Author Topic: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!  (Read 6167 times)

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Offline craiginok

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You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« on: September 11, 2007, 12:05:38 PM »
I just bought this thing, 8 3/8 460 regular production model,have only fired 170 rounds total, which consisted of 200 grain with the red tip,300 grain jacketed,and 395 grain lead flat nose w/ gas check(bought these at Sportsmans Warehouse,all they had in stock)
After the last shooting session when cleaning the revolver i like to fell out of my chair when i saw this,plus the top strap is cut all to hell.
I called S&W and the lady was real nice,e- mailed me a pre-paid ups overnight, insured, pick-up label. They received the returned merchandise(that's what they called it) Thursday morning at 9:11 am,I called today(Tuesday) to see what they thought about it and a guy said hey haven't even opened the box yet.I guess they must be real busy.
Thanks for listening to all the whining,craiginok.

Offline Dusty Miller

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #1 on: September 11, 2007, 12:45:12 PM »
Hmmmm..............
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Offline Hammerdown

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #2 on: September 11, 2007, 03:30:50 PM »
Hello Craig
The .460 has had Barrel erosion issues since it hit the Market. I know now what not to buy. Let us know the final evaluation and just what S&W Plans to do on curing the Flame cutting and Barrel erosion Issues. Regards, Hammerdown
"yeah, Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death, I shall Fear no evil as I carry with me my Loaded S&W"

Offline Lloyd Smale

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #3 on: September 12, 2007, 12:37:28 AM »
Dont know how conserned id be about it. IVe had guns that had top strap cuts in them and after a while it just didnt get any worse. The ruger 357 maximums were notorious for it. theyd cut a bit and then it wouldnt get worse. Youve got to understand that a 460 pushes light bullets very fast and it does it with slow ball powders for the most part and thats the recipe for erosion and other then loading it lightly theres not much you can do about it. Shoot enough of those hot rounds and its going to shoot out your forcing cone eventually. Theres allways a price for performance whether it be a revolver or a bolt rifle.
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Offline Redhawk1

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #4 on: September 12, 2007, 01:32:49 AM »
Hello Craig
The .460 has had Barrel erosion issues since it hit the Market. I know now what not to buy. Let us know the final evaluation and just what S&W Plans to do on curing the Flame cutting and Barrel erosion Issues. Regards, Hammerdown

I have over 3000 rounds though mine and it still looks great, so don't just toss the 460 out the window.

Lloyd Smale, very good post.
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Offline Davemuzz

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #5 on: September 12, 2007, 01:33:59 AM »
First of all, don't get excited and jump out of the cellar window. Let the boys (and sometimes girls) at Smith take a look at the gun and do their thing. They probably haven't opened the box yet....you know how it is when you go to work. If you see the same thing day in and day out. To them, it's just another "widget" and they will look at it and make it right. Now, they are professional widget makers, so that doesn't mean they don't appreciate your paticular widget.....but they have thousand's of 'em to get to, and yours is in line.

MHO

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Offline Hammerdown

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #6 on: September 12, 2007, 02:36:47 AM »
Hello Craig
The .460 has had Barrel erosion issues since it hit the Market. I know now what not to buy. Let us know the final evaluation and just what S&W Plans to do on curing the Flame cutting and Barrel erosion Issues. Regards, Hammerdown

I have over 3000 rounds though mine and it still looks great, so don't just toss the 460 out the window.

Lloyd Smale, very good post.


Hello
With factory Loads or hand Loads ? Most I see that have seen with Issues like this are after factory Loads have been used. Not every one loads their own and it needs to be fixed. I would be very concerned with it as a click  on the Picture the Poster supplied shows many fractures on the forcing cone and that is a Recipe for disaster in the Long run..Did you Guys click on this Picture and see what happened in 170 rounds to this revolver ? No matter what you fire in it after this type of apparent damage, it is not going to get better with time. I think more time and research should have been done before releasing this model and round and I don't know anyone that would be pleased after spending a Grand on one with damage like this in such a short time frame of usage with Factory ammo. Hammerdown
"yeah, Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death, I shall Fear no evil as I carry with me my Loaded S&W"

Offline jro45

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #7 on: September 12, 2007, 02:44:18 AM »
I've put way over 200 threw my 500 and it is still in excellant shape. If I were you I'd write the factory and send pictures.

