Hello everyone. A few weeks ago I purchased my very first elephant rifle (a CZ 550 American Safari in 458 Lott) and this coming weekend I'll be firing it for the first time. The heaviest kicking rifle I've ever fired is my 45-70 with some fairly stout loads. I'm really excited and somewhat nervous. I'm going to be starting with the Hornady 500 gr. Dangerous Game Expanders. This is just because I wasn't able to find brass for the 458 Lott anywhere. Normally I'll be reloading for it. Can anyone give me any advice about shooting or reloading for the 458 Lott?

Welcome, I'm pretty new to AR myself...lots of good info posted here. I too have a CZ 550 in .458 Lott, it definitely kicks more than a .45-70 although the stock is probably better suited for the amount of recoil (I'm guessing your .45-70 was a lever action). The Lott is easy to reload for; I reload 350 gr bullets designed for the 45-70 for practice and they shoot great with much less recoil than the 500 grainers. I'm going to a local gun shop tomorrow and I'll see if they have any brass and if they do I'll send you a PM and see if you want it (if they have it I'm going to buy it anyway but don't mind sharing) good luck and hang on tight.

I have a Ruger NO. 1 in 458Lott and with full house loads "out of the box..." it is indeed a kicker. With recoil reducer and good lace on leather pad it is now much more pleasant to shoot. Would not suggest shooting from the bench in stock form without a shirt/jacket/padding between the buttpad and shoulder. The ammo you mention is most likely stout ones compared to ones you can produce once you reload for it. For a good all around practice, non dangerous game use, the Rem.405's, bulk bullets are a good selection and fairly reasonable in price to boot. You can drive those to quite a bit of velocity and have found them to be accurate out to 200 plus yards. The Horndady 300-350gr. bullets can get up near 2800fps and are also accurate. I doubt your CZ will deliver the "felt recoil" that the NO.1 does and most likely more pleasant to shoot starting out. I also have a 45-70, Ruger No.3, customized w/ heavier barrel and with stout loads it seems to kick as much as the Lott. Been shooting my Lott for some 2 years plus and really enjoy the round due to the versatility and my bullets work in either rifle. I have shot some 435gr GC hard lead bullets in both and they work well also. I use both Reloader 15 for the Lott and plenty of published loads out there. I use Ammoguide.com (have to subscribe) and if I am able to pull it off their site will send some loads they publish if interested. If you find the Lott round stouter than you like, drop back to that old plinker round, 458Win Mag. I really like the round and believe you will also once you get warmed up to it.

As per Ammoguide.com using RE15:

Note: Considered Heavy load!
500gr Hornady, 83.0grs, Velocity 2256, K.E 5653,
24" barrel.

it won't kick nearly as bad as you think it might

if you buy hornady basic brass, you'll need to trim to proper length

easy to load, fun to shoot.. rem 405s on the SHORTEST overall length (groove closest to the nose) with a nice medium load are great practice

lots of fun!

Bigguy458
You are on the money. My 45-70 is a Marlin lever action and I really like it. Don't worry about getting me brass. With factory ammo coming in (hopefully tomorrow)I'll have all I need for now. Thanks for the offer.

MFD
Any loads you can share would be great. Finding reloading data for the Lott is difficult. I have several reloading manuals, but only the Barnes manual lists loads for it.

My advice, do NOT start shooting from the bench. Shoot it offhand at 25 yards with open sights and blow some stuff up! Have a ball with it. When you're ready to do load developement, do yourself a favor and buy a lead sled and put 25 lbs of weight on it, no more. I do that for my 500 Jeffery and it's no big deal to shoot off of the bench. I shoot strictly offhand, or kneeling unless I'm doing load development.

Congrats!

Chuck

quote:

Originally posted by chuck375:
My advice, do NOT start shooting from the bench. Shoot it offhand at 25 yards with open sights and blow some stuff up! Have a ball with it. When you're ready to do load developement, do yourself a favor and buy a lead sled and put 25 lbs of weight on it, no more. I do that for my 500 Jeffery and it's no big deal to shoot off of the bench. I shoot strictly offhand, or kneeling unless I'm doing load development.

Congrats!

Chuck

Wise words!

Just go shoot it then come back. If it bothers you there are tricks, if not then you are good to go.

I was surprised after all the complaints BS about the Lott was too much over the 458Win, then actual shooting was fine. Rude but bearable - for me. I decide to add a scope to tame it a bit more, but most shooters dont I guess. Scope mounting was tricky.

I would recommend cycle some (lot of em)rounds through and check the feeding. The when shooting open site at 25 yrds (after the inital test shot) see if you hit close to the bull. I had feeding problems with my American Lott and the barrel was bent - so all the shots hit low.

Enjoy.

These are mostly ideas I got from AR and they all work. I still suggest you just shoot the gun and get a feel for what you are dealing with first. No aids, as suggested, off-hand.

1. PAST recoil shoulder pad. Helped me for initial sighting in. A handy to have item.

2. Slip on Pachmyer cheater recoil pad, works but I prefer the above. These pads are good taking the bite out of those BP guns with crescent steel butt plates.

3. Lead Sled. I got one after AR suggestion and sighted in two slug guns. Easy work of that. Did not try my 458 or larger. Another handy to have item.

4. Shooting sticks or old camera tripod. Works! Nice!

Final thought, and this works for me, but not heard anyone else do this. I sighted in shooting from a sitting position. I get a steady hold and roll back with the shot. I never tried the Lott or Gibbs off the bench. I have a Marlin 45/70. I shoot mostly off hand, peep sites. It is similar but most definitely less. You are in the big time now.

I'll add a +1 to the 'start offhand' advice. Use the bench later and use it minimally. Get comfortable offhand, kneeling, and off the sticks. The Lott isn't too bad, but it's definitely one to hang onto tightly!

I own the CZ 550 American Safari 458 Lott. I plan on using it for an Elephant next year. That rifle fit right into my shoulder pocket. Mine has a laminated stock. It doesn't hurt me when shooting standing on the bench I use a sandbag that way there is no pain. It has 74FT LB of recoil

The 458 Lott is a great choice for anything.
I own CZ's from 375 H&H to 505 Gibbs. They are an excellent rifle.
The Hornady factory stuff will perforate an Elephant from intake to exhaust valve...

Enjoy,

Rich
DRSS

Well, a friend and I took the 458 Lott up to his farm today to fire it for the first time. It is by far the most powerful rifle either of us has ever shot. The entire ride up there, we were joking about how we would be going from the range to the hospital. When the big moment came, I found myself hesitating for a moment. Then we fired it and...what a disappointment. Not the rifle but the recoil. I was expecting heavy, heavy recoil. This was full power Hornady ammunition after all. Recoil wasn't that bad at all. I have a New England Firearms single-shot 12 gauge that kicks worse when loaded with 3 inch magnum shot. We fired several rounds each and would have shot the entire box of ammo if it hadn't started raining. We popped some water jugs with it and man did they explode! I really didn't get to accuracy test the rifle yet but I look forward to shooting it more. There was some roughness in feeding and at one point a piece of brass got stuck during extraction but I feel that these problems might smooth out with use. Have to say, I really like this rifle.

quote:

Then we fired it and...what a disappointment.

I had the exact same reaction. Now, you need to get yourself a CZ550 in 505Gibbs from StLouis custom shop. Cost more but you get a lot more in power and reliability.