Reloading .458 Lott

[4fifty8]

• hunting load ok results with IMR 4895 & 300gr TSX in my Sako AV
• checked zero from last season spot on compact Leupold 4x good
• handloading proposition pricey otherwise https://choiceammunition.com/product/458-lott-450-grain-barnes-triple-shock-tsx100-hand-loaded/
  

https://i.imgur.com/YPrgHg0.jpg / https://i.imgur.com/EZhoz4g.jpg / https://i.imgur.com/nN9Fc1j.jpg / https://i.imgur.com/TOuICjb.jpg

 

[Buckmastr]

I enjoyed handloading the Lott. Don’t exactly need tweezers like a 204 Ruger. Load development off a bench was a bit abusive however.

 

[4fifty8]

Reduced load Blue Dot & 405gr 45-70 CamPro copper plated accuracy ok -

https://i.imgur.com/76fLt9t.jpg / https://i.imgur.com/znYCj4A.jpg / https://i.imgur.com/Jyt20wK.jpg

 

[Buckmastr]

Here’s my Lott.

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1545982-Big-Bore-Rebore

 

[4fifty8]

Very nice shoots pretty good. Got a 375 want to rebore to 416RM sounds like he's da man.

 

[Dogleg]

I use the .450 grain A Frame and a handful of 4320 in mine. Mostly because I have a ton of it.

 

[4fifty8]

500gr results

• today checked 500gr speed & accuracy
• reduced load using fast burn rate powder recoil quite manageable
• also checked Speer 400gr & CamPro 405gr plated
• 500gr 100m POI way low adjust elevation UP 10"
• adjust elevation DOWN 10" 300gr TSX@2600 fps mv zero restored

 

[4fifty8]

Scope and load change

• Nikon Monarch III 1-4x20mm
• 350gr TSX / IMR 4895 / Hornady brass / Fed 215
• 2425 fps mv mild pressure good accuracy
• 405gr copper plated / Blue Dot load@1350 fps mv 100m POI ~3" RIGHT same elev/windage setting

 

[yodave]

you can really tighten up those groups by lifting your sizing die, you are oversizing your brass big time, hence the swelling around the seated bullets as compared to the case bellow the bullet.

if you have a piece of virgin brass, measure the inside diameter of the neck, if you don't that's okay

lift your sizing die about an inch off the shell holder, run a case in and measure the ID of the neck, lower the die until the ID is about .455, lock the sizing die and size a couple case, bell them as per normal and then seat a bullet, if you feel resistance while seating all the way to the desired COAL, you're golden, if there is resistance and then all of a sudden nothing but you are still pushing the bullet into the case, then lower the sizing die a little bit more and repeat the process, your brass will last longer, your bullets will sit straighter, and your groups will shrink drastically

 

[4fifty8]

Redding FL resizing die ghost shoulder design feature reloads ok as is -

"...to provide better retention of the bullet in the case under recoil...." https://guns.fandom.com/wiki/.458_Lott

 

[4fifty8]

400gr Swift A-Frame

• results today 400gr SAF / IMR 4895 / Hornady brass / Fed 215
• another load option group could be better fine tuning needed
• also .458 405gr CamPro & Blue Dot groups not too bad good target load
• Nikon Monarch3 large turrets possible brass eject obstruction
• mechanical ejection need to pull bolt back like you mean it for positive ejection
• brass hits turret on way out

 

[Big bore dinosaur]

Nice pics.
Have good luck with varget and 500gr s.p. hornady in my CZ

 

[Demonical]

I haven't played with the Lott for quite awhile. Mine is a CZ-550 that was originally chambered in .458WM and I had the chamber reamed out by David Henry (Bentley AB).

Note: Max velocities are supposed to be 2170-2200fps mv range, according to load data.

In mine I used H-335, Hornady 500gr Interbond, Fed Mag primers.

75grs H-335 avg vel 2219fps
76grs H-335 avg vel 2264fps
78grs H-335 avg vel 2321fps
79grs H-335 avg vel 2327fps

IIRC accuracy was acceptable. I don't know if I still have the targets, but I probably have them.

 

[4fifty8]

Fun target shooting with 405gr at .45-70 Trapdoor level vs full on 500gr sustained use could develop CTE.

 

[B]

The effort you put into your posts is impressive. I don't even load most of what you share data on but I look anyway.

 

[4fifty8]

^^ Thanks.

38 cents per bullet .458 405gr CamPro reduced load = more target shooting for less.

 

[dan belisle]

Nice shooting. I use a 450 Ackley instead of a Lott. Little faster, but with those bullet weights that isnt all that important until you're culling elephants or dinosaurs. Ackley's main advantage is I can fire 458 WM, 458 Lott or 450 Ackley rounds in it, kind of like a 22 with shorts, longs, and long rifles. - dan

 

[B]

Nice shooting. I use a 450 Ackley instead of a Lott. Little faster, but with those bullet weights that isnt all that important until you're culling elephants or dinosaurs. Ackley's main advantage is I can fire 458 WM, 458 Lott or 450 Ackley rounds in it, kind of like a 22 with shorts, longs, and long rifles. - dan

What do you do with .458 WM cases fires in your Ackley chamber? Looks like they end up with a slight neck down that wouldn't be useful for much. Just trim it off..?

 

[dan belisle]

What do you do with .458 WM cases fires in your Ackley chamber? Looks like they end up with a slight neck down that wouldn't be useful for much. Just trim it off..?

I have used them when i had no other ammo for it. I saved the cases and resized them for another 458 I had at the time. Once it was gone, after using them in the Ackley, I would neck size them down to 416 for my 416 Taylor. If you have enough rifles, just about anything is useful, one way or another. - dan

 

[4fifty8]

400gr Swift A-Frame / Blue Dot

• reduced load results with Blue Dot
• premium bullet accuracy not too bad
• zero 350gr TSX@2425 fps 400gr SAF shoots 5"R