Ok guys. Which one?
Lott is sort of accepted now. Straight 375 case, blown out.

Ackley is slightly necked, the neck starts where a 458 win mag edges up against it, right?

Can you shoot Lott ammo in the Ackley? Vice versa?

Thanks

Dr S

Lott ammo can be fired in the ackley but as the ackley is slightly fatter at the shoulder ,it wont chamber in the lott. Also .458 win mag can be fired in the Lott, but think .458 win mag cant be fired in the Ackley.

Both are excellent rounds....I've personally used the .450 Ackley in a converted Model 70. No feeding problems to date and case forming is simple. The Lott does enable the use of .458 Winchester which is a benefit when hunting abroad. With respect to performance, my Ackley only gives 30-40 fps over the Lott with 400-500 grains bullets.

Lee Martin
www.singleactions.com

As 458 Win Mag headspaces off the belt, I think you can fire it in the Ackley. I haven't personally tried this in my 450 though, so proceed with caution. The Lott will chamber and fire in the Ackley. The Ackley gives you a little more velocity then the Lott, and a real shoulder to headspace off of. On the other hand, you can buy factory rifles and ammo for the Lott (you can get factory ammo for the Ackley as well, but not rifles). Plus, I think the Ackley just looks "cooler". IMHO - Dan

Just to clarify......you can fire the .458 Winchester in the Ackley but I don't recommend it. Basically, the case will expand to the point that it becomes very hard to resize. In a pinch it'll work, but again it's not suggested. Like the Lott, the Ackley headspaces off the belt so the shoulder is really a non-issue.

Lee Martin
www.singleactions.com

I don't think the performance difference between the two would be a big deal. Since the Lott is being standardized and everybody will have one soon or later so it is not much special anymore. On the other hand, the Ackley is unique and cool and you will be likely to be the only one to have it in the block so it is kind of special. As for hunting, you could treat it like it were a Lott and just fire Lott ammo with it. Serious wildcatter who knows what he is doing could load the 450 Ackley in such a way that it would headspace off both the shoulder and the belt. Good luck.

The so-called "ghost shoulder" in the .450 Ackley case is there to allow a parallel neck section in the case for bullet grip. By comparison the Lott case tapers to the case mouth.

Since the Lott is now a factory standard cartridge, it really now is a better choice regardless of any supposed technical advantage for the wildcat choices.

jim dodd