Offline Hammerdown

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #8 on: September 12, 2007, 02:56:30 AM »
Dont know how conserned id be about it. IVe had guns that had top strap cuts in them and after a while it just didnt get any worse. The ruger 357 maximums were notorious for it. theyd cut a bit and then it wouldnt get worse. Youve got to understand that a 460 pushes light bullets very fast and it does it with slow ball powders for the most part and thats the recipe for erosion and other then loading it lightly theres not much you can do about it. Shoot enough of those hot rounds and its going to shoot out your forcing cone eventually. Theres allways a price for performance whether it be a revolver or a bolt rifle.



Hello Loyd
You make great Points here, but why Build a revolver that you know can not handle the extreme Pressures of this load. It has Pressures of 65,000 PSI and that is up in a High Powered rifle area ? The .357 Maximum had problems and I feel that is why you did not see many make revolver's for this round other than Dan Wesson and Ruger I don't know of many more, and the caliber dies off shortly after hitting the market with no other manufacturers attempting to Produce a revolver in it. A Magazine article way back when they first released this .460 round in a S&W revolver told it that if the forcing cone was not Polished Perfectly smooth even a small machine mark fissure would cause erosion and problems with it, and that statement was made by a S&W Tech here is what they said in a Magazine write up on it right after it hit the market.This tell's me, they Knew of issues right from the start and also only called back the P.C. Models, but now it is evident by this Posters picture that the standard .460 revolver's are effected by this Problem as well. Regards, Hammerdown


The substantial pressures developed by the .460 required some innovative engineering. It wouldn't do to simply stick smaller holes in the .500 and stamp ".460 S&W" on the barrel.A mirror-smooth forcing-cone face helps prevent erosion from what Herb refers to in nonengineering terms as a "screamin' hot blast of gas." Any tool marks or imperfections could channel that hot blast up toward the topstrap, resulting in flame-cutting. Another pressure concession: a firing-pin bushing the size of the .460's case head for additional support. In Herb's words, "It's a great big ol' circle" as opposed to the smaller bushing diameter of the .500 model.
Model 460 XVR By The Numbers
Action: DA revolver
Caliber: .460 S&W Magnum
Capacity: Five rounds
Barrel length: 8.5 inches
Overall length: 15 inches
Weight: 73 ounces
Finish: Brushed stainless
Grips: Hogue rubber
Sights: Micro-adjustable (drilled and tapped for scope rail)
Price: $1,253
The engineering brain trust at Smith & Wesson also borrowed a 19th century feature to deal with the unique problems posed by the new load. The .460 features gain-twist rifling to ease the high-speed projectiles into their spin. It starts at 1-turn-in-100 and tightens to 1:20 at the end of the 7 1/2-inch tube. (That's the true barrel length, incidentally. The integral compensator/vent section extends things another inch.)Prior to getting my hands on the .460, I'd talked to Primedia's Dick Metcalf about his experience with it, and Metcalf's normally unflappable demeanor changed to one of out-and-out enthusiasm when he got to talking about the .460. He'd shot it extensively and had dropped a whitetail with it at 160 yards. I figured anything that blows Dick's skirt up has got to be pretty noteworthy, although I was a bit skeptical about some of his claims concerning what I initially assumed to be a rather "non-revolverlike" accuracy potential and his insistence that the gun was a pussycat to shoot. I began to envision .500-plus recoil in my immediate future.Any doubts I had, however, were erased by the time I'd ground my way through the first cylinderful.The face and radius of the forcing cone is mirror polished to allow the super-hot, high-pressure blast of gas to pass as smoothly as possible. (Right) Pressure concession: The Model 460XVR features a mega-size firing-pin bushing that is the same diameter as the .460 case head.



