460 Smith & Wesson

[jays375]

Just mounted a scope on my 460 Smith & Wesson.So it is time to get serious and see
what it will do .I want to use 300 grain plus bullets also.Lighter bullets seem to blow up on deer out of big magnums.So far I have only used H110,before scope.Accuracy seemed okay at 50 yards with open sights.So who has done what with there 460.I know you are going to ask why buy a 460 then.Liked the idea of being able to shoot other ammo.Plus the cost of the 500 to reload is alot more money.

[Catfish]

I could not get mine to shoot, but have found out that I have my first bad Leupold scope, I guess 1 out of about 40 isn`t real bad, but still very dissapointed. I`ll give it another round next summer. I can tell you it has more recoil than anyother handgun I have including my 500. If you put on a cheap scope take it off, it won`t hold up long.

[Grumulkin]

If you want the full long range effectiveness of the 460 S&W Magnum, go with the lighter bullets.  I'm not sure why you are concerned about the bullet blowing up; I thought that's what you wanted it to do.  The Zebra was taken with a Hornady 250 gr. SST/ML bullets and I took a number of animals about the same size and some about the size of a dog and there was no blowing up problem though out of my Encore that bullet has a muzzle velocity of about 2,350 fps.

You didn't say if you were shooting an Encore or a revolver.  For my Encore, I use a stiff load of 2400 but it doesn't work that well in a revolver.

As for scopes, get a good one with a good warranty.  Between my 460 & 500 S&W Magnums, I broke a Bushnell Trophy handgun scope the warranty of which Bushnell didn't honor saying the scope had been "abused."  I also broke 2 T/C Recoil Proof scopes that were promptly replaced by T/C.  I've also broken at least 2 or 3 Leupold 2.5-8X scopes which were promptly repaired by Leupold.  The 460 S&W Magnum is especially hard on scopes because of barrel torque and it's the reason S&W uses a gain twist barrel in their 460 S&W Magnum revolvers.

[jays375]

It is a revolver.The scope is a straight 4 power Leupold mounted with a Jack Weigand mount and rings.Were I do most of my hunting lucky to shoot 100 yards.From past experience with a 445 Supermag in a Thompson light bullets aren't a good thing.If you hit a deer in the shoulder with a light bullet it will blow up on impact.The bullets were 240 Hornady XTP.So I was assuming the same would happen with a 460.

[Grumulkin]

My Encore in 460 S&W Magnum with it's 15 inch braked barrel will send bullets down range faster than any revolver.  Besides my take of the Zebra, the 250 gr. SST/ML bullets took down a Red Hartebeest, an Impala, a European Fallow Deer, an Impala, a Duiker, two Cape Grysboks, a Vaal Rhebok, Khalahari Springbok and a Steenbok.

I've also hunted with a 357 Herrett using Hornady 158 gr. XTP bullets. That gun took a Springbok, a Mountain Reedbuck and a Black Wildebeest.

A question on your experience with your Hornady XTP bullets blowing up.  Did the deer die and if so how far did it go?

[jays375]

Major flesh wound.

[LONGTOM]

Same thin happen to my wifes uncle useing 240gr xtps out of a 10" contender.
At 40yds it hit almost center of the shoulder on a a med 70lb doe, large flesh wound, tracked about 600yds.
First 50 was easy, the rest was on hands & knees.
Never found the deer.
Use JSPs instead of XTPs.
Much better results!!!



LONGTOM

[buck460XVR]

Many times, handgun bullet construction is more important than weight. When used for hunting, using a bullet designed for the velocities they're being pushed is a must. The majority of .45 caliber bullets,  commercially available for reloaders are not meant for .460 S&W velocities.........regardless of weight.(Speers' 300 gr JSP for example) Half of them that are, are way over priced. Hornady 240 and 300 gr XTP-MAGS are made for the velocities produced by the .460 S&W and my personal experience has been that they perform well on deer sized game. They are also one the most accurate bullets outta my X-Frame and they are not only readily available, but quite affordable.....even for everyday practice. I have shot a coupla good sized deer(over 130 lbs) squarely in the shoulders with 240 gr XTP-MAGS and had complete pass-thru and dead deer. The240 gr XTP-MAG, the 300 gr XTP-MAG and the 300 gr Speer Deer Curl are the only bullets I use for hunting deer in my X-Frame. They all shoot well and they all have good terminal performance at .460 velocities. I load them over H110/W296 or IMR4227.

[Bigeasy]

If you are really concerned about bullet blow up, I would try the Swift A-Frame bullets.  Expansion, along with guaranteed penetration.  Use what ever cheap jacketed bullet that is accurate in your gun for practice, and save the expensive A-Frames for hunting.

Larry