I ordered one today, 8 3/8" model. I have a leupold 2x8x32 to mount on it. Just wondering if anyone had any feedback on one?
Herb Belin was the Product Manager (Revolvers) at S&W and the man who designed the 460XVR. Him and I hit it off at a social event at the 2003 (or was it 2004?) SHOT show, and he decided to take me out to shoot several S&W revolvers**, but mostly to shoot and discuss the 460XVR. I was going to do a piece on the 460 for American Handgunner, but the editor really preferred to have John Taffin do all the big revolver reviews…and that really is his Bailiwick, so it didn’t bother me at all.
Anyhow, I put probably 100 rounds of .460 through Herb’s .460 in one sitting, and a few .45 Colts and .454’s just for good measure. The high velocity 200gr loads showed impressive accuracy, flat trajectory, and very manageable recoil. But the blast from the compensator was wicked, so I didn’t care much for the light bullets. Herb provided gloves for me, and that was a good idea. Even with the gloves, the palm of my right hand was rather red after the shooting session. I did shoot a few rounds without the gloves, and I could see that you wouldn't want to do that for too many rounds; that rubber on the Hogues really grabs. For me at least, hearing protection had to be doubled up, especially with the light bullet / high velocity loads. My favorite load was the 300 gr...and while it did produce noticeably more recoil, I didn't find it objectionable at all, and it was wicked accurate, and didn't seem nearly as loud as the 200gr Hornady.
Herb said the 460XVR was the most difficult project he had ever worked on, and it’s one that he was VERY proud of, because he solved every problem that was presented. Much has been written about the gain twist barrel and why the 460 has it. I’ve heard various stories, but the TRUTH is this:
Herb said that immediately they experienced problems with barrels un-screwing. After the barrel had un-screwed a few times, Herb took it to the machine shop, drilled and pinned the barrel. It lasted a little longer, then sheared the pin and un-screwed the barrel. They tried reverse threading it, that cracked the frame after a few shots. So Herb came up with the idea of the gain twist barrel, and Herb said that one solution actually solved several problems. Accuracy was better, recoil was noticeably lighter, and of course, barrels don’t come un-screwed anymore.
The barrel is a two piece, similar to a Dan Wesson, just minus the removable feature. The inner barrel is stainless and the rifling is cut via EDM, which Herb says is “THE only way to do rifling in these modern days”.
Herb Belin has since retired, and I’m not sure if that was his idea or S&W’s management. Herb was the last of the true “gun guys” working at S&W. I actually had lunch with the CEO of S&W, we were talking about me coming to work at S&W, and while he didn’t come out and say it point blank, he made it clear they don’t much like “gun people” at S&W. He gave some good reasons for that, and I could certainly agree with some of them because they made a lot of sense. But the problem as I see it, they really don’t have any real “gun people” working for them anymore, and there is some real baggage that goes along with that. So I decided S&W was most certainly not the place for me, so they decided to hire a pharmaceutical salesman out of Los Angeles…Good luck with that.
Anyhow, I digressed a bit. The 460 is a serious piece of engineering for serious handgun hunters. It’s not my personal cup of tea, but I can most certainly appreciate what it is, and the love that Herb poured into that revolver…it’s freaking awesome!
*Other revolvers we shot that day were: S&W 431PD(I bought it on the spot), 340PD, 617, 357 (scandium .41 mag…should have bought that one), and a few others that I don’t remember. I told Herb I had a 617 and that it was my favorite handgun, but his 617 was more accurate than mine. He insisted that I send him my 617 because 1.5” at 25 yards with only two loads was unacceptable in his book. Still, mine shot sub-2” with all but a couple of loads, and I bought it as a plinking revolver, not as a target revolver, so I told him I was very happy with my 617 and I was going to keep it as is. Besides mine, Herb’s 617 is the only other 10 shot K-22 I’ve ever shot, so I’ve always kinda wondered what “average” accuracy is…being that mine is “inaccurate” at 1.5” at 25 yards. Now I know the old 6 shot K-22’s would nearly cut my groups in half…but again, mine wasn’t intended to be a match winner (although I did end up winning 3-4 matches with it), but a fun DA plinker.
