.458 Lott recoil is no joke

[hammz]

I'm a big bore junkie and recently had my Ruger No. 1H Tropical re-bored from .458 Win Mag to .458 Lott. I took it out the other day and could only fire 3 rounds before I had to stop. The recoil on it is almost nightmarish. I've never had a gun kick like that before. It probably doesn't help that the butt pad on it is kind of stiff being that the gun was made in 2001 or so.

But it is a nightmarish rifle to shoot. I have a 416 Rem Mag Model 70 that I love to shoot and have put 40 rounds through it in a range session, and I've owned a .375 H&H and found that to be pretty easy to shoot. But the Lott just seems like it's on a whole 'nother level in terms of ferocity. It seriously makes my 416 Rem feel like kind of a sissy gun, and that gun/round is absolutely a beast in and of itself. But the Lott is just on a whole 'nother tier.

What's the best way to reduce the recoil on it? I'm thinking of a Limbsaver or Pachmayr Decelerator pad... something spongy. Don't really want to brake it since I may take it hunting out west for moose or grizzly at some point in the future, but if that's necessary I may have to. If I can't find anything to reduce the recoil I may just have to sell this ferocious monster.

 

[Gunnie]

Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad would be good. Another to look at would be adding some weight to the stock.

 

[Forrest Halley]

I put a pacmayr XLT on mine. The secret is to shoot 400 grain bullets in practice. Mine is a Lott from birth. You're probably lucky in rechambering in that you can use the 400 grain Speers loaded long. My throat is too short and likes to pull bullets. There's a guy on a reloading forum that talks about reaming the .458 Lott out with a .458WM reamer for the longer throat. I have considered it, but I'm getting great accuracy right now. I have no desire to go above 500 grains at this time.
I refer to my rifle as "The Businesswoman." She is very attractive, but when it's time to party, it is very clear who is in charge. Fast and furious recoil. I have gotten it under control, but it is not an all day plinker and it is very loud. I would not port it for fear of never wanting to shoot it again. I much prefer my .375 for extended sessions, but even that is a bit rude with hot 300 grainers.

 

[Nhoro]

You made me smile. I have been working up a reload for my Lott. I got some Peregrine copper monlithic solids- I ordered the 500 gr bullets but then found out they are 515 gr. So went to see a friend of mine to reload and started trying different powders. So about 4 different powders are not so promising then he hands me one at the range- he warned me it would be pretty heavy. Anyway 515 gr at 2345 fps gets your attention for sure !

I enjoy shooting but don't particularly enjoy recoil. I added weight (3 old cartridge cases filled with lead and drilled into the butt. It also improved the balance a bit. I also sat with some sandpaper and round the rubber pad-it had corners and a funny shallow S bend. Last of all, I had a look at myself in the mirror with the rifle shouldered. I realised that I was tending to put the butt a little high on the shoulder and half the butt was off my shoulder. So there is a couple of things to try.

Also you can comfortably reload to Win Mag specs with lighter bullets for range time. 450 gr at 2150 fps is much easier on the shoulder.

 

[hammz]

Thanks guys! I ordered Limbsaver AirTech and a Pachmayr Decelerator slip on recoil pads and will test them both out on it and see if one works better than the other. The Pachmayr looks more spongy, but we'll see.

Unfortunately I don't reload so I am limited to factory ammo. What would you recommend besides going down to 458 WM for lighter loads? In my 416 Rem I pretty exclusively use Hornady 400gr DGS, and Barnes Vor-TX Safari 400gr TSX.

Out of the Lott I have been shooting Hornady 500gr DGS. I believe Norma makes a 450gr solid that you can buy for the Lott?

 

[thriller]

A lead sled and 100 lbs of lead shot does wonders for the sighting in portion no need to punish yourself on that part of the process.

 

[spike.t]

Read a few people say the no1 in big calibres is not fun to shoot....how does it fit you?...my two B/A lotts weigh 9lbs and other one slightly heavier...the lighter one is nicer for me to shoot....but not much in it...they aren't heavy but not anywhere near as nasty as your one sounds to shoot...

 

[hammz]

Read a few people say the no1 in big calibres is not fun to shoot....how does it fit you?...my two B/A lotts weigh 9lbs and other one slightly heavier...the lighter one is nicer for me to shoot....but not much in it...they aren't heavy but not anywhere near as nasty as your one sounds to shoot...

