The Capstick has a bullet that has 7% more cross sectional area than the .458 Lott, which, in theory, would result in more shock transfer to game and a larger wound channel.. As for powder capacity and velocity, they are similar, with the .470 Capstick having a slight edge in powder capacity and therefore a slight edge in theoretical velocity.
That being said, the differences in field results between the .458 Winchester Magnum and the .470 Nitro Express should be nonexistent, because both push a 500-grain (32 g) bullet at 2,150 ft/s (660 m/s) But some people have noted an observable difference in the way shot game behaves with those two cartridges, possibly due to the greater cross sectional area of the .474-inch (12.0 mm) bullet.
If desired, the .470 Capstick can be used to create a ballistic twin to the .470 Nitro Express, pushing a 500-grain (32 g) bullet at 2,150 ft/s (660 m/s) while generating low pressure.
Use of a ghost shoulder, rather than a continuous taper on the case wall, helps the cartridge to line up concentrically with the bore axis, contributing to accuracy.
Currently factory rifles in .470 Capstick are available from A-Square, from the Winchester Custom Shop and from Fuchs Fine Guns.
However, that short list should not disappoint the reader because there are many options for building a nice custom rifle in .470 Capstick.
The advantage of the CZ550 conversion is that they typically hold 5 rounds in the magazine box plus one in the chamber, and very little work is usually needed to get them to feed.
In addition to the steps above, the magazine box spring must also be replaced with one that has a traditional Z-shape instead of the curly-Q style that the factory provides.
Another option is to rebuild a surplus military Mauser 98 action to be a .470 Capstick dangerous game rifle.
This is a very involved project and includes replacing the magazine box/bottom metal, spring and follower and opening up the receiver to match it.
Frankly speaking, there are not a lot of gunsmiths who know how to get a big bore to feed properly, making the CZ550 conversion very attractive because there is so little to do.