We live in 2014 and yet must use front-stuffers for deer in IA in some seasons. Or,.. in their collective wisdom, our IA legislature allows the use of such machinery as the S&W Performance Center 460 and 500s in those same seasons. What? Hey! There must be some equivalence there somewhere, not? A big Thank You for folks making these kinds of judgements. You see, these straight-walled cannon-sized handgun cartridges are also legal.

Anyway, these post modern, in-line mzlrs and their accompanying menagerie of of often spilled components and tools, and cleaning give me a frikken heartburn. And, what's more, I don't even like 'em.

So, are there any Midwestern, or otherwise, handheld bazooka, deer hunters out there that in a lucid moment can really tell me that these Smith "half-inchers" can really work for deer,....and reasonably? And be practical?

And that as one allergic to the bubba smoke poles, I should get one?

Thanks kindly.

The only thing the S&W 460 does better than a 45 Colt or 454 Casull is turn money into noise.

If you must have one to hunt legally, it will do anything a 45 Colt or 454 Casull will do. I'd be inclined to use AA5744 powder under a 335gr LFN bullet for about 1200fps (see Ramshot's loading manual for reduced loads in the 460 using 5744 powder). That load won't beat up either you or the gun, and will be effective on deer.

If you prefer a jacketed bullet, see Ramshot's reduced load using 5744 under a 260gr Nosler Partition for 1250fps.

I wouldn't.

Are the extra long, scoped hand cannons accurate? You bet.

njs1230 here has shot deer beyond 100 yards with both the Dan Wesson 445 SM and 357 SM (357 Maximum). He was happy to do so, but it required a lot of practice with some pretty nasty loads to get proficient at the 100-150 yard mark; he was great at 200 yards, but considering what resting equipment was lugged into the field, it could have been and eventually now is avoided.

He now carries a Traditions MZ and has complete confidence.

If the deer are inside 100 yards, I have seen and have done as well with scoped, unwieldy handguns versus our rifled barreled, saboted slug loads.

The saboted and un-saboted scoped MZ's do 100 without a trick and go beyond with miles less coddling than either. Perhaps its x's 2 over any longish, scope sighted handgun in legal cartridges here.

If we had the straightish walled, lever gunned repeaters, we might be able to eclipse the "automatic Bambi" feeling of the inline pseudo MZ.....

I've only had mine for about 2 months but i like my X-Frame .460 a lot.

They buck pretty good but due to their weight 240gr loads around 1800-1900 fps are fairly benign.


Initially I was loading mine with the 240 XTP Mag at 2225fps avg (chronoed in my gun) but now running the 300gr XTP Mag at 2020fps avg as my top end. I chose this load as one to do all and it indeed recoils heavily.

I'm planning on working up a lighter 300gr load probably around 1600-1750fps for deer and plinking specifically.

I don't plan to make habit of hotrodding it often so as to not wear it or myself out but like to know the power and trajectory is there when wanted.

I too would forego the X-frame, get something a bit easier to wield, and get a little closer. For me the convenience of the handgun goes out the window when the gun requires a crew to serve........

I have thought this too and it would make great sense to legalize the various lever guns in 357, 44, and 45 Colt even if not the 444 and the 45-70.

It's getting close to that isn't it?

Thanks all. I think you all saved me some more heartburn..

If you get an X-frame I suggest you skip the inefficient 460 and instead go for the 500 S&W.

I'd love to tell you the x frame is a dream and try to sell you my 5" 460, but then I'd be a terrible person. Mine sits in the back of the safe. Feels like I'm getting punched in the mouth every time I pull the trigger due to the muzzle brake on that short barrel. I MUCH more enjoy shooting my 475 Freedom Arms model 83.

That reminds me, I should look into what it'd entail to re barrel my X to a 12 or 14" non-braked barrel.....

I have a few chunks of stainless and Ti in my shop and know more then a few CNC operators. The thought has crossed my mind to have them machine a copycat insert sans ports for my 8 3/8" .460 just to see WTF.

Wes at 7x leather had one done and claims recoil went up a tad but noise greatly decreased.

Like I said in my initial post full house .460's kick hard but the gun weight and barrel weight soak up a lot of that and I don't find it that much worse in application then max loads in my 4 5/8" 44 SBH or most high end 454's in lighter guns.

The big down side is the weight and noise. I'm pretty sure my opinion would be different in a sub 6" barrel.

