I'm not trying to start a fight but I just had to post a range report after my experience yesterday. I have never owned a Weatherby Ceneterfire rifle before now given ALL of the bad press Weatherby gets. Too flashy, strange action weired stock, messed up barrels.... I finally broke down a month ago and picked up a LNIB 460 Mark V on a trade. Wow I finally did it and bought one of those rifles. Having less than great expectations I finally got it and my new VXR 1.25-4x scope out to the range yesterday. I brought along my old standby Ruger RSM 458 Lott for a side by side shooting comparison. I loaded up the 460 and installed that fancy KDF like muzzle break and pulled the trigger on 114grns of IMR 4350 and a 500 grn Hornady soft nose and bang. I thought it might have been a squib load or something so I shot the 458 Lott just for a warm up and it hit me with some authority. Decided to try the weatherby again and bang shot more like a 338 than a 458 class rifle. After 20 round through the Weatherby and some nice groups at least at 50 yards I was really impressed. No I haven't tried to shoot it upside down after swimming 50 yards through alligator infested water running from an enraged cape buffalo but for a hunting rifle it wasn't all that bad. I'm not excited about a 2 round magazine but I sure liked that short bolt lift and having never used any form of muzzle break I thought that the KDF unit was great no I'm not going to run out and install those ugly contraptions on all my big bore rifles but I will use the one on my Weatherby unless I'm hunting close to someone else. All and ALL I have to give the Weatherby two thumbs up if it keeps shooting well you might see a NICE Ruger RSM 458 Lott in the classifieds real soon. Sell the 416 Rigby never but for a .458 class rifle I think for now I'm sold on the 460.

Thanks for Reading

Brad

Brad,

Welcome to the club. I have had just about every iteration and caliber (except 270 WBY) and have nothing but positive experiences with every one of them including the 460.

BTW, give a call to Weatherby - they have (or had last year) extended bottom metal so that you can get three down.

I'll 2nd Doc's comments. I've hunted with Weatherby rifles (not exclusively) for 20 years, and have never been disappointed by their quality, function, or accuracy.

Doc...no 270 Wby? You missed one of the best calibers they made!

I agree that Weatherby rifles are nice. However you might want to bump up your powder charge before you make a final comparison on recoil. I load 123 grains of IMR 4350 behind a 500 grain bullet. Bolt starts to get a little hard to open around 124 grains, so I backed it off a bit.

My 460 is an older Magnaported rifle, so I know it's not that effective. Recoil is way more than my unported 458 Lott though. Both rifles weight in at 9 1/2 pounds.

I've never had anything but positive experiences with my Weatherby. A 340WBY Mark V Synthetic. I've taken Elk, Moose, Caribou, Whitetail, and over 20 head of African Plains game using the 225gr TSX exclusively. Most have been one shot kills and the rifle has always performed flawlessly.

Ditto for me as well. I really enjoy shooting mine. This was a target from my 1st trip to the range. Not bad for me and for shooting off my Jeep.

Enjoy your gun. Btw what's the difference in velocity between the Wby and the Lott?

Enjoy your gun. Btw what's the difference in velocity between the Wby and the Lott?

I would say 300 fps on average, perhaps a bit more.

Obviously Jeep manufactures the toughest windshield on the planet. I wonder if they would cut one for my FJ Cruiser because it cannot survive a minor chip.

I have 2 safes full of rifles and enjoy all of them and acquired each one for a specific reason. However, I have two rifles I hunt with more than all others combined 1) Mod 70 stainless 270 win. 2) Weatherby 340 (Wea action, Kreiger stainless barrel, McMillan stock.
One for deer and below and the other for everything else. (North America)

Unlike others , I have had just terrible personal experiences with numerous Weatherbys and gunsmithed more than a few problem weatherby's for others. The only ones I've had that were not problematic were a .257 and a .460. No other Weatherby's soil the appearance of my gun vault. I don't care for them at all, but thats my opinion. I like the .460 wby and in a rebarreled RSM or custom bolt gun its a great cartridge and of course the basis for a 500a2 or 550 magnum ( another class of cartridge altogether). Enjoy yours and best of luck.-Rob

I'll end up owning both one day

I had two Mark V's in .460 and both were probably the most accurate big bores I ever owned. I loaded both mine from the old Hornady Manuel which gave a max load of 123.5 grains of IMR4350 behind a 500 grain Hornady bullet. Both my rifles had the series of holes in the barrel instead of a detachable brake. Recoil from both rifles with that load was very stiff and from the bench would give me a head-ache after about 5 shots.

I couldn't find a single thing wrong with the design or mechanics of either rifle but just couldn't get past the flashy styling. I would like to have another .460 on a Mauser action. I even at one point bought a CZ550 in .458 Lott and sent it to a gunsmith to be rechambered to .460. The job, which was supposed to take three weeks turned into 9 months and I finally went and picked up the rifle and abandoned the idea. The .460 is a great round IMHO.

