Gents,

I read previous posts regarding the firing of 458 Win. mags in 458 Lott rifles.

I have a few questions as I recently became the owner of a Lott.

How much or how many can be fired before damage to the bore will show up?

Is accuracy affected?

With three tengths of an inch of shorter case, can heavier slugs be loaded out futher with new cannalures cut on them?

Could 458 Win. be shot exclusively in the Lott?

Thanks,

Roger QSL

Roger,

I haven't tried this myself, but the references I have suggest that this is an emergency procedure. The problem is the short cartridge will expose the chamber wall ahead of the case mouth to the hot firing gases, and the chamber wall can be eroded and roughened. Then when you shoot a full-length case it can stick.

Notice all the subjunctive quibbles in that paragraph.

How about getting a bore scope, and giving it a try? And report back to us of course.

jim

The damage isn't to the bore, it is to the chamber. I've never heard of how many rounds can fired before erosion will damage the chamber. I think everyone has followed the advice of not shooting win mag ammo.

You certinaly could long load bullets in win mag cases, but with Hornady 458 Lott brass on the market, there is no reason to.

Given the recoil levels involved it might very well be a self limiting problem.
JCN

Agreeing with Ray, considering the high expansion ratio of the .458 Winchester Magnum, its' diet of mid-range burnrates and the addition of .300" to the already generous amount of leade associated with large caliber rifles, it seems it would require a lot of shooting OR, perhaps, too many sessions @ too rapid a rate of fire, to damage the chamber wall. Like Paul mentioned, I think I'd have more concern for the throat/lands, keeping its' usage to a minimum.

I know a particular gun that has probably had 3000 rounds 458 Win rounds through it and another 1000 458 Lott rounds through it...I know another Lott that has had a world of 458 Win. shot through it...

Back in the early 50s, all my .270 ammo was made from 30-06 that were too short, and I shot that gun maybe 5000 times and that included a lot of factory stuff my dads hunters gave me...It was never a problem

Frankly, I think most of that is therory, if you clean the chamber once in awhile you will never have any trouble..
All you could get would be some gas cutting in therory, and that does not seem to hurt hunting accuracy IMO, and I imagine it's not good for benchrest..but for shooting buffalo at under a 100 yards and thats what a 458 is for, I wouldn't give it another thought...

JCN,
while the 500 in a winmag is a tiring round to shoot, my littlest and smallest son can shot ~30 405's at 2400+ in a 8.25# gun... the recoil is a question of conditioning...

of course ray will tell me that he's well on the way to permenate braindamage... and i'll say "how can I tell, as he's a teenager?"

jeffe