After reading this In depth article This tell's me, they Knew of issues right from the start and also only called back the P.C. Models, but now it is evident by this Posters picture that the standard .460 revolver's are effected by this Problem as well. Regards, Hammerdown
"yeah, Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death, I shall Fear no evil as I carry with me my Loaded S&W"

Offline Hammerdown

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #9 on: September 12, 2007, 03:06:43 AM »
I've put way over 200 threw my 500 and it is still in excellant shape. If I were you I'd write the factory and send pictures.

Hello Jroe45
The 500 is not near the Pressure of the .460 round, and I have not heard of any erosion or flame cutting issues with that caliber. The Poster not only contacted the factory he sent his revolver in for repairs and after Looking close by clicking on his Picture it is clear this forcing cone has several fractures and I feel the barrel will definitely be replaced. Problem is, if they have not changed the Material that the barrel's are made from it will only be replacing the One he has with another one just Like it. S&W needs to contact the Out side Jobber that made these barrels if they weren't made in house and design a material that can withstand the Pressures better than what they have all ready Built. I know the PC Barreled .460 had an outside Vendor make the barrels but can't be certain if S&W made the standard revolver barrels or not. With this ongoing problem it would make sense to change the materials used in the barrels. I know NASA used a Stainless material that can take Heat and Pressures like this, but it would be very expensive to make barrels from it and Much too costly to re-call all the Model 460 revolver's that have been sold since it's release, and No Body Likes to admit to a Mistake with Liability at stake here. Regards, Hammerdown
"yeah, Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death, I shall Fear no evil as I carry with me my Loaded S&W"

Offline Davemuzz

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #10 on: September 12, 2007, 05:46:06 AM »
Hey, instead of "voo-doo" thinking that it's the entire batch of 460's ever made since the beginning of time are horrible..no good..very bad revolvers, did you ever consider that just maybe this forcing cone is just a bad one? These things happen. ::)

Dave

Offline corbanzo

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #11 on: September 12, 2007, 09:07:59 AM »
Well, if you mix that much speed with even the tiniest metal defect you are gonna have problems.
"At least with a gun that big, if you miss and hit the rocks in front of him it'll stone him to death..."

Offline SHOOTALL

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #12 on: September 12, 2007, 10:36:20 AM »
S&W has a special polishing process for the area you are having problems with , it is suppose to take care of the problem !
one or a few must have got out with out being polished as well as needed , it is supposed to take the torch like heat and pressure without ill effects !
my 454 Redhawk shoots light bullets at high speed with no ill effects , just a thought !
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Offline Redhawk1

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #13 on: September 12, 2007, 10:53:09 AM »
Hello Craig
The .460 has had Barrel erosion issues since it hit the Market. I know now what not to buy. Let us know the final evaluation and just what S&W Plans to do on curing the Flame cutting and Barrel erosion Issues. Regards, Hammerdown

I have over 3000 rounds though mine and it still looks great, so don't just toss the 460 out the window.

Lloyd Smale, very good post.


Hello
With factory Loads or hand Loads ? Most I see that have seen with Issues like this are after factory Loads have been used. Not every one loads their own and it needs to be fixed. I would be very concerned with it as a click  on the Picture the Poster supplied shows many fractures on the forcing cone and that is a Recipe for disaster in the Long run..Did you Guys click on this Picture and see what happened in 170 rounds to this revolver ? No matter what you fire in it after this type of apparent damage, it is not going to get better with time. I think more time and research should have been done before releasing this model and round and I don't know anyone that would be pleased after spending a Grand on one with damage like this in such a short time frame of usage with Factory ammo. Hammerdown

500 rounds were factory 200 gr from Hornady and over 2500 hand loads.
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Offline corbanzo

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #14 on: September 12, 2007, 01:31:18 PM »
Ive put a few hundred of my 250 grainers at over 1900fps through my RB .454, and its still looks good as ever.

