Brian,
Regarding the 458 Lott, I don't think Jack Lott sought the performance that the 458WM "promised". He wanted more than the 458WM's original claimed 2130 fps. His work on opened 375H&H cases and shortened 404 Jeffery cases suggests that right from the start he was looking for 2200+ fps from his designs. In my opinion the 458WM does receive "bad press". Stories of ammunition failures due to the overcompression of ball powders, poor neck tension and early bullet failures continue to plague the cartridge. Are these problems still evident in modern ammunition?Others raise the point that the 458WM never achieved its original design goal of equalling the 470 Nitro, and sure enough in the last 10 years of chronographing factory 500gr ammunition NONE has chronographed over 2040fps in my 458WM rifles. But, should we place our trust in the original published 470 data of 500gr at 2150fps? Do I have "African experience"? No I dont, but Finn Aagaard did, and he was a staunch supporter of the 458WM. Taylor considered any 500gr projectile whether from a 470, 450 or 465 Nitro to be all that was required as a stopper, has that requirement changed? The 458 Lott is certainly ballistically superior to the 458WM, but how much better than good enough do we need? If you had to follow a wounded Cape buff into scrub, wouldn't you rather have all the useable power that you could easily muster and accurately control rather than all the power you could get your hands on?
Obviously I'm unashamedly a 458WM fan, lets give credit where credit is due, the 458WM is and continues to be an effective cartridge for the job it was intended to do.
Cheers...
Con
Let me quote from Jack Lott in an article published in the 10th Edition of Handloaders Digest.
"I concluded that I could not achieve the same results with the standard 458 Winchester Magnum getting a muzzle velocity of about 1960 fps from a 22-inch barrel. This compares -- at the muzzle -- closely with what the 470 Nitro-Express does at 100 yards with its 500-grain bullet, or 1910 fps. When the 458 was introduced in 1956, it was claimed to equal the 470, the then most popular British "elephant" cartridge, providing some 5040 ft. lbs. of energy with a 500-grain bullet."
These were chronograph results.
And, having read his words again, I must concede that he was, indeed, trying to improve upon 458 performance. "I realized that for optimumvelocities of from 2300 to 2350 fps with a 500 grain bullet, no bottleneck is needed. I reasoned that at some length over the 2 1/2-inch 458 case length, I might find one which gives such velocities,
and also fires 458s at full velocity and with good accuracy."
Eventually, his research led him to the 450 Watts, a progenitor of the .458 WM. Interestingly enough Winchester, when working up their big magnum, made the fateful decision to trim the case length down to the point where it would work in a standard length action. Had they not tried to stuff a big boom into too small a package, we would not be having this discussion.
Lott settled on a 2.800" case length and achieved his goal.
For non-dangerous game, Lott considered the .458 WM a good all around cartridge for African hunting.
The 470 is, indeed, still up to the requirement for a "stopper." The requirement hasn't changed. It's just that, as Lott discovered, the 458 WM is just a bit underqualified for the job.
You ask me the question, "how much better than good enough do we need?" Well, it all depends on what one considers good enough. I've always figured that, when hunting anything that can kill one back, one ought to take "good enough" and add a chunk more for insurance.
You also asked:
"If you had to follow a wounded Cape buff into scrub, wouldn't you rather have all the useable power that you could easily muster and accurately control rather than all the power you could get your hands on?"
Well, I figure it this way, if you can't handle the tools, don't take the job. If a hunter is unable to manage a heavy hitting enough rifle to deal with ticked off dangerous game, he oughtn't to mess with 'em in the first place. And, that's why the Good Lord created practice - and recoil pads. Not to mention those PAST recoil harness thingies one can wear on one's shoulder.
Oh, sure, it's true that, when one ventures into the scrub after the buff, he is backed up by a skilled PH. And, if he blows the shot, the PH will bail him out. It's also the PH's job to follow the wounded buff into the mopane - there's not a one of them that would let a client take that risk - but it's a darn better situation if that eventuality never eventuates.
"Obviously I'm unashamedly a 458WM fan, lets give credit where credit is due, the 458WM is and continues to be an effective cartridge for the job it was intended to do."
Mind, I'm not saying that one cannot kill a buff with the Winchester round, or even a stout .45-70 - it's been done. We've got much better bullets nowadays that were available to Lott then. But, sometimes, things go wrong - terribly wrong - and there's no use explaining to a riled up set of horns as how your WM is enough gun and would he kindly just lie down and die like a good fellow, thank you very much.
It is my wish, Con, that some day you are able to get to Africa with one of your cherished .458 WMs to prove me entirely wrong. In the meanwhile, cheers to you as well - as we agree to disagree.
Happy trails!
