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

[G. Glock]

I have to agree with those who wonder what the attraction is to these "rifle wannabe handguns." It borders on putting a red dot scope on a Hawken rifle, for me, and making it something other than what it is. Sure, you can make a handgun that will fire any size cartridge you want, including a .458 Win Mag! But why? Why be giving Viagra to a handgun; they make these really practical tools called "rifles" for these powerful cartridges. They even fit against one's shoulder and are fun to shoot.

But, then again, whatever floats your boat. I wouldn't want to be a ballistics bigot. I love big caliber handguns. I sling more .45 Colt and .44 Mag. slugs in a week than the average 10 shooters, but I have no interest in this stuff. I like shooting too much!

 

[Old Fuff]

The Old Fuff begs to report that he actually fired one of these hand-cannons in Las Vegas last week at a press function conducted by Smith & Wesson. This all occurred on an indoor range, with “Da’ Fuff†trapped in a shooting booth lined with steel plate on each side to stop any splatter from the regular customer’s ordinary handguns. He did not find the recoil to be so bad, given the weight of the revolver, but the muzzle blast was …. Ah … memorable to the extreme.

What the guys from Springfield are trying to build is a 200-yard (or further) big game hunting toy for big boys. As might be expected the trajectory is flatter then the company’s big 50. The barrel is rifled with a gain twist to cut down the propensity of the recoil to torque and twist the gun when it is fired. The barrel is also constructed along the lines of a Dan Wesson, so that the inner tube can be replaced rather then the more expensive outer shroud. Anyone lugging one of these around had better wear both a belt and suspenders. I too suggested that they make a snubbie, and when I left they were thinking ….

Somewhere there is somebody that will buy it …

But it won’t be Da’ Fuff …

 

[unspellable]

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

Is this not true of a bazooka or similar shoulder mounted rocket launchers?

 

[Obiwan]

2" Scandium

My lord......in a confined space everyone would likely be killed

Including the shooter

 

[Master Blaster]

Well I dont know about you guys but none of my gun clubs would allow me to shoot one of these on the pistol range due to the detrimental effect on the backstop. And they dont allow pistols on the rifle range.

But this friend of mine wants one:

 

[Obiwan]

I disagree

I think your friend NEEDS 2

 

[esheato]

This is the information I received on it. Looks just like the .500 S&W to me. I believe S&W want to hold claim to the biggest and fastest, not the most enjoyable to shoot.

Ed

Smith & Wesson 460XVR 8 3/8" Revolver

Specifications
SKU: 163460
Caliber: .460 S&W Magnum®
Capacity: 5
Barrel Length: 8-3/8" (7-3/8" + 1" Compensator)
Front Sight: Gold Bead Black Patridge and HI-VIZ® Green Dot Interchangeable
Rear Sight: Adjustable Black Blade
Firing System: N/A
Grip: Rubber Grip
Trigger: N/A
Hammer: N/A
External Safety: N/A
Frame: X-Frame
Finish: Satin Stainless
Overall length: N/A
Material: Stainless Steel
Weight Empty: 73.0 ounces

Other Features
• Removable, Interchangeable Compensator
Other Features
• 2330 FPS/200 Grain! The Highest Velocity Revolver in the World
• 2400 ft/lbs! The Most Powerful .
45 Caliber Revolver in the World
• If You Zero its Sights at 200 Yards, You Will Bag Your Buck with a Center Hold. 0-250 Yards with No Hold Over! Just Center It and Fire. The 460XVR will Do The Rest
• Gain Twist Rifled Barrel for Superb Accuracy
• Lighter Loads That The 460 Will Also Fire Include .45 Colt and .454 Casull
• Incredibly Low Perceived Recoil For All Loads

$1,253.00*
*Suggested Retail, Dealer Sets Actual Pricing

 

[landon74]

I really have little interest in shooting a handgun that seems to equal my .45-70 handloads and weighs half as much as my 1895 Marlin (the .500 S&W is what I'm talking about). As for this .460 Mag and the .440 Mag S&W is bringing out, I'm pretty sure they'll fall into the same category.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I wouldn't mind messing with WWG lever action .500 S&W.... and who knows, maybe they'll chamber these new wonder mags in a lever gun......

 

[SnWnMe]

Now that's what I'm talkin' bout.

Goodbye 454, hello 460!

 

[H&Hhunter]

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

Hey I can't wait...You go first..

 

[Old Fuff]

One of our members, "WildAlaska," was showing a lever action carbine chambered in .500 S&W at the SHOT Show ... and I believe a .460 S&W Magnum model is in the works. I think the .460 will make a fine carbine cartridge, and Wild's lever action was a piece of first-class workmanship.

