Anyone Use A S&W 460 Magnum For Deer Hunting ?

[Bonz]

I have a friend that deer hunts as much as possible and he is thinking about buying a Thompson Center Encore Katahdin Carbine chambered in S&W 460 magnum for deer hunting.

Does anyone deer hunt with this caliber in a rifle ?

Whats the max distance for accuracy with this 20" barrel ?

[bdicki]

I was going to buy the same setup or a MGM custom barrel but after a little research I went with a 45-70 instead. Cheaper barrel, cheaper more available brass, better variety of bullet weights, and more cast load data did it for me.

[Brewster6514]

150517mine is a s&w xvr with an 8 3/8" barrel. only use the hornady 200 grain bullets in it and wont be afraid to shoot 150 yards with it, maybe more if I have a good rest.
this yearling doe was shot at about 75-80 yards IIRC.

[Bonz]

thanks for your feedback

[Whiterabbit]

I only shoot 100 yards with the BFR. But I have found that you can treat it like a 75%/baby 45/70. You can use any 45/70 (or 460 weatherby) boolit by sizing down to .452. My go-to load for a 16 inch twist barrel is a 425 grain ranch dog boolit mold with 4198. 4895 data exists for 45/70 but is just too slow for 460. 4198 seems to be the slowest I can go. Other than that, for load data you can take any faster-powder 45/70 load and cut by 75% and go from there (with standard evaluations of common sense when moving forward, etc). I can go pretty darn fast on powder with no issues too.

You can treat it like a super-454 too. 200 grain bullets with 52 grains of H110 result in an enormous fireball and boolits moving at warp speed. I know the 10" BFR will move the 200 grain barnes over 2500 fps (despite the data saying it should be 2300-2400, even for long barrels).

I can use boolits up to 740 grains though they seem to start keyholing (duh). H110 can do boolits up to 550 grains. Maybe more, I've just never tried it.

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Ultimately, I don't think it's needed for deer hunting, it's ALOT of power. But at the same time, that 425 grain ranch dog is accurate to 100 yards easy with 4198 trucking along at 1400 fps which makes it more powerful than a 454 (aka not a waste of 460), but not as wrist-snapping as an H110 load. pussycat in a 5 lb revolver....

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Once you buy the brass once (starline) it lasts a long time. I've shot thousands, have lost less than a dozen cases.

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Up to you guys. It's a boutique cartridge for sure, nowhere near as versatile as people believe. But for a range toy and hunting gun, it'll do it and then some.

[Paul D. Heppner]

Yup, I'm using an Encore rifle (24 inch MGM barrel) this year. Haven't had it long enough to start working up some cast loads so I started with some jacketed stuff just to get brass. The factory 200 grain Hornady factory loads out of my gun are simply awful. I'm getting 4 to 6 inch groups at 50 yards. They chronograph out of my rifle an average of 2962 fps. The 275 grain Federal load (Barnes bullet) gives me 2190 and 1.75 inches at 50 yards. The load I think I will concentrate on is the Hornady 250 FTX for the 450 Bushmaster with 39.0 of 296 and a CCI large rifle primer at 1.25 inches again at 50 yards (2256 fps). The 275 will do the same with the same loading. Groups do seem to be tightening up as I break the bore in. I'm not using a roll crimp as the 250 has no crimping groove. I would like to get my hands on a taper crimp die. I would also like to try the Lee 300 grain gas checked bullet with that big flat meplat. I think I have that mold some where in my tool chest of molds. So far it's been a real fun gun. Recoil isn't punishing and it does seem to want to shoot. Still up in the air as to where I should zero it. I'm thinking 125, 1.1 high at 75, 1.5 low at 150, 3.7 low at 175, and 6.8 low at 200. Where I hunt, 150 in the woods is a loonnngggg ways. 75 to 100 is more the norm.

[Markbo]

Never in a rifle but out of an S&W it mets out death like the hammer of Thor.