.460 S&W Magnum

The .460 S&W Magnum is a lengthened .454 Casull that Hornady and Smith & Wesson introduced in 2005 for the Smith & Wesson Model 460, a revolver built for handgun hunting at longer range than earlier big-bore revolver rounds allowed. Because the .454 Casull is itself a lengthened .45 Colt, all four cartridges of the line share one bullet diameter.

That shared diameter runs in one direction only. A revolver chambered for the .460 will usually accept the shorter .454 Casull, .45 Colt and .45 Schofield as well, though the maker of each firearm has to confirm it, and lever-action rifles in particular feed only a limited range of lengths; the longer .460 case will not enter a chamber cut for any of the three. Smith & Wesson describes the .460 as the highest-velocity revolver cartridge in the world, a figure it reaches by pairing light-for-calibre bullets with a large case and rifle-level pressure. Beyond revolvers, Big Horn Armory’s Model 90 lever action has been chambered for it, and the Ruger No. 1 and Thompson/Center Encore single-shot rifles were once offered in it.

The dimensions and pressure ceiling on this page come from the C.I.P. datasheet for “460 S&W Mag.”. The one load recorded is Hornady factory ammunition with a velocity the maker states for an 8.375-inch test barrel. No ballistic coefficient is recorded, and the encyclopedia’s other listed loads come from ammunition makers whose pages state no test barrel, so they are not recorded.