.458 Lott recoil is no joke

[Viral_SIGness]

I know it. But I recently acquired a CZ .416 Rigby, so for the time being the itch will be tempered by my currently available firearms buying funds, which are depleted right now. And then there's the ammo for it, so it'll be awhile. BUT, I have two more guns on consignment. This madness never ends! Thanks enablers (bastards!)!

Don't feel bad, now I want a .458 Lott ! LoL

 

[CoElkHunter]

Don't feel bad, now I want a .458 Lott ! LoL

In a Ruger #1? You'll dislocate a retina! Ha! Ha! I'm going to the range tomorrow and shooting my Rigby for the first time and see what happens. My Lott didn't tear anything, so we'll see what this beast does? It even has a scope on it!

 

[Viral_SIGness]

In a Ruger #1? You'll dislocate a retina! Ha! Ha! I'm going to the range tomorrow and shooting my Rigby for the first time and see what happens. My Lott didn't tear anything, so we'll see what this beast does? It even has a scope on it!

Good luck! Lol

I'm really looking forward to getting mine back. I'm building the .375 Ruger the way Ruger should have done it. I may just do 26" on the barrel. Even then, I could match the H&H and never get over 58k psi. My goal hasn't and isn't top speed. It's matching the old faithful's numbers, and run low, very heat friendly pressures.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Good luck! Lol

I'm really looking forward to getting mine back. I'm building the .375 Ruger the way Ruger should have done it. I may just do 26" on the barrel. Even then, I could match the H&H and never get over 58k psi. My goal hasn't and isn't top speed. It's matching the old faithful's numbers, and run low, very heat friendly pressures.

The Ruger is the most efficient .375 available. But, I'd go with a 24" barrel. I love the longer barrels. but the Ruger cartridge doesn't require it, unlike the Rigby, H and H, Remington or Weatherby .375s or .416s for that matter. The .416 Taylor is also a very efficient cartridge. I bought the Rigby for nostalgic reasons, but hey, if I don't like it, it'll be for sale here on AH.

 

[Cervus elaphus]

You made me smile. I have been working up a reload for my Lott. I got some Peregrine copper monlithic solids- I ordered the 500 gr bullets but then found out they are 515 gr. So went to see a friend of mine to reload and started trying different powders. So about 4 different powders are not so promising then he hands me one at the range- he warned me it would be pretty heavy. Anyway 515 gr at 2345 fps gets your attention for sure !

I enjoy shooting but don't particularly enjoy recoil. I added weight (3 old cartridge cases filled with lead and drilled into the butt. It also improved the balance a bit. I also sat with some sandpaper and round the rubber pad-it had corners and a funny shallow S bend. Last of all, I had a look at myself in the mirror with the rifle shouldered. I realised that I was tending to put the butt a little high on the shoulder and half the butt was off my shoulder. So there is a couple of things to try.

Also you can comfortably reload to Win Mag specs with lighter bullets for range time. 450 gr at 2150 fps is much easier on the shoulder.

450gr at 2150fps is the same as the .404J Norma African PH load which is as big as bullets go for that particular caliber. Kick me if I'm wrong but I think African PHs carry the .458 Lott?

 

[Nhoro]

450gr at 2150fps is the same as the .404J Norma African PH load which is as big as bullets go for that particular caliber. Kick me if I'm wrong but I think African PHs carry the .458 Lott?

Yes 450 Gr at 2150 would be similar to a 404 in energy but with a bigger frontal area, I would expect penetration would be a bit less. What most people do not understand is the 450 gr bullet has similar sectional density to the 375 H&H and 404/416 bullets.

So for a Win Mag with copper solids, 450 or 480 gr seems like a good thing. Hornady 500 gr factory loads do 2150 fps with a 500 gr bullet-even more of a good thing.

African PH's that I know carry all sorts of rifles- 2 x 500 NE doubles, 1 x 404, Many 458 Lotts, A few 458 Win mags, a few 375 H&H, a few 416 Rigby.

 

[Prairiedog]

Oh well, if she's a "bale chucker", she could SOON step right up to a Lott! Ha! Ha! That bailing is hard, physical work. She can't be working in this country, can she? Ha! Ha!

She worked at an abattior throwing 60 lb boxes of meat for about 6 years...she is a tall blond of 21 now. Girl's are better shots than boys and they don't cry about recoil.
The mercury tube... interweb would do a better job than I. But it tames the recoil... truth told, it was installed when I bought it. But if you raised the rifle so the back stock was resting on top of your shoulder, point it up at say... a 30° angle. Put your ear to the side of the stock and tip it down to 30° below HZ...you could hear the Mercury kind of 'Gurgle' as it went from the rear to the front of the tube. Neat concept.

 

[Viral_SIGness]

450gr at 2150fps is the same as the .404J Norma African PH load which is as big as bullets go for that particular caliber. Kick me if I'm wrong but I think African PHs carry the .458 Lott?

No, they have the Lott opened up to the local .458 3"

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Apart from just wanting to, what is the point of Lotterising a 458WM? I thought the 458 put down anything on the planet. There must be umpteen posts on AH of people who do this and then feel nothing but pain - am I missing something?

