Can all of you .460 owners tell me what validity of the published .460 Factory rounds give. As i have tought about getting my .416 Weatherby rebarreled to .460 Weatherby. It's not very fun to read about loads which says 2600 fps but only manages 2500+ fps with 500 gr.bullets. Have anybody tried those "conley precision loads" which say 2650 fps with hornady and African grand slam 500 grain bullets. You will find those loads on the net.

Another thing is the barrel lenght and sort of barrel( Mcgowen,,Kreiger,,Pac-nor,,Douglas ).What lenght,,what twist,,throat,,,and combination of these would you choose to get the ultimate .460 ?

HEY GUYS ,,WAKE UP !!
I wanted some people to respond. Ok i will admit that i have been asking the same kind of questions before,,but i'm not satisfied with those answers.(i'm sorry,,i know what you're thinking.But i do appreciate your answers,,so what athe heck am i trying to prove here ?
Well,,most of you guys say that one can better the performance using the right equipment,and that includes a custom barrel( for my coming .460 Wby).

Per 577,
Send an e-mail to Arild (460 Weatherby). He should have some information for you. Keep in mind that Weatherby ammo is loaded to some different specs by Norma which would be considered a bit on the hot side for North America.
Take care
470 Mbogo

per577- I did alot of playing around with my 460 WBY and the mostI could get out of it was 2630 fps with 500 gr bullets before the belt expanded .003 using new Norma brass and a case crimp!. I quit right there! The sight of bright extractor marks on the case head coupled with a .003 belt expansion caused my survival instinct to flare up. I understand that folks here have hit 2700fps but without crimping.-Rob

Forget all that bunk about my big bertha shoots those 500 grain bullets so fast they melt the copper jackets. What is the point any way, just to be able to tell someone your elephant rifles 500 grain bullet tarvels at 2700 fps? You sneak up on a bull elephant who is no more than forty or so yards away and could drop him in his tracks with a 30-06 and a 220 grain solid to his brain.
Velocity mean absolutely nothing without accuracy. The only thing those bog bore rifles are good for is burning huge amounts of powder per round and keeping the powder company working over time to supply you with the powder. I would rather shoot my 22 hornet ten times instead of a 460 weatherby once with the same amount of powder.

Hey Reloader 66 !

Yes ,,the point is having a gun capable of driving big bullets at a reasonable speed.It will be fun,,for those who handles it and yes i would agree a lesser gun than the .460 would be a better choice on hunting. But i must add that the .460 is a reasonable "stunt - gun" and have a reputation unlike others,like the .458 Win Mag. In my eyes the .458 Win Mag is a "boring"round. It's hard to explain,,but i guess that's the reason we have a big bore forum. The .460 is special to me like a .375 H&H is special for others !The .460 Wby gives power and it can be fun to shoot with and show to other mortals on the range.(Unless the rifle weigh 7.5 pounds and with steel butt !).Well,,if you cmpare the round to other behemoths like the.585 Nyati and .577 T-rex it's not a powerful round.You're probably right,,i would pick a .358 STA to play with( talking elephant hunting). But on close quarter i would certainly choose a .45 cal or even bigger !

Well in the future i will focus on the .505 Gibbs, .585 Nyati or .577 T-rex
Who knows,,maybe i'll end up with the .700 BMG IMPROVED

460 Weatherby, 26" barrel, and muzzle brake (thank goodness!). 500 gr. Hornady FMJ.

IMR 4350

120.8 gr.
2546 fps
-0- Error
2591 fps

123 gr.
2646 fps
2659 fps
2661 fps

IMR 4320
107.8 gr.
2560 fps
2555 fps
2589 fps

113 gr.
2685 fps
2680 fps
2667 fps

Factory 500 gr. FMJ
2625 fps.

Per577,

recently, I just tried to shoot my 460 off the bench for the very first time. There was a sack of lead shot between my shoulder and the rifle's butt just like some people in this forum suggested. I used my 30 years old factory ammo and still kicks hard. I shot enough rounds untill I got headache. It is open sight, the scope that I ordered is on its way.

As you know 460 WM gives a gigantic amount of energy in order to knock the largest game, eventhough the velocity restrict to 2400 fps.

