450 Rigby Build

without derailing this thread , can someone talk me through the process of converting a 458 Lott to a 450 Rigby

what is involved ?
You could ask CZ.
I'm not a gunsmith but shouldn't be much more that a re-chamber, and rework the bolt face .590" (Rigby) vs .532 (Lott)" should it not? If using a CZ 550 action another option is to get a 450 Rigby bolt and use in CZ 458 Lott action and re-chamber?
Just tried a 458 Lott case in my 450 Rigby. The bolt will feed the round and close but wont "grab" the case to eject. Tried 450 Rigby case in my 458 Lott. 458 Lott ejector will not fit over 450 Rigby rim.
OR
Buy a 450 Rigby! :D

Hope this helps.
 
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Bassadaindia,

I echo what the previous poster said.......I am not a gunsmith, so take what I post with a grain of salt, but.....

Besides a magnum action, and opening up the bolt face to accept the larger rim of the Rigby case, I would also think there might be some working over of the feed rails (i.e., opening them up to accept the fatter Rigby case (0.589 inch base diameter) versus the narrower base diameter of the Lott (0.513 inch base diameter). Also, the Rigby cartridge OAL is longer at 3.750 inches versus the Lott's OAL of 3.600 inches, so I would think magazine length may come into play as well. I think overall, besides the obvious rebarrel, magazine work and feed rail work would come into play more so than say going from 458 Win to 458 Lott, however, I'm sure any competent gunsmith could make it happen. The key is getting it to feed reliably and properly. At least that's what Wayne Jacobson at American Hunting Rifles told me when inquiring about going from a 416 Rigby to a 450 Rigby.
 
Correct me if i'm wrong , but is the 450 rigby just a beltless 460 weatherby?

For all practical purposes......yes, in that it can be stuffed full of powder like a 460 Weatherby Magnum, or 450 Dakota, to get max velocity, but technically no....

The 460 Weatherby was based off the parent cartridge, the belted 378 Weatherby Magnum which itself had no parent cartridge, as it was an original case/cartridge design by Roy Weatherby in 1953. The 460 Weatherby Magnum (circa 1957) was necked up to accommodate 0.458 bullets, and is a belted case. It has around 141 grains H20 case capacity.

The 450 Rigby is of course, based off the 416 Rigby parent case, is belt-less, and has around 136 grains H20 capacity, so a little shy of the big Weatherby.

But as far as performance go, the 450 Rigby can get close to the Weatherby, but not best it. Why anyone would want to shoot a 500 grain, 0.458 bullet at 2600-2700 fps is beyond me. Pure masochist.......:LOL:

The 450 Dakota is for all practical purposes, the same as the 450 Rigby, as it to is based off the 416 Rigby case, with the case dimensions varying ever so slightly. However, it is stoked to the rim with powder to drive it's bullets at 2500-2600 fps, and thus way higher pressures, than the standard load of the 450 Rigby (which was the point...low pressure)....That's probably what you're thinking of as far as similarities.

For, me, I think a 500 grain, 0.458 bullet at 2300 fps is plenty enough thank you very much. I am considering switching to a 550 grain, 0.458 bullet at 2100-2200 fps however.........
 
For all practical purposes......yes, in that it can be stuffed full of powder like a 460 Weatherby Magnum, or 450 Dakota, to get max velocity, but technically no....

The 460 Weatherby was based off the parent cartridge, the belted 378 Weatherby Magnum which itself had no parent cartridge, as it was an original case/cartridge design by Roy Weatherby in 1953. The 460 Weatherby Magnum (circa 1957) was necked up to accommodate 0.458 bullets, and is a belted case. It has around 141 grains H20 case capacity.

The 450 Rigby is of course, based off the 416 Rigby parent case, is belt-less, and has around 136 grains H20 capacity, so a little shy of the big Weatherby.

But as far as performance go, the 450 Rigby can get close to the Weatherby, but not best it. Why anyone would want to shoot a 500 grain, 0.458 bullet at 2600-2700 fps is beyond me. Pure masochist.......:LOL:

The 450 Dakota is for all practical purposes, the same as the 450 Rigby, as it to is based off the 416 Rigby case, with the case dimensions varying ever so slightly. However, it is stoked to the rim with powder to drive it's bullets at 2500-2600 fps, and thus way higher pressures, than the standard load of the 450 Rigby (which was the point...low pressure)....That's probably what you're thinking of as far as similarities.

