A couple of people have asked me about my loads for the .500 and .460, so I figure I’ll post some data. This is a wicked long post. First, a couple of disclaimers:
CAUTION: This post includes loading data. USE THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. While the loads here have proven to be safe in my revolvers, your results may vary. Neither the writer, NortheastShooters.com, nor the staff assumes any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information. As always, start low, work up slowly, and watch for pressure signs.
Also, the sources listed in this post WILL NOT SHIP TO MASS. I’ve included them to give you all an idea of the prices for the components, and for free-state members.
For the cost break downs, I won’t include the cost for brass (unless otherwise noted); I’ll use current prices for the bullets (from MidwayUSA.com), and price the powder and primers at $25/pound and $30/1000.
Loading the .500 S&W Magnum
Components for this big boy are actually easier to find than those for the .460. If you want to buy new brass, Starline has it for $221.30 per 500 ($0.44/round). I got most of my .500 brass from an eBay seller that sold once-fired cases for $25/100. Here are my five favorite loads:
Plinking Load (1150 - 1200fps):
335 grain Rainer Plated Round nose Flat Point ($76/500)
13 grains of Hodgdon Titegroup
Brass: Previously fired (mulitple times) mixed Hornady, CBC, & Starline
CCI Large Rifle Primer
Light taper crimp
Cost: About $0.20 per round
This load is light enough to shoot all day, and is very accurate (ask MassMark). When my son was 11 years old, this was his favorite round to shoot. Keep in mind that “light” is relative – even though it’s the easiest shooting load here, it is still roughly as powerful as a .44 Magnum load. Titegroup is a good powder for this application because it is not position sensitive. It burns at close to the same rate no matter where it is in the case; making it ideal for small charges in big cases. Be careful though – there’s probably room for a triple charge in the case and that would be ugly.
Also, there are a couple of things to keep in mind when using plated bullets.
1. Don’t run them faster than 1200 fps.
2. Don’t use a roll crimp because the bullets have no cannelure, and a roll crimp can cut through the “jacket”.
Here’s a cautionary tale:
I recently loaded some of these hot (about 1500 fps) and forgot to reset my crimp die from the roll crimp I was using on some other bullets. I made ten rounds and took them to the range to try out. The last shot sounded a little “funny”. When I opened the cylinder, I found a ring of copper jacket stuck in the forcing cone. One more shot, and it would have been the end of that revolver. Go easy with plated bullets.
The “Nuclear” Load (1700-1750 fps from the 8-3/8” barrel)
385 grain Remington CoreLokt Hollowpoint ($202/500)
42.5 grains of Hodgdon H110
Brass: Once fired mixed Hornady, CBC, & Starline
CCI Large Rifle Primer
Strong roll crimp
Cost: About $0.58 per round
I brought these to the Spring Shoot and had some at the car shoot too. When fired from a 4” barrel, the concussion from this load is like getting punched in the face. Recoil is significant.
The Fast Load (2000-2050 fps from an 8-3/4” barrel)
325 grain Barnes XPB ($21 for a box of 20!)
46 grains of Hodgdon Lil’ Gun (ABOVE MAX of 44.5)
CCI Large Rifle Magnum Primer
Brass: New Hornady
Strong roll crimp
Cost: About $2.16 per round including brass
Don’t try this at home unless you’re going to use a vise and 300’ of twine. These rounds were expensive, but I wanted to crack the 2000 fps mark. I used new Hornady brass and CCI magnum primers (because they’re thicker even than the CCI large rifle primers) and worked up to this very slowly. Seriously, don’t even think about trying this unless you know how to look for (and measure) pressure signs. Don’t bother to look for flattened primers either, because these CCI magnum primers don’t flatten. I mic’ed the wall thickness of the case (before and after) to minimize the chances of blowing myself up as I worked up the load.
This load chrono’ed at 2300 FPS out of my H&R HandiRifle. I got frequent failures-to-fire (light strikes) in the HandiRifle, but not in the S&W revolver.