As long as the certain metal on that certain part can take it, then you get a good one.  Like I said, just one little problem, and it doesnt take too much through the barrel at all before things start getting ruined.
"At least with a gun that big, if you miss and hit the rocks in front of him it'll stone him to death..."

Offline Lloyd Smale

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #15 on: September 13, 2007, 01:07:42 AM »
its all in what you want to buy. You dont buy a aftermarket 800 hp big block chev motor and expect it to run 100000 miles. Every gun wears. There a mechanical thing. Ive shot the forcing cones out of rugers too. I dont think smith makes there big guns figureing someone is going to put 5000 rounds of hot ammo through them in a year. truth be known probably few of them make it past 5 boxes of ammo in there lifetime. ANY high pressure handgun load is going to wear on the forcing cone. Thats just a fact of life. If you insist on shooting light for caliber bullets at high speeds and pressures using ball powders you are going to see wear in a short ammount of time with about any gun. Shooting loads just like that are what the smith is all about. Freedom arms has an optional replaceable forcing cone but then your not going to buy a fa for 800 bucks. Just like in any other thing high performance has its price and if your not willing to pay it buy something else. Im sure a guy could take a 460 and load it down a touch and use 300+ grain bullets and it would last your lifetime. As to why they would make one. Guns like that are made everyday. The 220 swift will not hold up to near as many max rounds as a 223 will. I guess to me if your not gun smart to know this you have no buisiness buying a gun like the 460 to begin with. Not much different to me then the fact that a guy can go into a bike shop and buy a 180 mph bike and not have driven even a moped before in his life. Its your responsibilty to know what your buying. Complaining about forcing cone wear in a gun like that is about like me returning one of my linebaughs because they kick to much!!! Thats the good and the bad about smith bringing out these new calibers. Its great that they make a big bore gun that is affordable to the average guy. But just like the 454s in the past to many end up in the hands of inexperienced handgunners that take them to the range once a year to impress there buddys and close there eyes and squeeze off a couple and there buddys ooh and aah and then they put them away and shoot something they can actually handle. Smiths only mistake with them in my opinion is the fact that they load them to levels that make for good advertising but arent pratical in the field. But then if there loads were no more then a 454 how many guys would buy them. After all you cant impress some yuppie at the range with second fastest. Truth is 99 percent of the handgunners out there have no buisness owning anything bigger then a 44 mag. One of the best handgun rounds made is on the brink of extinction because uninformed handgunners and macho idiots wont buy them because It isnt called a magnum. That would be the 480 ruger. Probably the finest handgun hunting round ever made. It doesnt do 2000 fps but then anyone that knows handgun hunting knows how much of a joke pushing light bullets to 2000 fps in a handgun is.
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Offline SHOOTALL

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #16 on: September 13, 2007, 03:24:41 AM »
you might be correct about S&W ! never saw one hold up while shooting IMHSA ! i shot matches 3 weekends a mo. and practiced alot , shot a Ruger super blackhawk  never experienced any problems other than screws getting loose ! shot for 6 or so years , shot  H110 alot for sure ! As far as Ruger and 357 max , saw some with top strap cut 1/2 Way thru. Dan Wesson had that down pat !
If ya can see it ya can hit it !

Offline Hammerdown

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #17 on: September 13, 2007, 04:40:36 AM »
Quote
500 rounds were factory 200 gr from Hornady and over 2500 hand loads.


