how difficult is it to convert a 458 win mag ruger #1 to 460 weatherby? does anyone make a good muzzle brake for it? what is shooting it like? opinions. looking for an inexpensive way to get a 460.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Dr. John:

Dr.John,
You should be able to have it reamed out to 460 Weatherby without to big of a problem. The extractor will probably have to be changed. You may want to look into a good recoil pad to go with the muzzle brake. Any gunsmith that can rechamber,headspace your chamber and change the extractor will probably have a line on muzzle braking your rifle.

DR.John, 470 Mbgo gave you the right advice on how to get your rifle rechambered to 460 Wby. My 460 wby. is a Weatherby Mark V Deluxe that has the Weatherby Accubrake. This muzzle brake does an excellent job of reducing recoil. This brake is really the same as a KDF brake, so KDF would be a good place to inquire about getting a brake installed. If you are worried about the added noise of a brake you might want to look into the Vais brake, I have never used one but a lot of shooters say that this brake is the quietest brake of all. Shooting the 460 with a brake with full power loads feels like a 458 Win. or maybe a little less.
Shooting it without the brake the recoil is much heavier than the 458 Win. the rifle comes back at you very hard, and you get a lot of muzzle jump and the rifle torques over to the right quite violently.

There used to be a great thread about getting into a big bore cheaply. I posted a rather long post about my thoughts and actions I took to convert my #1H from a .458 to a .460. I looked for it and unfortunatly it looks like it is not there? Might have gotten lost when the site switched servers?

Anyway, it is a very easy job and it is a very cheap way to get into a .460 WBY. I had mine rechambered and the bolt recontoured for $85 back a few years ago.

Don't know about the brake. I thought about it also but with the front band, I don't know if you could put anything on it? The only way I have seen a #1H in .460 braked is with a 4 port Magnaport. The only other thing you can do is to add a big recoil pad and some mecury recoil reducers for weight.

The #1H is a light gun to be firing the .460. Recoil can be stout depending on your size. It is a very subjective thing and hard to rate. I am 6'4" and 270 lbs. and shoot mine frequently. The only time the recoil has really bothered be was when I first got it finished and just started working up some reloads and fired 14 rounds off the bench through the chronograph.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Intel6
Intel 16,
The brake should be know problem. The gunsmith that put mine on my 416 Rigby originally took the sight band off. He then turned down the barrel end, threaded it and put on a muzzle brake that was the same contour as the original barrel.When the sight band was put back on the end of the threads were .210 under the band. He also made up a finished end cap to put on when the brake was off. So all joints are .210 under the sight band. It looks very tidy. 470 Mbogo

470 Mbogo,

I know it could be done but not as easily as if it was a regular tapered barrel without a front sight band. The other thing is I like the look of the front sight band and want to keep it there. There is no real good way of adding a brake without changing the look of the gun.

Intel6, The best way to add a brake without disturbing the looks of the rifle is to install an integral brake. The barrel itself is reamed out and holes are drilled in the barrel, this way the gun looks the same except for the holes drilled in the barrel. The only drawback is the rifle will lose a bit of velocity because some of the rifling has been reamed away.