I have never owned or even fired a ruger #1 .
This being said my brother mentioned some time ago that he really liked the weapon and that he wished he had a big bore in that make.

I have decided to purchase one for him as a gift and I have some questions about the gun. (ruger #1, .458 lott in stainless with a laminated stock and open sights)

1. Do you need to work, can you wrk on, the laminated stock? (crossbolts, bedding, etc)

2. Will this combination break his shoulder.. I have let him fire my CZ lott and he wasn't overly concerned with the recoil....impressed but not in pain.

3. Opinions or thoughts on this setup....before I spend the money?

ps I plan to get a #1 for myself in .338 win mag if I like his.

I really like the #1 design, I have (2). It won't need cross bolts, but you can work on the laminated wood if you need to. I find the #1 a bit light for a big bore but recoil is diff. for everyone. The biggest I have fired was my .375h&h & it wasn't bad.

A .338winmag is a great choice, you get 26"bll. perf. in a rifle shorter than a 22" bolt gun. Mine is a .338x74Keith, a necked down blown out 9.3x74. Basically the same as a .338wm in a rimmed case. A great cross canyon rig for elk.

Well, you don't need any crossbolts as has already been said. I do strongly recommend having a decent recoil pad put on the gun, preferably a Pachmeyr decelerator or better. Ruger #1 rifles for some silly reason put a thin hard rubber buttplate (I refuse to call it a pad.) on even their hardest kicking rifles. Maybe Ruger doesn't expect us to shoot them. Either that, or they think we all have ironclad shoulders.
Guntests magazine a few issues back did a comparison between several rifles in .416 Rigby, one of which was a Ruger #1. They did not finish testing the Ruger because it was too painful to shoot as issued with Ruger's cheap ass buttplate.
Accuracy with Ruger #1 rifles can be an iffy thing, but I have three in the Tropical (#1H) and all are sufficiently accurate for dangerous game rifles. (.375 H&H. .404 Jeffery and .416 Rigby)Actually, the accuracy is more than sufficient from my rifles.
I agree with the comment that the big bore Rugers are a bit too light for caliber, but my Rigby is about 10.5 pounds as is and that's about as heavy a rifle as I want to carry. The .375 and .404 run about 9.5 pounds, give or take a few ounces.
If you do go with the Lott, I'd change recoil pads before giving it to him. His shoulder with definitely thank you.
I too think Ruger #1 rifles are pretty neat. I must as I have 15 of them and am looking for more.
Paul B.