For some unknown reason have recently been acquiring these rifles and have another one lined up and considering converting to subject caliber. I fully understand the recoil issues having had one in 458Lott, but other than that, is the action suitable for such a caliber and by suitable, is it a correct assumption that the action will "handle" this powerful round??

Yes the action will work. Here is an article on one Dennis Olson did on the big Weatherby case: No.1

Should handle it fine, action is plenty strong enough. They're available from the factory in 416Rigby, similar dimension cartridge. Will kick like hell.

quote:

Originally posted by MFD:
For some unknown reason have recently been acquiring these rifles and have another one lined up and considering converting to subject caliber. I fully understand the recoil issues having had one in 458Lott, but other than that, is the action suitable for such a caliber and by suitable, is it a correct assumption that the action will "handle" this powerful round??

Forget the Lott. Have you ever fired a 460 Weatherby Mag?

I built a 338x378 KT on a No. 1 years ago and thought at the time that the thread tenon might be a bit small in diameter for such a large case. Uncomfortably thin you might say. 25 years later with no problems, I have a new found respect for the strength of the No. 1's receiver ring.

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Forget the Lott. Have you ever fired a 460 Weatherby Mag

Heck the 460 is only 140-150% of the Lott recoil. I've fired it in a MKV wouldn't want to even think about it in a #1

One of the older Hornady reloading manuals states "its not a cartridge for the faint at heart, It will knock you from beneath your hat". I believe that!

Comparing the 460 Wby to the Lott is about the difference betweenthe 45-70 modern loads and 458 Win mag. Huge difference. Saeed had some videos of people shooting a No. 1 in 460 Wby somewhere on the site. They might be useful before you decide.

OTOH, if recoil is the goal there's no reason to stop at the 45 calibers. The 550 Magnum uses the same case with a 55 caliber bullet instead of 45. It will up the anty quite a bit above the 460.

I have a .460 in a Mk V, and I would cringe at the thought of one in a #1. It would make the Lott feel like at 22LR going off...
All I have to say is make sure to take your dentures out before firing it (if applicable)

Dentures are applicable in my case and would not want to loose them since the price approaches that of a good double rifle! Based on all the sound advise, would say I had a bad idea even with a brake. Will return to the mild mannered 458Lott and keep my dentures. Appreciate the feedback.

Why is everyone worried about the recoil? I have a Ruger No. 1 in 458 Lott and a Weatherby Mk V in 460. The Ruger weighs 9 lbs and the Weatherby 9.5 lbs so weight isn't much on a difference. My only complaint about the Ruger is that the factory recoil pad is pretty hard. Not too difficult to change that though.

I will say there is a bit of a difference between the two calibers though. Shooting offhand, neither is too bad as long as you are holding it right. Off the bench is a different story. The 458 lott is no problem as long as I'm wearing an elbow pad to keep from getting rug burn. The Weatherby is quite an experience though. Kind of like being slapped in the face and punched in the shoulder at the same time.

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Originally posted by blagg:
One of the older Hornady reloading manuals states "its not a cartridge for the faint at heart, It will knock you from beneath your hat". I believe that!

I did actually have that happen once. To be fair though the hat was on top of my hearing protection and not on very tight.

I learned a small trick that takes some (not all) of the sting out of the heavy hitters. I made a bench that you have to shoot from standing up position. It allows the body to absorb the heavy push and give with it, not like sitting down with your body locked in place. Ear plugs along with the ear muffs seems to reduce perceived recoil some also. It hurts to bang the big ones but the thrill is addictive!

Wish standing up was an option at my local range. On the 30 yard pistol ranges you can stand and shoot rifles. However, there are houses behind the 100 yard rifle range so you have to be sitting down and shoot below a bullet proof barrier.

So Hawk, what your saying is your hat stayed at the bench and you ended up somwhere behind it! If so, nnoooo thannnkkkkkssss!

blagg - I was standing up shooting rapid fire on the 30 yard pistol range. On the third round my hat fell off.