A little late to the party, but thanks to Classic12 for starting such a wonderful thread. The Dirty Harry references are fun.
Since my early teens I have dreamed of an African hunting safari. I never planned my finances well enough to afford it, but sometimes dreams are sufficient entertainment in life.
Until that day in 2009 when I walked into a high end gun shop in Salt Lake City to drop off a lovely LC Smith double 12 ga. I had just inherited. I was making sure it was good to shoot, and it was and is.
On one wall rifle rack was a gun that just jumped out at me--so different from anything else around it. The store owner had been a PH in Africa for a number of years, and when I showed interest in the rifle he really beamed.
Forty minutes later I was driving home with it, only $1300 poorer but with dreams of bagging a Cape Buff dancing in my head again. A dream now more possible before I age too much more.
This gun was custom built on order by a local gunsmith--Nighthowls--and it is beautifully done. Look at the laser engraving on the rear stock. And, its a .458 Lott.
I own a Barrett 95 .50 BMG which I can shoot about 15 rounds through before quitting. The recoil is not the stopping issue; it's the concussive back blast from the massive muzzle brake that limits the fun.
Likewise, this 'Buff gun has a very effective muzzle brake. I know PH's hate them, but I'm not in Africa (yet). I first shot some .458 WM through it and was surprised that the recoil seemed acceptable to me. I went through about 10 rounds of 500 grain solids.
I stepped up to the 458 Lott 500 grainers, and yup, there was a noticeable difference. I'd say about a 15% increase. I would never shoot this gun from any position other than standing. About 5 Lott rounds is my limit for enjoyment, but there is nothing like letting this boomer go at a watermelon at 50 yards with a Barnes TSX hollow point. It is hard to find a piece of watermelon bigger than a silver dollar.
For those interested, here is a link to Kentucky Ballistics, a channel with a guy who shoots all kinds of stuff with a 458 Lott. He put together 64" of gel and shot three solids through all of that and into a railroad-tie berm so deep he could not dig the bullet out. Approximately 5,600 FPE at the muzzle.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-48wftRyzCM&t=544s[/ame]
