Jack Lott designed the 458 Lott Ammo. He had an adverse encounter in Mozambique with a buffalo where he suffered some injuries. This incident made him believe that ammo more powerful than the 458 Winchester ammo he was hunting with was vital for dangerous games. He wanted ammo that could drive a 510-grain bullet at 2150 fps at moderate muzzle pressure. When he couldn’t find one that fit the bill, he chose to design one of his own.
The designs of the 458 Lott Ammo were on a paper diner napkin. The plan maintained most of the features of the .458 Winchester Magnum. However, he solved the case capacity issue by extending the case length from 2500 inches to 2850 inches. However, during experimentation, the case ended up at 2800 inches. With the new case capacity, the .458 Lott could drive a 500-grain bullet to a muzzle velocity of 2300 fps and 2570 foot-pounds energy.
The .458 Lott Ammo can also achieve a muzzle velocity of 2150 fps with a 600-grain bullet. This performance is far higher than that of the .458 Winchester it replaces. It also provides superior penetration, which makes it an excellent fit for hunting dangerous games. It also features a tapered case that offers exceptional flexibility in reloading to lower muzzle velocities.
The ability to reload to a lower velocity provides shooters with ammunition that has less recoil. Therefore, the .458 Lott Ammo is versatile because it works well for hunting small to medium games and is also a perfect fit when you’re hunting dangerous games like the African Buffalo and Alaskan brown bear.