 

[sumpnz]

As I said before, I could easily see the point of these rounds in a lever action carbine. What kind of damage do those puppies at WWG do one's credit card? Probably more than my almost 1 year old daughter will allow, but there sure do look nice.

 

[happy old sailor]

.469 SnW

the idea of a "triple threat" .45C/.454/.460 is intresting. it may be that my ,45C/.454 could be going down the road. think i will wait for Ruger to build one tho for i will be loading it up. seems that the .460, with a resonably heavy bullet, would crack the skull of most things on the planet. look there, i have already named the one im gonna get, skullcracker. i forsee some fuuun coming my way. or, is that punishment for my sins and foibles.

 

[unspellable]

460 S&W

Would this 460 S&W chamber a 445 SuperMag? Sounds like it's d**n near the same thing.

 

[Redhawk1]

unspellable, the 445 is a 44 caliber and the 460 is a 45 caliber. So the answer is no.

 

[unspellable]

445 SuperMag in a S&W

I must confess to putting my keyboard in gear before engaging brain.

I have been hearing rumours of a 440 S&W cartridge on the X frame. This would be a standard 44 caliber and is the one I was thinking of when I wondered if it would chamber a 445 SuperMag.

 

[Redhawk1]

I have not seen anything on the S&W440. Where did you see that at?


Thanks

 

[P. Plainsman]

I too picked up the Shooting Times ish with the Dick Metcalf .460 XVR review.

Thickest cylinder walls I've ever seen. Metcalf says the pressures from the round during ignition essentially liquefy the brass.

The subjective recoil, he insists, is like a medium .44 Mag.

I have no interest in these guns, but the engineering is impressive. And when viewed as a middle finger from S&W to the anti-gunners, the X-frames are a fine gesture.

I just wish they weren't retiring the good old K-frame .357s at the same time.

 

[Old Fuff]

>> Metcalf says the pressures from the round during ignition essentially liquefy the brass. <<

I fired a .460 Magnum in Las Vegas. The brass ejected easily and was not discolored in any way. It was also not to hot to handle after being ejected. I tried to make off with the fired cases, but ...

 

[Marko Kloos]

Comes with box, lock, warranty, and a coupon for an orthopedist.

 

[sturmruger]

I read the same article and if I remember correctly the .460 has a chamber pressure of 60,000 PSI! They also use some type of progresive rifling. It starts out at like 1 to 100 and ends up at 1 to 9 twist. It sounds like a very interesting new cartridge. I didn't like the .454, or .480 so I doubt I will buy a .460.

 

[Red$tinger.308]

2300fps. from a 8 3/8" barrel?... Wow, I'm drooling. I wonder how long it will be before handguns hit 3kfps. PS: How do you quote? I haven't seen a quote button. You'll have to forgive me, as you can see, I'm a bit newbish to this forum.

 

[taliv]

can someone explain to me why the .454 has a SAAMI spec of 65000 average psi which is the same as the ST article claims for the .460, but somehow, shoots slower?

as was pointed out earlier, the velocities and bullet weights are very close. why would shooting a .454 casull round from the .460 pistol be considered light? why would they have different recoil? and if you put a 200g bullet in the .454, wouldn't it also shoot around 2300fps?

 

[halbritt]

The WWG 500 S&W Magnum Lever Action is $1500 for wood furniture and $1800 for synthetic furniture. I can't imagine anyone preferring the synthetic furniture on a lever-action, but what the hey. There's pics and stuff here:
http://www.wildwestguns.com/EStore/MasterGuideOrder/WWG04/wwg04.html

I handled the .500 revolver the other day while I was at the shooting range. It looks crazy, but it doesn't actually feel too bad while handling it. I didn't get a chance to shoot it, though. For those that don't understand this gun, there are certainly a couple of practical purposes for it, but I suspect that most sales will be to people that just want the biggest handgun there is. I can see the X-frame being useful for handgun hunting, and potentially also as a backup gun in Alaska or on a hunt for dangerous game. I'd certainly want one if a grizzly were coming at me.

 

[444]

I got the chance to fire a .500 yesterday. It was a short barrel (4") version with a comp. The load was a 400 grain JSP. I didn't see anything ridiculous about it. Two women that were there, fired it.
In many, if not all states, it is legal to hunt whitetail deer with blackpowder, muzzleloading rifles. One of, if not the most common caliber in these rifles is .50. The box of ammo from that .50 S&W I fired yesterday had a little ballistics table on the back of it and it said that out of a vented 10" test barrel, this 400 grain load chronoed 1400 fps. This isn't much different than a .50 muzzleloader firing a T/C Maxi Ball. In fact it is very close. And I have shot several deer with those myself. So, this whole .50 handgun thing isn't as dramatic as people would like to make it out to be.