Single shot 458wm vs lott

[generalzip]

I’ve been researching quite a bit on these rounds and I’ve come to the following findings:

1. 458wm has a longer freebore than 458 Lott.
2. Compressed loads needed to reach higher velocities in a long action led to issues with old ammo and old powders in the win mag. Winchester responded by producing reduced loads.
3. 458 wm can be shot in a Lott chamber but will have reduced velocity.

My question is this. In a single actio. (Ruger no 1 etc) it seems to negate just about all the advantages of a Lott. In fact the wm appears to be able to be loaded longer, without compressed loads, no concern of bullet set back like in a repeater, and does so with less power and recoil and muzzle blast.

So, for all intents and purposes does the 458 Lott serve any purpose/advantage in a single action? Can’t you just load the wm longer to the same length and get a more “efficient” round with less recoil?

 

[Nhoro]

You are correct if you use bullets with multiple crimp grooves. I have a CX 550 win mag reamed out to Lott. Copper or brass bullets with driving bands can easily be loaded longer, you just use a driving band further back. If you were hunting DG I would advise a good crimp and make sure the bullet is stable. If you only have a small section in the case, the bullet may shift. I still load my lott a little longer than most factory ammo although still within spec.

 

[generalzip]

You are correct if you use bullets with multiple crimp grooves. I have a CX 550 win mag reamed out to Lott. Copper or brass bullets with driving bands can easily be loaded longer, you just use a driving band further back. If you were hunting DG I would advise a good crimp and make sure the bullet is stable. If you only have a small section in the case, the bullet may shift. I still load my lott a little longer than most factory ammo although still within spec.

These are great points for use in a bolt action. However in a single shot rifle bullet set back cannot occur as the only bullet as already left the barrel after you fire. There's no rounds in the magazine. I would only put on a very mild crimp simply to aid in loading/feeding smoothness such that the case mouth could catch on anything as it enters the chamber.

 

[AZDAVE]

If you throat the lott the same amount of freebore as the WM the advantage stays with the lott. It boils down to available powder capacity. You will need to handload to reach the potential of each round.

 

[generalzip]

If you throat the lott the same amount of freebore as the WM the advantage stays with the lott. It boils down to available powder capacity. You will need to handload to reach the potential of each round.

Thanks Dave. I do handload and would for these rounds without a doubt as factory ammo is crazy. What you say makes sense. The difference is the WM comes this way from the factory via a SAAMI reamer vs what you described would be a trip to the smith to unithroat it out for a longer freebore.