Tell me more about your 460 S&W Encore. Since 357 Max. and 450 Bushmaster are so hard to come by, I have been thinking of that cal.
I picked up the .460 Encore barrel when .450 rifles were unobtanium a couple of years ago. The first one went back to TC/S&W due to fouling and asymmetrical broach marks at the muzzle. The replacement had broach marks but not asymmetrical. Shoots Hornady
300 gr XTP .451 bullets poorly but XTP .451 Magnum bullets did much better. Barnes monolithic even better but I was able to find just one 20 round box of the Barnes 275 gr so really have not been able to do much load development. Also, after perhaps 40 rounds it probably is still breaking in. This barrel doesn't seem to like 200 or 250 gr bullets with the factory and handloads I tried.
Hornady brass life seems good but I'm not pushing for maximum velocity. Recoil is manageable but I use either a slipon limbsaver or a sissy pad when shooting from the bench.
If I were to start over I would look for a TC Rochester NH or MGM barrel rather than a TC-S&W barrel. While the TC-S&W barrels might be easier to find and less expensive I would not buy one unless I could get a good look at the bore. I understand S&W bought TC in part for barrel making technology but my samples suggest that S&W failed to master the barrel broaching technique and no longer makes TC products.
The only deer I shot with the .460 was a wounded buck at 20 yards. Neck shot knocked it off it's feet.
