New S&W 460 magnum - Hornady 200 ftx issues

[duerz]

Hello and thank you for any help in advance,

I have just purchased a brand new 460 XVR magnum (8 in barrel). And I took to range to shoot at 30 yards. I shot 45 long colt, 454 casull (Hornady 240 grain xtp) with POI right around POA. But when I shot the 460 Magnum(Hornady 200 grain ftx) the POI was about 5 in low. Is this normal?

 

[Road_Clam]

I have the 12" 460 with adjustable sights. When my 460 was sighted from the factory and shooting the Hornady 200gr FTX ammo I had a decent zero at 50 ft, and then again at 100 yds. Try your 460 and the 200 ftx ammo and see if this is how yours is set. (not sure if you have fixed or adjustable sights) . I like the 50 ft. / 100 yd zero. The 200 ftx bullet shoots very flat out to 100 yds, past 150 yds the bullet drops like a rock very quickly !

 

[duerz]

I was comparing .454 ammo and 45 lc ammo against the 460.
I have adjustable sights.
Both the 45 lc and 454 were acceptable. The only one that was not was the 460 ammo.

 

[scooter123]

What you are observing is completely normal. Google the term "Bore Transit Recoil" and you'll get a large array of articles to read. Boil it down and as the bullet is moving down the barrel the handgun will have the muzzle rising due to recoil. Bullets that move faster spend LESS time in the barrel so there is less muzzle rise while the bullet is moving down the barrel. This means that lighter bullets shoot lower than heavier bullets. It also means that LONGER barrels will produce MORE Bore Transit Recoil than shorter barrels. However one complicating factor with longer barrels they are also heavier, so they do rise slower than a shorter barrel. Which means that you just have to do some testing to see what your particular revolver does.

Some good news is that once you have determined a correction factor for the "oddman bullets" it will be consistent for that revolver. What I do if I am using a scope is just find the nearest hash mark that is close and add in a bit of Kentucky Windage to get dialed in. BTW, note cards that are laminated can be a real asset to keep handy.