S & W 460xvr

A

additude

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I am considering purchasing this bad boy and putting a scope on it. I'm also thinking about the S & W Light Hunter with a scope.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? One over the other? or neither?

Thanks,

Wes
 
I am also debating a 460xvr for next year's hunts...

I have stayed away from all smith 29's and 629's for this reason:

The smith .44 cylinder is not deep enough to handle the 300gr and up bullets for large game. Ruger is, and I'm not sure about Taurus' Tracker or Raging Bull.

The nice thing (as you probably already know) about the .460 is the ability to go all the way down to .45LC in it to "break it in" and get used to it before lighting off the big .460 cartridges.

If you want elk, black bear, brown bear or other large game in north america, you want a bullet above 300gr. Deer will drop to 240gr and below.

I think the S&W Light Hunter is exactly what it claims to be: A light hunting gun. If you really want to hunt with a handgun, get one built to do it all the time with as many cartridge options as you can dream up.

If all you want is a .44magnum for power, but still want to hunt with it, have you considered a redhawk 7.5" or a super redhawk? Or a Taurus Raging Bull?

A lot of the S&W aficionados here will disagree about the model 629, but just ask them to shoot some 300gr+ Buffalo Bore hunting ammo out of it and they will probably change their mind.
 
Why would you want to shoot +p hot loads out of your 44 anyway??? If you need/want more power then get a bigger gun. :)

Jim
 
Black Bear need a bullet above 200grains in 44mag.

A 240gr out of a 44mag will easily take down a Blackbear. Shot placement is everthing with pistol hunting.
 
The Redhawk, Dan Wesson large frame and Raging Bull can shoot .44magnum from Buffalo Bore that rates nearly 1500 ft/lbs.

340gr bullets at 1400+fps chronographed in Redhawks.

This brings low-end .454 power to a .44magnum revolver. Why buy a second gun if you don't have to, and this is the power level you are looking for?

The fact is, only the above three guns are capable of this performance from the .44magnum.

For Elk, this seems to be perfect to me. .44mag standard loads may be good for 1000lb game out to maybe 50 yards or so, but for shots out past 150 yards, I would want to increase my velocity for a flatter trajectory and more energy on impact.

That means a heavier hunting cartridge like one of the super magnums, or using the full capability of one of these 3 .44 workhorses.

The S&W Light Hunter is titled "Light Hunter" for a reason. I just pointed out that if you want to do serious hunting, go with the 460xvr or a different .44 that can handle the big-kid loads available from premium ammo makers.

I agree that a 240gr standard load will take a black bear, out to about 50-75 yards. After that, the bullet slows down a lot. It loses momentum. You either need more weight, more velocity, or both to keep the requisite kill power on the target. The 300+gr .44 high power loads provide the additional range and power to use the .44 successfully on 100yd and longer shots for big game.
 
However, the original poster was looking to buy either the light hunter or the 460xvr. Since this is a new gun purchase, I recommend the higher power gun if the S&W brand name is mandatory.

I wouldn't mind having a 629 someday... I just would never hunt with it for anything larger than deer since I like heavy bullets. For bear and elk, I would choose 300gr or heavier bullets moving as fast as I can get them. If it came down to a 629 vs a redhawk or a raging bull, I would choose one of the heavier-built .44 guns to be able to handle the extra power and cartridge length.
 
Id say go with the 460. I shot one about a month ago and was really impressed. There did seem to be alot of muzzle blast but thats from the compensator I'm sure. It kicked less than my .454 Casull does with full power loads in it, atleast it didnt have the muzzle flip, more of a straight back recoil. I definately see one in my future along with its big brother the 500:)
 
I'm going to buy one for packing here in grizzly country. Waiting to see if they'll come out with a 5 or 5 1/2 inch barrel anytime soon. Otherwise will pick up a used one and have it customized.

Right now I'm using a custom 5 3/4 inch Redhawk and Garrett 330gr +p's for peace of mind but it would be a novel concept to worry about overpenetration on a big bear or moose!

John
 
maybe I am starting a rumor but.........

I have been intrested in the Ruger Alaskan and was talking to my gunshop owner just yesterday. This is a highly reputable shop with really knowledgeable folks behind the counter and I have done business with them a lot - enough to trust them.

So (here comes the possible rumor) my gunshop owner says that S&W is about to put a 460 on the market with a 3-1/2 inch barrel:eek: When I pressed him he said that the S&W rep was in the store recently (they are a S&W master dealer) and he was told that it would be out within a month or two at a price of about $1200.00. That really interests me and would be more to my preference than the Ruger Alaskan. FWIW.
 
Hmmmm. That's interesting. 3 1/2" would seem to be a bit short since an inch of that is compensator. I was thinking of having one cut down to about 5", which would yield 4" of barrel and the 1" of compensator. I would guess that due to the gain twist rifling there is a limit to how short you can make the barrel and still get the bullet fully spun up.

John
 
dairycreek,

Did your gunshop have a Ruger Alaskan .454 in stock? I'm having a heck of a time finding one. Have seen a few on some of the auction sites but the prices are inflated. Sorry for jumping in with a question that may be slightly off topic. I'm new here, looks like a great forum.
Thanks, Doug
 
Would you consider sending me an email or PM and let me know the name and location of the shop? They would probably ship to a FFL wouldn't they?
 
OK. Well it's done. I bought the 460 and am waiting to have it shipped to my FFL. Now I am going to scope it and mount it.

I'll open a new discussion on that aspect.

Thanks for the feedback.

Wes
 
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