Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Reasearching building a 460 Smith & Wesson Rifle

A range buddy has a TC Katahdin Carbine (Encore) with .460, .500, and .50ML barrels and just loves it.

Easy, peasy, they did all the work for you. I think they also (or did) make .45/70 barrels if you like the .458 bore size for the better choice of suitable bullets. Not all .451-.452 bullets are suitable for .460 velocities, even from a handgun. My acquaintance told me he was getting pressure signs with the .460. Later, I read about troubles using soft bullets in the hot cartridge.

There's also a company that makes deluxe Winchester 86/92 hybrid lever guns that are first-rate, and priced accordingly. They come in .460, .500, and possibly .454. There are other .454 lever guns imported by Rossi, I think, as well. Browning made a few .454 High Walls, but good luck finding one of those.

I would check with a Lipsey dealer. I would buy one of these instead.
http://www.ruger.com/products/americanRifleRanch/specSheets/16950.html

Factory ammo and if you reload, even better.Good write up on Gun Blast, by Jeff Quinn.

FWIW 😀

I'm in Michigan where we are limited by cartridge dimensions rather than a named list. Like you, my cartridge search led me to the 460 S&W, but I wanted a bolt action repeater. I ended up building a 45 Raptor, which is a rimless 460 S&W.

As Pappy348 pointed out, the Encore with a Katahdin barrel is the easiest and most cost effective way to go. I know bolt action 460 S&W's have been built, but I believe they are single shots. Both Krieger (any twist) and Shilen (1-16 twist) make .451" barrels for custom builds.

The 45 Raptor uses 460 S&W loading data. My goal was a 300 yard rifle and I built it with the thought of using the Hornady 250 gr FTX, which is sold for the Bushmaster. I'm pushing this bullet to just under 2400 fps and have killed five deer with it out to 260 yards. Not one has resulted in a pass through and some have taken wild turns after impact with jacket separation. I have read similar reports from Bushmaster shooters, leading me to suspect that this bullet was really designed for muzzleloader use at 1800 fps MV.

My concern about this is the lack of blood trail. Eventually, I will make a less than perfect shot and may loose an animal from lack of blood trail. I will probably use the 275 gr TSX next year. Preliminary load results show excellent accuracy.

If you are shooting factory 460 ammo you are limited to extremely low BC options. In my view you should then stick to high quality bullets like Barnes or Swift. If you handload, the 275gr TSX may be your best option. If you are hunting southern OH, H-110 will probably serve you well. Beware of using Lil'Gun in the 460 S&W and 454 Casull. Freedom Arms has documented heavy throat erosion with this powder at high pressures.

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