Thanks everyone for the support.

123.5grn of IMR 4350 with a 500 grn Hornady Interloc bullet WOW

According to quick loads that loading would generate over 80,0000 psi no wonder the bolt was sticky Wow that mark V action must be pretty strong. In the past I would use old loads and finally when I started developing my 9.3 RUM wildcat I got quick loads. Was I surprised my load of 98 grns of 4350 with a 250grn 9.3 nosler clocked out at 3150fps. I thought I'd just invented the hammer of thor but when I ran the numbers it was way over 75k psi but again no real signs of over pressure on the case. I think that 500grns flying out of a barrel at over 2500fps is plenty good enough for any dinosaurs I could hunt up here in Oregon. Thanks again

Brad

quote:

Originally posted by Brad aka Pill Shooter:

According to quick loads that loading would generate over 80,0000 psi no wonder the bolt was sticky Wow that mark V action must be pretty strong.

I was wondering about that myself. I started off using the data from the Lyman book, and it lists 123.0 grains max with no pressure measurement given. I later tried to use QuickLOAD to get ideas for a 300 grain bullet and then noticed the pressure calculations. I wonder if the long freebore on the Weatherby keeps the pressure down, or am I actually pushing 80,000 PSI?

I read and listen to Kevin "doctari" Robertson who thinks the high velocity Weatherby's are way over-the-top unecessary and even dangerous because of their "frequent" killing of multiple buffalo with one shot. Is Kevin overreacting to the dangers of shooting high velocity guns in Africa?

What are your thoughts about this?

Personbally I don't know who kevin is and he could have invented big game hunting for all I care but that opinion on wby's sounds either outdated or he is just trying to keep himself in print.

Depending who you ask -the 460 weatherby

1.Overpenetrates due to excessive velocity
2.Underpenetrates due to excessive velocity(and over expansion of bullets)
3.Does not penetrate as much as a 458 win anyway

One thing that occurred to me first reading about bigbores is the 460 runs bullets no faster than the 375H&H who's 'world famous' and 'all perfect performance' were gotten with 2500fps and 2700fps as well.

Karl:

Thanks for the insight. Hence the reason I have avoided Weatherby's all these years. Too many experts telling me why these guns are worthless and stupid. I shoot the same bullet out of my CRF RSM 458 Lott as I do out of my new Flashy 460 Weatherby. The same piece of lead gets sent down range. I think when shooting Big Bore Rifles fit and confidence are extremely important. Yesterday I went back to the range with the 460 and other than taking a little bit of skin from trigger finger I actually enjoyed shooting 16 rounds (112.5 grns of H4350 and a 500grn Hornady) heck I could have shot 20 more. I can't really say the same about my RSM 458 Lott. Whether its the stock fit on my shoulder the muzzle break or the overall layout of the rifle I find the Weatherby just plain feels and fits great. Yes, I catch myself with a slight flinch if I'm not concentrating but I can still throw a 4 inch group off hand at 50 yards as fast as I can work the action. Also that short bolt throw sure is nice to quickly cycle the action.

Thanks Brad

My first big bore was a 460 Weatherby and I have several Weatherbys now. I have always thought the WBY got a bad rap on here, but to each his own. I have been shooting a 460 for 31 years and it has always been one of my more accurate rifles.. I will say that the older ammo was loaded another 100 ft/sec faster, and it does kick hared with out the bake on it. Dah, I guess that why they use a brake huh? I guess an under 500 caliber can be considered a big bore but.... its borderline. Enjoy your new weatherby!

Weatherbys are like any other machined entity, some are better than others. I have a Mk V in .300 that will print in the same hole at 100 yds using just about any bullet I care to load in it, and its killed many Leapords. My Son had a 460 that is so accurtate its amazing, my old friend and hunting brother hates them because of past malfunctions and lack of accuracy. If you log on to any mfg. specific forum there will always be pros and cons regarding that company and its products . If you have posess a firearm thats pleases you and shoots well, thats all that matters, What anyone else says doesn't really matter now does it?

Has anyone done penetration tests comparing the .460 and the .458 Win? Loaded full power of course. Would be interesting to see if speed reduces or increases penetration.

IanD. both. It depends on the bullet and what you are shooting. typical soft lead core bullets can have decreased pen with faster loads due to increase in frontal diameter. controlled expansion bulles like barnes x will pen further but not that much in soft tissue but will have a larger permanent wound channel. solids will pen a little further in soft tissue but speed will cause a considerable increase in pen in solid matrerial such as bone.

