I have a relatively new CZ550 in 458 Lott that I am trying to work up loads for. It is right out of the box with no gun smithing work done to it yet. I wanted to see if it had potential before I had the action bedded and the trigger adjusted, etc.

I have worked more on the softnose load than the solid at this point and am concerned about getting a combination of softnose and solid that shoot very close to the same POI. At this point I have only tried Hornady DGS and DGX 500gr bullets.

If this works, the targets below are with H4895 using 79gr with the DGX on the left and 78gr with the DGS on the right. The DGX chronoed at 2250mv an the DGS at 2300mv.



The target below is with AA2520 using 83gr with the DGX and 82gr with the DGS. The DGX chronoed at 2300mv and the DGS at 2364mv. The DGX are the bottom right three and the DGS are the other three. The AA2520 seems to shoot better groups more consistently than the H4895, but for the DGS I was actually holding on a dot about 4-5" above the dot I shot with the DGX.

The Hornady DGX seem to shoot very well so is there another solid I should try first to see if I can get them together with the DGX?




What other solid or softnose should I try with the AA2520 to get the same POI?

based off YOUR pictures .. 82gr of aa2520 should be the answer, for both..

BED IT before doing any more work

Jeffeosso,
I shot the group with the DGX (83gr AA2520) first and then moved to the dot above it (5-6") and shot the 82gr load with the DGS. The DGS with AA2520 are shooting 4-6" lower than the DGX.

I've seen the dgs go faster for the same vels .. adjust the loads so the dgs and dgx are going the same speed, and they SHOULD hit the same spot .. that's by design

What is the range you are shooting?

Open sights or scope?

I agree with Jeffe, load them to the same velocity and go from there. Most likely, slowing down the solid will move POI up.

Also, imo, for a Lott, or any big bore, the solid is the priority, the soft only secondary. Everything dies quickly with a well placed .458" hole in it.

JPK

The targets were shot at 100yds using a 1.75X6 Leupold with heavy crosshair. I have gone down to as low as 80gr of AA2520 and the solids were still 4" low of the soft points. I thought I probably needed to try another combination. I can load some down a little more and see what happens.

Ed,
try this ... leave the softs where they are and take off a grain, or 2, from the solids .. it SHOULD raise the solid POI

I tried lowering the velocity of the solids and with the AA2520 I still had the solids 3-4" below the softnose. I plan to try the h4895 loads again.

I ordered some Barnes TSX and Banded solids to try. Does anybody have experience loading these in the 458Lott? I ask because the loading data in the Barnes #3 manual is very different compared to the #4 manual. The #4 data is showing velocities in the 2000-2200fps range compared to 2200-2300+ in the #3 manual. I would like to stay with h4895, AA2520 or IMR4320 if anybody has loads for these bullets.

The 500gr TSX bullets gave me identical results as the 500gr a-frame(pressure and velocity,).I did not chrono the Barnes banded solids.The Barnes banded solids would not shoot well from my CZ.My CZ barrel would not shoot both woodleighs solids and the BBS well at all.I am interested in seeing how things turn out for you.Seventy nine grains of H4895 gave me 2275 fps with the 500gr molly coated TSX bullets,from my CZ lott.IMO,a new CZ barrel looks as smooth as a shotgun barrel to begin with,so I don't know how it is going to shoot any solid accurately,especially a Barnes banded solid.

I just tried a few Barnes TSX and banded solids with AA2520 and ran out of powder capacity before I got velocity above 2200fps. I seated the bullets as advised in the manual (3.58" solids and 3.60" TSX). I think I am going to try IMR4320 and stay with the Hornady bullets for now. The softnose group well at 2300fps with the AA2520. I can still work on h4895 and IMR4320 with the solids to see if I can bring the solids to the same POI as the softnose.

i found 2520 to be the best powder for the hornady bullets. never loaded any of the barnes. good luck

I went back to the range today with test loads and chronograph. I loaded 500gr Hornady DGS and DGX as before but used IMR4320 instead of AA2520 or H4895. At 83gr of IMR4320 with both bullets, the groups came together right at 2300fps average. I tried various loads with AA2520 and H4895 and both powders had the solids shooting below the softnose. I could get the loads with H4895 to shoot the DGS and DGX about 2" apart but I could not get the loads with AA2520 any closer than 3-4". Almost every combination I tried with the IMR4320 had the solids and softnose grouping no more than 1" apart. How temperature sensitive is IMR4320?

Any reports on using Reloder15 powder? I can obtain that locally much easier than other powders.

quote:

Originally posted by jamesicus:
Any reports on using Reloder15 powder? I can obtain that locally much easier than other powders.

Bump.

I have used 458 Lott extensively in the past. I always used 82/RL 15 and Fed 215s. Still do when I play with a lott. 500 Swift A and a 500 Barnes Banded both at or around 2270 fps with 82 grs RL 15, both to the same POI at 50. 83/RL 15 for Hornady and Woodleigh Softs.

Michael

quote:

Originally posted by michael458:
I have used 458 Lott extensively in the past. I always used 82/RL 15 and Fed 215s. Still do when I play with a lott. 500 Swift A and a 500 Barnes Banded both at or around 2270 fps with 82 grs RL 15, both to the same POI at 50. 83/RL 15 for Hornady and Woodleigh Softs.

Michael

Thank you, Michael.

james

That is somewhat compressed but pressures are fine, pressures have been checked and this has been hunted extensively in 115 degree heat without any issues at all.

You are very welcome.

Michael

quote:

Originally posted by michael458:
james

That is somewhat compressed but pressures are fine, pressures have been checked and this has been hunted extensively in 115 degree heat without any issues at all.

You are very welcome.

Michael

Once again, thanks, Michael. I have been plagued by the current primer shortage, and have mostly Remington 9 1/2m -- do you forsee any problems substituting them for the Fed 215s you prescribe?

James

James

No I don't see any problems at all with replacing the 215s, other than consistency! The Rems will most likely produce less velocity, less hot of a primer. Primers are an issue for sure, man did I get lucky. I was down to 4000 Fed 215s, about a years worth at the most, and I found Fed 215 Match the other day from my local dealer, he was lucky too. I bought 2000, and tried them against my normal 215s in several cartridges and rifles, zero difference, so I bought the rest, 5000 of them. 7000 total, that should get me through a couple of years worth with the 4000 I have.

Michael