S&W 460 or 500?

[hoyt33]

Does anyone here have any experience with either the 460 or 500 S&W revolvers? I already have a 454 and am kind of interested in one of these in the shorter barrel lengths (2 3/4 -4 inch).

[mnglocker]

The .460 will let you use your 454 loads and reloading equipment. Just a little food for thought.

[Pinnacle]

IMHO

the 460 is the best Idea that anyone has had in a while. I am not a huge fan of the UBER Revolver Magnum Elephant Slayer but the flexibility that the 460 offers is quite nice.

45 LC - 460 the option is yours to scale up or down as needed. I think that if a guy were to have ONE handgun - this might be the one to do it with - you can load it for Self defense to Elk Hunting in Montana - to Kodiak Bear with ease.

The only thing that I dislike is the size and the weight of the gun - but I suppose that it is a necessary evil. I have shot them with the 460 300 gr loads out of the longer bbl - shockingly pleasant to shoot.

The 500 is MASSIVE and overpowered for practical use IMHO - (Sam Relax ) 45 Lc for plinking is a hell of a lot cheaper than anything .500

I think that it is like the 30-06 of the pistol world - sort of a do - it - all / if you could only have one gun sort of caliber... Kind of comforting that you can do anything with it.

[Molasses]

I've got both, but they're practically identical long barrelled Performance Center models that I've scoped. Please keep that in mind while reading my thoughts/opinions/experiences, as things might be a mite different with the short barrels you've indicated interest in.

The .500 is a lot of fun. Mine has never had anything other than handloads run through it, due to the ridiculous cost of factory ammo in the caliber. Remington offers a 385gr. bullet for handloading that's pretty cheap and for data, John at GunStop has a nice load using H110 that he recommends with this bullet that delivers about 1,700-1,800 FPS. I've also picked up a mould for it and plan on cranking out some cheapo projectiles for even cheaper plinking after the weather gets warmer.

I fell in love with this configuration enough and was impressed enough by the introductory writeup on the .460 in Shooting Times that when I stumbled across a "twin" .460 at Capra's about the time the first "regular" .460s were appearing in town, it followed me home.

Quite frankly, if the .460 had been introduced before the .500, I might not have one of each. It turns in 200 yd groups off the bench using the Hornady 200gr factory load that are about the same size or smaller than the .500 does at 100yds. Recoil is somewhat lighter, although the muzzle blast is worse (neither is a prize in that department and you DON'T want to fire one without hearing protection, even hunting). The only deer I've brought down with it was at a lased 140yds and there weren't any issues...other than that the cylinder gap blast ruined a pair of hunting mittens that I'd taken off and used as padding on my impromptu round bale rest. The only issues I've got are that it's not as fun to play with at normal handgunning distances as it's big brother and the last time I looked, Hornady still hadn't offered that same 200gr projectile from their factory loads as a component. Oh, and I wonder about the benefits of the .460 in a short barrel; IMHO, its' strong suit is in velocity and long-range potential and I can't help but wonder how much of that is lost with a short tube.

[justaguy]

Not that it matters but why the short barrel? I’m not questioning what you should do I’m just wondering.

[hoyt33]

I've given up on the really short and think that I would like the 5" S&W 460 V. I'm not really into long range shooting and would only be shooting it for fun and maybe a little hunting from my bow stands (30 - 40 yds.).

[macphisto]

The 460 is an awesome gun, I'd love to own one. Just be sure to mind the gap...


GORE ALERT: http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b ... 80&page=17

[DeanC]

Not that it matters but why the short barrel? I’m not questioning what you should do I’m just wondering.

The short barrel is a lot easier to carry. Especially if you're up to your waist in a river and are carrying in a chest holster.

[Leech]

I have been popping caps in my 500 for over two years and now my shooting arm is 4" shorter than the other one.