S&w 460v

rick357

rick357

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Whoa!

After a couple of hundred 45 Long Colts, almost a hundred 454 Casull and 20 rounds of Hornady 200gr S&W 460 Magnum, I am starting to get used to this particular gun. It's a S&W 460V and the 45 Colts out of it feel like I'm shooting my Ruger bull 22. A quiet soft 'pop' and virtually no recoil at all. The 454 Casull, in various loads feels almost exactly like my 5" S&W 629 44 Magnum, a good solid thump in the hand with a sharp bang. Neither of these prepare me for touching off a 460 round though. I don't know what comes first, or is the worst, the flash, the heat, or the concussion. Recoil, what recoil? Those first three do their absolute best to camouflage any sense of recoil. I have no idea if it recoils or not, but I expect it does. Flinch - yep but I am getting much better now. I think that the concussion is probably the one thing I have to get used to more than any other. I figure that by the time I put another 20 to 40 rounds of the big magnums through it that I'll be getting quite used to the effects. I remember thinking the same thing of my 357 when I started shooting it regularly and now I can blast away several hundred rounds straight with no problem. I don't think the 460 will ever get to that same level of comfort but it will be fun trying.

So, do I like the 460V? YEAH, love it, but just like the 44, it certainly isn't for everyone.

Having camera troubles so I'll post a pic once I get things sorted out.
 
I've got one too.....I like it alot. It is a handful with the Horn. 200gr loads, but wait til you try some 300gr handloads.....fun like you have never had before!
 
What are you loading up with? I have some H110 and W296 but was thinking of using Hodgdon Titegroup for the 460 and 454 loads and keeping the H110 for the 357 reloads. Did you buy any empty brass or just "generate" your own by emptying factory rounds like I am doing?
 
rick357, "It's a S&W 460V and the 45 Colts out of it feel like I'm shooting my Ruger bull 22." Anything except the S&W 500 probably feels like a 22 compared to the S&W 460:) I would love to own a S&W 460. Regards, Richard:D
 
rick357 said:
What are you loading up with? I have some H110 and W296 but was thinking of using Hodgdon Titegroup for the 460 and 454 loads and keeping the H110 for the 357 reloads. Did you buy any empty brass or just "generate" your own by emptying factory rounds like I am doing?
Click to expand...


"Holy Sh*t" Rick stay away from any fast burning powders like Tite-Group for the 454 and 460 your risking a blown up gun if you do and even if you are careful fast burning powders are not designed for these cartridges...

Stay with Hodgdon Lil-Gun which is my favorite for the 454 with heavy cast bullets up to 405grs and H110 for Jacketed bullets up to 300grs.
 
I have a couple of web pages that indicate Titegroup is ok to use. Lots of H110 and Lil-gun loads listed too:

http://www.reloadammo.com/460sw.htm
http://data.hodgdon.com

I'll have a look at some of my other manuals (the printed kind as well) . . .

OK, see what you mean. The manuals are recommending 12 to 17 grains of Titegroup behind bullet weights in the 240 to 395 grain range and getting some pretty high pressures but some of the overall lowest velocities. I'll stick with the 296 and H110 for now and check out Lil-gun more. I am looking for an all-purpose powder for everything from 357 to 44 to 454 to 460. Maybe this Lil-gun will fit the bill. Thanks.
 
I saw a S&W 460 at P&D on Saturday, the thing looked like a monster!

I didnt know you could shoot 45lc and 454 casull out of it too.

Well, I dont have $995 burning a hole in my pocket but it looks like it would be an interesting gun to own.
 
Hi

If you are swapping around cartridges in the same pistol - be very careful. Shooting the 45 Colt's can build up lead or copper at the front end of the cylinder. That can make things a bit tight when you switch to the "real thing". It's nothing that a good run through with a brush won't take care of, you just want to be sure you keep things clean.

Ready to try one with a short barrel and no compensator yet?

Bob
 
pa guns said:
Hi

If you are swapping around cartridges in the same pistol - be very careful. Shooting the 45 Colt's can build up lead or copper at the front end of the cylinder. That can make things a bit tight when you switch to the "real thing". It's nothing that a good run through with a brush won't take care of, you just want to be sure you keep things clean.

Ready to try one with a short barrel and no compensator yet?

Bob
Click to expand...