Hello Redhawk
Well, I would say you got one with no Ill effects then, and I am Happy for you, But I bet if yours would have Failed within 170 Factory Loads you would not be so Pleased with the durability of this weapon .One thing we have not addressed here is  I have to wonder is if there was a material change or a Finishing process, or final Inspection of these forcing cones eliminated that may be causing this failure ?I Only Own S&W revolver's and it Pains me to see one of their Products fail so Badly. I am not Knocking the idea of them using this Potent caliber like the .460, but it appears someone did not Look into the Long term effects it can have on a handgun here, or do any research on what this caliber can do to a revolver. I Mean Come On Guy's within 170 Factory Produced Rounds this Poster's revolver will need major repairs, that Just is NOT Normal at all to me at all. I myself have done plenty of handgun hunting with the .41 magnum & The .44 Magnum and dropped my Fair share of deer with one, and they do not show any problems with many rounds down the tube. They are not ones I would use for Long distance shots and both have metallic sights no scopes. I Liked the fact that S&W came out with a hand gun capable of those Long range shots when they released this new .460.The Ballistics certainly prove the round can reach out there further than any other caliber they have made in the past and that is what got me looking at this gun to begin with. I feel Properly scoped this gun should be no problem making 150-250 Yard shots when taking white Tail  Deer. I sure would not make a steady habit of shooting it with Full House loads at targets due to the recoil and blast, but considering the fact it would run well over $1300.00 to equip this weapon with a good scope Package showed me a rifle can be had for a more reasonable sum, and that would be my choice. I still feel they have a problem with so many out there reporting forcing cone issues with low round counts and it needs to be corrected. It is Not feasible nor practile thinking S&W has to place a round count on the guns they release to the Public before mechanical failure, and I assume it did not enter into it Given the fact that not all buyers of their Products may be hard core hand gun shooters as this may lead to a Liability issue for them if one explodes from a cracked forcing cone issue or excessive flame cutting into the top strap, which can lead to the gun coming apart when shooting this round regardless of how many rounds have been sent down the tube, this just is not normal to release guns that you know are not going to take the Pressures of a round that it was Intended to shoot. There are plenty of other choices out there in .454 and .45 Colt that have not had issues in the past and to think most Buyers will not shoot the Hotter .460 Round in this revolver is just Plain Ignorant. Something had to have changed as not all are Plagued with this forcing cone issue, and it would be wise for S&W to re-call any that may be effected and correct the issue rather than ignore it and continue to produce them with Problems. Regards, Hammerdown
"yeah, Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death, I shall Fear no evil as I carry with me my Loaded S&W"

Offline craiginok

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #18 on: September 13, 2007, 05:00:01 AM »
To Lloyd Smale !!!!!!!
  I don't  know who you think you are refering to, but i really don't think you're being quite fair in your replies.
I'm not one of those yuppies you refer to trying to out bigger the rest of the crowd and i sure as hell am not an  inexperienced handgunner, I'm 61 now and started shooting Ruger44's in the 60's.
I own,shoot, and reload for numerous  handguns including one of the holy grail freedom arms(model 97 .45 colt and acp)
I have 2 .454's,a super redhawk and a early made 10" encore,both fine guns. I kept seeing all the hoopla about the .460 and thought i would take it on a Wyoming elk hunt i have planned in Oct. 2008. If i did buy an 800 hp bigblock,you are right i wouldn't expect it to go a 100,000 miles. But i would expect a couple of hundred out of it.The picture above doesn't show it but there is some cutting of the top strap,that's probably acceptable, but if you click to make the image larger it's obvious the end of the barrel is over 1/2 burned away,my thinking,with another couple hundred rounds and things might start to get real interesting.
I think S&W will fix it,and according to some on this forum a different barrel may shoot thousands of rounds.
If it does ok, and if not, we'll try another barrel.
But, I still fail to see how buying this revolver makes a guy,inexperienced,slightly unintelligent,a yuppie,a moped rider or any of they other things hinted at, All i did was take a picture of barrel damage, that had been asked about before in this forum and state the exact way it went with S&W so far.
Thanks for listening,Craig in Oklahoma.

Offline Keith L

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #19 on: September 13, 2007, 05:24:12 AM »
Folks, easy now.

