Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only .460 Wby

I have,by a .338 Win and a POS Tasco! Bled like a stuck pig! Not to long after that,bought my first Leupold.

And I have been wearing glasses since I was in the 3rd grade.

I never cared or the 460 wby. It seemed like just another big and fast for no good reason and the guns were too space gun modern. But, now I can see with reloads the 460wby can be setup for anywhere from 458 win mag or 458 Lott loads up to crazy if wanted. I was reading the 450 Rigby has gained a small following that is pretty much a beltless version of the 460 in a low pressure loading. Today the whole Weatherby family is classic. Even though the gun style was not my taste, I still own a XXII and as far as I can tell, there is no better semi 22 made today.

There is still one remaining practical down side. The 460 is (or was) only able to hold 2 rounds in the magazine, where a magnum Mauser like the Brno or CZ will hold 5 Lotts.

For practice, I like thin leather gloves and a cheater vest.

Back in the day, when I was young and brash, I was pushing my .45-70 to the max. I had a Redfield Fullfield scope, mounted a bit rearward, was pushing 300 gr. bullets at 2,000 fps. That scope split my eyebrow, had to get my partner to stitch it up.

I found that 300 gr. bullets at 1,800 fps would kill just as well and kick less.

That extra velocity may help at LR, but the .45-70, the way I'm using it, isn't a LR round.

I know, I know, those ole Sharps with tall tang sights can reach way out there, but that's another story.

If you're gonna shoot a big boomer like the .460, loading it to the occasion is the only way to go.

Even a light load will over penetrate those NM jackwabbits...

DF

DF,I figure using one load for rabbits to cape buffalo. Elephant,well that's a different matter,solids only and right now just cannot see myself shooting a rabbit with a solid.

Fourbore,I once owned a CZ .416 Rigby and it held 4 rounds,three in the magazine and one in the chamber. My .460 is two in the magazine and one in the chamber.

Place the first shot correctly,no need for the others,but muck it up......

Forbore,this is how I practice with my .460 Wby.

Did you get an exit? Those jackrabbits can run off into the pucker brush, I want mine DRT!!

Looks like you could "eat right up to the hole" if you were so inclined

Shot appears to be about 1/6 inch low on the shoulder. What if that was a charging Jack-A-Lope?

Regarding magazine capacity..............
2 things, firstly, you can purchase the extended magazine from Weatherby as used on the DGR rifle. I put one on my .460 and is is a simple floor plate change and ups the capacity to 4 rounds total.

Secondly, the .460 is powerful beyond what can be stated in words, so it hard to convey to a reader. The .460 absolutely numbs big animals cold and there is no capability of reaction (talking bovines here) or drops them cold. If you can recall the greatest hangover you ever had, with gut wrenching stomach pain and a migraine to end all migraines, so that when you get out of bed and instinctively bend over, totally incapable of a reactive thought.............that is the reaction you get when the .460 hits home.

If there is a third aspect, it would be the once in a life time incident where any animal on earth "needs" all of the 16 tons of energy from a single rifle without reloading.

Smokepole,yes it over penetrated.

Navlav8r,yup you could if so inclined.

Zengela,I would have been chewed up and even possibly gored.

AGW,is that extended magazine easy to put in?

