Criticism
On paper the .460 Weatherby Magnum has better penetration than most other rifle cartridges including the .577 Tyrannosaur, .585 Nyati, .600 Overkill and the Nitro Express line of cartridges. However, the .460 Weatherby Magnum was beset by penetration issues from the beginning. Safari hunters had variously reported the 500-grain (32 g) round nose bullets' fragmenting and the solids' deforming and core separation which lead to poor terminal performance on heavily boned animals. In such cases, the energy of the bullet is expended through the work performed deforming or disintegrating the bullet rather than directed towards the more productive penetration which is the sole reason for the use of these solid bullets.
Early Norma factory ammunition loaded for Weatherby used Hornady 500-grain (32 g) RN and FMJ. Norma had been loading these bullets to a velocity of 2,700 ft/s (820 m/s). Norma dropped the velocity of the cartridge to 2,650 ft/s (810 m/s) while Hornady introduced the mechanically locked-in lead core InterLock bullets in 1980 to improve the terminal ballistics of their bullets. Subsequently, Hornady introduced the 500-grain (32 g) InterBond FMJ (IB-FMJ) and RN (IB-RN) bullets which featured a brass jacket with a welded lead core. The IB-FMJ and IB were loaded by Norma for the Weatherby cartridge. These Hornady .458 caliber round nose and solid bullets were later found to have a performance envelop of not exceeding 2,300 ft/s (700 m/s) in the .458 caliber.
Hornady has since developed the copper-clad steel-encased bonded core DGX and DGS bullets rated for a velocity of 2,600 ft/s (790 m/s). The new Hornady DGX and DGS bullets are now being loaded by Norma at the reduced velocity of 2,600 ft/s (790 m/s) to coincide with the velocity rating of the tougher DGS and DGS 500-grain (32 g) bullets. Hornday's performance envelop for the .458 caliber 500-grain (32 g) DGX and DGS bullets are between 2,600 ft/s (790 m/s) and 1,600 ft/s (490 m/s) the same rating they had assigned earlier to the more lightly constructed InterLock bullet.
While poor penetration due to bullet construction was not limited to the .460 Weatherby Magnum, the issue was more magnified in the this cartridge than others due to the additional stress imposed on the bullet by the higher velocity of the cartridge as is the case with the .375 H&H Magnum cartridge firing the 300 gr (19 g) solids at 2,530 ft/s (770 m/s). Using premium, stoutly constructed premium solid bullets similar to the Barnes Banded Solid, Hornady DGS, Nosler Solid, Speer African Grand Slam Solid and others have resolved this problem.
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