New member from the UK

[njc110381]

Hi all,

I've been reading your forum for a while now. There are some fantastic posts on here for a beginner to learn from so I thought I should join up and thank you all for your efforts, as well as join in with the conversations at times.

I have around ten years of firearm experience shooting deer locally but have never travelled to Africa. I would like to - my main aim is to at some point take a buffalo but this is something I need to save and also train for. I've bought a CZ550 Kevlar in .458 Lott, and intend to build a good level of experience with the rifle shooting cast bullets to start with, perhaps loaded down to around the level of a stout .45-70 at first to avoid developing a flinch. The plan is to slowly work up, as I get familiar with a load I will add a couple more grains of powder and shoot again until I am completely comfortable with the rifle firing full power 500gr loads. This will also allow me to put a lot of rounds down the gun at a reasonable cost, so the fit of the rifle and it's operation becomes second nature without taking up too much of the savings I will need to build to pay for the trip.

From what I have read here the most important things to consider on a dangerous game hunt are the reliability of the firearm being used and the hunter's ability to shoot it properly and know how to deal with issues like misfeeds, jams etc. I think my approach will probably be the best way to achieve it but I am open to suggestions from those who have actually done it! There's no better teacher than experience after all.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope to speak to you all in more detail soon.

Neil

 

[spike.t]

Hi welcome aboard. Sounds like you have thought things through well . And good rifle and calibre for what you want

 

[Nkawu]

Hi Neil! What part of the UK are you from? Sounds like you are on the right path!

 

[Shootist43]

Welcome aboard Neil. Your plan is sound, but there is one scenario that you need to add to your plan. Make sure to fill the magazine with as many rounds as it will hold and that there are no feeding issues. If you are not familiar with this potential problem do a search on AH to find out what issues others have had and how to cure them. You can make up inert or dummy rounds (no powder & spent primer) and do this at home. Let us know what you find.

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Welcome to AH.
Good luck.

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

Welcome to AH, Neil!

 

[njc110381]

Thanks for the replies chaps. I had a quick search on the forum regarding the Lott and I've found the rifle I put a deposit on in the classifieds! Small world I guess, I just have to wait for my FAC variation and I'll be off to collect it - it's the one Stalker91 had for sale.

 

[cpr0312]

Hello and welcome!

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

Welcome to AH Neil! Looking forward to your contribution.

 

[nztimb]

Welcome to our place Neil

 

[cagkt3]

Welcome, and congrats on the purchase!

 

[BRICKBURN]

Welcome to AH.

 

[Adrian]

Welcome from another Brit.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Welcome Neil! WOW you’re starting out with a powerful DG cartridge! I think you are on the right path. Once you get it sighted in, don’t forget to concentrate on shooting off sticks. Set the sticks up as if a PH did it for you. Start a 4 second count. Fire. Reload and repeat until the magazine is empty. Ideally have a target at 100m, 75m, 50 m and 25m (or similar). Fire at each one as quickly as possible. I just learned this here on AH. Not my idea, but an excellent representation of a charging DG!
Best of luck getting to Africa!

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Welcome to AH! Sounds like you have a good plan for developing your recoil tolerance with your .458 Lott. As mentioned, you picked a big one to start with. But loaded down in power and with lighter bullets to start with should work well for you.

 

[njc110381]

I did quite a bit of reading before deciding on the Lott. The main appeal was that ability to load anything from .45-70 deer level loads with little 300gr bullets right up to crazy buffalo smashing 600gr solids. There's a small chance I may not ever be able to tolerate a full charge but until I try I won't know. I'm not overly sensitive to recoil so I expect to manage it ok once I've got used to it.

The main thing is it's easy to load down a big round but impossible to load up a small one. If I reach a point where I'm not comfortable stepping up any more I will simply load the ammo at that and be done with it. As long as that's approaching .450NE loads it will be more than enough for my needs. I already fire 500gr bullets from my .45-70 so I will load them to a similar starting point. The CZ550 is a big gun, I'm not expecting it to recoil anything like my cut down .45-70 guide gun until the powder charges get nearer to .458 Magnum loadings. Time will tell whether that theory is right or not!

 

[sierraone]

Welcome to our forum! You will learn a lot here and everyone will not tell you the same method. Your training is what will make the final decision for you! Good Luck.

 

[CAustin]

Welcome to AH sir!

 

[Nyati]

Hi Neil, welcome to AH !

 

[enysse]

Welcome to AH! I like your plan of loading down the Lott and getting a lot of practice time in before bringing it back up to full power loads.