460

[desteve811]

Just purchased a S&W 460 magnum. Would like a mold and load recommendation to start out with.

[Dill45]

What are you're intentions? Plinking? Hunting large game? Hunting thin skinned animals?

This will affect the mold choice.

[HCL]

molds that are working well for me are:
Lyman 452651, drops about 320gr and pretty accurate out to 100yrds and you can get 18-1900fps out of it if you want something fast.
broke down and orderd two LBT molds one drops 360gr the other 416gr they are both very accurate out to 100yrds have not messed around too much beyond that other than rocks and such. The 360gr has become my favorite, I keep it around 1600fps, you can get more but it very quickly becomes a handfull! The 416gr I keep around 1400fps and it is a hoot to shoot and always in the cylinder when I am in the woods.
powders, I would recommend H110. Gave Lil'gun a try and it will heat up a barrel so fast it is kinda scary, I dont use Lil'gun in anything anymore..
H110 is my go to powder for all my big bore pistols. Large Rifle Magnum primers seam to work the best for me, expecially with H110. I gave CCI BR-2 a try and really did not notice any differance?
Stick with published load data, just because it is capable of operating at 65,000psi you will find that loads in the 45-55,000psi level will give you the best results, and wont beat you and your pistola to death.
If you shoot 45 or 454 scrub your cylinder extra good or you will get sticky brass even with 460 light loads, you will not enjoy getting the brass out with mid to hot loads with a dirty cylinder, trust me not fun at all. If I want to shoot lighter loads, Trail boss works and it will not leave short brass stains in the cylinder.
I have the 460V, favorite pistol, way fun to shoot and plenty of horse power.
Make sure you slug your barrel and cylinders, I size to .452
Hope this helps.
Mike

[desteve811]

Thanks Mike. Looking to do both plinking and hunting with this pistol. Can't wait to hit the range with it. Cast/reloading is a must with this. Went to the gun shop and they wanted $46 for 20 rounds!

[Whitworth]

Thanks Mike. Looking to do both plinking and hunting with this pistol. Can't wait to hit the range with it. Cast/reloading is a must with this. Went to the gun shop and they wanted $46 for 20 rounds!

What do you intend to hunt?

[desteve811]

Whitetails

[Caster Blaster]

I wish HCL had posted on my thread when I asked the same question but Buckshot and DieselBenz helped out, try putting "460 xvr" into the search to find the thread (I don't have a clue how to link stuff) I went with buckshots recommendation on the Lee 457340F and so far I'm happy, too much work lately to have time to dial in the load. I don't know if it's just my gun, or a bad batch, but my gun HATES CCI large rifle primers, the're just too hard and I get a lot of miss-fires. Which is a whole lotta fun holding a 72 oz. gun, plus a scope, waiting to see if it's a miss-fire or hang-fire. They've all been miss-fires so far, so I haven't had a surprise nuclear blast yet. But I would definitely recommend federal primers for that size cartridge. From what I can tell there's only a handful of 460xvr shooters on here, so keep us posted and good luck.

[HCL]

Caster Blaster, sorry I must have missed your post. I work goofy hours and sometimes dont get on here for days. I did not have much luck sizing the .457/.458 stuff down, so I broke down and had a couple made that I wanted, best mold decision I ever made. Veral at LBT is GOOD people!
On the CCI primer thing, you may want to call S&W, they will probally have you send that thing in for a new firing pin, I had the same issue and found out that the firing pin was a hair too short. (manufacturing problem with the X-frames for a short time) They fixed it under warrenty no questions asked and have not had one single issue since. I try and stick to CCI primers cause they seam to be a bit hotter and do better in the cold weather, also did not have good luck with standard LR primers, the mag primers seam to be more consistant with the accuracy.
Mike

[Mal Paso]

I shot that 460XVR, with scope, last weekend. I shoot heavy guns but GEEEZ that's a lot to hold in the air considering you want No part of your body near the cylinder gap. I shot conventional 2 handed which was difficult a 300 yards. How do you do it?

[HCL]

forgot to mention, when I got to the heavier boolits the old trusty RCBS dies did not provide the proper/enough crimp to hold the boolits from jumping crimp. I picked up a Redding Profile crimp die and it works like a charm, no more crimp jump and have not seen a negitive differance over the cronograph. Crimp is very simular to Lee Factory crimp die. (lee dont make a 460 FCD)
Mike

[Paulinski]

Whats the heaviest gr boolit the .460 can handle?

[Whitworth]

There are folks using 500+ grain bullets in their .460s. I hunted with 395s once, but personally think that there is a point of diminishing returns as far as weight for caliber is concerned. Will a 535 grain bullet penetrate better than a 400 grain bullet (if they have the same nose profile)? Don't know, but if the 400 exhibits enough penetration, there may not be a point in running a heavier and consequently heavier recoiling bullet/load. JMHO.

