I wanted to post this here informally because I really just wanted to summarise what can be achieved with a modern handgun and a steady aim.

The handgun I used was a Smith & Wesson .460 S&W Magnum revolver with a 14" barrel and a Leupold 2.5-8x32 scope. Shooting technique was developed "on the fly" and I settled on a down on two knees crouch over low shooting sticks. Even this relatively stable position it was quite difficult to get a steady aim. Nevertheless here are the results.




Cape buffalo, 33 yards




Sable, 44 yards




Roan, 111 yards




Lechwe, 65 yards




My PH, Dewald, with the hand cannon.


I really cannot recommend handgun hunting enough. To my great surprise all the animals hunted were wild as hell and certainly not what I expected from a South African hunt. Then again the reserve was some 13,500 acres with an open border so this is hardly surprising. The challenge of successful handgun hunting is taking a steady shot, and this is what makes it so exciting.

A big thank you to Heritage Safaris in Bloemfontein for a great hunt.

I hope you enjoy the pics

Congratulations... great trophies and beautiful pistol

Nice report. Great job with the handgun!

Congratulations..That's a hand cannon alright!!!

Superb!!!

Outstanding trophies!

Nice pics!

MB: Great animals and what a frigg'n hand cannon that is. Interesting in that is more like a short barreled rifle with a pistol grip sans stock! Can you elaborate a bit on the loads used and the recoil?

Congrats.

Congrats on your handgun safari. Well done!

Best of Hunting,
Mark Hampton

Congrats on what looks like a great hunt. Some very fine trophies taken.

Yes, please elaborate on the bullets and loads you used. I have one just like it and am getting ready to load for it.
Congratulations.

Thanks for the nice comments guys

I used handloads of 47.5gr Hodgdon H110 in Starline .460 S&W case, Federal 215 large rifle magnum primers and a Magtech 260gr solid bullet.

I worked these loads up gradually in my gun and they may not be safe in yours so please do not use them without starting with a 10% lower powder charge and working up looking for signs of excessive pressure signs.

I was obliged to use a non-expanding bullet because here is Switzerland expanding handgun ammunition is illegal!

Recoil is just fine but noise as a result of the muzzle brake is substantial and I wore electronic moulded earplugs for every shot.

Muzzle flash in low light is something else too.

Overall it's a very manageable package but getting a steady aim is a real challenge. I will definitely do it again.

Did you run the load through a chronograph ?

Superb!

Curious on the holster you used?

That is one impressive pistol! And nice work you've done with it also!

Now, off to find one like it - that is very tempting!

quote:

Originally posted by Jan Dumon:
Did you run the load through a chronograph ?

Not this specific load, but I believe it is pushing over 2,000fps.

quote:

Originally posted by Boxhead:
Curious on the holster you used?

This is the funny part. No holster! Carried it over my shoulder gripping the barrel, like a rifle

Here is a link to the Smith & Wesson revolver I used :-

http://www.smith-wesson.com/we...ctDisplayErrorView_Y

Impressive!

Congrats Max - Nice trophies, great pics and a impressive handgun to say the least. You mentioned "muzzle flash". Would really like to see a pic of the "flash" if you have one, should be a real sight. Again great job.

Larry Sellers
SCI(International)Life Member
Sabatti 'trash' Double Shooter
R8 Blaser
DRSS

nice buff, those are some other nice trophies as well. we used the 460 and 454 in Africa on dangerous game to great effect this last summer. congrats on your trip.

That Sable Antelope is one beautiful animal. Obviously the solid works !
When shooting at dusk the flash becomes obvious and at full dark it's enough to light up the whole neighborhood !
That gun is twice the weight of my M29 .All he needs is a good bipod or tripod !
Well done !!

Dirty Harry would be proud and congrats on some excellent trophies!

Thanks for posting.

Beautiful Trophies. Do you use the traditional "African Carry" method of resting the firearm on your shoulder and holding onto the barrel, or did you use a "Gunbearer"?
Joke aside, I assume some kind of shoulder holster?

trophies of a lifetime, good shooting! thanks for sharing.

quote:

Originally posted by umzingele:
Beautiful Trophies. Do you use the traditional "African Carry" method of resting the firearm on your shoulder and holding onto the barrel, or did you use a "Gunbearer"?
Joke aside, I assume some kind of shoulder holster?

Actually you were right first time. The African carry worked well!

Great trophies, am happy for you.
Just my nasty comment here: That buff looks like he's three ton's the way that picture is posed. Can't possibly be as big as it looks here.
No wonder you get lots of flash, with that much powder half of it has to be burned outside the barrel. I get a lot of flash with a .45 Colt
7 1/2" with ONLY 20gr of H110 with 250 up to 330gr. The heavy slug is about all I can handle for the recoil. I'm not a brake user or believer. That light a bullet do you really need that brake? With such a long barrel I wouldn't think so.
That's great shooting with a handgun of any kind and I do congratulate you on the success of your hunt. Thanks for sharing,
George

Awesome hunt. How many shoots to take out the cape buff? I have a sw .500 with leupold scope and would like to do the same thing in Africa. nice shooting.

Mark a well placed shot can and will do it job. Fine shooting. Photos are great. I am not into the noise from the handguns.


Mike

Nice report. Thanks for sharing Mark

CONGRATULATIONS I LOVE HUNTING WITH PISTOLS AND REVOLVERS Since i quit IPSC and IDPA competition i hunt a lot with my handguns but never in africa ,your report demostrated that i can be done .