.45 Colt and .454 Casull in a S&W 460v

[lionking]

Was wondering what accuracy or potential lack of accuracy would be had shooting the .45 Colt or 454 casull in the 460v? Thinking of getting a 460v but would mainly shoot those two cartridges instead of the .460

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Gonna be real honest. If you aren't buying a 460 mag to shoot 460 mag anmo, then there are smaller, handier, and very likely less expensive options like the Ruger Toklat.

To answer your question, my 460V shoots Hornady 454 ammo very accurately, but the Hornady 460 200 gr ammo shoots like a laser beam. If I don't hit the target with iron sights using that load at 75 yards or less, it's my fault.

Quality 45 Colt ammo seems pretty accurate too but I've used some cheap stuff that was all over the place. However, even with quality 45 Colt ammo, accuracy drops. There's just a huge jump for that bullet to make in an X frame.

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[lionking]

460shooter thanks for the reply. If S&W would come out with a dedicated casull revolver I'd get that instead. But, nice to be able to shoot .460 if I want to since they don't. I love Ruger firearms, but I just don't feel their double action revolvers like I do S&W. Although I do like their GP100 as a exception.

lol just watched the dirty Harry movies back to back the other night, times have changed that big .44 just isn't the biggest out there anymore lol.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

460shooter thanks for the reply. If S&W would come out with a dedicated casull revolver I'd get that instead. But, nice to be able to shoot .460 if I want to since they don't. I love Ruger firearms, but I just don't feel their double action revolvers like I do S&W. Although I do like their GP100 as a exception.

lol just watched the dirty Harry movies back to back the other night, times have changed that big .44 just isn't the biggest out there anymore lol.

I doubt very much S&W will ever come out with a 454. When you look at N frames, a number of forum members have stated that they will shoot loose relatively quickly with sustained hot and heavy loads, so a 454 in an N frame won't do. So S&W skipped past the beefier Redhawk frame Ruger makes and went straight to the X frame so they could surpass everything with the 500 and 460 mags.

I think you'd be happy with a 460 as long as you keep its limitations in mind regarding shorter cartridges. Like I said, I have shot some 45 Colt anmo out of mine that would be plenty accurate for critter defense.

If you're going to shoot any of the 45 Colt family cartridges, you should seriously consider loading your own if you don't already. All three cartridges are pretty expensive in factory loadings. They're still expensive if you load, but not as bad. It would also give you the ability to develop 45 Colt and 454 loads that your gun does shoot accurately.

 

[buck460XVR]

If you're going to shoot any of the 45 Colt family cartridges, you should seriously consider loading your own if you don't already. All three cartridges are pretty expensive in factory liadings. They're still expensive if you load, but not as bad. It would also give you the ability to develop 45 Colt and 454 loads that your gun does shoot accurately.

Thing is, if you reload, you'll find no reason to ever shoot .45 Colt or .454 outta your .460, since you can duplicate those calibers by tailoring your loads. Once you have the brass, it will cost virtually no more to load .460 than either .45 Colt or .454. The .460 is a handloaders firearm......period. Even if you have deep pockets, you'll never find factory ammo that will shoot as good as your reloads.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

In general I agree. Anyone who wants to shoot a 460 mag would be best suited to buy 460 brass and just load it how they want. You totally avoid the cylinder jump problem that way.

However 1000 pieces of 45 Colt brass from Starline is $183. The same number of 460 mag brass is over $500. So there are some compromises a person can make if they're so inclined.

I think it's moot though, because if the OP loaded, I'm guessing the original question wouldn't have been asked.

 

[cfullgraf]

I have a "light" load for my 460 XVR using 460 S&W Mag cases. Shoots cast lead bullets at about 1100 fps or so. Fun for plinking.

There is some information on light loads for the 460 S&W Magnum that can be found on the internet, but use the data at your own risk.

I have not found much data for the 460 S&W Magnum for loads from 45 Colt to 460 S&W Magnum levels from what I consider reputable sources. I guess, most of the data folks figure one is going to use the shorter cases for the lighter loads.

I have shot a few 45 Colt rounds through my 460 XVR. Accuracy was fine but I hate cleaning out the carbon rings that form from shooting short cases in the longer chambers so I found a light load using the 460 S&W Mag cases.

 

[CraigC]

I agree that if you're not going to shoot .460, there's no point in getting one. The .454 will do 95% of what the .460 will do anyway and all either of them gains you over "Ruger only" .45Colt or .44Mag is effective range.