Shooting the 460

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b79holmes

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Now that I have a 460V sitting in the safe, the question is what ammo to try first?

I was planning to use 45LC cowboy loads for plates but to those of you who shoot the 460, have you found sort of a sweet heavy load without punishing recoil? I though I read here somewhere that some of the 454 Casull loads were not as accurate as some others, maybe do to bullet length. No I don't reload, that's why I didn't get a 500.

Thanks,
Bill
 
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"Punishing recoil" is highly subjective, so start low and gradually work your way up to what you feel is the just right sweet spot.

I could not decide between 460 and 500, so I bought both, the former in 6.5" and the latter in 10.5".

Next for me will be 500 in 3" + 1" comp, or a custom job 4" no comp, and a 50-110 BFR.
 
I would try the Hornady 200 gr FTX. It's fairly reasonable for factory .460 ammo and is very accurate. The weight of the X-Frame, plus the compensator should make the recoil tolerable, and the shooting pleasant. Make dang sure you have good muffs or ear plugs tho........
 
I reload and am still finding my way. The Hornady 200 were nice. I am experimenting with plated as well as jacketed. The plated will split with too much powder. I have just tried 300 with a min load of 296 and they do jar a bit. I mostly use 230 and 250 as they are easily accessible. I haven't tried any of the other 45 cal stuff because I don't have any. I know a guy with a 454 but we haven't hit the range at the same time. Enjoy your shooting.
 
I shot mine for the 1st time a couples weeks ago.
I used HSM 320 bear loads (was all they had).
I was surprised the recoil was not as bad as I thought it'd be.

Picked up some Hornady 200gr and will try them soon.

Getting set up to reload my own.
 
argon18smith said:
I reload and am still finding my way. The Hornady 200 were nice. I am experimenting with plated as well as jacketed. The plated will split with too much powder. I have just tried 300 with a min load of 296 and they do jar a bit. I mostly use 230 and 250 as they are easily accessible. I haven't tried any of the other 45 cal stuff because I don't have any. I know a guy with a 454 but we haven't hit the range at the same time. Enjoy your shooting.
Click to expand...

Reloading the 460 makes some devastating rounds
IMHO skip the plated and go straight to gas checked hard cast. You can resize .458 as well.

v5h2rp.jpg
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buck460XVR said:
I would try the Hornady 200 gr FTX. It's fairly reasonable for factory .460 ammo and is very accurate. The weight of the X-Frame, plus the compensator should make the recoil tolerable, and the shooting pleasant. Make dang sure you have good muffs or ear plugs tho........
Click to expand...

I agree. I found the 200 gr Hornady load to kick less than a lot of 44 magnum rounds in a 629. The noise was in another league however!
 
3rdgeargrndrr said:
Reloading the 460 makes some devastating rounds
IMHO skip the plated and go straight to gas checked hard cast. You can resize .458 as well.

v5h2rp.jpg
.
Click to expand...

Was hoping my 3.5” would be here tomorrow but I will bide my time slimming down some Penn .458” 375gr Spitzers.
I originally “assumed” the 460 was .458” .... butt.....is where my head was at that moment. :eek:
I’ll bring it to the Rockies and exchange it for the wee little 629/4” my boy took with him. :D
Talk more soon.
Thx
RT
 
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45 Colt in a 460Mag

b79holmes said:
I though I read here somewhere that some of the 454 Casull loads were not as accurate as some others, maybe do to bullet length.
No I don't reload...
Click to expand...

If the 454C's aren't accurate then you'd have to say the same thing about the 45 Colts when fired in the much longer 460 chamber. Over .500" shorter & the 45 Colt bullet has a way to go in the ~.480" chamber before it gets to the ~.4520" throats.

At indoor range distances I didn't observe a real difference (off-hand) when loaded to approx. the same speeds, with the same bullet, & powder (4227 adjusted for case capacity). At longer distances I suspect you'd see a difference.

However, I stick to shooting only 460 cases in mine. Factory loaded 454 Casulls are no slouch, by the way.

You really need to start handloading to fully enjoy the 460. Then you can justify buying a 500 too. ;) :D

Hope you enjoy your new 460! :)

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You should reconsider your "I don't reload" if you want to feed that 460. $1.50-$3.00 per round adds up real fast :D. As BLUEDOT said 45LC has even bigger jump to throat so technically would be even less accurate, having said that - I do load 45LC for my 14 y.o. son to shoot - even "Ruger only" loads feel like 38SP in 7.5" compensated barrel.
 
I have had my S&W 460 for about a Month now. I shot up a few Boxes of Hornady 200 grain FTX Factory stuff and it didn't seem to have the Recoil that I expected. Accuracy Was Fair coming from a Guy with 72yr old Eyes. Having Bought some Lee Dies, and Lee Factory Crimp Die, I just loaded 20rds with Hornady 300gn XTP Mag Bullets and 20rds with the same bullets in 240gn using H110 Powder and Magnum Primers. I believe that these loads will be higher Performance than the 200gn Hornadys
 

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b79holmes said:
Now that I have a 460V sitting in the safe, the question is what ammo to try first?

I was planning to use 45LC cowboy loads for plates but to those of you who shoot the 460, have you found sort of a sweet heavy load without punishing recoil? I though I read here somewhere that some of the 454 Casull loads were not as accurate as some others, maybe do to bullet length. No I don't reload, that's why I didn't get a 500.

Thanks,
Bill
Click to expand...

Bill, I shoot .44mags a lot out of my 3" barreled 629 and more recently out of a vintage 3" barreled M29. The hot 255 grain loads from Underwood and 300grain loads from Prvi-Partizan are still more than manageable until I get to about round count 80-100 before getting kinda fatigued. But the last time I shot an 8" barreled 460 with 200grain Hornady's... I said that is beyond my personal comfort level. So if I had a S&W 460 it would be stoked with .454Casull's for the hot n' fun stuff... .45LC's for the plinking... and if I were in the Great Outdoors in brown bear country I'd find a lightly loaded but heavy for caliber 460 load that just by a couple hairs outpaced the .454 Casull loads. That is the great thing about the .454 is being able to shoot multiple caliber loadings... I'd love to have one someday! Maybe you did already and I'm just not seeing it; but post some pics of that Hawg Leg!!!

ETA: I asked my buddy who has the 460 that I shot a while back at the club. He said I told me I was shooting the 200 grain Hornady's but he pulled a switch-a-roo on me stoked it with a heavy Buffalo Bore load instead. That would explain for the recoil I experienced... He still thinks what he did was funny... clown!
 
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Recoil is a matter of training. You bought that gun to shoot heavy loads I would guess. Shoot what you want to shoot and train for it.
 
As many have suggested start with 200 FTX.

Recoil is a function of the displaced mass- the lower the mass the less recoil

Shooting a 300 grain Casull round out of your 460 will have more recoil than the 200 FTX, the FTX will have more flash and be loader.

As others have mentioned - use good hearing protection- I suggest you use plugs and muffs together.

As already said- if you really want to take advantage of you 460 you should take up hand loading.

be safe
Ruggy
 
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Argon18smith: I see you have a Leopold on your 460. If you don't mind me asking what model is it, what factors influenced your purchase, and would you choose this one again if you had to do it over? Thanks in advance. I'm expecting to get my PC 460XVR (sku # 11626) in next week.
 
Big calibers shine with heavy bullets.

Why don't you try some 300g cast in the area of 900 ~ 1200fps and see what you like best?

I load a 480 with 420g cast in two loads, 1000 & 1200fps. Mine are Ruger super redhawk and super blackhawk, so they are lighter than your 460, but recoil is very manageable.
 
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