I am going to kind of buck the trend here. I have the 460 X-frame with the 14 1/2" barrel. I used it last year for deer hunting and was pleased with it's performance. I got a large doe on opening evening. 1 shot and she dropped within 30 yards. I was using handloaded 300gr XTP magnums.
My revolver has a bipod and is scoped with a Leupold.
Yes, it is quite a gun to shoot and the muzzle blast is something else. When I am shooting it I wear both ear plugs and ear muffs. The recoil from this revolver is not much more than my 44 magnum S&W.
I am not saying this is a revolver for everyone, but I do enjoy shooting mine. I will be using it for deer hunting again this year.

George, why not just get a Savage bolt 20 guage slug gun.. The dn things are almost as accurate as a rifle. Mount a leupy slug scope on it and go to work

Gitem_12, that's a very good question and the answer is In the four seasons Iowa has. The first is an early muzzleloading (handguns too but no slug guns) only season and is a draw tag; the next two are the shotgun slug seasons (you can use muzzleloaders, and handguns also). The final is a late muzzleloading (again, handguns too but no slug guns) only season again.

I hunt the late muzzleloading season because it's long--two weeks long--late December into January when it can be bitterly cold here. Because of that, there is very little pressure whereas the two, one week "shotgun seasons" are usually too wild for me--too many road hunters and indiscriminate shooting. In fact many years ago I was nearly hit by a hunter walking the side of a ravine opposite my side when a doe flushed on my side and a little below. Regardless of blaze orange and the leafless tree I was in he cut loose in my direction taking out branches just above my head. That did it for me.

In the late season I can get away and be alone which to me is worth a lot even with the cold weather and the deer numbers reduced 30+ percent already. Plus in the southern Iowa counties where I can hunt you can get extra doe tags as well.

My friend does have the Savage in a 20 gauge and it is indeed a sweet little gun. My compromise however for hunting with little pressure is doing it with a muzzleloader or a handgun using a straight-walled cartridge only.

How about a Contender in 45-70

But. Personally i like in lines and have had no bad results, course I still like my flintlock

Chappy, for me at least, if a revolver sports a 14 1/2-inch barrel, it doesn't fit my definition of a handgun. No offense, but if I need a sling and a bi-pod to shoot it, I would be better served with a stock that I can nestle into my shoulder. At least that way it will be more useful as I can take offhand shots on the quick. But, to each his own and as long as you are happy......

I love hunting deer with the Handgun, but despise a scope on a revolver and prefer open sights. I have the 500 Smith and the Freedom Arms 454 and tend to use the FA more and not because it recoils less than the 500 but because the pistol weight itself is a lot less than the Smith.

Tried my best to love the S&W 460 to the tune I bought and sold three of them. Just never found a good fit with me and this is coming from a guy who loved carrying my S&W 4inch 500 while I was in brownie country.

I enjoy my 460 with its 8" barrel. In specific application it is a lot of fun for me.

There is no reason to get a 500 s&w over a 460 because either has plenty of energy for deer. The 460 should be better because it has a flatter trajectory.

Energy.....oh boy.


JWP mentioned the inefficiency of the .460 because the cartridge is rather inefficient. With normal weight bullets, loaded to max SAAMI pressures, the .454 Casull, with it's small case (1.4 vs 1.8-inches) will nearly keep up with it. It's only when you go really light or really heavy that the .460's extra payload capacity gives it an advantage. It's just not terribly efficient. It's length necessitates a revolver with rather portly dimensions. You shoot game out to 200 yards with a .454 as well, but you may not need a bipod and a gun bearer.

But, whatever gets you through the night........

So, a Ruger Super Redhawk in 454 Casull?

Not a bad choice at all. My .454 SRH is very accurate. I shot this 5-shot group at 50 yards with factory ammo:



Great bang-for-the-buck as far as I am concerned.

Optics on it I presume? Very impressive.

An Ultradot red dot-type sight. It's so consistently accurate that it's almost boring.

Try a Magnum Research BFR in.45-70 with the 10 inch barrel. A Vortex red dot and some 325 grain Levr Action rounds and it's deadly on deer. Not to mention .45-70 rounds are far less expensive than the .460 or .500's.

Great revolver, however now we are getting back into the crew-served weapons category as that is one REALLY big revolver, especially with the 10-inch barrel.