".460 S&W leaves every other big-bore handgun cartridge in the dust."

[Greybeard]

Or so sez Dick Metcalf in freebee copy of March issue of Shooting Times that recently hit my mailbox.

It seems the same inn-jun-ear that developed the airweight revolvers has taken his talents to the other extreme and is using his "X-frame" of recent 50 cal. fame to launch 45 cal. bullets. New round is named ".460 S&W Magnum" - and the 4 1/2 pound beast for it will also shoot 45 Colt and .454 Casull.

With two "pilot production" guns with 8.5" barrels and not-available-to-the-rest-of-us-yet 200-grain Hornady SSTs, Metcalf claims 2300+ fps and 3.7" groups at 200 yards. Yea, you read it right - 200-grain bullets, which is at least partially how they appear to get the Mach II fps to go with the big-bore hype.

Sorry I don't have a link, but the the guns were tested with other bullets up to 395 grains. And with alledged recoil about like a mid-size 44 Mag. Same inn-jun-ear was quoted as saying if someone wants to shoot new .460 with something "mild", just load with .454 Casull. Time will tell ... In any event, beware Bambi.

 

[sumpnz]

You know, I just don't don't get the attraction to these rounds. If you want that kind of performance, get a dang rifle and be done with it. In fact, this new .460S&W would probably be a find round from a lever action carbine. At least that way you'd get the benifit of firing it from your shoulder. Masochistic abuse does not make shooting fun, and if it ain't fun, why bother.

Of course, this is from a guy who loves the 6.5x55mm cartridge because it gets the job done (whether hunting anything from pronghorn to moose, or for social situations) with minimal recoil, and is fun to just "plink" with too.

For those who really like these kinds of cartridges, have fun with them. I might try a shot or two just to say I did it, but I won't hog the ammo supply.

 

[H&Hhunter]

I guess I don't have any problem with these new wonder rounds. But the X frame has to be without a doubt the most ridiculus pistol ever built. It's just to darn big and heavy. Which kind of defeats the whole reason we carry a pistol in the first place.

I know, I know if you're really into handgun hunting it may have a place. But gosh..Could you imagine carry that chunk of iron around as a bear defense pistol. I'd rather have a good light weight lever gun or something like it for all the weight and size that X frame has.

Oh and just by the way what kind of velocity will a .454 push a 200gr bullet at? I know a .44 will do darn near 1800FPS Of course I wouldn't hunt anything very big with a 200gr .44 bullet or a .452 in that weight. Lets see what it'll push a 300 or a 325gr bullet at I'll bet you it ain't that much better that a .454...Just a guess.

 

[Greybeard]

Well H&H, it looks like this one got shuffled out of "Hunting" to over here ...

In answer to your question, the table in the article sez the 460 is spittin' out the Corbon 300-grain Sierra JSP/FN in the 1790s. And Corbon XPB/HP 250-grainer at about 1870.

Unless it's a goof on Corbon's web site, they are already producing a 265-grainer that leaves a .454 Casull at 1800 fps. (My "settled on" - and relatively "mild" - hog-huntin' load for 7 1/2" SBH in .454 is 300-grain XTP at around 1525.)

Give me a little time to get ahold of some of Hornady's forthcoming pointy-tipped 200-grain "cheater" SSTs like they used to get fps over 2300 and I suspect us poor boys' Rugers can safely spit 'em out at close to 2000 ...

Maybe a good deer load for some, but then I suspect some "real world field testing" would be in order to see how they perform if having to enter the south end of a northbound Mr. Big Pig ...

 

[scbair]

Include me with the others who question the practicality of the X-frame revolver. I consider the advantage of a handgun vs. rifle to be portability. I can carry my 5.5" bbl. Redhawk .44 mag in a belt holster quite comfortably. Loaded with Cor Bon 320 grainers at approx. 1200 fps, it'll do most anything I need to have done in Dixie!

The .460 and .500 maggies may offer more, but if I have to use a super-duper shoulder/chest/hip harness to pack the firearm, I'll just carry my 12 gauge loaded with Brenneke slugs (500 gr. at approx. 1100-1200 fps, IIRC).

Of couse, if an earthquake frees the rhinos and elephants from the local zoo . . .

Gotta tell the wife I NEED that .458 !!

 

[Maxinquaye]

"Include me with the others who question the practicality"

Ferrari's and Ducati's aren't practical, but they sure are fun! I like putting big holes in paper and shooting heavy recoil revolvers. That's good enough reason for me

/saving up for a .500 right now

 

[H&Hhunter]

I can carry my 5.5" bbl. Redhawk .44 mag in a belt holster quite comfortably. Loaded with Cor Bon 320 grainers at approx. 1200 fps, it'll do most anything I need to have done in Dixie!

scbair,

Shoot, that'll do anywhere in the world if you put em where they need to go.

Greybeard,

It never fails to amze me how these gun writers will use some super light weight bullet push it at some ridiculous speed then sit back and claim this to be the fastest bestest thing since gunpowder.

I just can't see how this justifies the weight and bulk of an X frame for the MARGINAL performance benifits you are gaining from a .460S&W.

Give me a good old .44 any day. Put it in a redhawk and it'll eat anything you feed it with nary a worry..I've also played with a Freedom arms in .454. As Austin powers said "Yeahhh BAAAby". Very nice pistols!

 

[scbair]

Maxinquaye,
As the proud owner of a S&W M30, in .32 S&W Long, I sure ain't gonna argue the "just 'cause it's fun" reason for owning something!

Like my thoughts re: the X-frame, though, I find a .38 Special J-frame more practical (most of the time . . . ).

