:!: The 458 Lott is what the 458Win Mag should have been in the first place! If it had, the 458 Win Mag would never have gotten the bad rap it did, back when it was only a couple of yrs old!
There were many cases of hang fires, duds, and under power ammo not getting the job done, in some of the direst circumstances! The problem was the lack of powder capacity in the 458 Win Mag case, plus the use of a 500 gr bullet! With the powders available to us in those days, the 458 Win Mag, in fact, got some people into a real tight situations.
The fact is, Winchester had a very fine CRF action that could accommodate the full length 375 H&H case, with a more suitable platform for pushing a 500 gr bullet, without having the compress the powder in the too short 458 Win Mag case.
The problem was, the powder would work fine on the factory range where Winchester was testing the new cartridge. However, once the powder was compressed for some amount of time, before it was used, and subjected to the heat of the tropics, the powder became "CAKED" in the case, causing the hang fires, squib loads, and total duds, at the most inopportune times.
The LOTT case has no such problem, even with full house loads, with 500 gr bullets, and even heavier ones. IMO, the best use of the Lott is not full house loads, but should be loaded to the velocities of the 458 Win Mag, without the higher pressures, and no compacting of powder charges. My lott is loaded to exactly 2100 fps, with a 500 gr Woodliegh solids, and softs. The recoil is not that bad, and I have never experienced a problem with the LOTT! The above speed with a 500 gr bullet, is just above the old 450NE 3 1/4" double rifle round, and is the cartridge all BIG FIVE cartridges are judged by!
Today, the 458 Win Mag can be utilized best by shooting 450 Gr bullets, and backing the speed down to about 1900-2000 fps, with the powders we have today. IMO, the 458 Win Mag still doesn't have enough powder capacity to handle a 500 gr bullet efficiently, even with modern powders, and will work much better if backed down some!
All the above is the opinion of only one man, though tempered by 64 yrs, from the age of six years of shooting, and of 59 yrs of loading for, and hunting with big bore rifles of all types! I understand opinions very, and mine is no more valuable that that of anyone else's. Just my two cents, spend it any way you choose!
