I own both a Smith & Wesson XVR 8 3.8? barreled 460 and, the BFR 460 with 7.5?. After spending some time with both firearms, I thought I?d give my thoughts and comparison head to head.

I owned the Smith first and was completely happy with it. That is, until I set my chronograph up and quite frankly, could only get .454 ballistics on a max load of .460. That lead to countless text messages between Tradmark and I, as well as, Franchise and I. Two guys I respect and call friends. The bottom line was I didn?t buy a .460 because I wanted a .454. That plus my OCD brain lead to me purchasing a second .460, this time the 7.5? BFR.

Here are my thoughts comparing the following aspects of each: appearances, build quality, trigger, grip, sights, and ultimately, performance.

Appearance ? I think this one is largely based on preference, but I gravitated toward the Smith. I like the look of the full underlug, especially since I knew I would eventually put some type of optic on top. Price being roughly the same, appearance of the two played a big role in why I originally bought the Smith first. The BFR of course, has a very classic SA look to it, minus the mile-long cylinder (we?ll talk more about that later). My personal vote here goes to the Smith.

Build Quality ? Without question, the BFR wins here. The fit and finish is of the nicest firearm I?ve ever owned. Specifically, the cylinder gap on the Smith measures at .004, while the BFR is .002. Two one-thousandths of an inch probably doesn?t sound like much, but I found out it makes a huge difference. Outside of the cylinder gap, I?d say both are relatively close. But again, the cylinder gap as I?ve discovered is the difference between a nicely made revolver and one that is made clearly with attention to detail in mind. My vote here goes to the BFR.

Trigger ? This one was interesting to say the least. To level the playing field, I?ll only talk about the two in terms of their SA pull. Out of the box, the Smith trigger felt nice and broke very cleanly at just over 5 lbs. 5 lbs. is much too heavy in my opinion, but it felt a lot less due to how clean it broke. After some time with the gun and a few after market parts, I now have that trigger at a near perfect (IMO) 2 lbs. 7 oz. The BFR on the other hand broke at 3 lbs. but felt much heavier. It was very ?gritty?. I was really shocked by this due to my comments about cylinder gap. The bottom line, the BFR trigger felt a ton worse and heavier. Once again, after a thorough disassembly and polish job, it now breaks very nice and clean, and still at 3 lbs. I?ve got after market springs on the way because I?d like to get this down another ? pound or so. My vote ?out of the box? here, goes to the Smith.

Factory grip ? Once again, I think this one is more personal preference. The factory Smith grip is unreal comfortable and greatly reduces the felt recoil. I flat out love it. The finger grooved rubber handle plus a SA/DA recoil is really, really, easy on the hands. The BFR?I?m still adjusting to it. I have a lot of past experience with a Ruger SBH so the Bisley style grip isn?t new to me, but I?m still getting readjusted to it. I?ve order and received an aftermarket grip for the BFR that is very similar looking to the Smith. Rubber with finger grooves. I haven?t shot it yet, so I?m not sure how it will pan out. My vote here goes to the Smith.

Iron sights ? Both are junk, pure and simple. I suspect both companies know that most who buy these firearms are going to hunt with them and most likely will replace the iron sights with either a scope or red dot of some kind. Still, for the price, I expect better. No vote here.

Performance ? This, in my opinion, is where the rubber meets the road. I tested multiple loads in both guns and consistently the BFR kicked azz. With a max book load of 110 pushing a 265 grain A-frame, the Smith averaged 1933. The BFR?2189. Almost 250 fps faster. I tested another load using an almost max book load of 4227, and the BFR was over 200 fps faster. Brass was Starline, primer was CCI 200 (note ? non-magnum). This is where I found out just how important two one-thousandths of an inch are?. My vote here goes to the BFR of course.

Overall, I love both guns but, in my opinion, the BFR is the clear winner. I can do a trigger job and get use to the grip. But performance is king. The Smith, although I still love it, will be used primarily as my back-up now. The BFR?gives me true .460 ballistics.

Everything above is my opinion and my opinion only. Except for the performance part ? can?t really argue with the numbers?

The meat won't fry if the lead don't fly.