Need Info on 458 Rifle

[Tintin]

Interesting.

Thanks.

I would have put my money on it being a Zastava - but I'm no expert.

Just goes to highlight the folly of making assumptions.

Keen to see how it shoots. Does it chamber the Lott cartridges you have on hand?

Some info on Belgian proof marks at

https://www.nramuseum.org/media/940944/proofmarks.pdf

that may be of interest.

I can't quite identify your mark from the image.

 

[Mountaineous]

Interesting.

Thanks.

I would have put my money on it being a Zastava - but I'm no expert.

Just goes to highlight the folly of making assumptions.

Keen to see how it shoots. Does it chamber the Lott cartridges you have on hand?

Some info on Belgian proof marks at

https://www.nramuseum.org/media/940944/proofmarks.pdf

that may be of interest.

I can't quite identify your mark from the image.

Thank you for that link. It’s a little hard to tell but I think this is the bolt marking on it.

 

[Mountaineous]

Interesting.

Thanks.

I would have put my money on it being a Zastava - but I'm no expert.

Just goes to highlight the folly of making assumptions.

Keen to see how it shoots. Does it chamber the Lott cartridges you have on hand?

Some info on Belgian proof marks at

https://www.nramuseum.org/media/940944/proofmarks.pdf

that may be of interest.

I can't quite identify your mark from the image.

The 458 Lott ammo does chamber. I don’t have any experience with the calibers, but I wouldn’t think the longer Lott would chamber if it was a win mag chambering? It might be worth tracking down some headspace gauges for it to verify.

 

[TMac]

The 458 Lott ammo does chamber. I don’t have any experience with the calibers, but I wouldn’t think the longer Lott would chamber if it was a win mag chambering? It might be worth tracking down some headspace gauges for it to verify.

Or cast the chamber for a measurement to be sure.

 

[Mountaineous]

Or cast the chamber for a measurement to be sure.

I might try that. I’ve never cast one myself before, but it doesn’t look terribly difficult.

 

[Sideshow]

My question is: Are you going to take it for round 2 on buffalo

 

[Mountaineous]

My question is: Are you going to take it for round 2 on buffalo

I haven’t figured that out yet, but I might! I’ll have to get it cleaned up and see how it shoots. I also bought a CZ BRNO 375 h&h weekend. I am hunting Leopard/buffalo in Mozambique next year, and am also in the process of hammering out plans for a Caprivi buffalo hunt in 2028.

 

[cajunchefray]

I haven’t figured that out yet, but I might! I’ll have to get it cleaned up and see how it shoots. I also bought a CZ BRNO 375 h&h weekend. I am hunting Leopard/buffalo in Mozambique next year, and am also in the process of hammering out plans for a Caprivi buffalo hunt in 2028.

That’s a really nice rifle, your father has good taste. These FN Belgium Mausers were very finely crafted, great steel, a favorite of gunsmiths for custom builds. My gunsmith prefers these.
FN sold just the actions in the white to Sako just after WW II, as well as Husqvarna. I have 2 of these, a stock .270 that I gave to my dad for his deer rifle. Another I had rebarrelled to.35 Whelen. They feed perfectly.

Have you tried cycling several.458 Lott cartridges?

Good Mauser gunsmiths know how to open up the magazine box, properly modify the bolt face, extractor and the rails for consistent feeding.
As such you have a fine piece of craftsmanship.

 

[Mountaineous]

That’s a really nice rifle, your father has good taste. These FN Belgium Mausers were very finely crafted, great steel, a favorite of gunsmiths for custom builds. My gunsmith prefers these.
FN sold just the actions in the white to Sako just after WW II, as well as Husqvarna. I have 2 of these, a stock .270 that I gave to my dad for his deer rifle. Another I had rebarrelled to.35 Whelen. They feed perfectly.

Have you tried cycling several.458 Lott cartridges?

Good Mauser gunsmiths know how to open up the magazine box, properly modify the bolt face, extractor and the rails for consistent feeding.
As such you have a fine piece of craftsmanship.

Thank you. I’m glad to have it in my possession. It does seem to cycle the Lott cartridges fine, although I haven’t fired it yet. I’m hoping to verify the caliber first. Obviously my father fired 458 Lott through it with no ill effect, but I wanted to be certain. Do you know if the Lott cartridges will chamber into a 458 win mag chamber? That was my concern, with the lack of “Lott” barrel stamping.

 

[cajunchefray]

Thank you. I’m glad to have it in my possession. It does seem to cycle the Lott cartridges fine, although I haven’t fired it yet. I’m hoping to verify the caliber first. Obviously my father fired 458 Lott through it with no ill effect, but I wanted to be certain. Do you know if the Lott cartridges will chamber into a 458 win mag chamber? That was my concern, with the lack of “Lott” barrel stamping.

Well, this gets into the specific chambering work, and to be absolutely sure a chamber cast, measured by a good gunsmith, is best.

I am not expert of 458 WM conversions to Lott. I have owned a Ruger 458 Lott, and a few .458Win Mags.

A very good reference, that explains this is "African Dangerous Game Cartridges" by Pierre van der Walt, published 2011 by Pathfinder Adventure Books.

