S&W .460 Mag. - A good use of beasty .50 frame?

G

Greybeard

New member
I just got around to reading one of the freebie guns rags that find their way to our mailbox and found Dick Metcalf's review of ".460 S&W Magnum" in March issue of Shooting Times quite interesting.

It seems that S&W has taken the beasty 50 cal. frame and developed a cartridge for it that "leaves every other big bore hunting cartridge in the dust" - with recoil supposedly no more than a mid-size .44 Mag. The new revolver weighs 72 ounces and will also shoot 45 Colt and .454 Casull.

8.5" barrels on two "pilot production" versions put out 200 grain bullets at 2230 to 2340 fps !!! 300 grainers at around 1800. 395 grainers around 1600. Alledged average of three 5-shot groups with Hornady 200 grain SSTs of 3.68 inches - at 200 yards.

Metcalf claims he put 150 rounds of various bullet weights through the two test guns in 90 minutes - and "walked away unscathed." Anyone wanna buy, then try that with my .454 SBH? ;)
 
Near rifle ballistics from a 8" revolver...im sold!! I cant wait for them to hit the shelves...i was going to buy a 500 for whitetail this fall, but the 460 looks like a better alternative for the longer range stuff.
 
I did not see a trajectory table but headline of "The Fastest, Flattest-Shooting Big-Bore Revolver Cartridge Ever"

And text "notice the energy of the Corbon (200-grain) XPB .460 load is essentially the same as the energy of the .500 Magnum's heaviest 440-grain cast bullet load."

Gun also to have "gain twist rifling". Twist "starts out at 1:100 and progresses to 1:20 about two thirds of the way down the bore." :cool:
 
I've got the same issue. It does sound extremely intresting... ended up talking to a SW rep (I had to order a couple things) and he had rave reviews for it as well (course he does, he works there ;) lol)
 
At first I really wanted one of these in a shorter barrel, but it seems that would defeat the purpose of this new round. Am I correct to assume this?
 
MCIWS - That' probably a good assumption, if the fps are really important to you. A shorter barrel would also likely create some complications with "gain twist rifling".

FWIW, the .45 Long Colt can be very effective out of the shorter tubes, sometimes similar or more fps than .44 Mag out of a longer barrel.

Realistically speaking, the vast majority of US probably don't "need" such as this new .460. Just like we did not necessarily "need" the .454 Casull. ;) The .45 Colts and .44 Mags have been killin' citters quite dead on typical shots inside of 100 yards for many years - for far less money.
 
Well, you know the old adage "If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is ... " . Or there is a price to be paid somewhere else ...

Article indicates Hornady is to produce a 45 cal. SST handgun bullet for use in the new .460. https://www.hornady.com/shop/ is currently showing a 45 sabot with 200 grain 40 cal. bullet: SST/ML (muzzleloader?). $11.03 for just 20!

Corbon's offerings for testing included 200-grain XPB/Spitzer. All copper. Can we spell e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e ? http://www.barnesbullets.com/prodxpb-pistol.php is not currently showing one specifically for the .460.

Current "settled on" hog-hunting load for my 7 1/2" .454 SBH is 300-grain XTP at around 1525 fps. Recoil with it, for me anyway, is at the limit of what I care to shoot - comfortably.

As soon as some of the new "for .460" 200-grain projectiles become available, I'm anxious to load up a batch and run them through the SBH and chrono. Something tells me a big part of the fps they are getting is from the "software", not necessarily the $1200 hardware ... BTW, with 300-grain bullets, their fps were in 1790s.
 
Awesome! Thanks for the info Greybeard. I hear Corbon now has a 500 special. I wonder how these will perform.
 
From the Shot Show coverage on gunblast.com

http://gunblast.com/SHOT_Show_2005.htm

DSC06221.jpg
 
It'll be an awesome gun to load for. 45LC for plinking. 460 for everything else. I don't even have to buy 454 dies. It's a step DOWN :p I might even take up silhouette. There are games close to my place.

Components get cheaper over time. Early adopters will always pay the price. The gun will probably cost about $800 once the initial excitement dies down. Just like big bro 500.

I'm all for new things. It stimulates growth in the industry.
 
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