.458 Lott recoil is no joke

[CoElkHunter]

@CoElkHunter
I had the privilege/ misfortune to fire the 460 with the integrated muzzle brake. 3 quick shots on after the other was enough for me. All 3 connected with the 3 inch target at 25 yards so a charging buff would have been gone. It was with great pleasure I handed it back to the owner.
Recoil is what you would call hows ya father it really gets your attention but the recoil on the 378 with full power 300 grainers is absolutely brutal.
Bob.

Bob,
I looked up the .378s recoil on Chuck Hawk’s online recoil table. It is 71 ft lbs! The Lott is 70 lbs. it didn’t have the recoil velocity listed, but I’m sure it’s brutal.
CEH

 

[Aussie_Hunter]

458 Lott recoil is good for ya! love it especially after shooting my 500 haha

 

[CoElkHunter]

458 Lott recoil is good for ya! love it especially after shooting my 500 haha

Ha! Ha! The Lott isn’t too bad for ME, but I’m not sure I want to push the envelope.... or my shoulder any further!

 

[Viral_SIGness]

Especially one with a long suppressor on the end of the barrel?

Lol yeap

 

[Forrest Halley]

Bob,
I'm much older than young Forrest Halley, but he may be eminently wiser. He didn't fall for the, "shoot a .375 H and H out of your Lott and see what happens?". See, I may just do that. The OP (who's a PH) stated he did this to create Lott brass long before there was actual Lott brass available to him. What could possibly happen in a strong actioned rifle like my CZ? Anyway, I use a slip on Limbsaver over the factory pad and a Past magnum vest, but then I had too much lop, so I eliminated the Past. I've only shot standing using a sling support with open sights. Ten rounds, 8 on the pie plate in a couple of minutes, and I'm done. I'm sure Forrest can shoot double that? He just can't hit the pie plate at 50yds! Ha! Ha! I'm kidding, I'm sure he's a Lott sniper at 100yds.
CEH

@CoElkHunter,
You're a funny man! A Lott sniper at 100 yards! Probably not with the limited practice I am getting these days. I've had to scale way back on the big rifle shooting. I haven't even visited "The Businesswoman" since I have been home. She and her sisters sit unloved in the safe.

To be sure, this young man will not shoot over six rounds at a time through her out of respect for both of us. I'm not much of anything after three shots right now I am sure. I have the limitation of express sights to work with as well. I would definitely use the past recoil magnum shield right now.

IIRC the people fire forming Lott brass were doing so with .375/.458 heeled bullets. Not firing .375 down the barrel willy nilly. I might try that if the wolves were closing in and I had to establish a base of fire.

 

[MD Driver]

Sorry about the necro of this old thread; I’m enjoying the topic and the replies.

One important thing I’ve found when shooting a Lott is stance. I was coached about this, so it’s certainly no brain power from me. The idea is to open up your body to the target, ie shoot more “shotgun-like” with your shoulders more square to what you’re aiming. That will allow more of the mass of your upper torso to absorb the recoil, rather than just your shoulder area if, if your shoulders are lined up with your direction of fire. No doubt boilerplate for you experienced folks, so just FWIW.

Disclaimers…. 6’3”, 215 lbs, using a Mauser M03 in .458 Lott, so gun mass and dude mass might also be helping. Either way, I’m not finding the Lott to be terrible at all.

 

[Forrest Halley]

Sorry about the necro of this old thread; I’m enjoying the topic and the replies.

One important thing I’ve found when shooting a Lott is stance. I was coached about this, so it’s certainly no brain power from me. The idea is to open up your body to the target, ie shoot more “shotgun-like” with your shoulders more square to what you’re aiming. That will allow more of the mass of your upper torso to absorb the recoil, rather than just your shoulder area if, if your shoulders are lined up with your direction of fire. No doubt boilerplate for you experienced folks, so just FWIW.

Disclaimers…. 6’3”, 215 lbs, using a Mauser M03 in .458 Lott, so gun mass and dude mass might also be helping. Either way, I’m not finding the Lott to be terrible at all.

The square stance is effective in its recoil management, but one loses skeletal support for the more precise shooting. Not that we're flinging trashcan hollowpoints and telephone pole solids for great precision over maybe 200 yards as the Lott is no great conservator of energy. I find that if I'm shooting in the field and it's a running shot I picked the shotgun stance. I might be tempted to shoot a more bladed stance if it were a longer shot requiring more precision, but then I'd be better served by the .375 with anything over 200 yards.
Two or three very key questions:
What is the weight of the gun?
What is the weight of the projectile and muzzle velocity of your load?
My Lott is easy enough to shoot with 400 grain bullets doing 2120 fps, but it's a different animal with 500 grain bullets doing 2365 fps at only 9½#.

 

[MD Driver]

Hi Forrest,
Used a Zeiss scope and maybe 2 or 3 rounds in the magazine, which brought the grand total to about 10.5 lbs. Swift 500gr breakaway solids, not sure on the velocity…not written on the box, so I need to dig. Definitely true on your accuracy point, I was not impressive at the range yesterday with this.

 

[MD Driver]

Found it…. 2217 fps at the muzzle.

I was a tight end, and got hit by a linebacker quite often, so the brain damage is probably already done.