12 Gauge Slug Duplication Load (about 1300 fps out of a 4” barrel)
440 grain Lead Flat Point w/Gas check ($41/100)
17 grains of Hodgdon Titegroup
Brass: Once fired mixed Hornady, CBC, & Starline
CCI Large Rifle Primers
Strong roll crimp
Cost: About $0.50 per round
I wanted to duplicate a 12 gauge slug (1 oz at 1300fps) and this is what I came up with. This is a max load, so work up to it slowly. The recoil is deceptive; at first it’s not bad, but after a few rounds, the snappiness of the fast powder gets to you - and when I say “gets to you”, I mean “splits your hand open and makes you bleed enough to make the grips slippery”. This load caused me to buy a shooting glove. If I had it to do over again, I’d load these with H110, W296, or Lil’ Gun.
The Dwarf’s Hammer Load (1450 fps out of an 8-3/8” barrel)
500 grain Hornady JSP
30.0 grains of Lil’ Gun
Brass: Once or twice fired mixed Hornady, CBC, & Starline
CCI Large Rifle Primers
Strong roll crimp
Cost: About $1.14 per round
I just now christened this “The Dwarf’s Hammer” because I thought Ross would get a kick out of it (pun semi-intended). This is not a compressed load, but it is damn near compressed. These bullets are huge, and the recoil is humbling. When you shoot these one-handed out of an 8-3/8” barrel, the gun almost twists out of your hand. The torque is amazing.
Loading the .460 S&W Magnum
Possibly because it is newer, I’ve found components and data hard to come by. You’ll notice that for both this and the .500, I use only Hodgdon powder. This is because they have a great set of load data available for free on their website. They did the work, and I’m going to reward them with my business.
Because of the extreme velocity of this round, there are only two bullet types that I’d trust for full power loads - these are the Barnes solids and the Hornady XTP Mags. According to the manufacturers, regular jacketed pistol bullets shouldn’t be loaded to run much faster than 1700 fps (1500 fps for gas checked lead). Even the starting loads for H110, W296, and Lil’ Gun are above that velocity! Here’s two loads that are about the same in terms of performance:
240 grain Hornady XTP Mag
48.5 grains of H110
Brass: Once fired mixed Hornady & Starline
CCI Large Rifle Magnum Primers
Strong roll crimp
Costs: About $0.32 per round
-and-
240 grain Hornady XTP Mag
50.0 grains of Lil’ Gun
Brass: Once fired mixed Hornady & Starline
CCI Large Rifle Magnum Primers
Strong roll crimp
Costs: About $0.32 per round
Both of these run faster than 2000 fps, and are both very accurate and flat-shooting. My best group was with the first (H110) load. Shooting with a 4X scope, from a Caldwell rest, I was able to make a group that looked like a 1.5” Chrysler logo on the bullseye at 100 yards.
Because the .460 can fire .45 Schofield, .45 Colt and .454 Casull, I don’t bother trying to download the .460 cartridge. It’s cheaper just to buy .45 Colt. Also, you should NEVER download H110, W296, or Lil’ Gun. These powders are hard to light (especially with small charges) and can cause squibs (or detonations) if loaded below the minimum values shown in the manual. These powders also require a strong roll crimp, so they should only be used on bullets with a cannelure. Stay away from plated bullets, or bullets designed for the .45 ACP (in the .460) or 50AE (in the .500) when using these powders.
If you do want to download the .460 using a .460 case, stick with Titegroup and use the bullets/data for the 45 Colt.
Here’s something to think about when firing the shorter cases out of the .460:
Most everybody knows that you can get sticky extraction if you fire .357 Mag rounds after firing a bunch of .38s. This is because the .38 case is shorter than the .357 Magnum by about .140", and you get a ring of crud built up in the last .140” of freebore within the chamber. When the .357 cases expand into the crud, they get hard to extract.
The .460 case is 1.79” long. The amount of freebore for the lesser calibers is .410” with the .454 Casull, .510” with the .45 Colt, and .695" with the .45 Schofield! That’s three to five times more freebore difference when compared to the .38/.357 - with a larger diameter case (therefore more surface area). If you fire .45 Schofields, then .460 Magnums without cleaning in between, you’ll need to remove the cylinder and drive the cases out with a dowel. Ask me how I know.