We all know that a company like S&W did not introduce a product they knew would fail in 170 shots.  That would be stupid.  Unfortunately some times manufactured things leave the shop that shouldn't.  And Craig did the right thing by sending his revolver back when he found it wasn't working.  My bet is that he will get a new revolver soon from the company with the proper metalurgy or heat treat or whatever it is that failed in this one.  I hope he posts when this happens.
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Offline Lloyd Smale

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #20 on: September 13, 2007, 06:54:07 AM »
i wasnt refering to you or anyone else in particular on this forum. Just passing my experiences at the range with about 99 percent of the guys i see show up with 454s and 460s. Most couldnt hit the broad side of a barn door with a 22 let alone a big bore. Im sure theres a good bunch that buy them to hunt and master them. Redhawk on this forum is one i know is serious about them. My thoughts are just that it appears to me that a good many of the people buying guns in these cailbers havent came close to mastering them and never will. Hell id bet about 3/4s of them dont even handload and a guy is NEVER going to master a gun like that unless either he does or hes very wealthy and can afford to by thousands of rounds of ammo. I even had one guy at the range tell me he shoots 44mags in his alot cause there cheaper!! I notice that when a guy shows up with a 475 or even a 500  there a little more dedicated person and a little more knowlegable handguner usually. Probably because about NOBODY can afford to feed one with factory ammo and the recoil level is stout enough that most guys either can shoot them or they sell them quickly and the price to buy one scares off about anyone but the serious. Even with the 500 smith i see a little more dedicated handgunner using them. Not everyone can shoot one or wants too. As to all the hype about it being the best long range handgun on the market. You wouldnt want to stand on the line with someone that can shoot a 44 or 45 colt well off hand and make that claim. Maybe if your talking scoped handguns off a bench but then to me thats not handgunning. Just my opinion on the whole thing and I appologize if you take it personaly or think it was directed at you as you read me all wrong.
To Lloyd Smale !!!!!!!
  I don't  know who you think you are refering to, but i really don't think you're being quite fair in your replies.
I'm not one of those yuppies you refer to trying to out bigger the rest of the crowd and i sure as hell am not an  inexperienced handgunner, I'm 61 now and started shooting Ruger44's in the 60's.
I own,shoot, and reload for numerous  handguns including one of the holy grail freedom arms(model 97 .45 colt and acp)
I have 2 .454's,a super redhawk and a early made 10" encore,both fine guns. I kept seeing all the hoopla about the .460 and thought i would take it on a Wyoming elk hunt i have planned in Oct. 2008. If i did buy an 800 hp bigblock,you are right i wouldn't expect it to go a 100,000 miles. But i would expect a couple of hundred out of it.The picture above doesn't show it but there is some cutting of the top strap,that's probably acceptable, but if you click to make the image larger it's obvious the end of the barrel is over 1/2 burned away,my thinking,with another couple hundred rounds and things might start to get real interesting.
I think S&W will fix it,and according to some on this forum a different barrel may shoot thousands of rounds.
If it does ok, and if not, we'll try another barrel.
But, I still fail to see how buying this revolver makes a guy,inexperienced,slightly unintelligent,a yuppie,a moped rider or any of they other things hinted at, All i did was take a picture of barrel damage, that had been asked about before in this forum and state the exact way it went with S&W so far.
Thanks for listening,Craig in Oklahoma.
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Offline craiginok

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #21 on: September 13, 2007, 07:13:59 AM »
Lloyd,
 Thank you for that reply,Craig.