For, me, I think a 500 grain, 0.458 bullet at 2300 fps is plenty enough thank you very much. I am considering switching to a 550 grain, 0.458 bullet at 2100-2200 fps however.........
That's proberly the best comparision report i have heard , thanks for clearing that up.
 
I bought my CZ 450 Rigby because it had the "cool factor". I have a 416 Rigby so I thought "what the heck". I do like that it operates at a much lower pressure than the 450 Dakota or 460 Weatherby. When I asked Karl Stumpfe about loads for it he said "basically you have a 460 Weatherby minus about 5%". It is an exceptionally accurate round. I have no problem with shooting 1" groups at 100yds.......off the bench...............with 75lbs on the Leadsled (still moves back 6"). I tried shooting off then bench without the Leadsled one day because I forgot it. 10 rounds and we didn't shoot anymore.
 
I bought my CZ 450 Rigby because it had the "cool factor". I have a 416 Rigby so I thought "what the heck". I do like that it operates at a much lower pressure than the 450 Dakota or 460 Weatherby. When I asked Karl Stumpfe about loads for it he said "basically you have a 460 Weatherby minus about 5%". It is an exceptionally accurate round. I have no problem with shooting 1" groups at 100yds.......off the bench...............with 75lbs on the Leadsled (still moves back 6"). I tried shooting off then bench without the Leadsled one day because I forgot it. 10 rounds and we didn't shoot anymore.

Nice, I put 35 lbs on the lead sled when shooting my 500 Jeffery from the bench and the sled still jumps up knocks off my ear muffs lol. By then the sound has dissipated and I wear foamies too but it is hilarious.
 
Bassadaindia,

I echo what the previous poster said.......I am not a gunsmith, so take what I post with a grain of salt, but.....

Besides a magnum action, and opening up the bolt face to accept the larger rim of the Rigby case, I would also think there might be some working over of the feed rails (i.e., opening them up to accept the fatter Rigby case (0.589 inch base diameter) versus the narrower base diameter of the Lott (0.513 inch base diameter). Also, the Rigby cartridge OAL is longer at 3.750 inches versus the Lott's OAL of 3.600 inches, so I would think magazine length may come into play as well. I think overall, besides the obvious rebarrel, magazine work and feed rail work would come into play more so than say going from 458 Win to 458 Lott, however, I'm sure any competent gunsmith could make it happen. The key is getting it to feed reliably and properly. At least that's what Wayne Jacobson at American Hunting Rifles told me when inquiring about going from a 416 Rigby to a 450 Rigby.

Bingo, and to accomplish that you may need to widen the magazine box also (in order to realize an ideal stack-up for flawless feeding), and address the ramp.
 
thanks for the replies, it is something I have thought about .
 
I have seen a lot of big bore shooters and Professional Hunters buy off the shelf CZ 550 in 458 win mag and having then converted to 450 Rigby as of late. I must admit there is something strangely appealing about walking around the african bush with an ammo belt stuffed with cigar sized cartridges!
 
I have seen a lot of big bore shooters and Professional Hunters buy off the shelf CZ 550 in 458 win mag and having then converted to 450 Rigby as of late. I must admit there is something strangely appealing about walking around the african bush with an ammo belt stuffed with cigar sized cartridges!
It be fun! It's one helluva cartridge. Very accurate. It do "jiggle the fillings" a bit!
 
So not only is the 450 Rigby finished, my first opportunity to hold and fire it was on a buffalo hunt in the Northern Territory. Snagged a 102 bull on her maiden outing.

DSCN3759.JPG
DSCN3763.JPG

DSCN3800.JPG
DSCN3822.JPG
 
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well done!

we need more pictures of the rifle up close! also, what load did you end up deciding on?

-matt
 
well done!

we need more pictures of the rifle up close! also, what load did you end up deciding on?

-matt

Didn't have much time for load dev so used QuickLoad. The node was 106.4gr of AR2209 behind a 550gr RNSN Woodleigh.

I'll post some more rifle pics soon.
 
Very nice!
 
Nice buff that you took. What is the scope you have on the rifle?
 
Nice buff that you took. What is the scope you have on the rifle?
The wrong one....was meant to be my Trijicon 1-4x24 but cracked a ring with no 30mm spare so mounted a Leupold VX3 1.75-6x32. Wasn't perfect but got the result!
 

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