Need some advise on my 458 Whtworth Express rifle project. Picked it up the other day while visiting relatives in Erie PA.

The rile is in mint condition, looks hardly fired.

After a close inspection after I got home I discovered the follwing things:

Magazine is 3.6" long, my 458 (3.590") Lott dummies fit in the mag.

It has no forward (barrel mounted) recoil lug.

It has only one stock bolt.

There is no wood at all between the mag box and the trigger.

It would not feed the third round cleanly (it hangs up on the left side of the chamber when comming out of the right side of the mag box) with any of my 458 WM dummies. Tried three different dummies loaded with 500 grain Hornaday softs, 450 Barnes X, and 500 Speer Tugsten Solids.

The stock is well made and I can clearly see the 3 leaf express sights with my head positioned on the stock.

It has the red Whitworth factory recoil pad.

So, what do I need to do to get this rifle up and running correctly as a DGR, and who to do the work?

Things that I know I want done:

1) Rechamber to 458 Lott, and get the feeding fixed right.
2)Delete the side saftey and add a Mod 70 type saftey.
3) Get the stock properly bedded.
4) add a second stock bolt.
5) add a second barrel mounted lug.
6) Change the front sight to something I can see? Any suggestions?
7) Change the trigger? Suggestions?
8) Chuck the nifty but general useless three leaf folding sights and replace with what?
9) Can the bottom metal be changed to fit 4 rounds without chucking the stock?
10) Have the scope mount holes changed to 8x40's and fit Leupold QR bases, and mount a Leupold 1x4 Vari X II that worked well on a number of big bores I used to own.
11) Change the recoil pad to what?

Thanks for any ideas,

Bob

I think you are right on track.

1. NECG adjustable rear and ramp front. About $100 I think from Brownells.

2. When you get rid of the slide safety there will be a little gap on the stock.

3. Your gunsmith can probably hone the trigger to a pretty good feel. Then you don't need to buy a new one.

4. If you put in extra deep bottom metal (4 rounds down), you need a new stock. Period. If you are going to do that, do it before you mess with feeding.

5. Pachmyr decelerator 1" pad. Or Hogue copy-cat 1" pad.

$0.02

I concur with 500 except for one thing...Always do all your metal work except bluing before you stock a rifle..

Your 3 leaf sight is fine IF it has one standing and two or three down...They are not worthless and all can be sighted at individual ranges and it works, don't let anyone tell you this is not a viable option for iron sights....Thats a rumor some igmo gunwriter put out there..

I have one gun that the sights are regulated at 50, 100, 200 and 300 and it works. Also if it has 3 down then combine that with a Talley peep on talley basis and you have a peep 2" high at 100 and a scope and a iron sight for 50, 100 and 300..you will never get in trouble with that rifle. these same guys like varible scopes but don't like varible iron sights, strange indeed.

Ray & 500grains,

Thanks for the responses.

Ray, The Whitworth has 3 leaves, all folding, no single standing, marked for 100, 200 & 300 yds.

Any ideas on who to do the work?

Thanks,

Bob

It is a shame to carve your whitworth up since it is in a good caliber to start with. Keep it as is and buy an action to house the .458 Lott.

alekojjensen,

I appreciate your comments, but I am not cutting up the Whitworth. This particular rifle was built on a 375 Length action. What I do want to do is rechamber to 458 Lott, fit a new front sight (that my 52 year old eyes can see), fit a three position safety, and properly bed the thing, plus a decent recoil pad.

I do not believe that an unbedded, one recoil lug and one crossbolt, Whitworth will stand even 458 Win mag punishment for very long.

I have already decided to keep the rear 3 leaf sights, factory trigger and bottom metal.

Cutting up? nope, just some modest improvements.

Regards,

Bob

Bob, I guess I am not a fan of the .458 Lott. In my ZKK 602 I had the same problem, so I built a shortented blocked mag to fit the .458 Wins. I just like the gun as is. Your idea is correct and have seen this conversion may times on the same gun. Here are some of the problems I have seen that need to be addressed. First, the springs seem to be a little mushy in the magazine. We have used the Brownell's 10% springs to lift the larger rounds. You may want to use a lighter follower too, to help in this. Second your sights, impact will change enough to be irritating. I would have the gun regulated for a 50 M island from NECGW. I hope you enjoy your project.

[ 06-21-2002, 01:22: Message edited by: alekojjensen ]

I forgot the most important thing, cross bolts and glass bedding are essential, trust me I have seen a few project Lotts cut corners and split their stocks in three rounds from not doing this

Dennis Olsen or John Ricks are known on this board as first rate DGR gunsmiths.

just a spin, but get a kickeez pad.. it's rather soft, but it doesn't harden up.
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