Sorry, I just can't go with those 16 tons of energy. Wasted. Mostly on the shoulder. The rest?, on ego? Back in the 90's when I started with the whole buff/ele hunting saga,I was enamored with the Lott. THATS what a cool Zim PH had. In a BRNO or such. They were old school and some were leary of the Win mag still. My old Buddy said the 458 win mag was good for plains game!. This was when very few 416 were used(pro or client), doubles were still a only very,very rich option-pre Searcy, Kreigoff etc...I did a good bit of cheap hunting on farms/locals permits. Not the big dollar bona fide safari operations gig. Saw a few jumbo and quite a few buff taken with 458 Win mag and Lott. This was when they still were liking A-SQUARE factory loads(NOT!!! Lion loads). Saw a no BS Texas heart shot on a Gwai Zim area jumbo bull with a 460 Weatherby factory load I believe, and it was stuck in his head. That's gotta be about 12 feet or so of penetration on an angling shot. I took my last ele with a 500 NE 570gr Woodleigh Kynoch factory load and it performed better than any 460 I can figure. With less fps and foot pounds of energy. My old friend Tony Sanchez Arino turned me on to the 500. He was the last of the true elephant hunters. Never a Weatherby guy. We talked about the "threshold" of power that is needed for elephant. We are both tall big guys and can take a bit of a thumping(I actually like recoil, up to a point). He can take way more than me. I max out at 500 NE levels. Can't do 577 or the different 500 bolt guns. He stated, and I believe him, that those Weatherby big boomers are not doing it properly. Now, I am a lefty and love the Mark five action. Would love a 460. Would hand load it to a tad under Lott specs. A peep sight and a refinished deep satin oil finish cause those Mark 5 are just too glossy for my tastes, and I now wanna go hunt elephant again!! Thanks guys. I'm eyeing a rifle on GB that I want and now I want to get bit by tseste flies and hunt jumbo again.

Zengela:

Totally agree with your post. There is a point of diminishing returns.

I hunt with a .470 N.E and a .416 Rigby. Never saw the need for anything more.

Ya really don't need that 416. Maybe better to loan it to me for.. Oh say? 10-15 years.

I did not know that. And its that easy an upgrade. I mean no 3rd party hassle. That is same as Model 70 belted magnums and checking on the cz website, I can confirm the rigby is also 3 down.

Given the similarity between the rigby and 460 Wby, Yet Wby went 2 rounds single stack. I was told on another forum this was due to the belt and slight rebate. That is fine with me, I take 100% reliable single stack over a possible problem. That and the above floor plate.

I also wondering if the 460 is proprietary (or still protected after all these years?) and limits who can build a gun? I see, CZ has chambered the 550 magnum for a very wide range of calibers. Including 505 Gibbs, no 460.

Fourbore,you can get a .460 Wby from MRC for $2000.

Jamision/Captech,Norma and Weatherby make the brass.

http://montanarifleco.com/?page_id=184

Get a firm grip on the stock and don't simply let ones trigger hand float.

True, but it's burning almost 20 grs more powder to do so and needless to say that extra powder is adding a significant amount of recoil because those ~20 grs of hot gas are leaving the barrel at ~4000 fps.

Load the gun how you shoot it best, 500 gr @ 2100 fps will take any critter alive, and there is no benefit in beating yourself up.

I also agree in modifying the bolt so that it doesn't draw blood. I won't abide a gun that will hurt me and will do what it takes to make the gun functional value be damned. Big bore bolts should have no sweep back or dogleg and should be smooth. Checkering has it's place, but the bolt knob on a 460 W is assuredly not the place!

The only thing I let float on big bores in my trigger finger, everything else is buried hard on the stocks, my 505 Gibbs actually has whisker burns on the side of the buttstock from my face.

Took the .460 out this morning.....


4 shots,with an obvious flyer.

95.0 gr Var-Get,Fed 215 mag primer,500 gr Hornady DGX. It averaged 2324 fps,so with the other average of 2309 fps,the overall average is 2316 fps.

Now,time to practice!

On the game, or your shoulder?

(I know what you really meant. )

Ken,
That 3 shot cluster is "usual" accuracy based on my experience with the .460. The load also usually shoots tighter than that when the load is 115gn of either H 4350, IMR 4350 or 760 but the older 500gn Hornady RNSP I used was not a good penetrator at the 2500fps these loads produce. Hopefully the newer Hornady's you are using are better.

Somewhere in my color slides, I have pics of 5 shot groups shooting .6 MOA
I recommend you also try some 400gn Woodleigh Spire Points as they shoot very well.
John