Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

Has anyone tried an Encore Katahdin in .460 S&W (rifle w/20 inch barrel)? Looks interesting for short-range hunting of deer and similarly sized game.

Something to think about ...

.460 ammo is $$$$$$

.45-70 is cheaper, and more available

Forget a synthetic stock, you'll break it. Walnut's the ticket.

Unless you're reloading and never lose brass, I don't see you getting your money's worth out of a .460, although you can shoot .45 Colt and .454 Casull out of it...

Yeah, the Katahdin barrel is only 20", so it would be lighter to carry than the 209x50 and still have better performance than firing it from a revolver or Encore pistol barrel. Having the nice FlexTech stock on the ProHunter is a plus. I don't have any recoil issues with the 209x50 and 100 grains of Blackhorn 209 behind a 240 or 250 grain Hornady XTP bullet/sabot combo. I have shot as many as 15 shots in a row, with no issues or flinching.

I guess the other thought is that if it worked out in the rifle, if I decided to migrate to handgun hunting, I could use the same ammo too.

I was just hoping someone had actually shot one of the animals to give me a report. That's a $350 experiment!

Username wrote:Something to think about ...

.460 ammo is $$$$$$

.45-70 is cheaper, and more available

Forget a synthetic stock, you'll break it. Walnut's the ticket.

Unless you're reloading and never lose brass, I don't see you getting your money's worth out of a .460, although you can shoot .45 Colt and .454 Casull out of it...

The syn stock on my Pro Hunter is plenty sturdy with a 209x50 that barks pretty loud.

I wouldn't go into .460 without also reloading; actually for any caliber I would hunt with. This is for HUNTING, not for target play. I am looking for a good, reliable large-bore caliber that won't break my shoulder and won't weigh 10 lbs. I mean, hey! Not like that's a tall order or anything, right?

I have an Encore in 460 S&W and love it. It is lightweight with the 20" barrel and I can cover the holes with a quarter at 50 yards using 51.5 Grains of H110 and the Hornady 200 grain FTX bullets. It has the muzzle energy of a 300 Win Mag. I've nicknamed it "Thumper." The deer I've killed with the 460 dropped in their tracks. Will also shoot 454 Casull and 45 Long Colt. Also dropped a doe in its tracks with it at 75 yards using 454 Casull. 454 Casull is no slouch and has double the muzzle energy of a 44 Magnum. I put a stock mounted bullet carrier on it to carry my extra rounds. The only drawback I can find is recoil. It is stout in such a light weight package but that only matters at the bench. Will never notice it shooting a deer. I seldom have a shot further than 100 yards but I wouldn't hesitate to shoot further.

Maybe I'll just bob the muzzleloader barrel down to 22" to lose some carry weight and lose the scope. I have yet to have a shot on deer over 40 yds.

I am now also considering a custom barrel in .357 Max. Bellm tightens 'em up pretty good for the Encore.