Result of Experiments and Calculations
This cartridge is very accurate despite its size. Weatherby guarantees a 1.5 MOA (44mm/100m) accuracy for this cartridge in a Weatherby rifle. Typically a full metal jacketed or monolithic solid type bullet will penetrate more than 40 in (1.0 m) when impacting a dangerous game animal such as the Cape Buffalo or African Elephant. The .460 Weatherby Magnum has few peers for stopping dangerous African game.
Compared to its contemporaries, the 460 Weatherby Magnum has more energy at 150 yards than the .458 Winchester Magnum does at the muzzle and at a 100 yards more energy than the .458 Lott with factory ammunition. The .460 Weatherby Magnum provides a significant step up in performance over other production .458 caliber (11.6 mm) cartridges. The increased performance is realized in terms of both remaining energy and extended range.
| Cartridge | Criteria | Muzzle | 50-yard (46 m) | 100-yard (91 m) | 150-yard (140 m) | 200-yard (180 m) | 250-yard (230 m) | 300-yard (270 m) |
| .458 Winchester Magnum Hornady 500 grains (32 g) DGS | Velocity | 2,140 ft/s (650 m/s) | 2,007 ft/s (612 m/s) | 1,879 ft/s (573 m/s) | 1,757 ft/s (536 m/s) | 1,641 ft/s (500 m/s) | 1,531 ft/s (467 m/s) | 1,429 ft/s (436 m/s) |
| Energy | 5,084 ft·lbf (6,893 J) | 4,472 ft·lbf (6,063 J) | 3,921 ft·lbf (5,316 J) | 3,428 ft·lbf (4,648 J) | 2,990 ft·lbf (4,050 J) | 2,603 ft·lbf (3,529 J) | 2,267 ft·lbf (3,074 J) | |
| .458 Lott Hornady 500 grains (32 g) DGS | Velocity | 2,300 ft/s (700 m/s) | 2,162 ft/s (659 m/s) | 2,029 ft/s (618 m/s) | 1,900 ft/s (580 m/s) | 1,777 ft/s (542 m/s) | 1,660 ft/s (510 m/s) | 1,549 ft/s (472 m/s) |
| Energy | 5,873 ft·lbf (7,963 J) | 5,190 ft·lbf (7,040 J) | 4,568 ft·lbf (6,193 J) | 4,007 ft·lbf (5,433 J) | 3,505 ft·lbf (4,752 J) | 3,058 ft·lbf (4,146 J) | 2,663 ft·lbf (3,611 J) | |
| .460 Weatherby Magnum Hornady 500 grains (32 g) DGS | Velocity | 2,600 ft/s (790 m/s) | 2,452 ft/s (747 m/s) | 2,309 ft/s (704 m/s) | 2,171 ft/s (662 m/s) | 2,037 ft/s (621 m/s) | 1,908 ft/s (582 m/s) | 1,784 ft/s (544 m/s) |
| Energy | 7,505 ft·lbf (10,175 J) | 6,673 ft·lbf (9,047 J) | 5,917 ft·lbf (8,022 J) | 5,230 ft·lbf (7,090 J) | 4,605 ft·lbf (6,244 J) | 4,040 ft·lbf (5,480 J) | 3,535 ft·lbf (4,793 J) | |
The .460 Weatherby Magnum like the .375 H&H Magnum is a relatively flat shooting cartridge. The maximum point blank range (MPBR) for the 450-grain (29 g) Weatherby load is 258-yard (236 m). The 500-grain (32 g) Weatherby factory ammunition has a maximum point blank range of 245-yard (224 m). These trajectories compare well with those of the .375 H&H Magnum. At 200 yd (180 m) Hornady's Interlock .375 H&H Magnum's 270 gr (17 g) bullet drops 11.3 in (29 cm) while Hornady's DGX 300 gr (19 g) bullet drops 13.8 in (35 cm). In contrast the .460 Weatherby Magnum's 450 gr (29 g) (B460450TSX) drops 12.3 in (31 cm) and the 500 gr (32 g) (H460500FJ) drops 12.7 in (32 cm). The .460 Weatherby Magnum, however, averages over 75% greater energy than the .375 H7H Magnum.