You know it! Point driven home yesterday. My wife was shooting 38sp in the 357. She put through about 50-60 rounds and then switched off to the 22 Ruger. I picked up the 357 and loaded it up with factory 357 rounds. Never felt any stickiness or had to use any force to seat a round. I have done this many times before and never much thought about it since I have never had a problem I could attribute to it. My first shot goes bang, a little high and to the right. Try to pull back the hammer for sa and the gun is locked up tight. Now this DID happen once before but with a clean gun and a bad primer. The primer in that case had inverted the dimple into the firing hole and would not allow the cylinder to rotate or release. I checked it out carefully and it looked like this was the case again. The bullet had definitely cleared the barrel since the hole was definitely in the paper I had just newly put up and there was no indication of any other bullets protruding due to poor crimp. Pressed on the cylinder release and pushed down on the frame of the gun with the cylinder on a projection of the shooting bench. It popped free with a significant amount of force applied. I could not move the ejector. I pulled the remaining live rounds out using my fingernail under the rim but could not get that one empty brass to come out. The primer was partially pushed back out of the brass and the pin dimple was inverted indicating significant over-pressure. The gun is built to use full moon clips but I wasn't using them. The brass was belled out just under the rim at this empty spot. I had to use a screwdriver to pry and tap the empty free. Lesson learned and driven home.

As to the 460, I have noticed that the 454's leave a ring of material around as well. Usually I will load up with 2 454 and the remainder 460 rounds. Weird as it seems, the factory 460 rounds are a lot cheaper than the 454 rounds! The 454's I shoot first followed up with the 460's. Anyway, I do notice this ring of stuff that is left behind. The 460 rounds will stop short of dropping straight in, so I pick them back out and move them until the drop into position without any sticking. I certainly don't want any overpressure situation in the 460! Had I noted any sticking on the 357 I would never have done it either and now I will never do it again. In fact, after this, I am not going to swap ammo around at all any more. If I take 45lc with me then there will be no 460 or 454 ammo until after the firearm is fully cleaned. Same goes for the 44sp vs 44 mag and the 38sp vs 357 mag. It is nice that there are choices to shoot but I won't risk it again unless I can clean the cylinders out first. Would a "boresnake" come in handy here?


Holy carp :eek: , I haven't thought about shooting the 460 without the compensator. I expect the concussion to decrease but the recoil and muzzle flip will probably be massively increased. Am I on the right track?
 
Hi

I shoot my .500 on a regular basis. It has a 10" barrel and a compensator. You see the short barrel versions packed in "emergency kit" configuration in the stores. I simply can not imagine shooting one.

I found out about the chamber issues with a .357 Max. My experience was a lot less exciting than yours. I had been shooting 38 Specials. I switched to 357 Max and found that the cartridges were not dropping in like they should, when I went to load. Fortunately I knew enough to stop at that point (this was 30 years ago ..).

I only use a shooting glove with one pistol. I'm not sure I want to play very long with the .500 without one ...

Bob
 
Camp Cook said:

"Holy Sh*t" Rick stay away from any fast burning powders like Tite-Group for the 454 and 460 your risking a blown up gun if you do and even if you are careful fast burning powders are not designed for these cartridges...

Stay with Hodgdon Lil-Gun which is my favorite for the 454 with heavy cast bullets up to 405grs and H110 for Jacketed bullets up to 300grs.
Click to expand...

OK, I have done a lot of looking at reloading manuals and as usual have come away a bit more educated and still a bit confused. It looks like, in the lighter weight bullets that H110 comes up to a higher pressure than Lil-gun but both generate approximately equivalent velocities. Now, in heavier bullet weights Lil-gun generates much higher pressures than does H110 !! with similar velocities as well. I am going to have to check my burning chart but this indicates to me that H110 burns faster than Lil-gun and that the additional back pressure supplied by the slower moving big bullets really get Lil-gun pressure up. Thanks for pointing out the dangers of using Titegroup for big bullets. It looks like it will go a long way for lesser rounds since it requires such small amounts of powder but it will require great care in reloading to ensure no squib or doubles are made. There always seems to be something I haven't thought completely through!
 
Hi

Avoid the temptation to cut the H110 loads down to reduce the recoil. The stuff is not very forgiving in that respect.

Unique is probably as good a powder as any for working up reduced loads.

Bob
 
I'm not looking to reduce the recoil. I am looking to load up my own ammo similar to the 200gr Hornady factory loads. Also looking into some heavier bullets - at reduced velocity of course. Unique is a nice powder but it doesn't fit this particular application much different than I have found that the Titegroup does.
 
Hi

So you are trying for something like 2200 fps on the 200 grain bullet.

I would start with either N110 or H110 and a good chronograph. You should be able to duplicate the factory numbers with which ever one you prefer.

Bob
 
This might help you out a bit for reference...

In my 7.5" barreled Ruger SRH 454 Casull I am getting 1900fps with 240gr XTP-Mag's with 38grs H110 and crimped with a Lee Factory Crimp die... :D

I'd like to get my hands on some of those 200gr bullets, bet I could come close to nipping on the heels of your 460S$W with my little 454 Casull... :cool:

I will interject my thoughts on the 460S$W... due to it's massive size/weight and marginal ballistic advantages over the 454 Casull I will probably never buy one.

I also feel that the 454 Casull is the ultimate combination of power, recoil and carryability...
 
pa we're not talking CCW we're talking ATC (authorization to carry) which is non-concealed remote area carry for defense against wild animals... :)
 
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