I have been tasked to find an answer for a fellow that I work with , he has inherited a MKV 460 26" bbl with muzzle brake and no iron sights,he has been going over the search topics on the 458 Lott and the 3" version and would like to know if it is possible to rechamber for either of the two on the MKV,and would it be as simple as pulling the bbl and cleaning out the chamber.
He is convinced thats all he would have to have done. I'm not so sure wouldn't there been feeding problems to correct?

No go. The .460 Wby. case (necked up .416 Rigby with a belt added) is larger in diameter than the Lott case (necked up and blown-out .375H&H case).

There is no way to 'clean up' that chamber with a .458 Lott or .458x3" reamer.

He can load the .460 Wby. down, or re-barrel.

George

As George, says you can load the .460 Weatherby down, and this is the simplest way out. A "cheap and cheerful" solution as it were. I have shot the .460, and I find the recoil interferes with getting the second shot off. This is on a range, not hunting.

Your friend could also rebarrel to .465 H&H, which is based on the .378 Weatherby case as are the .416 and .460 Weatherbys. The H&H round has been announced, but is not available in the market yet.

The African Hunter website has an article I wrote about the .400 H&H and the .465 H&H.

jim dodd

Or, he could re-barrel to .416 Rigby, which is quite a bit more practical a cartridge.

George

Dave Just have your friend load "down" to a 500gr at 2150 to 2200 fps. That has been the Nitro Express formula that has worked for decades. Tell him to save his re bbl money for a plane ticket.
PS a 350 Hornady at 2000 to 2300 fps is a good deer and pig load.
From the Lyman Reloading hand book
500gr. 86gr. IMR3031 2183fps
max 96gr. IMR3031 2444fps
start with the same charges with the 350 and work up till you find a load your rifle/shoulder likes.

[ 02-25-2003, 01:43: Message edited by: N E 450 No2 ]

Why not get him to sell the weatherby and buy a rifle he likes?

Also be very careful shooting reduced loads in the weatherby line of cartridges as pressure jumps can occur.

Re-barrel for a .500 A2

Not sure he would sell the rifle as it was his fathers, he has two 416's now as it is and wanted some thing different to play with, I know you'll not going to believe this but he does not reload and will not shoot reloaded ammo,he truly has more money than GOD as they say, and spends it that way, he is going back to Africa this summer, he is a real buff nut and has taken several,maybe able to get him to think about the 465H&H,it just may trip his trigger,don't think the 500A2 will he bought my dads 505Gibbs a few years ago when I was going thru the last divorce

Dave,

Perhaps he would consider getting his .460 Weatherby ammunition from Superior -- they are a custom loader and can make whatever the customer wants. He could get ".458 Lott level" loads from them. I don't know if he considers their stuff reloads or factory loads?

http://www.superiorammo.com/

jim

Jim, glad you brought that up, I'll show him Larry's catalog I got last time I ordered the 450 Nitro ammo,He'll shoot it because it is coming from some one who is running company and produseing it for the public,He is a old hard headed Longshoreman but buys quality

If you load the 460 Wby down to 458 or 458 Lott velocity the pressure will be reduced dramatically but not dangerously any more so than loading a 30-06 down to 300 Savage velocity..You simply end up with a mild load the recoils very little and shoots great..I loaded my 460 Down to a 500 gr. bullet at 2250 FPS and it shot great, brass lasted forever, and recoil was in the 375 class, much less that my Lott or std 458 at the same velocity....That is exactly why the 416 Rigby is so popular, that big case is loaded down and recoil is manageable and pressures are very low...

The only time you get in trouble with pressure in the big cases is when one uses a very slow burning powder such as H4831 in a big case at drastically reduced loads....this as mostly be applicable in the 06 and 270 cases with reduced loads.

110gr of 4350 with a 500gr Hornady makes a dandy load with mild recoil and reasonably good accuracy. Never had any problem with hang fires as the load fills most of the case volume. I think Dagga Ron uses this recipe also. Cobalt

Thanks all for the load info, I'm going to keep it I am really trying to twist his arm and get into reloading, if not I may just try some of these loads and shoot his gun with them,hes great to have as a buddy I can shoot any thing in the safe and he has five safes filled to the doors