The other day my buddies and i were shooting and i thought i would shoot a hundred or so rounds through my 460. I was catching a cold, so i felt my shooting was off that day, which for me, i was shooting pretty bad so i packed up just after 160 rounds.
In talking to a gunsmith friend of mine just an hour ago, he had told me:

You haven't heard about the 460's yet?........I called S&W about two weeks ago and inquired about a customers 460, and after a bunch of questions from them, they told me that the customer probably exceeded the 'barrel life' of the gun since he has about 2000 to 2200 rounds through it and 'life expectancy' is 1000 to 1500 rounds. Then they asked me if he wanted a new barrel, it's $100 and to send it on in!

I WAS SPEECHLESS!
Rest assured though, i will be calling to confirm this as well (plus adding a few cents of my own in there). However, i was also given this link www.military.com/soldi...R,,00.html
Which also states the same thing.
I guess a good thing is that i'm not having, nor have i heard of any problems with the 500 Mag yet (knocking on wood).

1000-1500 rounds for barrel life?

That is not very good for a shooter who may put that many rounds thru his pistol in a year.

Ill steer clear of any used ones Ill tell you that much.
Maybe they need better steel.

In practical terms you are probably correct in stating "NO" but then again we have Hummers crawling around the city, patheticly overbore 30-378 mags out hunting prairie dogs among other examples of extremes. Its America, we can be extreme.

I've fired a few hundred rounds of full power 460s, enough to know that I will stick with my 454 Casull for field use. Still, the owner of a 460 can shoot a lot of other cartridges in that handgun. Did you know that a 45AR feels about like shooting a 22lr out of this behemoth?

We got a brochure from S&W reminding dealers that with approaching hunting seasons that this would be an opportune time to promote the mighty 460. We have had two distributors call to remind us that they have them in stock suggesting sales are less than projected. Several of our customers plan to take them afield confident that they are armed adequately for elk, bear or Sasquatch. Afterall, with CorBons costing $48 for a box of 20, how could they fail? Me? I am waiting for the concealed carry version.

Handloader, I guess comming from a 'heavy' shooting stand point (meaning that i do a lot of shooting) if i would have known, i would have never bought the revolver in the first place. Practically speaking however, i have replaced barrels because there was never anything wrong with the guns, but that after tens of thousands of rounds have been shot through it. And speaking of 30-378, i always thought of those type of rounds (and ultra mags) to be brutal beyond it's intention.

The 454 casull i have shot, but never had too much expierence in loading or ballistics of the round.......what is their effective range though?

S&W may have a good way to promote the 460 to the average and occasional shooter, but for me, longevity is what i look for in any firearm and 1000 or in my case 1290 rounds and ready for a re barrel is totally not worth the price i paid (especially when i have close to 4500 rounds through my 500Mag) (and fortunately i don't, nor will i shoot cor bon).

Now i'd love to see with progressive twist rifling a revolver under 6" and actually make it without drastic losses. But hey, you never know!

515034s10ring: regarding the effective range of the 454 Casull, I can only speak from personal experience that on deer it does an excellent job at 112 and 85 paces, both mulie bucks.

You spent significant money on the big S&Ws; for about a third more you would be in the price range of a new Freedom Arms, a handgun that defies abuse, is remarkably easy to carry without the need for swivels and sling but absent the abrupt recoil of your 500 or 460. (If I knew how, at this point I would insert a "smiley face" or two, maybe, three.)

My FA Model 83 has digested close to 9,000 full power 454 loads with 300 grainers and is as tight as (can we get vulgar on this website? probably not.), ah, - - - - tight as when new. Almost. Accuracy hasn't deteriorated over new.

But, go ahead and abuse yourself with the big boomers if that's your thing. I probably would, too, except they are, admittedly, a little too much for my tender XXL hands. After ten rounds of 440s in the 500 S&W I couldn't see the target too clearly because of the tears and even if I could, my knees were knocking so badly I couldn't hit anything anyway. Even if I could see and my knees weren't knocking, the dust would take about three minutes to settle between rounds.

