I realize the 458 lott will handle the 458 win mag loads. how does the 458 win mag perform in the lott rifle? accuracy?

why? I am having a rifle built. it will be 458 win mag. seems like people are saying to chamber it for the 458 lott instead for the added performance. I would like the added versatility but was concerned of the 458 win mag performance in this rifle since it will be what I will mostly shoot. I will also use lighter loads like 350gr speers.

also....where can a barrel reamer be bought for the 458 lott?

The use of 458 Fac. or handloaded ammo in a 458 Lott should be for emergency only, such as if your seperated from your Lott ammo on Safari..Short cases are hard on the throat of a rifle...and performance would be can it hit a Buffalo at 30 yds. and the answer is yes.

The only advantage to the Lott is shooting Buffalo and elephant, otherwise your better off with the standard 458 and especially if you intend to shoot a lot of 350 gr. stuff...

Even if you intend to go on one Safari, you would be better off with a standard 458...The Lott is better suited to the hunter who will be hunting a lot of big animals in his lifetime and practice should be with full loads...Thats just MHO.

------------------
Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

I would agree with Ray on this one. The LOTT is a serious hunter's cartridge and erosion of the chamber and throat are real dangers if many 458s are fired through one. Also, if the feeding is set up properly for the LOTT then regular 458s might not feed too well. reamers can be bought from Clymer or JGS.

Why using .458 WinMag in a LOTT except in emergency of supply?
The LOTT is a very versatile round, you can load it for plinking, small game hunting and elephant hunting. No reason to use the WinMag.

------------------

If you want to make your lott a pussycat, get some 350 gr speers, or 350 hornadies, and work up a load with Reloader 7. I found that 76gr was most accurate with the speer at 2400 sps, ans 80 gr w/ the hornady at 2500 fps. This was with a short barrel, expect ~ 100 fps with a 24" barrel. It is a totall different gun then when shooting the 500's. The 350 gr loads can be shot all day long. These are also plenty powerful for NA game, though I would hesitate to use them on the largest bears, as the bullets are a bit soft. They should be oustanding on elk and moose. A buddy uses a 458 win mag with 350's at 2500 for moose, and says it is outstanding.

PS, I forgot to add that the above loads were developed in Lott brass (necked up and trimmed 416 rem mag), not 458 win mag brass. I just used 458 win mag data, in the lott brass to look for equivalent lower pressure loads, and just dialed them in until accurate.

I agree with the comments about not using 458 win mags in the lott unless dictated by emergencies. The lott can be downloaded to 45-70 performance if desired, though I never got around to doing that.

[This message has been edited by Paul H (edited 05-07-2001).]