CAUTION: This post includes loading data. USE THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. While the loads here have proven to be safe in my revolvers, your results may vary. Neither the writer, NortheastShooters.com, nor the staff assumes any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information. As always, start low, work up slowly, and watch for pressure signs.
Also, the sources listed in this post WILL NOT SHIP TO MASS. I’ve included them to give you all an idea of the prices for the components, and for free-state members.
For the cost break downs, I won’t include the cost for brass (unless otherwise noted); I’ll use current prices for the bullets (from MidwayUSA.com), and price the powder and primers at $25/pound and $30/1000.
Loading the .500 S&W Magnum
Components for this big boy are actually easier to find than those for the .460. If you want to buy new brass, Starline has it for $221.30 per 500 ($0.44/round). I got most of my .500 brass from an eBay seller that sold once-fired cases for $25/100. Here are my five favorite loads:
Plinking Load (1150 - 1200fps):
335 grain Rainer Plated Round nose Flat Point ($76/500)
13 grains of Hodgdon Titegroup
Brass: Previously fired (mulitple times) mixed Hornady, CBC, & Starline
CCI Large Rifle Primer
Light taper crimp
Cost: About $0.20 per round
This load is light enough to shoot all day, and is very accurate (ask MassMark). When my son was 11 years old, this was his favorite round to shoot. Keep in mind that “light” is relative – even though it’s the easiest shooting load here, it is still roughly as powerful as a .44 Magnum load. Titegroup is a good powder for this application because it is not position sensitive. It burns at close to the same rate no matter where it is in the case; making it ideal for small charges in big cases. Be careful though – there’s probably room for a triple charge in the case and that would be ugly.
Also, there are a couple of things to keep in mind when using plated bullets.
1. Don’t run them faster than 1200 fps.
2. Don’t use a roll crimp because the bullets have no cannelure, and a roll crimp can cut through the “jacket”.
Here’s a cautionary tale:
I recently loaded some of these hot (about 1500 fps) and forgot to reset my crimp die from the roll crimp I was using on some other bullets. I made ten rounds and took them to the range to try out. The last shot sounded a little “funny”. When I opened the cylinder, I found a ring of copper jacket stuck in the forcing cone. One more shot, and it would have been the end of that revolver. Go easy with plated bullets.
The “Nuclear” Load (1700-1750 fps from the 8-3/8” barrel)
385 grain Remington CoreLokt Hollowpoint ($202/500)
42.5 grains of Hodgdon H110
Brass: Once fired mixed Hornady, CBC, & Starline
CCI Large Rifle Primer
Strong roll crimp
Cost: About $0.58 per round
I brought these to the Spring Shoot and had some at the car shoot too. When fired from a 4” barrel, the concussion from this load is like getting punched in the face. Recoil is significant.
The Fast Load (2000-2050 fps from an 8-3/4” barrel)
325 grain Barnes XPB ($21 for a box of 20!)
46 grains of Hodgdon Lil’ Gun (ABOVE MAX of 44.5)
CCI Large Rifle Magnum Primer
Brass: New Hornady
Strong roll crimp
Cost: About $2.16 per round including brass
Don’t try this at home unless you’re going to use a vise and 300’ of twine. These rounds were expensive, but I wanted to crack the 2000 fps mark. I used new Hornady brass and CCI magnum primers (because they’re thicker even than the CCI large rifle primers) and worked up to this very slowly. Seriously, don’t even think about trying this unless you know how to look for (and measure) pressure signs. Don’t bother to look for flattened primers either, because these CCI magnum primers don’t flatten. I mic’ed the wall thickness of the case (before and after) to minimize the chances of blowing myself up as I worked up the load.
This load chrono’ed at 2300 FPS out of my H&R HandiRifle. I got frequent failures-to-fire (light strikes) in the HandiRifle, but not in the S&W revolver.