It is my opinion that most game taken with the 500 and its puny cousin the 460 die from muzzle blast concussion; I do know that it takes awhile for the vegetation downrange to regrow. Once the fires subside. No, I'll stick with my itty bitty 454 and simply place you in my "hero" catagory but I fear you will be the poster child for the Sierra Club's Enemies of Nature. And, that's not faint praise. Liberals are soon to blame global warming on these S&W bad boys. Do you have legal counsel?

But, I do wonder what Elmer Keith would say if he were writing today?

Its one of those "interesting" cartridges that I have no desire to own a handgun chambered for but wouldn't mind shooting one.

If my Ruger Super Redhawk .44 Mag won't take care of it I have long guns that will - most notably my Marlin .45-70 if its dangerous game.

Coyote_Hunter_ wrote:

If my Ruger Super Redhawk .44 Mag won't take care of it I have long guns that will - most notably my Marlin .45-70 if its dangerous game.

I think you nailed it with that Coyote. And with those bonded North Fork bullets you shoot you should never feel undergunned.

Handloader,

I did figure that the 454 would be good at about 100 to 150 yards which where i sometimes hunt is perfect.

I do however own a FA 83 PG in 44Mag and yes, they are very durable (although the cylinder is cut short for my taste and cant take 330gr Hammerhead rounds ). I bought it used in need of repair for $800 and spent only a few bucks to fix it. But if i were to buy another SA, i'd more than likely get a Reeder in a 475 Linebaugh or one of his wildcat's.

I do get a lot of people come to me and talk about "the abuse" and "440gr cor-bon" ammo is soo punishing in their 500...... Well, i don't shoot cor-bon at all because i have never liked that brand of ammo. But i do shoot (without the crack that the one and ONLY one 440gr cra-bon i've shot out of my 500) what a good friend of mine loads up, which is 640, 650, 700, and 725 grain WFNGC rounds, and i have never had a problem. Although, i don't recommend this to an average shooter, because it will hurt you if you limp wrist or don't have a firm hold!!!!!!!! And i'm not saying i shoot these all day either (atleast an hour or more though), but what i do shoot mostly is 350gr XTP, 385gr CLHP (for the 200+ yard shots), 440gr cast (Ultramax), and 500gr XTP, controlled and one handed at times.

And just so you know, i like my grass and twigs seared. But as far as legal counsel, who needs it..................................... i'll just plead insanity.

Take care

I did in fact just talk to a gentelman from S&W, and indeed the barrel life is 1000 to 1500 rounds! And with no 'real' explination why!

I'm getting rid of it and will get a Reeder for sure now.

Wow that is surprising to say the least!


-DallanC

It is very suprising because i have received great service up until i was getting a slew of problems with the Sigma and Enhanced Sigma pistols a few years back. And while the problems were taken care of, service calls (except talking to the girl in customer service, which her name escapes me, but she was great to deal with) have gotten worse.

I just got home from deer hunting with my new 460 mag, feeling good about his new gun. Then I read this post and was like about my new gun. So I have been checking on reloading and powders they have out so fare for it. Thinking about trying too load it with LiL'Gun. The cup PSI is a lot less and it's not giving up much on FPS.(On some it's better) Do you all think this will take care of the problem with barrel life in the 460 Mag?
I dont need the full power loads at 2300 fps anyway.But I do want this gun to last more than 1000 rounds ! Thanks

NEVER Exceed the Loads Listed Here



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BULLET POWDER GR VEL CUP

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

460 S & W MAGNUM
CASE: STARLINE

BBL: 10.743"
PR: WINCHESTER LRM

TWIST: 1:20"
TRIM: 1.790"