[Paulinski]

Call me a recoil junkie I like shooting heavy slugs at rocks and so forth.

700gr S&W moulds I like hence why I want to get some heavy for the .460.

[Whitworth]

Call me a recoil junkie I like shooting heavy slugs at rocks and so forth.

700gr S&W moulds I like hence why I want to get some heavy for the .460.

If recoil is what you seek, dump those X-frames and get into something smaller! LOL! I have a 4-inch Redhawk in .454 Casull and a 5-inch .500 Linebaugh that weighs less than three-pounds and they will cure most anyone's recoil affliction. If that isn't enough, I'll let you shoot my .50 Alaskan revolver -- the 525 move along at 1,575 chronograph verified feet-per-second!


I can relate to the recoil need as I enjoy it too, but if you seek the most effective game load, you may not need to run such heavy bullets.

[Paulinski]

Here in Canada handguns with barrels less that 4.2" are prohibited. Stupid liberal laws.

Anyways the .500 is 6.5" barrel and .460 is 5"

I'd thinking of getting three moulds for the .460 - 300+ grain / 400+ grain and 535gr if I can find one.

Would you know where I can source a 535gr mould?

[Doc_Stihl]

There are a few .458 rifle molds that do well being sized down. I'm currently playing with the lee 405 HB, RD 350, and a lee 450 RNFP that I hollow pointed in a 460 Encore. My trouble has been finding load data. I'd like to push all 3 of those bullets at 1250. Trouble is finding a load.

[Caster Blaster]

It's all good HCL, same problem here, I sometimes don't get on for a week or so at a whack. I've been using the Lee 45LC factory crimp and it works wonders, I have a single stage press that I use for the big stuff like .460 (probably wouldn't survive a double powder drop in THAT thing) so crimping a little at a time is just fine. Good to know the hammer problem might not be just mine (did I word that right?) brought it in to my gunsmith today, the hammer spring retention screw was cut down a little too much by the previous owner so he's gonna fix it tonight. I was getting good strikes on some 45Lc ammo I was running through it with winchester primers. I dont' really have a cold weather problem in florida, hopefully this will straighten things out. As I continue to fine-tune I may have to try those mag primers out
Mal, when testing my load I use a rest to take some variables out of the equation, but when hog hunting I wear a weight-lifting glove that has a built in wrist support on my right hand only. (shooting hand) not for recoil, just to take the weight. my left; I let the trigger guard rest on my index finger. but when I had the miss-fires I was at a range with a great bench and was able to lay my arms down while keeping the gun pointed down range. (arms straight out, bending at the hip.) It's also really embarrassing when 10 people are gathered around to see it go off and all you hear is "Click."

[Mal Paso]

Thanks! I actually used to carry Bear Mace until I saw the size of the tracks and found some 1 gallon chew toys. Yep those are Maple leaves.

[HCL]

In my experience with the 460, I agree with Whitworth, "there is a point of diminishing returns"
I have found that the 360-400gr is more than enough for anything on this side of the planet. Figure with an 8" barrel you can push a 360gr boolit to 1850fps and a 400gr to 1750fps. I keep mine to 360gr/1600fps, 400gr/1400fps.(5" barrel)
In all reality the 400gr load at 1400fps is very close to the old BP loads in the 45/70, it did the trick 100yr ago!
If I am specifically hunting I will use the lighter (360gr) boolit as it gives me a tad more distance, it is truly a 200yrd revolver without having to get creative with shooting positions.
Now for everyday backup and "make me feel better" in the woods, I keep it stoked with the 400gr, better up close penetration, 100yrd is about the farthest I would venture with this one for anything.
I have a few friends that shoot the 500gr+ boolits in thiers and they run out of steam in a very short distance, the trajectory is amazingly round.
If I was hunting in the lower 48, I would probally stick to the 200-300gr boolits and run them at 2000fps, almost point of aim/point of impact at 200yrds and plenty for anything down there...
Paulinski
If you want serious recoil get one of those S&W 329PD's and load it with 300gr boolits at max velocities, that thing will make you cry. Nice gun to carry but it is "absolutely punishing" to shoot with anything fast and heavy. I put 1000's of 300gr boolits through mine trying to get used to it, the only way I can describe it is-- get one of your big buddys and give him a baseball bat, you hold your hand out and let him swing for a homerun..
The big X frame Smiths are a dream to shoot, by design, other than the muzzle blast, it will clean off a bench....
just my 2 cents
Mike

[Caster Blaster]

Yup, gotta love that muzzle blast, the ONLY thing you see is fire. my rest it a couple of 4x4's nailed together about 12" long with some foam-rubber glued to the top. (yes I'am cheap....ok very cheap.) the wood is charred and black like the sides of the old wooden frigates with the cannons hanging out of the sides. And THAT is just from the cylinder gap blast! oh what fun.