I recently had someone from another forum contact me and ask if I was having stabilisation problems with the 550gn projectiles in my .458?
He went on to say he had a .458 Lott and unless he was pushing them hard over 2100fps they were key holing.
This got me thinking (and nervous!) as I had only fired a few over the chronograph to get some velocity readings... I didn't actually shoot any at a target to see if they grouped or were stabilised properly!
Now, I'm a standup guy who's honest. And as much as I love the .458 if I encounter problems or hiccups I'll report them to help others.
So today saw me out in my usual spot to shoot a couple of these reloads at a target to
a.) Make sure the holes in the target were round
b.) See if they grouped
c.) Find out what recoil was like off the bench
When I reached my spot the weather was absolutely atrocious. Black sky, very windy and just all-round miserable. It was about to pour down any minute.
I quickly set up my target at 50m and got my rest and gear ready. I reckon I only had a couple of shots before the heavens opened up and I'd have to leave.
I wasn't sighting it in - I just wanted to see if they grouped and stabilised. My first shot hit the target not too far from where I was aiming and then I had the anxious walk to see if the bullet hole was round or not!
To my delight the bullet hole was perfectly round. Win!
I then fired my second shot as it started to spit rain. The second shot was touching the first.
Double win!
It then started to rain putting an end to my what was going to be my 3 shot group. But even though I only fired 2 shots, it is really starting to show promise.
Oh, and in case anyone was wondering about recoil, it was very heavy. In my 9lb rifle it calculates to a touch over 80ft/lbs - and while not too bad offhand, it is uncomfortable and unpleasant off the bench.
So there you go guys, this load is really starting to show promise. It's pushing just under 2100fps and hits with 5285ft/lbs of energy. It's easy to load and it's not showing any signs of excess pressure. The long bullet is stabilised in my rifle and accuracy is looking promising.
The only downside is recoil but theres no getting around that one!
I'm really, really happy with how this load is performing and I think I may have just found my new 'heavy' load in my .458!
