New to this site and the big bore world in general. I just bought a Ruger 458 LOTT and am looking for any advise on where to start with powder. I have all the big companies books but I like to get first hand knowledge from other shooters. Any recommendations would be apprciated.

I plan on using 500 grain bullets exclusively.

IMR-4320, 84.0gr, 2250+fps, 24"barrel

Suggest you do a search for load data, both here and th Reloading forum.

Keith

Thanks will do.

..........I would recomend nothing heavier than 450 gr unless you are shooting factory ammo .......The 450 Lott with 350 gr moly coated Barnes TSX @ 2700 fps is easy on the shoulder and would be the load I used if I went to Africa with the 458 Lott.......In my CZ 550 458 Lott I use the max Barnes book load of H4198 but w/moly tumbled bullets ...It chronographs an avg of 2705 fps@ 20 ' As North Fork is OOB then the 450 gr GS Custom or Barnes banded solids would be my pic for elephant............350 TSX for everything else ......JMO

Besides increased velocity/powder capacity is there any reason for the 450 verss 500?

.......Less recoil .. greater stabilization which will lead to deeper straight line penetration ,... It will work and fit in the Lott better than the 500 gr ........The lighter monometal bullets give the large bores much greater versatility than they have with the standard heavy bullets .......With a 14" twist the 450s will be more stable ......Check out the GS Custom web site.... There is a wealth of knowledge there.....Look for one of Gerard,s postings or RIP,s as they have the hyperlink in their signature line area .....I haven,t figured out posting the hyperlink thing yet .........

quote:

Originally posted by Hog Killer:
IMR-4320, 84.0gr, 2250+fps, 24"barrel

Keith

This will do it.

Thanks as we speak my ruger is setting up in the fiberglass bedding compound and hopefully will be able to be broken in next week after my decelerator pad arives with my loading dies, brass and an assortment of differant bullets.

Hornady factory load equivalent, in my rifle, would be 85 grains RL-15with the 500-grain Hornady soft, in Hornady brass, with F215 primer, or GM215M. Should be close to 2250 fps.

Solids take less powder, by a grain or two, depending on the bullet of 500-grain weight.

Start at 80 grains of RL-15 and work up to 2250 fps with 500-grainers and stop there.

Then switch to 450-grain monometals!

Bet it would be fun to load up with Pyrodex, the range groupies will think you're shooting a old 45 -90.

Got my Ruger Safari Magnum all bedded, action honed and lapped. Just waiting on my order due in early next week to make some loads and go shooting.

Welcome to the forums. I load my .458 Lott with H4895 and found it to be almost perfect for it. I started out using H335 and thought it would be good but had some unexplainable pressure problems. I prefer 500 grain bullets. However, I used the 450 NF w/ complete satisfaction in Tz this fall on cape buffalo. Dr.C

Your mileage may vary, regarding powder choices. I could never get anywhere near 2250 with IMR-4320. H-4895 does the trick for me.

This has been rehashed for at least four years in this forum; do a search for more details.

Pertinax

I have tried several powders in in the Lott including IMR-4320 and H-4895. I always chose one of the Hodgodon Extreme powders if possible because they are much less sensitive to temperature variations. That can make a huge difference in pressure in using loads developed in cool climates in the hot African sun. Also you can get the same or higher velocity with two or three less grains of powder with H-4895 than IMR-4320. This is important with the Lott as full charges with eother are usually compressed loads and are especially difficult with IMR-4320.

With 500 grain bullets start at 80 grains of H-4895 and work up to your target velocity. With 550 grain Woodleighs start at 76 grains and work up.

465H&H

500 gns Woodleigh FMJ 88 gns Kemira N540, primer: Fed 215, 693 m/sec (227 ft/sec) from a 25 inch barrel, pressure: 4100 bar

500 gns Woodleigh SN, 89 gns Kemira N 540, primer: Fed. 215, 703 m/sec (2306 ft/sec) from a 25 inches barrel, pressure: 4006 bar.

These meassures come from the Vienna proof house.
Best regards, Hans

Hey I waned to thank everyone for the advice and suggestions. I think I have a great starting point to work from. I will let you know how they turn out.

I used RL-7 for 350 gr bullets, great plinking and deer loads. For 500 gr I ran RL-15 and Varget. The 500 gr loads are compressed even when using a drop tube, but produce an accurate load with consistant velocities in the 2200-2300 range depending on your barrel length. Fed 215's are the spark of life for big bores.

I like H335 cause the muzzle flash is REALLY cool.

IMR-4320 is the only powder you can safely get 2350 FPS with according to my tests and test run by a Rifle magazine report. I repeated their tests and got it...I also exceeded it in one rifle that must have had a very fast barrel indeed and it was 26 inches. No other powders came close.

Ray,

Did you try H-4895 and if so what were your results?

465H&H