Compared to the more popular .458 Winchester Magnum and the .458 Lott, the .460 Weatherby Magnum provides a flatter trajectory, dropping less than 10-inch (25 cm) at 300-yard (270 m) when sighted in at 200-yard (180 m) with the 450 gr. Barnes TSX Weatherby ammunition. With the 500 gr (32 g) FMJ or RN Weatherby ammunition bullet drop is 11-inch (28 cm) at the same range. The .458 Winchester Magnum and the .458 Lott have a 206-yard (188 m) and 220-yard (200 m) MPBR respectively in comparison. The 500 gr (32 g) FMJ or RN Weatherby ammunition shoot to the same point of impact, which is necessary in a dangerous game cartridge as hunters may need to switch from solids to soft round nose rounds depending on the circumstances and game being hunted. This is due to Weatherby's (Norma) factory loaded ammunition using Hornady's DGS and DGX bullets which have identical G1 ballistic coefficients of .295.
The ability of the .460 Weatherby to carry the energy and velocity required to take heavy, tough skinned dangerous game combined with the flatter trajectories it provides, gives the shooter the ability to take game species at longer ranges than its competition. The stand-off ability assures a greater margin of safety when hunting dangerous game species as the hunter need not get as close to the game as with other cartridges. Furthermore, this lessens the need to compensate for bullet drop and target size. However, for practical reasons, most dangerous game are shot at close ranges of less than 60 yd (55 m).
Bullets available for the .460 Weatherby Magnum range from 300–600-grain (19–39 g). Velocities with these bullets vary from 2,500-foot-per-second (760 m/s) with the 600-grain (39 g) bullet to 3,100-foot-per-second (940 m/s) with the 300-grain (19 g) bullet. The good sectional density and ballistic coefficients of these bullets, particularly spitzer bullets available, give the cartridge the ability to conserve velocity in flight and provide deep penetration on game. The wide range of bullet weights available and the ability tailor the performance the .460 Weatherby Magnum gives the cartridge a performance envelope unmatched by most cartridges. The combination of velocity and bullets of very good sectional density contributes to the .460 Weatherby Magnum's excellent penetration on game provided the toughest bullets are employed for the task.
As with other most other cartridges, the Weatherby’s performance with mono-metal bullets is slightly poorer than with conventional bullets. Mono-metal bullets tend to be longer for a given bullet weight than conventional lead core bullets. For this reason, the mono-metal bullets similar to the Barnes TSX may have to be seated more deeply into the case displacing volume which could be filled with the propellant. A loss of velocity of 50–100-foot-per-second (15–30 m/s) can be expected with these mono-metal bullets. Likewise bullets which have a higher specific gravity than lead, such as the tungsten core Speer African Grand Slam solids being shorter than conventional FMJ bullets will allow for more powder capacity and therefore a higher velocity.
The performance level of the Weatherby cartridge comes at a cost: recoil. The recoil of the .460 Weatherby Magnum is severe. The cartridge generates close to 100 ft·lbf (140 J) of energy. This is in keeping with Newton's inescapable Third Law of Motion: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. As performance levels rise, so does the recoil. Put into perspective the recoil of the .460 Weatherby is 120% greater than the .375 H&H Magnum, 50% greater than the .458 Winchester Magnum and 20% greater than the .458 Lott.
The .460 Weatherby Magnum compares well with the classic English big bore cartridges; it exceeds all these cartridges in velocity, energy, trajectory and penetration. Cartridges such as the .500 Jeffery, .500 Nitro Express, .505 Gibbs, .577 Nitro Express, .600 Nitro Express do however provide a larger diameter bullet while the latter two cartridges are also capable of launching heavier bullets than the .460 Weatherby Magnum. At present only the modern classic .700 Nitro Express, which is barely a production cartridge, exceeds the performance of the .460 Weatherby and then in only a single category: energy. Cartridges such as the .475 A&M Magnum, .500 A-Square, and the .550 Magnum which are based on the .460 Weatherby Magnum can exceed the performance of the parent cartridge, however, these are considered wildcat and proprietary cartridges.
Read more about this topic: .460 Weatherby Magnum, Performance
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