Need some load advice for 460 S&W

elrotundamundo · April 18, 2014, 05:14 PM

My son just ordered a S&W 460 XVR with an 8 3/8" barrel. I will be loading for him on a Dillon RL550B. He will be going to Alaska this fall to hunt moose and will carry the revolver for bear protection or possibly to take the moose if he gets a close shot. I was thinking a 325 grain Swift A-Frame as a bullet choice. Is 296 or H110 the best powder choice?

Also, we live in Northern Idaho and often hunt elk and whitetail in heavy timber and I would like a good load for that as well. I was thinking a Hornady 300 grain XTP Mag for a bullet for this with 296/H110 for powder.

Finally, we shoot at an indoor range that will allow the 460, and I wanted to use some Berry's 250 grain flat nose plated bullets I have on hand at around 1200 FPS. Would Trail Boss be the best powder for this?

This round is new to me. I load a lot of 44 Magnum and heavy 45 Colt loads for my Blackhawk but have no experience with the 460.

Hogdon's site has data for 296 and H110 but nothing for light loads. I would prefer to use the 460 case for the light loads at the indoor range, but could always use 45 Colt cases, although I have heard that accuracy suffers because of the long bullet jump.

Any thoughts?

Gdawgs · April 18, 2014, 09:59 PM

I have used H110/296, 2400, Lil Gun, IMR4227, and Trail Boss.

The H110/296 is as good as any.

The Trail Boss will work well for your light loads. I have never used plated bullets, but my go to wimpy load is a 255 gr lead SWC with Trail Boss. Those are coming out at about 1,100 fps. You should see similar results with the plated bullets.

I have played around a lot with using 45 Colt and 454 Casull brass for lighter loads. I have found that they are not worth messing with. Accuracy suffers greatly when not using 460 brass, at least in my gun (10" BFR). The 460 is a pretty versatile round. I typically use a 240 gr HTP mag for hot loads. I can vary the velocity on those from 1,500 to 2,100 fps. I also use a lot of lead bullets and shoot those between 1,100 to 1,500 fps.

The Hornady manual has a much larger range for the 300 gr XTP mag bullet than the Hodgdon web site lists. Loos like the website goes from 38-42.5 grains of 296. The Hornady manual goes from 31.1gr to 39.3 for 296. So there is quite a bit of room for experimenting there, and room to bring down the velocity if desired.

elrotundamundo · April 19, 2014, 08:12 AM

Thanks, Gdawgs.

buck460XVR · April 19, 2014, 10:16 AM

Because of the heat it creates, and the known issues with premature forcing cone erosion, I do not use Lil' Gun in any of my revolvers any more.

For plinking, TB works very well in .460 cases, but you will find it prints very differently than when using legitimate .460 loads. If reloading your own, there is no viable reason to use anything else but .460 cases for reduced recoil loads.

For big bear and moose, any of the big monolithic bullets should work well. For deer and elk, the 300 gr XTP-Mags should also work. Speers' 300 gr Deep Curl and Sierra's 300 gr JSP are very good alternatives as is the 240gr XTP-Mag for average deer. While I've found that H110/W296 give me the best velocities, IMR4227 is more consistent when used in wide temperature variations such as one may experience when hunting. Here in Wisconsin, temps during deer season can be from 80 above to 20 below. Both give me great accuracy and shoot very close to the same POA. What I have also found is one does not have to load the .460 to max to be effective on deer sized animals. Load for accuracy.

April 18, 2014, 05:14 PM	#1
elrotundamundo Member Join Date: August 14, 2011 Location: North Idaho Posts: 56	Need some load advice for 460 S&W My son just ordered a S&W 460 XVR with an 8 3/8" barrel. I will be loading for him on a Dillon RL550B. He will be going to Alaska this fall to hunt moose and will carry the revolver for bear protection or possibly to take the moose if he gets a close shot. I was thinking a 325 grain Swift A-Frame as a bullet choice. Is 296 or H110 the best powder choice? Also, we live in Northern Idaho and often hunt elk and whitetail in heavy timber and I would like a good load for that as well. I was thinking a Hornady 300 grain XTP Mag for a bullet for this with 296/H110 for powder. Finally, we shoot at an indoor range that will allow the 460, and I wanted to use some Berry's 250 grain flat nose plated bullets I have on hand at around 1200 FPS. Would Trail Boss be the best powder for this? This round is new to me. I load a lot of 44 Magnum and heavy 45 Colt loads for my Blackhawk but have no experience with the 460. Hogdon's site has data for 296 and H110 but nothing for light loads. I would prefer to use the 460 case for the light loads at the indoor range, but could always use 45 Colt cases, although I have heard that accuracy suffers because of the long bullet jump. Any thoughts?

April 19, 2014, 08:12 AM	#3
elrotundamundo Member Join Date: August 14, 2011 Location: North Idaho Posts: 56	Thanks Thanks, Gdawgs.

April 18, 2014, 09:59 PM	#2
Gdawgs Senior Member Join Date: June 1, 2009 Location: MN Posts: 656	I have used H110/296, 2400, Lil Gun, IMR4227, and Trail Boss. The H110/296 is as good as any. The Trail Boss will work well for your light loads. I have never used plated bullets, but my go to wimpy load is a 255 gr lead SWC with Trail Boss. Those are coming out at about 1,100 fps. You should see similar results with the plated bullets. I have played around a lot with using 45 Colt and 454 Casull brass for lighter loads. I have found that they are not worth messing with. Accuracy suffers greatly when not using 460 brass, at least in my gun (10" BFR). The 460 is a pretty versatile round. I typically use a 240 gr HTP mag for hot loads. I can vary the velocity on those from 1,500 to 2,100 fps. I also use a lot of lead bullets and shoot those between 1,100 to 1,500 fps. The Hornady manual has a much larger range for the 300 gr XTP mag bullet than the Hodgdon web site lists. Loos like the website goes from 38-42.5 grains of 296. The Hornady manual goes from 31.1gr to 39.3 for 296. So there is quite a bit of room for experimenting there, and room to bring down the velocity if desired.

April 19, 2014, 10:16 AM	#4
buck460XVR Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 2006 Posts: 4,342	Because of the heat it creates, and the known issues with premature forcing cone erosion, I do not use Lil' Gun in any of my revolvers any more. For plinking, TB works very well in .460 cases, but you will find it prints very differently than when using legitimate .460 loads. If reloading your own, there is no viable reason to use anything else but .460 cases for reduced recoil loads. For big bear and moose, any of the big monolithic bullets should work well. For deer and elk, the 300 gr XTP-Mags should also work. Speers' 300 gr Deep Curl and Sierra's 300 gr JSP are very good alternatives as is the 240gr XTP-Mag for average deer. While I've found that H110/W296 give me the best velocities, IMR4227 is more consistent when used in wide temperature variations such as one may experience when hunting. Here in Wisconsin, temps during deer season can be from 80 above to 20 below. Both give me great accuracy and shoot very close to the same POA. What I have also found is one does not have to load the .460 to max to be effective on deer sized animals. Load for accuracy.