It fits me well and honestly shoulders real nice. It's a very comfortable gun, but a bit front heavy because the barrel is real heavy even for a large cartridge like the Lott. I have heard the same sentiment though about the No. 1 being more fierce in larger calibers. I actually had a No. 1 in 416 Rem Mag before my Model 70 that I stupidly sold. It felt like it kicked a bit more than the Model 70 but the difference wasn't too noticeable.

I will say that I did notice this with my 45-70 No. 1. I had that in addition to a Winchester 1886 and the difference was REAL noticeable. The No. 1 in 45-70 honestly felt almost like a light 458 Win Mag with factory Hornady leverevolution, where-as the same ammo and even +P loads out of my 1886 are very comfortable.

 

[WAB]

No 1’s are not fun guns in heavy calibers. I assume it is the stock design. My .458 Lott is very reasonable to shoot but it’s a Model 70 with a decelerator pad.

I have a No1 in 9.3x62 and it is fine to shoot. However it has noticeably more recoil than my Rigby Highland Stalker in 9.3x62. I can imagine that a No 1 in .458 Lott gets your attention!

If you can’t make it manageable, just go back to shooting .458 WM out of it. It will shoot them fine.

 

[John Telford]

Definitely gonna need to add some weight to the stock and add some cushioning!

 

[Forrest Halley]

By the way, how was the recoil of the .458 Win Mag? I am contemplating building some loads in that to see how they shoot. You have the unique experience of having shot both in the same rifle.

 

[meigsbucks]

Forrest Halley has it about right. I load 450gr Barnes TSX for my business load but load reduced 400gr Speers for practice. You may want to consider knocking a couple of grains of powder off of your load. It would still beat the Winchester by a about a hundred fps while reducing recoil by a few foot pounds.
The stock Ruger pad on a #1 has the consistency of a bowling ball, so a Pachmayr or LimbSaver would be a definite upgrade.

 

[Forrest Halley]

So I ran the limbsaver on my .375 #1. Found the pacmayr to be better. I also found that I am not the best at grinding recoil pads. It's an art to getting that flare just right in all the places.
I clipped the toe on the Lott's pad much like the scout rifles and left it long on the .375 which wears a scope. I haven't figured out which I like better. I carry them both often.

 

[hammz]

By the way, how was the recoil of the .458 Win Mag? I am contemplating building some loads in that to see how they shoot. You have the unique experience of having shot both in the same rifle.

Truthfully I never fired a 458 Win Mag out of it. I got the gun unfired from the previous owner who bought it when they came out and never ended up shooting it. He offered it to me for $1,050. I wanted a 458 Lott No. 1 so figured I'd buy it from him then just have it rechambered and I sent it off to have the work done about a week after buying it. It was a lot cheaper than just buying a No. 1 that was factory chambered in .458 Lott since those seem to always command a premium over the other safari calibers.

 

[Fred Gunner]

Definitely gonna need to add some weight to the stock and add some cushioning!

 

[Forrest Halley]

Bold strategy going straight for the Lott! I like it! Where are the pictures of the rifle? Seeing is believing!

 

[matt85]

The Ruger No1 is probably the worst rifle in existence to be chambered in 458 Lott. Its obscenely light weight and the stock design is not well suited for large calibers.

The CZ 550 in 458 Lott is night and day better!

a 458 Lott should weigh no less then 10 pounds, so to start with try getting its weight up to that level.

-matt

 

[hammz]

Will post pics of the rifle later this evening! And I'm glad I went with the Lott. For a minute I was thinking of re-chambering to a 460 Weatherby Magnum. I would have had the barrel threaded for a brake though if I did that.

 

[TOBY458]

As most here have said, the No1 is notorious for bad recoil. I had a 458 Win Mag in a Ruger No 1 once. In fact, that was the first truly African style big bore rifle I ever owned. Back then Hornady had a load that claimed 2260 fps with a 500gr bullet. I never chronographed them, but they seemed mighty stout! I later aquired a Winchester 70 in 458 Win Mag and was surprised how much lighter the recoil felt in the Winchester vs the No1. The recoil pad on the Ruger is hard as a rock, so simply improving that may help quite a bit. I recently bought and sold a Stainless Ruger No1 in 458 Lott, but I never even fired it. However my buddy that bought it loved it. Of course he also loves shooting a TC Encore chambered in 500 Nitro Express....

 

[JLF]