than the softs that I end up with vertually identical powder capacity and overall case length. I don't know how much it helps, but it doesn't hurt, as from a bench rest my rifle will put three of each load into a composite six shot group of under 1 inch at 100 yards (consistently). For my practice loads, I load everything in the Lott brass, as it is cheaper than the basic, and since I also shoot a .375 H&H I don't want to accidentally grab the wrong box. My rifle has a 24 inch barrel. The following are the loads I use in my gun, all are mild for my rifle. As with everything else, start 10%lighter, and work up:

All loads use a Federal 215 primer.

500 grain Speer or Hornady, Soft or Solid - 83.0 grains of IMR4320 for 2200 fps. In my rifle, I can go to 85.0 grains for 2310 fps, but 2200 is what Robertson suggests in "The Perfect Shot". With this load I have consistently made one shot kills on plains game out to a measured 243 yards (the longest shot taken so far with this rifle). I sight dead on a 100 yards, drop is 12" at 200 and 36" at 300 yards.

465 grain A-Square - 83.0 grains IMR 4064 or 83.0 grains of Scott 4065. My results with these two powders have been identical, 2360 fps. Unfortunately, Scott no longer makes 4065, and A-Sqaure no longer makes bullets.

450 grain Barnes-X 77.5 grains of IMR4320. This is basically the starting load in the Barnes reloading manual.I was given several boxes of these, so I use this as a practice and timber deer load. My problem with the 450 grain X in these cases is that it is as long as the 500 grain bullets, and IMHO does not gain you enough extra.

400 grain Barnes-X - 83.0 grains of IMR 4895 for 2450 fps. This is my general purpose North American hunting load for the Lott. (At the suggestion of Norbert)

400 grain Speer Flat Point - 75.0 grains of BLC-2. Seat the bullet to crimp in the forward canalure. This load produces 2370 fps in my rifle. These bullets are relatively cheap, so this makes a good practice load. Since these bullets are designed to be shot at about 1800 fps, I don't know what they would do on a deer, but too rapid expansion might be a concern.

Hope all of this helps.

L-N-B

loud-n-boomer; Thanks for the effort. That was allot of work. I do appreciate it from you, and all the other guys. THANKS MD