Offline Hammerdown

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #22 on: September 13, 2007, 08:41:18 AM »
Hey Craig
It would help if you could take a little better Picture of this but now it is gone in for repairs so I guess that wouldn't wash. I am with you on Poor performance and it is unbelievable to me that this revolver failed within 170 rounds. I further feel many of the Posters here did not click on your Picture to show the real damage at stake here.I have hand Loaded for over 20 Years and that is why I Like the .41 & .44 magnum rounds. They are two of my Favorite and I feel many did buy into the Dirty Harry movie and stepped out to Purchase what they thought would be a joy to shoot. With Factory Loaded ammo, Both of these would turn the basic part time handgun guy off as soon as they fired a few cylinders of it. I can see Loyd's side of this response as well, as I am an N.R.A.  Range Safety officer at a local range in my area and see all types of Attitudes, weapons and Folks to me, that should not even have a gun in their hands. I had a guy a couple of weeks ago that came straight from Wal-Mart with his new rifle Purchase. He had Bought a Winchester model 70 Rifle in the caliber .300 W.S.M. He set out his targets and I observed the ammo he had bought as a common Practice I do as a safety observation, and what he was shooting was the Winchester Brand High dollar Fail safe ammo in a Black box. I looked at his Other stuff he had brought and noticed a box of ammo marked standard .300 Winchester Magnum. I asked if he had brought another rifle to shoot other than the one he was shooting, and he said, Nope this is it. I Picked up the Box of shells and told him they would not work in his rifle. He still did not get the Point that he had brought the wrong ammo for his rifle and I was Glad I noticed this before he tried to chamber a round of the Wrong ammo. I have had S&W Hanguns for the past 20 Years or so, and know when I see trouble to stay clear of it until it is corrected with any models they first come out with. I Once had a model 624 in .44 Special. They claimed the cylinders were made by an outside Jobber and were soft in nature, and that they could Possibly Burst when firing. I made certain mine had been checked and sold it shortly after.  I had One of the First Thompson Super contenders  with a 14" Barrel when they came out, and it was chambered in .35 Rem Caliber. It Mis-Fired and caused me to Loose a Lifetime mount of a Giant White Tail Buck. Thompson replaced it with a Brand new Pistol, and shortly there after this one Too was Miss-Firing. I called their service department and asked what the Problem was with this gun and was told they had a Head space Problem with the .35 Rem round and several were like this. I sold that one off as well.I don't want guns that have had Problems at all in my hands. To me this .460 has and still is trouble and S&W needs to correct it before a fatality is caused by some that do not pay attention to their weapons. I am glad you noticed this early on before bigger problems may have been the result. I have actually seen a revolver explode and it sure is not Pretty nor is it something I want to see happen again to anyone. Keep us Posted on the Progress of your revolver. I am Glad this Happened with Factory Loaded ammo as the first thing any Gun Manufacturer Likes to Blame is the hand loader when problems arrise. I did have a Big Block Chevy LS-6 that went well over the 100,000 Mile mark. if taken care of their motors will run that distance with no issues..But Ignored and Beaten hard, they will Blow up in no time. Best regards, Hammerdown
"yeah, Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death, I shall Fear no evil as I carry with me my Loaded S&W"

Offline Lloyd Smale

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #23 on: September 13, 2007, 09:28:47 AM »
never had an ls6 chevelle but had a 375hp 396 nova and many other chev muscle cars. Your a rare bird that got 100000 miles out of an ls6. Most of the ones that were around when i was young were beat mercilessly and were lucky to make 50000 without a major overhaul. Thats what it was made for! If you still  have that car its one valuable sob and i sure wouldnt be beating on it now. Ive seen nice ones bring almost a hundred grand on the aution sites. Sure would like to see a picture if you have one to share. To me they were the ultimate muscle car ever built!!
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Offline Hammerdown

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #24 on: September 13, 2007, 11:11:17 AM »
never had an ls6 chevelle but had a 375hp 396 nova and many other chev muscle cars. Your a rare bird that got 100000 miles out of an ls6. Most of the ones that were around when i was young were beat mercilessly and were lucky to make 50000 without a major overhaul. Thats what it was made for! If you still  have that car its one valuable sob and i sure wouldnt be beating on it now. Ive seen nice ones bring almost a hundred grand on the aution sites. Sure would like to see a picture if you have one to share. To me they were the ultimate muscle car ever built!!

