460-480-500

[savageak]

can someone please break down these rounds for me,how much different from each other are they?

[Lloyd Smale]

they all kill. The style of gun that fits you best would be the best choise.

[Tiapan64]

Well...I can only put my 2 cents in on the 480 and the 500. 
Best I can describe the 480 is perhap like a really hard hitting 44 mag.  It won't really win the FPS race but it is a great shooting round that throws bigger bullets than the 44.  Mine seems to like the 400 gr. sierra semi-jacketed soft point.  I use this for hogs, can be loaded mild to wild.  Works great on hogs up to 300 pounds....probably larger but I haven't had it with me when one was around.  Would be a great deer round with-in it yardage limitations....100-150 would be my limit.  It will shoot larger bullets but 400 is where mine likes them. 

As for the 500...well...it can be as mild as you like or as wild as you can stand and then some.  I personally like in between.  I shoot 370 gr. hardcast gas-check at about 1800 FPS and hogs to 450 pounds are no match.  Passthru every time thru both shoulders and out the other side knocking a big hole in the ground.  I shot the 450 pounder
this year near Floydada Tx. about 60 yrds and perfect broadside.  It took him a little higher than I wanted but both shoulders were broken and he bled out pretty quick with two holes in him....pushed dirt with his snout for about 10 yrds before he died.  Bullet passed straight thru and went thru a mesquite branch as big as my calf and didn't stop there either...never found the round =-(  From what I hear about the 460 it is a real shooter...never had the pleasure myself, but I hear they are NICE...and you can shoot 45 LC, and 454 Casul, as well as the 460 in them...more versatile than the 500, but not quite the FPE....lighter bullets.=-)   Hope this helps...and there are lots of folks here who have forgotten more than I will ever know who will help.  Just be patient.

[kynardsj]

No dealings with the 480 but as was said before the 460 is a hard hitting 45 caliber screamer that is versatile with 45 LC's and 454 Casulls. My avatar is a 13 inch 460 Encore that is a pleasure to shoot. I also own a 500 S&W mag with the 8 3/8 inch barrel and as was said before too, it can be very mild or it can have insane power. My plinking loads are 367 gr RNFP's that are running approx 1250 fps. The recoil is milder than some 357 mags I've shot and in truth will kick some serious tail when that big hunk of lead hits something. Then there are the ground shaking hot loads that make everyone at the range look when you touch them off. With the proper bullet and experience you are never under gunned with a 500 mag. Maybe out distanced but never under gunned as far as pure power. JMHO   

[Lloyd Smale]

Penetration and bullet size are the two biggest measurements of handgun power. Theres nothing on earth a 460 will kill that a 480 wont and in many cases a 480 will do better. It will handle 420 lfns or wfns at 1100-1200 fps and using cast bullets (who would use anything else to hunt truely large animals) going much faster is going to hurt you more then help you. Look at handgun penetration tests that have been done at the linebaugh seminars and youll find that a 420 lfn at those speeds will compete against any handgun at any level. Running cast bullets past 1500 is just a waste as theres not alloy that will hold up to that speed when the bullet hits bone. Very few jacketed bullets will hold together at those speeds RELIABLY and i sure wouldnt want to bet my life on one against something that can bite back wounded. Id feel much more comfortable with a 500 shooting a 500 grain cast bullet at 1200 fps then i ever would with a 370 at God forbit 1800. You might get away with it on pigs deer and black bear but i wouldnt bet the farm on it on a really large animal that needed big bones broke. Even the sectional density of a 370 grain 500 bullet is extreamly poor and even slowed down it isnt going to be a great penetrator.
 Ive made the argument for years that even my 454 is kind of a joke. It really does nothing effeciently that a 6 shot large framed ruger 45 colt wont do. If you want more power then a 6 shot ruger you need to step up in caliber to a 480 475 or 500 and lob bigger bullets at the same speed. Handguns arent rifles and fast light bullets arent the way to go.

[Tiapan64]

Well,  I agree with ya Loyd, I would not use my loads for anything besides pigs....thats all I hunt.  I don't even hunt deer any longer.  No place to hunt around here that is even remotely affordable and I am the only one in my family that likes Venison.  Now Pigs....lots of places to hunt them really affordable and everyone in my family likes the taste......well of the smaller ones, under 200.   But what you said about larger bullets at about 1200 is what I have heard many times and I am thinking about loading up some larger bullets up at a much lower velocity and actually enjoy shooting the 500 for a change! LOL  I loaded the 370 HCGC up about 3 yrs ago and loaded about 500 of them after trying some first.  Liked them alot and shot bowling pins with them at the local gun range in a comp. they had there....LOL Those guys were out there with 9mm and 45's trying to clear the pins from the table the quickest unloading thier guns to do it....I step up with the 500 and 3 rounds cleared the table. =-)  Pieces of bowling pins EVERYWHERE!!! people running for cover!  But see savageak, I told ya someone here knowing alot more than me would help.  Thanks Loyd.

[Dill45]

Haven't had a chance to work with a 480 but own both a 460 and a 500.

Both can be loaded from mild to insane and both will do a lot of damage; usually to much. 

What the 460 is designed for is 100+ yard shots were its extreme speed will help it out, giving it a flatter, and more predictable trajectory.  Shooting it at sub 50 yards is really a waste since it will more than likely cause extreme damage to the game.  The gun is designed for long range shooting.  As said below, a 45LC will kill something just as dead as a 460, just can't do it at the same distances.  At the same time though, you can load some pretty heavy bullets up and tone the velocities down a bit.  Ranger Rick makes a 535gr WFNGC bullet that would be great for more modest velocities and excellent penetration.

The 500 on the other hand is great for lobbing huge bullets at modest velocities for taking down T-Rex and other exotic game.  Ranger Rick designs a 700 gr cast bullet that can be launched at close to 1400 FPS.  I've also seem some custom molds that produce 820gr cast bullets.  Don't know how fast you can shoot them, or if you could stabilize them in an 8 3/8" barrel, but I know some people are trying.  The amount of penetration would be pretty insane.