I don't know why Rob has had so many problems with Weatherby's. As a gunsmith I have never had to repair a Weatherby rifle. Their shotguns, thats a different matter. I own 6 Wby rifles at the moment and love them all, including a .460. My favorite is the .270. I have a H-S Precision stock that I use on the Mark V Deluxe's so I don't have to take that pretty wood in the field. All are sub minute of angle guns..........Tom

For what it's worth, I have three Weatherbys. A German .270 Mag that is crazy accurate, a Japanese .340 Mag that is very accurate, and a Japanese .300 Mag that is very accurate, but only with one load I have found so far. All have been very reliable. I have seen some that were not accurate, however. From my experience, they are very nice rifles but the company does spin off a lemon every once in a while. My favorite thing about them is that short bolt throw. It is a thing of absolute beauty, in my opinion - super fast and easy to use in a hunting situation.

Woohoo! This thread has me pumped! I just sent payment on a NIB lefty 378 Wby 5 panel Lazermark. Yes, yes, too flsahy or even gaudy for some, but I dig it. Not as heavy hitting as the 460, but pretty damn respectable with a 300 @ 3000.

I love those Weatherby Mark V's. I got my first one over 20 years ago. I bought a 416 Wby for an upcoming hunt and recently picked up the bottom metal extension that allows you to put 3 down on the big calibers which I think is pretty important on a DG hunt. They do get a bit of a bad rep from some guys but i have relied on them for a long time and clobbered a hell of a pile of stuff with them and had no problems. By the way, they feed just fine upside down!

quote:

Originally posted by TXpitdog:
Woohoo! This thread has me pumped! I just sent payment on a NIB lefty 378 Wby 5 panel Lazermark. Yes, yes, too flsahy or even gaudy for some, but I dig it. Not as heavy hitting as the 460, but pretty damn respectable with a 300 @ 3000.

Have you ever shot a .378? The recoil puts the .460 to shame. It's the most painful of all. Having said that, I love mine.....Tom

So I've heard, but I've also heard the brake reduces recoil down to 300 Wby levels, or heavy 45-70 levels. If that's the case, no problem.

Count me among the ones that like them, I've had my 416 for coming up on 20 years. It is one of my favorite rifle. I found the recoil on the 378s to be more myth than fact; I have a good friend that has a 378 that is a pussycat to shoot.

Cheers,
Sam

Thanks for all the discussion. I will chime in on the 460 vs 378 question. I think that what everyone is talking about is throwing less lead faster. I have a 9.3 RUM Wildcat I named a 9.3 Ashley built on a remington SPS 700 tupperware light stock. YES! this baby kicks like a mule. When I was stupid enough to shoot 250grn bullets out of it at 3150fps (pre quick loads stupidity since my calculated psi was over 81k) with that load. I found it rather unpleasant. I prefer more lead less velocity. Haven't done the 378 yet but kinda figure its more like a 366 DGW (or an over loaded 9.3 RUM) However that being said Weatherby Stock and Muzzle brake and I think you might have a much more manageable rifle.

Brad

I'm kind of curious about this 378 vs 460 recoil. I've never shot a 378, but I have loaded 300 grain bullets in my 460. I can say without a doubt that a 300 grain bullet at 3300FPS does not kick as much as a 500 grain bullet at 2600 FPS. Both loads used almost identical powder charges, but of different powders.

Anyway, can anyone explain why a 378 would have more recoil than a 460?

I own, shoot and hunt with a .378, .416 and .460 Weatherby Magnums. IMHO the .378 is the mildest of the three even with full power loads. I have read for years that the .378 is the worst but it has not been my experience. Maybe I'm different but shooting them side by side and the difference between them is noticeable. My favorite is the .460 WM. It's my "Go To" rifle for big stuff. I have used this round on numerous buffalo(cape and water buffalo) elephants, wild cattle, Nilgai, plains game and even wild boar. Its a devestating round with great penetration. In addition, like others have posted mine is extremely accurate as well.

WLA

I have fired every load imaginable in my 460 WBY from 300 gr rounds suitable for little old ladies and people recovering from shoulder surgery to 600 gr "dinosaur" loads. I typically load the 300, 500, and 600 gr rounds with 112 grs of IMR 4350. The 300 and 500 gr loads are very accurate with this powder charge. With regard to recoil, there is absolutely a direct link between bullet mass and recoil when you keep the round and powder charge the same. Obviously, the lighter the bullet, the faster the velocity. The strange thing is that after 115 gr, I could not increase velocity of the 300 gr bullets no matter how much more powder was added. A terminal velocity was hit!

The "bad rep" comes from a muzzle brake being neccesary for most people. Muzzle brakes are fine and dandy on the range but leads to permanent hearing loss in the field. Also guides suffer hearing loss and have to look out for the sideway blast if standing close).

Weatherby rifles are solid i suppose tho.

It is similar to my old 38 super ipsc gun; super fast and accurate on the range but would i use one for self defence? Nope...