12 Gauge Slug Duplication Load (about 1300 fps out of a 4” barrel)
440 grain Lead Flat Point w/Gas check ($41/100)
17 grains of Hodgdon Titegroup
Brass: Once fired mixed Hornady, CBC, & Starline
CCI Large Rifle Primers
Strong roll crimp
Cost: About $0.50 per round
I wanted to duplicate a 12 gauge slug (1 oz at 1300fps) and this is what I came up with. This is a max load, so work up to it slowly. The recoil is deceptive; at first it’s not bad, but after a few rounds, the snappiness of the fast powder gets to you - and when I say “gets to you”, I mean “splits your hand open and makes you bleed enough to make the grips slippery”. This load caused me to buy a shooting glove. If I had it to do over again, I’d load these with H110, W296, or Lil’ Gun.
The Dwarf’s Hammer Load (1450 fps out of an 8-3/8” barrel)
500 grain Hornady JSP
30.0 grains of Lil’ Gun
Brass: Once or twice fired mixed Hornady, CBC, & Starline
CCI Large Rifle Primers
Strong roll crimp
Cost: About $1.14 per round
I just now christened this “The Dwarf’s Hammer” because I thought Ross would get a kick out of it (pun semi-intended). This is not a compressed load, but it is damn near compressed. These bullets are huge, and the recoil is humbling. When you shoot these one-handed out of an 8-3/8” barrel, the gun almost twists out of your hand. The torque is amazing.
Loading the .460 S&W Magnum
Possibly because it is newer, I’ve found components and data hard to come by. You’ll notice that for both this and the .500, I use only Hodgdon powder. This is because they have a great set of load data available for free on their website. They did the work, and I’m going to reward them with my business.
Because of the extreme velocity of this round, there are only two bullet types that I’d trust for full power loads - these are the Barnes solids and the Hornady XTP Mags. According to the manufacturers, regular jacketed pistol bullets shouldn’t be loaded to run much faster than 1700 fps (1500 fps for gas checked lead). Even the starting loads for H110, W296, and Lil’ Gun are above that velocity! Here’s two loads that are about the same in terms of performance:
240 grain Hornady XTP Mag
48.5 grains of H110
Brass: Once fired mixed Hornady & Starline
CCI Large Rifle Magnum Primers
Strong roll crimp
Costs: About $0.32 per round
-and-
240 grain Hornady XTP Mag
50.0 grains of Lil’ Gun
Brass: Once fired mixed Hornady & Starline
CCI Large Rifle Magnum Primers
Strong roll crimp
Costs: About $0.32 per round
Both of these run faster than 2000 fps, and are both very accurate and flat-shooting. My best group was with the first (H110) load. Shooting with a 4X scope, from a Caldwell rest, I was able to make a group that looked like a 1.5” Chrysler logo on the bullseye at 100 yards.
Because the .460 can fire .45 Schofield, .45 Colt and .454 Casull, I don’t bother trying to download the .460 cartridge. It’s cheaper just to buy .45 Colt. Also, you should NEVER download H110, W296, or Lil’ Gun. These powders are hard to light (especially with small charges) and can cause squibs (or detonations) if loaded below the minimum values shown in the manual. These powders also require a strong roll crimp, so they should only be used on bullets with a cannelure. Stay away from plated bullets, or bullets designed for the .45 ACP (in the .460) or 50AE (in the .500) when using these powders.
If you do want to download the .460 using a .460 case, stick with Titegroup and use the bullets/data for the 45 Colt.
Here’s something to think about when firing the shorter cases out of the .460:
Most everybody knows that you can get sticky extraction if you fire .357 Mag rounds after firing a bunch of .38s. This is because the .38 case is shorter than the .357 Magnum by about .140", and you get a ring of crud built up in the last .140” of freebore within the chamber. When the .357 cases expand into the crud, they get hard to extract.
The .460 case is 1.79” long. The amount of freebore for the lesser calibers is .410” with the .454 Casull, .510” with the .45 Colt, and .695" with the .45 Schofield! That’s three to five times more freebore difference when compared to the .38/.357 - with a larger diameter case (therefore more surface area). If you fire .45 Schofields, then .460 Magnums without cleaning in between, you’ll need to remove the cylinder and drive the cases out with a dowel. Ask me how I know.
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