.458 Lott for Deer?

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Opening day... deer season... N.Carolina!
You must not live here...they get a lot bigger around these parts. :D

You know T. Rex was only about 10-15ft tall, and 10-15,000lbs. Not small, but certainly dwarfed by its TV counterparts. :)
 
Man... look at the hams on that thing!. :D

Wonder what it tastes like.:rolleyes:

Hey Mav, how do you guys get em' up onto the 4-wheelers? ;)

The taxidermy man gonna' s**t when he see what I brung eem! :neener:

Ok... I'll stop... were's my meds??
 
The .45-70, and the muzzleloaders that immediately preceded it, fed many people with venison.

No reason a downloaded .458 Lott won't work. Do you know what you're in for, trajectory-wise? That's the only downside.:)
 
Do you know what you're in for, trajectory-wise?
Yep, I have (and love) a 45-70, so I know that a bowling ball with a good BC has a better trajectory...but I will likely never take a shot past 200yds...so I think I should be fine. With 300gr bullets that should place me about 1' low (405gr at about 18" low). :)
 
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I'm wondering how this turned out. I'm also considering the .458 Lott for these nasty VA Whitetails.
 
I have a BRNO ZKK in .458 WM with a hogback stock. My brother has a CZ 550 American in .458 WM. When comparing recoil of both guns with the same loads, my hog back seems to recoil less.

The actions of the ZKK and CZ 550 are so large that the .458 WM sort of gets swallowed up in it. The .458 Lott cartridge is a better fit, IMO. I want to have my .458 WM chamber extended some day to .458 Lott.
 
For everyone that was wondering, I turned out getting some sense...decided to get something a little more practical than the .458Lott. I ended up with a .375H&H, and load up some light 220gr. bullets for deer and the like (along with 300s for big bear and 350 solids if I ever get the chance to go after cape buff and the like). It is lighter, smaller, has much better trajectory (roughly equal to a .30-06 when loaded with spitzers), and has more than enough authority to take down the intended game...big bear not deer. I am confident that I made the right decision, and it has quickly become one of my favorite rifles. That said, I am certain that a grossly downloaded .458Lott/WM would perform admirably at short range for deer, much like the .45-70Govt. does. I still have the urge for a larger magnum, and thus have determined to rechamber my Browning 1885 to .45-120 American Express (a nitrocellulose version of the BP cartridge), which is about on par with the .450NE or the low end of .458Lott/high end of .458WM.

Here is a photo of the rifle I decided upon:
IMG_4596.jpg

:)
 
Is that a Ruger MkII Magnum I'm seeing ?
No it is a Whitworth Express Mauser, the upgraded version of the Mk. X. Great sights (3 blade express), fits perfectly, and is smooth as butter. I almost bought a Ruger Mk. II (which had all the features I was looking for), but the stock didn't fit me well, luckily I stumbled across this instead. Topped it with a VX-3 on QD mounts and it is ready to handle just about anything with the proper load.

:)
 
The .458Lott has cheaper brass, will last longer, and will handle both cartridges.

That would not be adviseable. While it will chamber and fire, that kind of freebore in a high-pressure magnum rifle cartridge is a little bit different than the .38/.357 interchangeability or firing 2-3/4" shells in a 3" chamber.
 
I don't know about you guys, but .458 Lott won't stop deer in northern VA. Most of them here have Chobbham reactive armor, long-range infrared vision, JATO rockets on their hoofs for quick getaways, and mutated DNA allowing them to heal like Wolverine.
 
I have a No.1 in .458 Winchester and love it, shoots great and I can load it way down (1,200 fps) or high enough to where it makes you say ugly words when you pull the trigger. Fun!

J.B.
 
It is a good looking rifle for sure !
Thank you sir.

That would not be adviseable.
I don't believe it would hurt anything, there is only about 1/4" difference in length, though I have no intentions to test it myself as I have decided against any of the modern .458 magnums. It would undoubtedly gunk up the chamber, and the difference in cost for a reloader is negligible IIRC.

:)
 
I don't know about you guys, but .458 Lott won't stop deer in northern VA. Most of them here have Chobbham reactive armor, long-range infrared vision, JATO rockets on their hoofs for quick getaways, and mutated DNA allowing them to heal like Wolverine.

Well, I guess if I ever go hunting there, I'll get a GAU-8 and load with solid adamantium bullets. And I better not forget the decoy flares.

Out here in CO, where the big mule deer are too broke to afford armor and hoof-mounted propulsion, my .25-06 works pretty good.
 
Hmm, .458 lott for deer. Well I guess with good shot placement anything is possible.


Is this a serious question or what?
 
^ Did you even read the post?
Not once did he ask if it was adequate. He bought a large magnum because that's what he wanted. That's still okay isn't it?
 
Not once did he ask if it was adequate. He bought a large magnum because that's what he wanted.
Thank you Paul, that is exactly what I did. Despite me having other rifles that are arguably more suitable to the task, I figured that it wouldn't hurt to get a bit more use out of it. Besides I am still planning a big bear hunt, which I formerly didn't have a rifle that I considered suitable for (there are some creatures that I just like to have "too much gun" for). FWIW, this is thread is nearly a year old.

:)
 
I think it's a fine idea, .375 or .458. Despite statements to the contrary, with proper bullet selection it won't vaporize deer. It will just punch a neat .45 caliber hole and fully penetrate from any angle. Probably with a lot less bloodshot meat than Joe Blow's .30-06, especially the way you're loading it. It's the perfect way to become intimately familiar with a dangerous game rifle before heading to the dark continent.

I'd love to do the same thing with a custom shop model 70 Super Grade .375H&H that I handled a few years back. It was the most perfectly fitted rifle I ever shouldered, like it was made just for me. Came up effortlessly and the sights lined up like it was choreographed. It had a lucious walnut stock, ebony forend tip, wrap around 28lpi checkering, lovely matte finish with three leaf express sights. Perfect! Unfortunately I didn't have $3000 to spend on a rifle at the time, which was right after I bought my late model Winchester 1895 .405.

Beautiful rifle by the way, with my favorite scope atop it. ;)
 
Probably with a lot less bloodshot meat than Joe Blow's .30-06

You can pretty well gaurantee that, with the lower velocity and a bullet that is highly unlikely to expand at all in a 200-300 pound critter.

That said, to ensure a clean kill, perhaps a 350 gr. JHP at moderate .45-70 velocities would be the ticket for medium game.
 
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