 

[thriller]

Lead sleds are completely junk!!!!!! All they are good for is breaking stocks, breaking scopes, and make the scope slip in its rings.

I highly recommend everyone find a different way, and ignore the sled. Using it without weights is "ok". Ive helped at my friends shop for years and I've personally seen 3 cracked stocks, my scope on my .325 wsm shifted so much it had the zoom ring stuck. Even NIghtforce will break eventually in the sled. Recoil has to go somewhere, and by stopping it, that energy transfers back into the gun.

I am curious at to how many rifles you went through to crack these three? I hear this a lot from people but I rarely get a chance to get any first hand information. It’s usually all “a friends issue” I know that the force has to go somewhere but to sight a gun in and not use it regularly I have never had any issues.

 

[IvW]

450gr at 2150fps is the same as the .404J Norma African PH load which is as big as bullets go for that particular caliber. Kick me if I'm wrong but I think African PHs carry the .458 Lott?

Only some....

 

[Forrest Halley]

In a Ruger #1? You'll dislocate a retina! Ha! Ha! I'm going to the range tomorrow and shooting my Rigby for the first time and see what happens. My Lott didn't tear anything, so we'll see what this beast does? It even has a scope on it!

I see what you're doing here...I don't pop up everytime somebody mentions a .458 Lott Ruger #1...sometimes I'm sleeping.

 

[BigSteve57]

I would have thought that the recoil would be severe as well.
I understand that recoil off the bench is vastly different than standing; experienced that since I started shooting with all but the lightest recoiling rifles.

This video was used by me in another thread...how in the world does she do it?
Unless the rifle isn't really a .458 Lott ?

 

[Viral_SIGness]

Apart from just wanting to, what is the point of Lotterising a 458WM? I thought the 458 put down anything on the planet. There must be umpteen posts on AH of people who do this and then feel nothing but pain - am I missing something?

The .458 Win Mag was a complete failure from the start. Known in Africa as "The Wonder Wounder".

 

[Viral_SIGness]

I am curious at to how many rifles you went through to crack these three? I hear this a lot from people but I rarely get a chance to get any first hand information. It’s usually all “a friends issue” I know that the force has to go somewhere but to sight a gun in and not use it regularly I have never had any issues.

In my time there, it was used maybe 15-20 times. He had two rubber coated lead bricks on it, and they would lay a bag of lead shot on each side. One of the cracked rifles was a Ruger compact .308 16". Weighed less than 6 lbs. The 2nd was a .340 Wby (Leupold scope had to be sent back for repair), and the third was a .375 H&H.

I used to have a list of the scopes that moved and/or broke, but that was 10 years ago the last time I "worked" there. My Simmons Aetec on my .325 WSM slid in the rings, and after that it started leaking an oily substance out the objective end.

I've also heard those stories of friends of friends of a cousins brothers, uncle's old neighbors. But I was the one that carried it out and set it up at their request and put everything back when they were done.

 

[Viral_SIGness]

I dont use muzzle brakes or sleds. Ive always said if you can't handle it, buy a smaller gun. I don't mean that to be offensive to anyone. I just see sleds and brakes as a crutch, or training wheels for those who's feet can't touch the ground.

 

[Viral_SIGness]

I would have thought that the recoil would be severe as well.
I understand that recoil off the bench is vastly different than standing; experienced that since I started shooting with all but the lightest recoiling rifles.

This video was used by me in another thread...how in the world does she do it?
Unless the rifle isn't really a .458 Lott ?

There is a tiny little blonde in Africa who is a PH, and carries a .375 H&H.

 

[Arthur Morta]

Apart from just wanting to, what is the point of Lotterising a 458WM? I thought the 458 put down anything on the planet. There must be umpteen posts on AH of people who do this and then feel nothing but pain - am I missing something?

Hey Kevin,
When the range reopens, hopefully sooner rather than later, why not give my .460 Weatherby a go...

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Hey Kevin,
When the range reopens, hopefully sooner rather than later, why not give my .460 Weatherby a go...

Eeeh, no way! When I see that beast I hide in the club house.

 

[C.W. Richter]

Apart from just wanting to, what is the point of Lotterising a 458WM? I thought the 458 put down anything on the planet. There must be umpteen posts on AH of people who do this and then feel nothing but pain - am I missing something?

It's Kevin Robertson's "fault!" I agree with what he says, but decided to forego the big case 458s, trade in my 458 Win Mag (eq. to the old paper cartridge cordite load guns 2,000-2,100 fps on a good day,) and get the necked down version (416 Chatfield-Taylor; 2,450 fps/400 gr). Works like a charm and super accurate. The pressure is higher than a (20 gr more powder) Rigby, so in a gun of insufficient weight, it's not going to be pleasant. I see proper gun mass and large buttstock surface area as the #1 solution in controlling felt recoil on the big boys. The gun absorbs the recoil and the larger pad imparts less psf into the shoulder. Hitting the boiler room (at an appropriate, limited range for the round) with a WM is worth 4 misses with the Lott in the bush!