If your dad fired 458 Lott ammo (the A-Square picture), then the chamber was likely reamed and lengthened from .458 Win Mag to Lott, such that the cartridge case length of the 458 WM (2.50"), to the 2.85" Lott. This is how Jack Lott created this cartridge.
But check with a chamber cast for exact dimensions to verify.

The difference in custom work of .458 WM conversion to Lott, is the chamber throat and leade, the unrifled section of the barrel to the rifling, and the angle and taper. Not all are the same.

A little open throat, as in the .458 WIN Mag helps keep pressure down.

Thus, in a SAAMI spec chambered 458 WIn Mag, a 458 Lott cannot be chambered. The 458 Win Mag COAL is 3.34" and the 458 Lott is 3.6". But a .458 Win Mag can safely be fired in the longer 458 Lott chamber. That is how it was designed. Like shooting 38 specials in the 357 Magnum.

A gentleman with a lot of knowledge, @Riflecrank, has some threads on this, rather long, but with SAAMI spec chamber drawings that show the difference.

This is a bit convoluted, but I would get a gunsmith to do a chamber cast, verify the 458 Lott chamber, then go shoot it.

 

[Rafiki]

Is that I'm looking at it, I’m actually struggling to figure out how one releases the floor plate.

It's the same setup as the Ruger M77; just push from the outside of the trigger guard where there is a machined indent, right above the magazine floorplate.

 

[Mountaineous]

Well, this gets into the specific chambering work, and to be absolutely sure a chamber cast, measured by a good gunsmith, is best.

I am not expert of 458 WM conversions to Lott. I have owned a Ruger 458 Lott, and a few .458Win Mags.

A very good reference, that explains this is "African Dangerous Game Cartridges" by Pierre van der Walt, published 2011 by Pathfinder Adventure Books.

If your dad fired 458 Lott ammo (the A-Square picture), then the chamber was likely reamed and lengthened from .458 Win Mag to Lott, such that the cartridge case length of the 458 WM (2.50"), to the 2.85" Lott. This is how Jack Lott created this cartridge.
But check with a chamber cast for exact dimensions to verify.

The difference in custom work of .458 WM conversion to Lott, is the chamber throat and leade, the unrifled section of the barrel to the rifling, and the angle and taper. Not all are the same.

A little open throat, as in the .458 WIN Mag helps keep pressure down.

Thus, in a SAAMI spec chambered 458 WIn Mag, a 458 Lott cannot be chambered. The 458 Win Mag COAL is 3.34" and the 458 Lott is 3.6". But a .458 Win Mag can safely be fired in the longer 458 Lott chamber. That is how it was designed. Like shooting 38 specials in the 357 Magnum.

A gentleman with a lot of knowledge, @Riflecrank, has some threads on this, rather long, but with SAAMI spec chamber drawings that show the difference.

This is a bit convoluted, but I would get a gunsmith to do a chamber cast, verify the 458 Lott chamber, then go shoot it.

Thank you for the information and advise. I haven’t cast a chamber before myself, so I will probably just take it to a gunsmith to verify chambering once I’m finished cleaning it up. I didn’t figure a lott would chamber into a win mag, but I thought maybe if there was a lot of freebore it could. I imagine it was converted to Lott at some point, and never barrel stamped. For the peace of mind, I’d like to have that verified though since I am no gunsmith myself.

 

[Mountaineous]

It's the same setup as the Ruger M77; just push from the outside of the trigger guard where there is a machined indent, right above the magazine floorplate.

Yeah I figured that out. I had tried it before but it wouldn’t budge. It turned out it was just very stuck, and took tools to get it to open the first time.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Well, this gets into the specific chambering work, and to be absolutely sure a chamber cast, measured by a good gunsmith, is best.

I am not expert of 458 WM conversions to Lott. I have owned a Ruger 458 Lott, and a few .458Win Mags.

A very good reference, that explains this is "African Dangerous Game Cartridges" by Pierre van der Walt, published 2011 by Pathfinder Adventure Books.

If your dad fired 458 Lott ammo (the A-Square picture), then the chamber was likely reamed and lengthened from .458 Win Mag to Lott, such that the cartridge case length of the 458 WM (2.50"), to the 2.85" Lott. This is how Jack Lott created this cartridge.
But check with a chamber cast for exact dimensions to verify.

The difference in custom work of .458 WM conversion to Lott, is the chamber throat and leade, the unrifled section of the barrel to the rifling, and the angle and taper. Not all are the same.

A little open throat, as in the .458 WIN Mag helps keep pressure down.

Thus, in a SAAMI spec chambered 458 WIn Mag, a 458 Lott cannot be chambered. The 458 Win Mag COAL is 3.34" and the 458 Lott is 3.6". But a .458 Win Mag can safely be fired in the longer 458 Lott chamber. That is how it was designed. Like shooting 38 specials in the 357 Magnum.

A gentleman with a lot of knowledge, @Riflecrank, has some threads on this, rather long, but with SAAMI spec chamber drawings that show the difference.

This is a bit convoluted, but I would get a gunsmith to do a chamber cast, verify the 458 Lott chamber, then go shoot it.

+1 on the chamber cast. Then if all good you CAN also fire .458 WM in the Lott chambered rifle. You probably already knew that though.