Hello Loyd
The car believe it or not belonged to a 65 Year old lady that drove it 100 miles a day round trip to work. I bought it with 75 Thousand miles and sold it with 117,000 miles for double what I Paid. No Pictures of it like many others I had a 1969 Coronet 500 Super-Bee rag top, a 1972 Super duty 455 Trans-Am,1973 Z-28 Black & white with a 350 and a 1964 GTO with a Bored out 427 Chevy Big Block in it.. all gone and all trioubkle for my License back then,... Hammerdown
"yeah, Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death, I shall Fear no evil as I carry with me my Loaded S&W"

Offline Lloyd Smale

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #25 on: September 13, 2007, 11:24:36 PM »
my list includes the nova a 65 impala ss 396 325hp then i got the mopar bug for a bit and bought a 69 gtx 440 and then a new 73 340 duster. Then went back to chev and bought 69 z28 that had a non original 383 stroker. then in 87 bought a new buick grand national (probably my all time favorite car) sold that because of divorce and then had a 350 iroc camaro and in 94 bought my one and only vette a 92 lt1 . Right now there all history and all thats in the yard is a 07 silverado 4x4. If i could just quit buying guns long enough id sure like to pick up another grand national to play with!!
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Offline Hammerdown

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #26 on: September 14, 2007, 02:13:46 AM »
Hey Loyd
I think we Hijacked this Poor guys thread about his returned revolver here.. I also had a 1977 Trans-Am Black like the Bandit, and Built a 1972 Chevy Pick-Up from North Carolina with a frame off restoration and this Included a de stroked 454. I better get back to this subject for the courtesy of the Poster here. Craig, if you wish to send me the extra Pictures you have of this Problem revolver, I would be glad to Post them for you. Regards, Hammerdown
"yeah, Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death, I shall Fear no evil as I carry with me my Loaded S&W"

Offline craiginok

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #27 on: September 14, 2007, 09:19:24 AM »
Hi all,
  I just got off the phone with S&W(2 pm.central) the guy said it would be shipped Monday, it couldn't go today because it has to ship overnight air. He said his computer didn't show what was done to it,just that it was ready to go, I'll let you know what they did when i get it.
Also do any of you good reloaders know what i should shoot in this thing to help prolong it's life.
I have a bunch of 360 and 395 cast performance bullets,would lil gun Hogdon powder errode less than 110 or 296?
 I use my guns mostly for hogs if that helps.                  Thanks Craig.

Offline Lloyd Smale

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #28 on: September 14, 2007, 10:04:01 AM »
just switching to the heavier cast bullets will go along way toward keeping it alive. Those light jacketed bullets are about 3/4s of your problem. If it were me id back off about 5 percent from max loads with any of the ball pistol powders that to would help and id look into experiementing with a slow burning non ball powder like 4198  You may not get top velocity with it but in something like a 460 shooting cast your not going to want to run them much past 1400fps anyway. Now im no fan of the 460 the way its loaded but if a guy took a 395 cast and pushed it to 1300-1500 fps youd have a gun that hit as hard as a 475 and with the smaller diameter bullet would probably outpenetrate it and the 475 is one of the best penetrating rounds in any type of gun.
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Offline Hammerdown

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Re: You want to see barrel wear ? 460 with 170 rounds !!!!!!!!
« Reply #29 on: September 14, 2007, 04:05:01 PM »
Also do any of you good reloaders know what i should shoot in this thing to help prolong it's life.
I have a bunch of 360 and 395 cast performance bullets,would lil gun Hogdon powder errode less than 110 or 296?
 I use my guns mostly for hogs if that helps.                  Thanks Craig.


Hello Craig
I have not loaded the .460 but can tell you the Two Powder's you have shown which are Hodgen H-110 and Winchester -296 are Magnum Powders that Build Massive High pressure. You can not reduce loadings with them as they will Both Sky-Rocket if you try. They are a Little shaky to me when used in a handgun. I have had excellent Luck using Hodgen's Tight Group in a Barrage of calibers and all were super accurate using it. It takes very little to make loads perform to Maximum. I would ask member Redhawk as he seems to have many rounds of handloads to his credit in this caliber with No Ill effects, so he must be doing something right. Regards, Hammerdown
"yeah, Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death, I shall Fear no evil as I carry with me my Loaded S&W"