On the 460; Peter Hathaway Capstick used the 460 Weatherby on several Lions in Africa. I'll never forget when I read about the time he fired both barrels of his 460 Wby Double rifle; He said it was Ten Thousand foot-pounds of energy when he fired both barrels. He was in a hut and the lion jumped right on top the hut and he fired from inside the hut, through ceiling. It was those fragile huts build by tribesmen.
Longrifle2506,
Just as point of clarification. The story in which you reference, PHC was NOT using a double .460 Weatherby. Because to my knowledge there has never been a double rifle built in .460 Weatherby. Standard break open double rifle actions simply can not take the pressure and case head thrust that a .460 Weatherby produces.
If my memory serves me right in that story PHC claimed to have used his .470 NE which would in fact produce 10,000 Ft lbs of energy if you pulled both triggers. A .460 Weatherby produces nearly 7,000 lbs of energy so a double pull on a mythical .460 double would produce somewhere in range of 14,000 Ft lbs.
Rimless, belted, high pressure cases and double rifle don't mix which is why you don't see many of them around. Not to be ragging on you sir as this is a common mistake that folks make regarding the .460. they hear .460 they think Africa and suddenly the .460 becomes a double rifle. When in fact it would be a very poor choice for a double.
Here is my take on Weatherby rifles. In multiple big game hunts in Africa over the last decade I've yet to see one single solitary Weatherby rifle in use by a client or a professional hunter. Weatherby rifles are one of the most hated and mistrusted rifles in the African hunting world. I've heard of only one PH who used a Weatherby rifle and he was a newbie American PH in Tanzania. To be fair I don't know if the Weatherby actually has a high failure rate under hard use or if it's got a bad rap due the folks who tend to use them? But the fact that it's a push feed definitley doesn't bode well for it in Africa.
My own experience with Weatherby rifles is less than stellar. I owned two older Japanese Mark V's one in .300 Weatherby the other in a .257 Weatherby. The .257 was a great rifle and very accurate. The .300 was a total nightmare POS. It broke in half at the pistol grip twice. The bolt stop fractured after about 100 rounds and caused the rifle to misfire at the most inopportune time when closing the bolt. I found out about it while sitting under a rock over hang Ibex hunting. The rifle went off when I chambered it and closed the bolt with the muzzle pointed up into the rocks. Besides having permanent hear loss I'm sure I was also sprayed with rock and jacket fragments.
After getting the rifle repaired I got rid of it and Vowed never to buy another Weatherby.
Fast forward about 15 years and I gave in and bought a light weight .300 Weatherby. This was one of the synthetic rifles made in good old USA. I have to say it was a pretty decent rifle EXCEPT for the fact that it was the most finicky rifle I've ever owned accuracy wise. It would shoot one load and one load only everything else fly wild. I was more than happy to sell it to a buddy of mine who really wanted it despite it's delicate dietary needs. He is very happy with it.
I have a buddy who has the same light weight but in a .257 Weatherby. The thing is an absolute TACK driver but it has feeding issue. I think I'll pass on the Weatherby for the foreseeable future. I'd rather start with a solid Mauser type action and spend my money on customizing the rifle to make it right as in my experience the Weatherby factory hasn't got get it right thing figured out yet and you've already spent all the money.
I do own one Weatherby chambered rifle. It's a Model 70 that has been re-barreled, restocked and is dead accurate, reliable and is chambered in .270 Weatherby which is one of the best Bee rounds ever built IMHO. I've had her about a year and so far she's served me well.
Here she is with her first kill last September.
