This has been discussed before so please forgive me for not paying attention but how hard and expensive is it to convert a CZ 550 in .458 Win to .458 Lott? Warning: Ray Atkinson don't read the next sentence. Who makes a synthetic stock for the 550? I know Bell and Carlson does not. I am not especially turned on by their stocks.

WyoJoe

I think it only requires a chamber reamer to turn it into a Lott.

As for a synthetic stock, McMillan offers one: The Express rifle stock was designed for large caliber rifles with drop belly magazines such as the BBK-02, the 602, and the Magnum Mauser actions. The medium-width forend will accept up to and including a #5 barrel contour. Available in right-hand only.

http://www.mcmfamily.com/mfsinc_n/custom.html

I won't tell if you won't.

George

------------------
"Shoot straight, shoot often, but by all means, use enough gun!"

[This message has been edited by GeorgeS (edited 05-24-2002).]

If I had a CZ 458 and wanted to go to 458 Lott, then I would have a few dummy 458 Lott rounds made up and see how they feed. They wont go all the way in but they will go in far enough to see if what you have will need to have alterations for successful feeding.

I have seen 450 Ackley on a BRNO that was a rechambered 458 Winchester and that worked fine. However the 450 Ackley is different to the Lott because of the small shoulder.

Mike

[This message has been edited by Mike375 (edited 05-24-2002).]

I had the CZ stocked by McMillan as George suggested. They did an excellent job.

I reamed out the 458 on my own.

I put magic-maker on the belt cut in the chamber, so I would know when the belt on the reamer just started to touch the belt in the chamber. I keep on taking the reamer out and smearing the lube I got from Clymer and cleaning off the reamer and wiping out the chamber. It took a half hour or so.

And you don't need go/no-go gauges, etc.

I loaded up five dummy loads to check feeding. They didn't. I had to cut back the rails on both sides of the receiver about a half inch to get the rounds to pop up. This is the "dangerous part I" as too much and it's too late!!

I also had to get a .416 follower from CZ because I could never get the original follower to work (I have a CZ .416 which the only reason I tried it).

I also filed the ramp down to keep the rounds from hitting the top of the receiver ring. This is the "dangerous part II."

I decided I would risk it. Fortunately it turned out okay: all five rouinds will chamber no matter how fast or slow I chamber them.

The reamer was about $200 from Clymer, but I've forgotten the exact cost.

I suppose you have to be willing to buy a new receiver if something goes wrong!!

Will

[This message has been edited by Will (edited 05-24-2002).]

Wyo Joe
Did you get my e mail regarding this matter?
I have had several CZ and Brno taken from 458 to 458 Lott by David Yale in Yellow Jacket Co.
He does the work quickly and the chg. was $120 plus shipping on 4/20/02. It took about 2 weeks as I recall from TX to Co and back.

This should be a simple and straight conversion from a 458 win to a lott. I suspect that you will need some rail work and polishing of the feedramp. The CZ550 feed ramp has two "wings" on each side that must be taken out with a dremel tool to assure proper feeding. The CZ550 magnum follower should be fine, but there may be some mag box changes needed.
Unless you are a competent amateur gunsmith with a proper lathe don't even try doing this yourself and in particular DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO EVEN TRY what was described in the above post! This is blasphemy to any competent machinist! I'm not trying to dis anyone here, but attempting to ream with the barrel in the action will result only in an out of round chamber( YES IT WILL BE NON-CONCENTRIC, IT CAN"T BE OTHERWISE) , potentially excessive headspace and poor accuracy.! Not to mention the obvious chamber ring from the previous 458 win mag chamber. Remember, you are building a DGR that you might want to try out on really dangerous game and you don't want to face old MBOGO with a cobbled together rifle that may be unreliable and even dangerous
The new chamber needs to be cut on a lathe perfectly centered and reamed with a properly piloted reamer and the use of real Headspace guages. Headspace maybe maintained and/ or the barrel set back and re-timed to allign the sights. This way you will avoid the chamber ring and be assured that your expensive gun will shoot straight and not blow-up in your face. A 458 Lott will also need a second recoil lug on the barrel to avoid destroying your new stock. All in All, my advise is find someone you trust who has done this before and pay them what they want for the job. Good Luck-Rob

It might be blasphemy but it ain't brain surgery either. The chamber is not out of round and it shoots great. Take your pick.

Will- Wanna Bet! Just do a chamber cast-Rob