458 Lott Vs. 450 Ackley

[Mitch. C]

Which is better the 458 Lott or the 450 Ackley, and who would you recommend to rechamber a 458 Win. to one of these cartridges.

 

[Glamdring]

Err what cartridge is the 450 Ackley based on?

"Better" depends on what type of action your starting with and your needs and wants. If the action your using is long enough to take 375 H&H cartridges then using the Lott would be the simple way to go.

If your trying to be cost effective your probably better off trading or selling the 458 for another factory gun say a 416 rem or rigby perhaps.

 

[PJR]

A good friend who goes to the Dark Continent to hunt things that bit and stomp has a much loved 450 Ackley custom rifle. But his most recent purchase was a 458 Lott and the Ackley is now retired. His explantation is that the Lott is more powerful than the .458 Winchester but can also chamber the .458 Winchester should Lott cases not be available. He also says the Lott is a straight walled case which loads and feeds better than the bottle-necked Ackley.

Both cases are based on the .375 H&H, with the Lott being 3/10 of an inch longer than the 458 Winchester. The Lott was developed in the early 70's while the Ackley dates back to the 1960's. Both were an attempt to provide a little more power than the .458 Winchester. The Ackley is more powerful and puts out a 500 grain bullet 100-150fps faster than the Lott from barrels of equal lengths.