I havent hunted any cape buffalo and old Jumbo. I never been in Africa, but I have enough experience in taking water buffalo and Banteng with my 375 H&H Mag, 300 WM and 308 Norma Mag.

For me there is no difference regarding velocity as long it reachs 2400 fps and up. It is still effective to take the largest game.

I read Jack Lott's article in Guns & Ammo June 1989 : " 2300 to about 2350 fps. This velocity/energy range has proven ideal for the quick and humane dispatching of elephant, cape buffalo and rhino"

416 is the all around rifle, I suggest you to cancell rebarreling it in 460 WM.

My future rifle would be the 416.

Thanks

Abdi

Although I have not tested factory 500gr bullets, I have tested 450gr Factory (Barnes-X)

4 shots ranged 2733-2783fps
average 2763fps

This was from a standard Wby Mark V rifle.
I find it interesting to note that the recoil from factory ammo is sharper (read: more unpleasant) than my own loads even though velocity is comparable.

I just tested 2 shots of 500gr FMJ factory ammo.
2656 and 2632fps.

Shawn460,

I have no chronograph, so have no clue about my 30 year old Weatherby factory ammo.

I was wondering, how fast the old ammo could reach ?

Mine with integral muzzle brake 26 " barrel vintage 1970s.

Man !!
That's impressive. Just the numbers i like !!so those 450 barnes are really kicking . In the manual the loads say 2700 fps ,but since you have a fast gun, you exceed that by quite a margin !
I hope you'll try to get your hands on 480 woodleighs and 550 gr. bullets. That would be interesting.
And what about powder choice. I suggest imr-4350 is the best choice , but one have imr-4320 ,,even faster,and vvn-540, vvn-550. I think one could "ace" the velocity with those powders(vvn-540 & imr-4320 !
Some guy got 2678 fps using 123 grains of 4350 behind a swift bullet,,and the chrono was at least standing 15 feet away which means the 8000 ft/ lbs level was exceeded,,wooow !!
Thanks for the info !!And you are free to answer which of the powder listed above ,would be most perfect for "acing"

I have tried to get some good numbers from 500 Barnes X, but have had very poor luck (~2473 fps/6789ft-lbs). The problem seems to be the huge length between the canulure and the bullet base. I could get better speeds with different powders or by seating the bullet less deep, but I would rather play with the cheap Hornady 500grs. These bullets I have tested a great deal using IMR4350. My normal load is 122 grs and no crimp. Since I only shoot the gun for fun, there is no need for a crimp. I have tried more powder (up to 125 grs) but the first signs of pressure began to appear, so I keep 3 grs below pressure signs. The 125gr monster left the barrel at 2748fps/8383ft-lbs, but I will not repeat this load or any over 122 grs since I don't want any gun to blow up, especially a 460 Wby.

My current load development focus is on the 600 gr Barnes Original. I have reached my max with IMR4350 with 112 grs at 2451fps/8006ft-lbs with no crimp and the OAL = 4.045". Larger loads have been tested, but this is several grains below max, and in my opinion, the largest safe load. Now I am trying a slower powder, IMR7828. This powder requires more grains to equal the same velocity as IMR4350, but more powder can be added to the shell. I am currently at 115grs at 2320 fps/7169 ft-lbs. The shells eject with no effort with absolutely no marks on the back of the shell. Factory loads leave minor marks which allows me to tell how many times I have used the shell. By the time I have perfected this load, I hope to be receiving the 700gr monsters discussed in a previous thread. I believe that an even slower powder will be necessary.

I am fortunate that I can test my loads simply by walking out the front door and blasting away (country life is great), but shooting this gun every day causes a sore shoulder. Once a sore shoulder starts, you are screwed for several days!

I will probably post again once I have found the best load for the 600gr bullets.

As a final note, I have fired old ammo (>10 yrs) but have not Chrono. them. They felt the same as new ammo. I would guess that ammo keeps for a long time and will have comparable velocities as new ammo. I have fired 50 yr old military ammo that shot every bit as good as new ammo.

Shawn

Shawn460,

thanks for sharing information. 458 " bore is quite new for me ( the 460 WM Mark V is 30 year old ).

I look forward to take big game with it next year.