The 458 Lott's power

[jro45]

My 458 Lott has more power than the 470 double barrel. The only advantage it has is the second shot? What do you think?

[corbanzo]

Yes, you do get two quick shots with the .470NE double.  But.

The CZ550AS holds six rounds total with one in the chamber.  I have seen animals take two shots without going down.  I've never seen one take six. 

It's like up here in AK, I do have a double barrel shotgun with double triggers, I have two really quick shots, but I still take my pump, because I can put five slugs in it, instead of two. 

[jro45]

My CZ 550 458 lott holds 5 or 6 rounds. I didn't think about it that way.  thats a good point.

[Graybeard]

I think that for a professional guide who's job it is to protect the life of himself and his paying client both are fine. For the dude doing the hunting both are gross over kill and totally inappropriate for anything short of elephants and even then the hunter likely would be better served with a rifle with less recoil they can shoot accurately and fast.

[corbanzo]

I used to think the same thing.. actually right after I bought it a few years back.  But after putting the muzzle brake on it... it is a very shootable gun. 

[jro45]

I don't have a muzzel brake on mine. It has 74 ft lbs of recoil witch is a big push standing, sitting I have a sand bag on my shoulder then the rifle.

You are right the 458 Lott is an Elephant rifle.

[jro45]

I took my 458 lott out today to find out how many fps it could push the 550gr bullet. It did 2153 FPS. I figure not bad.

[corbanzo]

Not bad at all.  Right now I'm loading 405 grain hardcasts at about 2450fps.  Good load, milder recoil for the lott.  Should put out about 60ftlbs of recoil, with the brake on there, it feels like 30 ftlbs. 

I've been working this one for my brown bear load.  It has plenty of energy for the brownies.

[sasu]

My 458 Lott holds only one round.





I hope the elephants attack one at a time.

[Thebear_78]

just get a couple of them to stand side by side!   I really like the 458 Lott I had a really nice custom built on a stainless winchester classic action with muzle break.  Recoil really wasn't that bad in the 10lb rifle and it shot very well.   350gr speers @ 2760fps were fun and very effective on game.

[jro45]

Sounds like those 350 Speers were moving right along. I would guess you could use them for alot of different game.

[Golfswithwolves]

I think that if you can afford it the double rifle is a bit better for its intended use: they point well and quickly, are built like fine watches, give a second set of locks and barrel if the first fails at a bad time, and are REALLY cool. But who can afford one? The .458 certainly does have a lott  of power!

[S.E.Ak]

By time you fire five with the bolt gun you can fire four with the SxS and into your next reload. With double triggers two slugs at once may hurt more then a slug at a time while working the action.With a double if a shell misfires the next is off in a instant.Pros and cons to both but the biggest is money in most cases.

[deltecs]

The .458 Lott is an excellent weapon for African DG.  Remember that most DG shots are from the offhand position and not sitting or on the bench.  Recoil is thus not as noticable as it rolls the shooter much like a ship rolls with a broadside reducing felt recoil.  The Lott is as good but not better than the 470 NE.  One must look at cross section, even though it appears minimal with the same bullet weight.  The biggest disadvantage of the Lott compared to the 470 NE is its higher pressure in tropical climates.  If the pressure is too high due temperature, the case may not be able to be extracted, which results in a single shot rifle.  Also, the extractor may be broken and not remove a case.  It is the reliability of 2 different sets of triggers, firing pins, springs and everything else that is not dependent on any one action to remove or shoot a round.  Also, the double barrel brings one other really good advantage to shooting DG.  This is the fact of 2 aimed shots without moving either hand or from the shoulder to reload.  For shooting DG at close quarters this may be a substantial difference in killing game or being killed or maimed.  Granted these big bore rifles are for big DG and intended for such.  As that is the object, I personally would not hesitate to use a rifle with which I'm eminently familiar with and utterly reliable in a bolt configuration instead of a double.  It is first shot placement that is the telling tale with the ability of the second shot to STOP any charges, not to inflict more damage by energy expension.  That is the reason for these big bores is to STOP charges, not just to kill the animal. 

[jro45]

I guess I could say instead I'm going Hunting Elephant, That I'm going to Stop an Elephant.
To me thats all the same because To stop a wild Elephant you would have to kill it and that is what you do when hunting is kill the game [elephant].

[S.E.Ak]

Hence the word stopping rifle

[deltecs]

I guess I could say instead I'm going Hunting Elephant, That I'm going to Stop an Elephant.
To me thats all the same because To stop a wild Elephant you would have to kill it and that is what you do when hunting is kill the game [elephant].

I've seen a big brown bear killed with a 30-06 through the boiler room.  He ran over 150 yards before dying.  Another shooter shot the bear with a .375 H&H through both shoulders to bring him down at the 150 yard marker.  This shot broke both shoulders and tumbled the bear, though was not the killing shot.  The 06 through the lungs was the killing shot.  Had that bear run at the shooter with the 06, it could easily have mauled the hunter severly or killed him.  Would the same thing happened with the hunter using the .375 H&H?  Possibly, but I think I'd like the .375 H&H for the stopping power instead of the 06.  The same applies to African DG.