.460 Weatherby Magnum - Rifles & Ammunition

Rifles & Ammunition

Due to the recoil energy and recoil velocity of the cartridge rifles designed for the .460 Weatherby Magnum and other cartridges in its class demand particular attention with regard to their design. Most modern rifles designed for cartridges of this class incorporate design features that reduce the felt recoil to the shooter and provide a durable shooting platform. Rifles chambered for the .460 Weatherby Magnum require close mating of metal to stock. This can be accomplished by properly bedding the action to the stock. Recoil lugs and crossbolts serve the purpose of preventing a movement differential between the action and the stock which could lead to further loosening between the action and the stock or splitting the stock. Proper bedding and properly installed recoil lugs and crossbolts can go a long way in preserving the integrity of the firearm chambered in cartridges such as the .460 Weatherby Magnum as functional implements.

The Weatherby Mark V is the most popular rifle chambered for the .460 Weatherby Magnum cartridge. The rifle stock is engineered to minimize the felt recoil of heavy recoiling cartridges. The California Style Monte Carlo stock’s slanting comb will under recoil push away from the shooter’s face. The rifle stock is also designed with a generous cast off to help tame the heavy recoil of the .460 Weatherby Magnum. The rifle uses an aluminum bedding block and recoil lugs to prevent any movement between the stock and the action. At a point of time the .460 Weatherby Magnum was offered for sale as an over the counter item in a few Mark V rifle lines, however, at present it is only available in the Mark V Deluxe. The Weatherby Custom Shop does offer the rifle in a few lines such as the Crown Custom, Dangerous Game Rifle (DGR) and the Safari Custom. All the over the counter and custom shop rifles are built on the Mark V action which is regarded by many as one of the strongest rifle actions available. The first .460 Weatherby’s were built on Magnum Mauser actions but these were found wanting due to the higher pressures generated by Weatherby cartridges. The Mark V action is able to contain 200,000 psi (14,000 bar) pressure.

A-Square currently offers rifles chambered .460 Weatherby Magnum in the Hannibal (right handed) and Caesar (left handed) lines. The rifles are based on the Enfield P14 design and like the Weatherby’s are designed to minimize felt recoil. The rifles are ruggedly build to perform well with hard recoiling cartridges such as the .460 Weatherby Magnum, .500 A-Square, .577 Tyrannosaur. Dumoulin Herstal of Belgium manufactures rifles for the cartridge in their proprietary A2000/LM Long Magnum Mauser action White Hunter rifle line. The Dumoulin White Hunter is also available in .416 Rigby, .500 Jeffery and 505 Gibbs. Apart from these companies, several custom rifle maker such as Ballard Arms and Empire Rifles provide custom rifles in this chambering.

Weatherby ammunition is billed as Ultra Velocity Ammunition by Weatherby. Typically, Weatherby cartridges exhibit velocities greater than 200–300 ft/s (61–91 m/s) over the more popular similar caliber cartridges. Early Weatherby ammunition was loaded to near maximum pressures. Since then, however, Weatherby has backed off from these pressures. The resulting factory ammunition is about 100 ft/s (30 m/s) slower than early Weatherby Ammunition.

.460 Weatherby Magnum Ammunition

Ammunition	Bullet	Muzzle Velocity	Muzzle Energy	MPBR/Zero	Notes
Weatherby H460500FJ	Hornady 500 gr (32 g) DGS	2,600 ft/s (790 m/s)	7,505 ft·lbf (10,175 J)	245 yd (224 m)/209 yd (191 m)	Load used Hornady FMJ†, FMJ-IB† now DGS
Weatherby H460500RN	Hornady 500 gr (32 g) DGX	2,600 ft/s (790 m/s)	7,505 ft·lbf (10,175 J)	245 yd (224 m)/209 yd (191 m)	Load used Hornady RN†, RN-IB† now DGX
Weatherby B460450TSX	Barnes 450 gr (29 g) TSX	2,660 ft/s (810 m/s)	7,072 ft·lbf (9,588 J)	258 yd (236 m)/219 yd (200 m)	Currently in production
A-Square Triad	A-Square 500 gr (32 g) MS, DT, LL	2,580 ft/s (790 m/s)	7,390 ft·lbf (10,020 J)	251 yd (230 m)/213 yd (195 m)	Currently in production
Conley Precision	Barnes 350 gr (23 g) TSX	2,950 ft/s (900 m/s)	6,762 ft·lbf (9,168 J)	273 yd (250 m)/233 yd (213 m)	Currently in production
Conley Precision	Swift 400 gr (26 g) A-Frame	2,780 ft/s (850 m/s)	6,863 ft·lbf (9,305 J)	256 yd (234 m)/218 yd (199 m)	Currently in production
Conley Precision	Barnes 450 gr (29 g) BS	2,700 ft/s (820 m/s)	7,283 ft·lbf (9,874 J)	261 yd (239 m)/222 yd (203 m)	Currently in production
Conley Precision	Barnes 450 gr (29 g) TSX	2,700 ft/s (820 m/s)	7,283 ft·lbf (9,874 J)	262 yd (240 m)/222 yd (203 m)	Currently in production
Conley Precision	Swift 450 gr (29 g) A-Frame	2,700 ft/s (820 m/s)	7,283 ft·lbf (9,874 J)	257 yd (235 m)/219 yd (200 m)	Currently in production
Conley Precision	Barnes 500 gr (32 g) BS	2,660 ft/s (810 m/s)	7,854 ft·lbf (10,649 J)	260 yd (240 m)/221 yd (202 m)	Currently in production
Conley Precision	Barnes 500 gr (32 g) TSX	2,660 ft/s (810 m/s)	7,854 ft·lbf (10,649 J)	261 yd (239 m)/222 yd (203 m)	Currently in production
Conley Precision	Hornady 500 gr (32 g) FMJ-RN	2,650 ft/s (810 m/s)	7,795 ft·lbf (10,569 J)	250 yd (230 m)/213 yd (195 m)	Currently in production
Conley Precision	Hornady 500 gr (32 g) IL-RN	2,650 ft/s (810 m/s)	7,795 ft·lbf (10,569 J)	249 yd (228 m)/212 yd (194 m)	Currently in production
Conley Precision	Swift 500 gr (32 g) A-Frame	2,650 ft/s (810 m/s)	7,795 ft·lbf (10,569 J)	256 yd (234 m)/218 yd (199 m)	Currently in production

Currently ammunition is available from A-Square, Conley Precision Cartridge and Weatherby (Norma) among others. Factory ammunition is loaded with 350 grains (23 g) to 600 grains (39 g) bullets. Factory ammunition are relatively expensive costing between $6.00 and $8.50 per cartridge.