460 s&w with muzzleloader bullets?

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steve101610

New member
Has anyone tried using muzzleloader bullets in the 460? I am going to get a mgm 460 barrel for my encore and was looking at different bullets to use. I am especially interested in the Barnes spitfire tmz 290 grain. With the boattail design I would think I could get a very accurate round worked up.
 
I use the 300gr xtp mag in my s&w and the 240 xtp mag in my muzzloader.
I don't really push the muzzloader because of the area I hunt. It will take a 150gr mag lead but I only use 100. So far nothing has ever taken a step after I pull the trigger. I get full pass through.
I use the 300 in the s&w because I'm in a bear area and have a permit. I push them over 40gr of win296. I estimate about 1900fps but have never chrono. Accuracy with both loads has been outstanding.
 
I don't see the boattail as an advantage for the velocities and distances produced by the straight-walled .460 handgun cartridge. Advantages from boattails comes generally in light for caliber bullets when shot past 200 yards. At a buck and a quarter apiece, IMHO, a waste of monies. Kinda like the leverevolution ammo/bullets for .44 mag and .357.

I have been loading for my .460 revolver for almost a decade. There are some very good and accurate bullets out there made for .45 caliber handguns that are as accurate as one is probably going to get for this caliber. I also loaded for my son's encore for about two years before he sold it. Never did find a load that was as accurate from it as those from my X-Frame. Have heard similar stories from others loading for encores. Because of the barrel length, no cylinder gap and lack of porting, my son's encore was brutal to shoot with the same loads that were pleasant out of my X-Frame. .454 Casull and .45 Colt actually shot better for him than .460 ammo. The reason he bought the encore was so he could use the same ammo as I loaded for my gun...........it didn't work. He traded it for a lever .44 and now shoots the same loads as I do from my 629s and my little 77/44. I hope you have better luck that we did.
 
Why would a boat tail not help with longer range accuracy? I'm guessing that out of a 24" barrel I should get close to 2500 fps. I would assume that a boat tail would fly a little better that a flat back bullet.
 
Why would a boat tail not help with longer range accuracy? I'm guessing that out of a 24" barrel I should get close to 2500 fps. I would assume that a boat tail would fly a little better that a flat back bullet.
Click to expand...


Long range is a relative term. For your .460 Encore, 200 yards is long range, but in the shooting world, 200 yards is short range. Following my remarks here is a link to a good synopsis of the difference between flat base and Boat-tail. As you can see, Flat-based bullets, for the most part, are inherently more accurate, until you start to get out to extreme distances. Even with the 26'' barrel and 2500 fps, your Encore is never going to be a long range shooter compared to calibers where boat-tails are most popular. Again, only testing will define just what is most accurate outta your gun, but as most of us reloaders have found out, the minute we assume something, we are proven wrong. One thing I have found from my experience loading for the .460, is that .452 jacketed bullets give me a tad more accuracy than those in .451. I am not saying that those bullets will not be the most accurate in your firearm, only that assuming they are is not correct. I'm also saying that the cost of them compared to other quality bullets that perform very accurately with great terminal performance, like Hornady's XTP-MAGS and Speer's Deep Curls would be prohibitive for me.

http://www.rifleshootermag.com/ammo/ammunition_rs_boattails_093009wo/
 
buck460XVR

I agree Boatails work better at over 3400 FPS and 300 yards and MORE
(MOST OF THE TIME) Also some bullets have thin jackets to work at lower speeds like IN handguns '.(like muzzle loaders )
 
Thanks for the replies! The reason I ask about the 290 spitfire is because they work so well out of muzzleloader barrels. They have been extremely accurate out to 200 yards and do alot of damage to whitetails. What bullet in the 250-300 grain range would you guys recommend for whitetail out to 300 yards?
 
If you look at the Hornady 300gr .452'' XTP-Mag(stock #45235) it's B.C. is almost the same as the Barnes 290gr spitfire tmz, the Speer 300gr .452" Deep Curl(stock #3974) is actually higher. Both will give you as good downrange trajectory as the Barnes for about the third of the cost. Both give excellent terminal performance on deer size game. Make sure you get the XTP-Mags as the standard 300 gr XTPs are designed with a thinner jacket for .45 Colt velocities. Good luck finding any of the Deep Curls, I have not been able to find any for over a year....anywhere. Speer assures me they will be back and have not been discontinued.
 
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