Hello gents! .. I am brand new to the forum and can see that this is the place to ask for help when needed. I have done my best to use the search engine, but there isn't much info on what I want to know.

I have been reloading for a few years, but never for handgun cartridges. I have a new .460V on the way and want to reload to get the most out of her.

Can anyone point me in the right direction with regards to which die set to use? Which company sells the best dies for the .460?

Any user experiences (good or bad) related to reloading dies or components for the .460 would also be greatly appreciated.

thanks!

any name brand carbide dies will work for you. for some reason i have alot of green boxes {RCBS} but also have Pacific, Redding and Dillon dies. the 460 will use 45 Colt/454 Casull/460 S&W dies. oh, welcome to the forum!

Most of my dies are RCBS and all straight walled cases get carbide for obvious reasons. With the 460 you might still want to use something along the lines of Hornady One Shot, it keeps the cases from stretching.
You'll find that bullet choices for the 460 are still pretty limited too. Because of the gain twist rifling and speed at which it launches bullets standard jacketed bullets just won't hold up very well. Hornady currently makes the 240gr and 300gr XTP Mag. and Nosler makes the 260gr and 300gr HG Partition. Aside from hard cast GC bullets those are the only ones I use.

See if Lee makes them. A friend uses Lee 500 Mag dies with a carbide sizer in a 550B Dillon, no case lube. Works great.

Hornady sells an absolutely excellent carbide set of .460 dies. Mine came with a sizer, expander, seater, and separate roll crimp die.

You'll also need a .460-specific shell holder/plate, as the rim on .460 seems to be slightly thicker than .45LC/.454Casull. At least, my Starline .460 cases won't fit in my .45LC shell holder (RCBS) or shell plate (Hornady).

Thanks for the welcome! I was looking at the Hornady 4 die set, but was also thinking of RCBS and buying a separate Lee FCD done by the custom shop for the .460 Any thoughts on that?

Glad someone showed up to talk about the .460, I started to think I had made a mistake! Not much info, not many components .. what is everyone trying to tell us?

Discussing the Starline brass, on their website it states that the .45 Colt/.454 Casull dies work best with their brass .. huh??

I have tried to secure some CPB for this monster, as I really have no interest in firing the Colt or Casull out of it. Has anyone used Unique, Trailboss, or a similar powder to load up some "plinker" loads with .460 case??

So many questions! .. sorry! Does the separate Hornady roll crimp die warrant a look?

I like the results I've gotten with the Hornady roll crimp die. No problem with bullets jumping crimp even with near maximum loads.

I tried some light (for .460) loads using Cast Performance bullets and Accurate 5744 powder. They didn't work well at all--poor accuracy and very incomplete burn. I haven't used Trail Boss in .460 yet, but I probably will at some point as I love TB in other calibers. So far I've been more inclined to shoot .45LC as it is more economical, and since I load .45LC for several other guns as well, I usually have plenty of it on hand.

So far, I've gotten the best results out of Lil'Gun with the Hornady XTP-MAG bullets.

SZA;

How has your accuracy been with the 45 Colt loads in the 460? In another thread a new owner reported poor accuracy from Hornady 454 ammo in the 460.

I get the impression based on the number of ammo manufacturers loading the 460 as compared to the 500 that it has not been as successful a cartridge introdution. Maybe they feel they cannot compete with Hornady on the 460 as I note that their loaded ammo for the 460 is about half the price of their 500 Ammo.

quote:

Originally posted by Rich W:
SZA;

How has your accuracy been with the 45 Colt loads in the 460? In another thread a new owner reported poor accuracy from Hornady 454 ammo in the 460.

I get the impression based on the number of ammo manufacturers loading the 460 as compared to the 500 that it has not been as successful a cartridge introdution. Maybe they feel they cannot compete with Hornady on the 460 as I note that their loaded ammo for the 460 is about half the price of their 500 Ammo.

That's another reason I didn't want to mess with the Colt or Casull cases, the rumor being that the jump from the cylinder is significant enough to impede accuracy. That's why I was hoping to find a light load for the .460 case. Yes .. let's hear from the .460 vets about Colt and Casull accuracy please!

quote:

Originally posted by Rich W:
How has your accuracy been with the 45 Colt loads in the 460? In another thread a new owner reported poor accuracy from Hornady 454 ammo in the 460.

I've found the accuracy with .45LC to be just fine, but I've only shot them at shorter ranges (15 and 25yds), using the factory sights, and I'm almost always the limiting factor on any of my handgun loads accuracy-wise. The .45LC I've fired through my 460 has generally been fairly lightly loaded ammo using lead bullets.

Perhaps my pressures are low enough to avoid the bullet deformation that duckloads was seeing with .454 in his 460?

Accuracy aside shooting .45LC through my 8 3/8" 460XVR is great fun. It's like shooting a gigantic cap gun.

I have one more box of Hornady 454 in 240 grain. this weekend, I'll shoot some more 454 vs 460 tests.

At this point, I don't see any reason to shoot 454's. The Hornady 460's are close to the same price. I bought then to try to see if the 240 grain hornady bullet is ok. I would like to reload the 240 grain bullet in the 460 case some day. Perhaps by then, the 200 grain hornady (460 mag) bullet will be available fore reloaders.

Give honor to our country tomorrow and have a little fun at the same time.

Dino,
Welcome to the forum first of all. It sounds like you are an experienced handloader already, good, your help will be greatly needed as well.
You will find most of us are willing to share almost anything with folks with lots of questions. You may just not like the answer!

At any rate, I would find it hard to believe that in the 460 shooting 454/45 Colt and accuracy issues would be much different than the 38spl shot in 357mag and folks have been doing that for years and years with no ill effects with accuracy. The issue is going to be getting the chambers clean and going back to the 460 case.

I would also think that any 45 Colt max load or 454 load for that matter could be used as a starting load for the 460. I went to the Hodgdon website and they have data for Thompson Center Contenders and Freedom Arms and the 45 Colt. I would certainly think those loads shot in 460 cases would be OK.

As for loads with Trail Boss, here is what the technician told me about loading it in the 500. "Mark the case where the base of the bullet will end up and fill it up to there with Trail Boss, you will be fine!" I did and in the Handi-Rifle I used to have it gave me about 1200fps with a 325gr Speer Gold Dot bullet.

I've only shot the 460 once as it was someone else's. Much nicer than the 500.

Anyway, enjoy and again, welcome!

Thanks for the kind welcome Skip! ... I think that the case length difference is more significant between the .460/.45LC and the .357/.38 Again .. I am only going by what I have read. I want to head in the direction that you have commented, trying some powders known for their use in reduced loads.

Will a case with less powder in it (with regards to the .460 case) increase pressure? Is that the theory with regards to filling it plumb full?

I was hoping for alot more reloading info for the .460 than what I have found. Seems that the good majority of the .460 shooters are quite happy paying for the Hornady factory ammo!

Probably one reason for the scarcity of 460 reloading data is lack of suitable bullets.

Most 45 bullets are not intended for any where near 460 velocities. Only bullets intended for the 454 Casull or the 460 are likely to perform satisfactorily on game at 460 velocities and pressures.

Speer #14 does have load data for the 45 Colt Gold Dot in the 460 with a specific warning that it is likely to blow up if used on game at the 460 velocities.

I recently talked to Hornady about supplying the 200 grain tipped 460 mag bullet for reloading. I was told that they have every intention of issueing just the bullet within a year or so. They have to increase production and work out some legal challenges, so they say.