225 GR. BAR X (Starting Loads)
DIA. .451
COL: 2.110"

H4227 37.0 2007 42,100 PSI

H110 39.0 2045 39,400 PSI

225 GR. BAR X (Maximum Loads)
DIA. .451
COL: 2.110"

H4227 41.0C 2191 54,400 PSI

H110 42.0 2243 51,800 PSI



240 GR. HDY XTP MAG (Starting Loads)
DIA. .452
COL: 2.160"

H4227 40.0 2018 43,200 PSI

H110 45.0 2084 43,600 PSI

240 GR. HDY XTP MAG (Maximum Loads)
DIA. .452
COL: 2.160"

H4227 45.0C 2198 51,800 PSI

H110 48.5 2254 52,100 PSI



250 GR. BAR X (Starting Loads)
DIA. .451
COL: 2.200"

H4227 36.0 1938 45,700 PSI

H110 39.0 1985 43,500 PSI

LIL'GUN 39.0 1945 41,400 PSI

250 GR. BAR X (Maximum Loads)
DIA. .451
COL: 2.200"

H4227 40.0C 2074 57,200 PSI

H110 41.5 2133 56,800 PSI

LIL'GUN 42.0 2044 43,600 PSI



260 GR. NOS PART (Starting Loads)
DIA. .451
COL: 2.175"

H4227 38.0 1939 45,000 PSI

H110 41.0 1959 41,600 PSI

LIL'GUN 43.0 1971 39,200 PSI

260 GR. NOS PART (Maximum Loads)
DIA. .451
COL: 2.175"

H4227 43.0C 2098 51,300 PSI

H110 46.0 2178 54,000 PSI

LIL'GUN 46.0 2080 43,400 PSI



265 GR. SFT HP (Starting Loads)
DIA. .451
COL: 2.180"

H4227 38.0 1940 44,800 PSI

H110 41.0 1932 43,300 PSI

LIL'GUN 43.0 1988 40,800 PSI

265 GR. SFT HP (Maximum Loads)
DIA. .451
COL: 2.180"

H4227 43.5C 2109 53,100 PSI

H110 46.5 2183 56,400 PSI

LIL'GUN 46.5 2118 45,900 PSI



300 GR. HDY XTP MAG (Starting Loads)
DIA. .452
COL: 2.160"

H4227 36.0 1852 49,000 PSI

H110 38.0 1825 43,200 PSI

LIL'GUN 40.0 1970 46,300 PSI

300 GR. HDY XTP MAG (Maximum Loads)
DIA. .452
COL: 2.160"

H4227 40.0C 1988 57,000 PSI

H110 42.5 2034 56,100 PSI

LIL'GUN 44.0 2067 53,600 PSI



325 GR. CPB LFN PB (Starting Loads)
DIA. .452
COL: 2.200"

H4227 34.0 1790 51,100 PSI

H110 38.0 1810 45,300 PSI

LIL'GUN 39.0 1843 43,700 PSI

Titegroup 15.0 1353 48,200 PSI

325 GR. CPB LFN PB (Maximum Loads)
DIA. .452
COL: 2.200"

H4227 38.0 1897 56,400 PSI

H110 42.0 1953 54,900 PSI

LIL'GUN 42.0 1925 46,400 PSI

Titegroup 17.6 1470 55,100 PSI

for my handgun i carry a 45 long colt astra and at close range {50 yards} i wouldnt be afraid to shoot anything with it and feel confident it would die pretty fast {before it could get to me}

more people need less "new guns" and much more practice with what they have.

my 45 is a bit much on overkill on anything except large mean bears at realistic hunting ranges and why would i be brave {insert own word here} enough to WANT to shoot big mean bears with a pistol anyway?

many years ago my friend bought one of the "NEW" 7mm magnums and i shot it a total of 2 shots. the first shot i hit a bullseye at 100 yards and the second shot i missed the entire 4x8 board the target was on ducking from the recoil 3 seconds before i pulled the trigger. im 6'1 200 lbs and have shot a jungle carbine since i was 8 years old.

the new pistols are huge but very expensive to shoot even if you reload and if your not attacking armor i personally dont see the desire.

Well this was bugging me to no end after spending $1600 for the gun ,mounts, and Leupold 2.5X8 scope.So I called Smith & Weson and see what they had to say first hand. I talked to a tec. rep. and he said he has never herd anything of the barrel wearing out after 1000--1500 rounds.
He also told me a new barrel would cost $250.00 to replace. Not $100.00
So who is pulling who's leg. I am not here to point fingers . I just want information on whats best. As in my last post I was thinking about down loading for Cup PSI to give longer life to this gun. Thanks , Charlie

i believe the quote was 100 for the barrel i dont think installing it was mentioned.

most new guns has a much shorter shooting life than older obsolete guns are.

just look at a old gun next to a new gun and you can see the quality is not as good.