 

[ftrovato]

Reloading would help. Get light for caliber bullet tips (300 grains) and a minimum powder charge of something like IMR 4198. If you don't reload, take it up! Its a great hobby... Then when you hunting, shoot your full charges. Won't seem so bad when you have an animal in the cross hairs. Remember you can shoot .458 Wiin. Mag ammo in a Lott. So load up some light WM loads.

 

[86thecat]

Heavy loads seemed to bottom out my recoil pad. Working up max loads, recoil wasn't too bad then impact on my shoulder became brutal with another grain or two of powder. Using a strap on shoulder recoil pad tamed it right back down to a heavy thump. But would still rattle your brain a bit, ha ha.

 

[steve white]

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.

Add a pound of weight to the stock, or if you don't mind the looks add a hydraulic kick system that compresses upon firing like a shock absorber. Something like the old CounterCoil system. A suppressor could also tame it a lot. Sometimes we have to do what works, not what looks best....

 

[John458Lott]

Sorry about the necro of this old thread; I’m enjoying the topic and the replies.

One important thing I’ve found when shooting a Lott is stance. I was coached about this, so it’s certainly no brain power from me. The idea is to open up your body to the target, ie shoot more “shotgun-like” with your shoulders more square to what you’re aiming. That will allow more of the mass of your upper torso to absorb the recoil, rather than just your shoulder area if, if your shoulders are lined up with your direction of fire. No doubt boilerplate for you experienced folks, so just FWIW.

Disclaimers…. 6’3”, 215 lbs, using a Mauser M03 in .458 Lott, so gun mass and dude mass might also be helping. Either way, I’m not finding the Lott to be terrible at all.

Absolutely agree about being square on. An important side benefit is you don't get wacked in the forehead by your scope .

Good taste MD! My Lott is also an M03! One calibre where I don't mind the weighty all steel action.

 

[SpecialEDy]

I really like my recoil shield. The kind you wear. It's a lot thinner than a recoil pad which goes on the rifle butt plate, seems to just distribute the force over a larger area instead of trying to cushion it.

 

[Rare Breed]

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.

I can tell you the first thing I would do is find the powder that calls for the least grains delivering the desired FPS. This typically can vary by as much as 20 grains delivering a third in recoil reduction…both my 470 and 500 examples. Next is your LOP perfect. Last does the weight of your rifle match the caliber you are shooting? If you disregard these things you are trying to put a band aid on an artery cut. Just my experience

 

[Brian]

Lead sleds can crack a stock, especially with weight on them. Brian

 

[Forrest Halley]

Found it…. 2217 fps at the muzzle.

I was a tight end, and got hit by a linebacker quite often, so the brain damage is probably already done.

You're doing alright with those solids. You can kill most anything with that. I am shooting a Ruger #1 so I'm not in the recoil shy department. The thing I find is not the heaviness of the recoil remarkable, but the speed of it. That rifle is trying to go somewhere as soon as the trigger is pulled.

Heavy loads seemed to bottom out my recoil pad. Working up max loads, recoil wasn't too bad then impact on my shoulder became brutal with another grain or two of powder. Using a strap on shoulder recoil pad tamed it right back down to a heavy thump. But would still rattle your brain a bit, ha ha.

I refer to that as the moment a cartridge becomes rude. That grain of powder where it's just a monster all of a sudden and in a different class entirely.

I really like my recoil shield. The kind you wear. It's a lot thinner than a recoil pad which goes on the rifle butt plate, seems to just distribute the force over a larger area instead of trying to cushion it.

Past has been great to me over the years taming some real beastly combinations from 20 gauge high brass loads from hell in a youth model lightweight gun to the Lott fully loaded.

 

[saswart]

Not per se a 458 Lott, this is a 458 Express, which I handload to Lott specs. 500 gr at 2239 fps, rifle is standard Brno Zkk 602, weight 9.3-9.5 lbs, added the red-dot and a new pachmayr recoil pad. Whether right or wrong, I do not square my shoulders to the target, that in my opinion feels odd and will add to recoil, more a shotgun or a 45-60 degree angle of shoulders to target, feet slightly wider than shoulders.

I found as with all in life, the more you practice, the more comfortable you will become

 

[Forrest Halley]

Something that has likely not been well addressed is the relationship to LOP and stance. I can shoot a 6# AR with an adjustable stock square on with ease, but a 9½ to 11# safari rifle is not as easy with the longer LOP. I prefer the 45° bladed stance for that. I feel it maintains a positive pocket for recoil but still allows for a little bit of accuracy and speed. The mild skeletal engagement encourages follow through instead of the square stance where I can't physically hold the gun as steady as long.

 

[fourfive8]

… I kind of chuckle when I read of shooters’ reaction to shooting heavy recoiling cartridges in rifles like the Ruger No 1 or it’s smaller cousin or some short barreled variation. Even an average 500 gr 458 Win Mag factory load out of a compact, short barreled single shot Ruger needs to be experienced to be “appreciated” Up the velocity thus recoil produced by the Lott, Express or Watts in the same rifle and some maybe call it “snappy”. I would simply call it brutal. At some point, the justification, practicality and reasoning for that platform for heavy recoiling DG hunting cartridges is lost on me.