 

[Camp Cook]

I carry a 7.5" SRH 454 Casull usually loaded with 360gr C/P hard cast bullets @ 1520fps. With ?grs of H110 and a 240gr XTP mag bullet I am getting 1850fps. These are not top loads but do everything that I need. The recoil is at the top of what I can comfortably handle as well, I don't want or need more. Also going to a larger framed handgun would just be to uncomfortable for me to carry.

 

[unspellable]

Big bore revolvers

Around here you can't hunt deer with a breech loading fire rifle. (Although I'd sure like to blow a few of the varmints out of my back yard.)

But deer hunting is not meant to be practical. If it was we wouldn't be up to our armpits in deer and I'd have a back yard.

Now that I've justified hunting deer with a big bore revolver I'm wondering if I won't stick to my 445 SuperMag. Clearly outruns a 44 Mag at any range, matches a 454 Casull at 100 yards, and is a darn sight cheaper to feed than a 454 casull or the new S&W wonder magnums. (Doesn't tear my hand off at the wrist either.)

 

[BluesBear]

The weakest link.

How long do you think the forcing cone is going to last shooting those barnburners?

500 rounds?

100?

50?

 

[SnWnMe]

Yeah but will your good ol this and good ol that keep THEM in business? Naw.

They gotta stoke the fires once in awhile. THAT'S the point.

 

[Redhawk1]

For those of you that question the practicality of the round, WHY!!! It is up to the individual who shoots them to have to understand the practicality of the round. Nobody is making you buy one, but don't knock it if you don't see a use for them. Some of us do. Any one can kill an animal with a rifle.

 

[Redhawk1]

BluesBear
How long do you think the forcing cone is going to last shooting those barnburners?
500 rounds?
100?
50?
__________________

I will let you know when I get mine, I will shot it a lot. People said the 500 MAG would fall apart after a few hundred rounds. I have almost 2000 rounds through mine and not one problem. I also have a BFR in 500 MAG and it has over 1500 rounds and it is still shooting like a champ.

 

[P. Plainsman]

This is an interesting time in which to be learning the joys of revolver shooting.

The rise to dominance of the high-cap autoloader is pressing the market for double-action wheelguns out toward the extremes: on one hand, monster frames shooting ever more ominous mega-bore cartridges; and on the other hand, tiny, featherweight, wrist-stinging Ti/Sc snubbies. The greater "scalability" of the revolver's design gives it a perceived advantage at the outer edges of the weight/size spectrum.

For those of us who just love the revolver action, and covet the fine middle-sized, polished steel service DA wheelguns of the past, the trend lines are somewhat melancholy. All this frenzied development at the extremes by companies like S&W can be hard to distinguish from simple gimmickry if you stare too long at it. Give us accurate, standard-weight production guns with good, smooth actions like my '70s Python and S&W 19-3 have; then we can move on to the crew-served X-frames and 10-oz wondersnubbies.

On the other hand, the thriving market in nostalgic single-action revolvers is heartening. It is 2005, yet you can find a dozen different cowboy sixguns at any large American gun store -- an amazing fact.

Half empty and half full.

OK, pardon the windy musings; thanks for your patience; back to the thread.

 

[Standing Wolf]

The editors of Shooting Times fall head over heels in love with every new gun and cartridge that hits the streets. Have you ever read a critical review in that magazine?

Didn't think so.

 

[SunBear]

And they call it a 460 because???????????

 

[Redhawk1]

And they call it a 460 because???????????



Whats your point????

 

[444]

It sounds like a lot of fun to me.
The performance also sounds good to me.
A few people pointed out how their .44 mag loads are ALMOST that fast. Let me offer you another comparison. The .460S&W shoots a 200 grain bullet at 2300 + fps. The .30-06 shoots a 180 grain bullet at approx. 2770 fps (random factory load from Winchester's website).
So, here we have a handgun that shoots a heavier bullet, that is bigger in diameter than a .30-06-180 and comes within 500 fps of what the '06 musters out of a RIFLE.

Just to keep everyone honest, the same website: Winchester, lists their factory .44 Mag 210 grain load at 1250 fps. The Alliant Powder website lists it's top load with a 200 grain bullet at 1665 fps.
Based on this data, the .460 is closer to an '06 than a .44 mag is to the .460.

As I mentioned in another thread, I listened to GunTalk yesterday and they were broadcasting from the SHOT show. They interviewed someone from S&W and of course they discussed this revolver. According to that guy, this is a true MOA shooter. He claims that if you zero this revolver at 200 yards, you can hold dead on from the muzzle to 240 yards on an animal the size of a whitetail deer with that 200 grain load which is supposed to be offered from both Cor-Bon and Hornady.

 

[Yooper]

At last!! A high velocity 454!! It's about time!!

 

[SnWnMe]

Finally got a chance to read the ST mag at the 32nd st Navy Exchange. Looks good! It'll be nice to tell my shooting buddy that "Okay, now that we've shot a few 460s, let's COOL DOWN with a few 454s".

I can really see myself taking up silhouette shooting....

 

[John Ross]

I love all these new developments.

The .500 is apt to be my favorite, though. With a long-nose, short shank 400 grain bullet, I'm getting over 2000 FPS out of my 8 3/8" guns.

JR

 

[Obiwan]

Well....if Metcalf said it it must be true

More options is better

How about a 4" Scandium model

Yahooooooo

 

[unspellable]

500 S&W

Why not make that scandium job a 2 incher?

 

[P. Plainsman]

Why not make that scandium job a 2 incher?

Such a gun might bring us near to the sublime culmination of the superlightbigbore trend: the gun that weighs less than its ammo.

One can dream.