.458 Lott - Rifles and Ammunition

Rifles and Ammunition

Since there are several rifle actions manufactured that are capable of handling the full length magnum cartridges such as the .375 H&H Magnum, it is not surprising that the .458 Lott has been chambered in several rifles. The .458 Lott cartridge’s maximum overall length is only .3 in (7.6 mm) longer than the standard length magnum cartridge like the 7mm Remington Magnum and the .300 Winchester Magnum. For this reason several rifles which were formerly chambered for cartridge like the .375 H&H Magnum and the .458 Winchester Magnum were easily converted to the .458 Lott early on when .458 Lott rifles were only available as a custom offering. These conversions required no more than a re-boring or a re-barreling and perhaps a magazine extension if required.

The Mauser style action has long been favored by African hunters. It is considered a highly reliable action for its ability function dependently under adverse and stressful conditions. CZ, Kimber, Mauser, Rigby and Ruger, all turn out Mauser action type rifles in this cartridge. CZ’s Brno ZKK602 was one of the first rifles manufactured which was chambered for the .458 Lott. CZ currently produces the CZ 550 American Magnum rifle in that chambering. The Kimber Caprivi, Rigby African Express and the Ruger M77 MkII Magnum are also manufactured in the .458 Lott cartridge. Mauser makes .458 Lott rifles in several models in their M 98 and M 03 Rifle lines.

Non-Mauser action rifles for the .458 Lott are produced by A-Square, Blaser and Weatherby. A-Squares Hannibal and Caesar rifles built on Enfield P14 actions. Blaser manufactures the Blaser R8 Safari PH and Safari Luxus rifle models in the .458 Lott. Weatherby offers the .458 Lott cartridge in Mark V Deluxe and also through their custom shop. Ruger chambers the .458 Lott in the Ruger No. 1 Tropical Rifle. Several other manufacturers also offer rifles chambered in the cartridge as a regular or custom offering.

An advantage that the .458 Lott offers over voluminous cartridge such as the .450 Rigby, .460 Weatherby or the .505 Gibbs is that it can be easily adopted in rifles actions which are regularly manufactured with little or no modification of the bolt face. For this reason, it is a much more economical alternative to cartridges which need larger actions types and larger bolt faces. The cartridge’s popularity is due in large part to the affordable rifles and the number of readily available rifles which are chamber for the cartridge.

Due to the popularity of the .458 Lott cartridge as a hunting cartridge there are several sources of ammunition. A-Square, Double Tap, Federal, Hornady, Norma are among several manufacturers of .458 Lott ammunition. Most ammunition manufactured for the cartridge is loaded with a 500 gr (32 g) bullet at 2,300 ft/s (700 m/s) which has become the industry standard for the cartridge.

.458 Lott Ammunition

Ammunition	Bullet	Muzzle Velocity	Muzzle Energy	MPBR/Zero
Double Tap	350 gr (23 g) TSX	2,875 ft/s (876 m/s)	6,426 ft·lbf (8,712 J)	266 yd (243 m)/227 yd (208 m)
Double Tap	500 gr (32 g) Weldcore JSP	2,350 ft/s (720 m/s)	6,133 ft·lbf (8,315 J)	226 yd (207 m)/193 yd (176 m)
Double Tap	550 gr (36 g) Weldcore JSP	2,195 ft/s (669 m/s)	5,913 ft·lbf (8,017 J)	215 yd (197 m)/283 yd (259 m)
Federal P458LT1	500 gr (32 g) TBCC	2,300 ft/s (700 m/s)	5,873 ft·lbf (7,963 J)	224 yd (205 m)/191 yd (175 m)
Federal P458LT2	500 gr (32 g) TBSS	2,300 ft/s (700 m/s)	5,873 ft·lbf (7,963 J)	223 yd (204 m)/190 yd (170 m)
Federal P458LA	500 gr (32 g) TSX	2,280 ft/s (690 m/s)	5,771 ft·lbf (7,824 J)	227 yd (208 m)/193 yd (176 m)
Federal P458LG	500 gr (32 g) BBS	2,300 ft/s (700 m/s)	5,873 ft·lbf (7,963 J)	228 yd (208 m)/194 yd (177 m)
Hornady 8262	500 gr (32 g) DGS	2,300 ft/s (700 m/s)	5,873 ft·lbf (7,963 J)	220 yd (200 m)/188 yd (172 m)
Hornady 82613	500 gr (32 g) DGX	2,300 ft/s (700 m/s)	5,873 ft·lbf (7,963 J)	220 yd (200 m)/188 yd (172 m)
Norma 11115	500 gr (32 g) RN	2,100 ft/s (640 m/s)	4,897 ft·lbf (6,639 J)	206 yd (188 m)/176 yd (161 m)
Norma 11116	500 gr (32 g) FMJ	2,100 ft/s (640 m/s)	4,897 ft·lbf (6,639 J)	206 yd (188 m)/176 yd (161 m)