“Under no circumstance shoot more than five cartridges through that rifle on any single visit to the range!” These words of wisdom came from a colleague who is much more experienced than I in shooting powerful cartridges. The advice concerned a wonderful Blaser R8 chambered in 458 Lott. My friends at The Blaser Group kindly offered me the opportunity of reviewing one of their ‘modular’ firearms. In our discussions, I asked their thoughts on me reviewing an R8 in a dangerous game caliber; with a bit more pondering, we settled on the 458 Lott. Buddies at Hornady came through with their 458 Lott Dangerous Game Series ammunition, tipped with their 500-grain DGS (Dangerous Game Solid) bullet.
We often use the phrase, ‘loaded for bear’ when meaning we are prepared for anything. It is more accurate to state ‘loaded for elephant’ in describing the rifle and Hornady ammunition as I made my way to the firing line at my local club. With the words “detached retina”, “ruptured tendons” and other encouragements I’d heard from the naysayers, I placed the R8 onto my 4StableSticks Ultimate Carbon standing rest, focused across the open sights at the 50-yard target and squeezed off the first round.
OK, I won’t lie. The recoil was noticeable. That’s exactly what you’d expect with the 500-grain Hornady DGS bullets zipping out of the barrel at ~2240 fps (as estimated by my LabRadar Chronograph), with a consequent muzzle energy >5600 ft-lb. Yet, the other shooters on the firing line told me later that when the rifle came down from the recoil, and I lifted my face from the stock, I was grinning from ear-to-ear. Since I did not care about sighting in the rifle for a hunt, but rather wanted to record groups, I squeezed off three more rounds before switching to the second 50-yard target. Four more squeezes, and the group, though slightly right of the bull, was even smaller than the first.
If you are keeping track, you’ll notice I’d already exceeded the recommended daily dose of 458 Lott. Realizing that fact, I did the only sensible thing; I reloaded and turned the rifle’s excellent sights to the paper target tacked up at 100-yards. Now, please note here: it is highly unlikely that anyone should, or would, take a shot at 100-yards at an elephant, or any other animal suitable for the 458 Lott. However, this was a rifle review, and I wanted a record of accuracy, even at an extreme range for the caliber’s normal hunting application. Besides, it gave me a reason to keep on shooting. The accuracy of the R8 and Hornady ammunition (remember, I have old eyes not accustomed to open sights) was phenomenal. That was why I kept pulling the trigger, experiencing something akin to a glancing blow from a Terminator. The final count of shots fired equaled 30. The number would have been higher, but I ran out of time…
I’ll continue this foray into my crazy love affair with powerful rifles, in an upcoming ‘Part two’. Spoiler alert: The upcoming post focuses on two double rifles — a 450/400 3” and a 700 Nitro Express. Yep, a wide range of power levels, but both still touted for use on elephant etc. So, I hope you’ll stay tuned for the rest of the story.
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Author profile
Mike Arnold is professor and Head of the Department of Genetics at the University of Georgia and author of the 2022 book, BRINGING BACK THE LIONS: International Hunters, Local Tribespeople, and the Miraculous Rescue of a Doomed Ecosystem in Mozambique. Mike’s book is available for purchase now at bringingbackthelions.com. You can find a description of Mike’s travels, talks, and articles at mikearnoldoutdoors.com.