.460 S&W,Anyone shoot it yet?

J

jackpine

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
184   0   0
Location
Windsor, On,
Looking for opinions on the new .460 S&W XVR just out on the market.Has anyone shot the cartridge yet or bought the gun yet? Admittedly it's a real "thumb-buster of a wheelgun according to what's in print up to now.Anyone had the opportunity to hunt stateside with it and what? I'm the guy who just craves for raw horsepower such as this one and my arthritus in my hands will bear that out,but what the hay,it's really just a super-duper .454 on steroids.Has Smith & Wesson really hit the limit this time or can they out-do even their own monster creations.Me thinks they have found the true upper limits of self inflicted pain but every time I think THAT ,they come out with another mind blower.
jackpine
 
I'd like to try one but haven't yet. A 'while' back I picked up the .500 S&W. I don't know about the .460, but the .500 has the ability to inflict pain, at both ends. I just went out and 'tested' some 500gr Hornady handloadsyesterday and took 'discomfort' to a new level. The .460 probably isn't too much different.
You mentioned hunting stateside. I've been making inquiries and am in the preliminary process of setting up for a Moose hunt in Alaska, 2009 or 2010, using the .500 S&W. Long & short of it, it 'ain't cheap' but it would be legal & think of the rush!!
 
To Johnn Peterson:
I agree that the "500" will no doubt raise the bar on our pain threshholds as would the .460 to a slightly lesser extent as the heaviest .45 cal. projectiles commercially made today will go 395 gr. but the 50 cal. as you know will hit 500 gr. and the recoil factor increases proportionately.To make recoil more tolerable,wear good shooting gloves,shock compensating grips and light/medium for caliber premium bullets i.e.,250-300 gr. .45 cal and 325-375 gr. 50 cal will still do the job on big critters that bite back.Penetration is crucial for quick kills.As for myself it may not be a pricey stateside hunt but rather a fly-fishing expedition in Alaska where big bruins share a salmon stream with me.The one thing that attracts me to the .460 is the ability to use much milder ammo in factory or handloads in .452 .45 cal. Hell,even if you want to use heavy weight .454 loads, an article I read mentioned that the compensator on those "X" frames is very effective and can really tame that .454 casull number but still be effective on big game.The one real issue here,I think would be the bulk and weight of that enormous frame at 82.0 oz. for an 8" barrel ,unscoped as well.My S&W M-629 ,8 3/8 brrl weighs in at 53 oz. empty and at the end of the day,that .44 mag can get heavy.
jackpine
 
Last edited:
When I got my .500 S&W, the .460 wasn't avaiable. In reality, I had no intention of getting one until I tried my buddy's using the 440gr GC bullet, loaded to about 1000 f/sec. After I saw the accuracy on that first target, I needed one.:D
Even with the supplied Hogue grips, with the heavy hotter loads, it was painful as the rubber thickness in the area of the hump is pretty thin. :redface: I modified a set of Herritt Jorden Trooper stocks I had for my S&W model 29 and that made a noticeable difference. It's still a 'handful', but now a little more bareable. Spreads the pain over a bigger area I guess.:)
For me, a hunt in Alaska with the 500 will be for Moose. Bear would be a secondary consideration, if it tries to 'claim' my Moose. I'm not really interested in Bear.
At this point in time my plan is to use either 350gr H.P.'s, Hornady or Sierra or 400gr F.P.'s. With reloads for it, using cast of jacketed, they all seem to shoot well.
 
Well I broke down and made the buy on a S&W M-460 XVR with an 8 3/8" barrel as somehow I guess I need some newer punishment but have yet to fire it as cases and factory ammo is scarce to date but I'll remedy that soon enough with a mail order to Cabelas and a U.S. postal drop point. Will keep you posted with future developments.(hope my club will let me shoot it indoors!) methinks THIS ONE WILL DEFINITELY HURT !!!!!!!!!
p.s. didn't like the price but no-one else had one,,,,,c'est la vie! my Froggy is not very good,sorry
 
Have yet to light the .460 up but I am impressed with the trigger let-off in single action as it's lighter than my 629 which has been reworked by yours truly.On my older R.C.B.S. scale it trips at around 3 1/2 lbs. cleanly,double action is the usual 8 to 10 lbs. and off the scale.have just loaded some Starline brass up with test loads and also impressed with the brass as it's very consistent in wall thickness,flash hole is factory qualified,a real bummer it's not available yet to Canucks but will in time.like all else here we must wait a while for mfg. to catch up for export but will be worth it.
later
 
US Postal Drop

jackpine said:
factory ammo is scarce to date but I'll remedy that soon enough with a mail order to Cabelas and a U.S. postal drop point
Click to expand...
Better watch out for the "pre-border inspection" by ATF or other US Feds!
 
Thanks for the Tip

pontcanna said:
Better watch out for the "pre-border inspection" by ATF or other US Feds!
Click to expand...
You are absolutely right about the pre-border inspection but managed a way around that this time but will not take the chance again,just not worth it.On another day trip to Cabelas in Dundee,Mich. as we just made it to the primary questions at the U.S. side and were directed to negotiate our new truck through 2 columns for a radio-active scan,I unwittingly tripped the bells and whistles off which prompted a border guard to ask,"Have iether of you recently had a Medical test"? I replied yes,I just had a bone-scan done just yesterday.With that responce I was ordered to an inspection room and my buddy was ordered through the columns again for verification,this time no bells and whistles.While in the room another guard came at me with a geiger counter and the closer he got ,the hotter I got! Too bad that our medical practitioners don't inform us about a docs' note for cross-border travel in such a scenario.Wheeeewwww!!!!!! Sounds good and funny now but it sure taught me a new level of pucker power!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom