Posted By: Zee
The .460 S&W Hammers Another One. - 01/11/2015 7:50 AM
Got a call from a friend to come shoot a doe. So, I packed up my boy and my .460 S&W Encore Pistol and headed to his place.
I've hunted here in the past, but it's been a couple years. My friend owns two pastures that he runs horses on. Seems he and his neighbor don't get along well. The boundary fence was falling apart a couple years ago and the neighbors cattle were getting through into my friend's pastures and grazing. He approached the neighbor about splitting the cost of replacing the fence. The neighbor basically told him to pound sand. Well, my friend was tired of losing feed for his horses to the neighbor's cattle, so he replaced the fence himself. After some choice words were exchanged.
Well, seems the deer like to cross that fence as well and feed in the pasture. My friend lets me shoot deer there periodically with the stipulation that they not leave the pasture and jump back into the neighbors property. Doesn't want the issue of having to cross the fence to look for a deer. No problem, I says.
In the past, I have usually just head shot the deer with whatever I've used. From .223 Remington to .280 Remington. This time, I chose to use the .460 S&W Encore and I felt pretty confident that...........with a quartering towards me shot............it would drop one in it's tracks. It had before.
The last deer I shot with this gun was at 123 yards using the 250gr Hornady XTP. This round is supposedly not designed for the velocity the .460 S&W generates. Well, my goal is to disprove that theory. It handled the last deer with aplomb. So, I wanted to shoot one even closer and at a higher impact velocity this time. See if the bullet would fail or not. You know.............for science!!!! I wanted to mimic the last shot I took on a deer with this cartridge.
My boy and I arrived and set up shop under the awning of his shed as there was a cold mist falling. Being in the low 30s, I didn't want to freeze my boy. So, I bundled him up and set him on the downwind side of me. Figured I'd block some of the wind from hitting him. It was a cold wind chill.
About 4:45, a button buck came into the field.
I wasn't about to shoot him with the .460 S&W. That would just be wrong!!! Ha! So, we waited and he eventually returned to the brush. Nothing else happened until around 5:45 when I began to see deer moving through the brush towards the pasture. A couple yearlings entered the field, but the mature does were a little more skeptical and just wandered back and forth on the other side of the fence. Finally, right at 6:00, a big doe jumped the fence and trotted out into the pasture. I looked at my boy and told him I was going to shoot her. Made sure his hearing protection and mine were in place, and waited for her to turn quartering to.
As I watched her, a yearling kept getting behind her on the other side of the fence. I didn't figure the bullet would go through her. But, I didn't want to chance it. So, I waited.........and waited.........and waited. Finally, the yearling moved off and the doe turned just right.
"BOOM!"
This time, I didn't hear the round hit. It was just too loud under the awning. What I DID see..........was the doe's butt hit the ground and and her head followed. She basically sat back and then crumpled forward. Not a twitch after she hit the ground. D-U-N..........done.
That'll work. Two shots..............two folded deer with the .460 S&W. I think we're onto something here! This sucker drops deer like the Hand of God!
With a fist bump and a smile, my boy and I walked across the field to the doe.
I am REALLY starting to like this gun/cartridge combination. It is quite effective and accurate.
Here is where the doe was standing when I shot her.
We took pictures and then loaded her in the truck to head home. There was science to be done.
.460 S&W
Bullet: 250gr Hornady XTP
Muzzle Velocity: 2,388 fps (edited to correct velocity)
Distance to Impact: 93 yards
Angle: Right Side Quartering Towards
Impact Velocity: 1,848 fps (est) (edited to correct velocity)
Distance Traveled After Impact: 0 yards
Entrance
Entrance Under Hide
Entrance Under Shoulder
Now, the last deer I shot, the bullet hit the point of the on side shoulder at the joint. I tried to repeat that, but only nicked the shoulder bone right at the joint. Took a chip out of the bone, but that's about it. Sorry.
Entrance through Shoulder
The haze you see in some of these pictures is the steam coming from the deer's body. It was a little chilly.
Etrance Under Shoulder - Meat Removed
The bullet took out 3 ribs while entering the thoracic cavity. And, made a fist size hole in the process.
Entrance Under Ribs
Entrance Under Ribs - Blood Removed
At this point, the bullet is traveling rearward from the point of the shoulder. It has passed through the shoulder muscle, broken 3 ribs, opened a fist size hole in the chest cavity, completely wiped out the front lobe of the left lung, and exploded the heart. Severing the aorta and ripping open the heart like a pomegranate.
It then punctured the diaphragm.
Passed through the edge of the liver and came to rest in the back portion of the stomach.
Now, in the name of science..............I actually opened up the stomach.................and sifted..........and sifted..........and sifted.........through all the fermenting vegetation and bile. Oh, what a WONDERFUL aroma!!!! Handful after handful, I squeezed through my fingers. Feeling for every piece of lead I could find. But, you know what? I found it. and several tiny pieces of lead. I hope you feel sorry for me. My hands still smell like fermented grass.
I'll spare you the visual of the stomach content. But, here was the general location of the bullet in relation to the body.
It passed through just over 2 feet of deer.
Retained Weight
Combined Weight
I am exceptionally pleased with the bullets performance. It held together for the most part and penetrated well enough for deer sized game. In the process, it caused massive initial damage with the hydrostatic shock and temporary cavity. Visual cues as to this can be seen in both the entrance hole to the chest cavity and the "explosion" of the heart as the bullet passed through.
I am impressed. This is a catastrophic combination on deer. The combination of a wide frontal diameter, high velocity, and softer expanding bullet work together to provide dramatic results.
I like it.
I've hunted here in the past, but it's been a couple years. My friend owns two pastures that he runs horses on. Seems he and his neighbor don't get along well. The boundary fence was falling apart a couple years ago and the neighbors cattle were getting through into my friend's pastures and grazing. He approached the neighbor about splitting the cost of replacing the fence. The neighbor basically told him to pound sand. Well, my friend was tired of losing feed for his horses to the neighbor's cattle, so he replaced the fence himself. After some choice words were exchanged.
Well, seems the deer like to cross that fence as well and feed in the pasture. My friend lets me shoot deer there periodically with the stipulation that they not leave the pasture and jump back into the neighbors property. Doesn't want the issue of having to cross the fence to look for a deer. No problem, I says.
In the past, I have usually just head shot the deer with whatever I've used. From .223 Remington to .280 Remington. This time, I chose to use the .460 S&W Encore and I felt pretty confident that...........with a quartering towards me shot............it would drop one in it's tracks. It had before.
The last deer I shot with this gun was at 123 yards using the 250gr Hornady XTP. This round is supposedly not designed for the velocity the .460 S&W generates. Well, my goal is to disprove that theory. It handled the last deer with aplomb. So, I wanted to shoot one even closer and at a higher impact velocity this time. See if the bullet would fail or not. You know.............for science!!!! I wanted to mimic the last shot I took on a deer with this cartridge.
My boy and I arrived and set up shop under the awning of his shed as there was a cold mist falling. Being in the low 30s, I didn't want to freeze my boy. So, I bundled him up and set him on the downwind side of me. Figured I'd block some of the wind from hitting him. It was a cold wind chill.
About 4:45, a button buck came into the field.
I wasn't about to shoot him with the .460 S&W. That would just be wrong!!! Ha! So, we waited and he eventually returned to the brush. Nothing else happened until around 5:45 when I began to see deer moving through the brush towards the pasture. A couple yearlings entered the field, but the mature does were a little more skeptical and just wandered back and forth on the other side of the fence. Finally, right at 6:00, a big doe jumped the fence and trotted out into the pasture. I looked at my boy and told him I was going to shoot her. Made sure his hearing protection and mine were in place, and waited for her to turn quartering to.
As I watched her, a yearling kept getting behind her on the other side of the fence. I didn't figure the bullet would go through her. But, I didn't want to chance it. So, I waited.........and waited.........and waited. Finally, the yearling moved off and the doe turned just right.
"BOOM!"
This time, I didn't hear the round hit. It was just too loud under the awning. What I DID see..........was the doe's butt hit the ground and and her head followed. She basically sat back and then crumpled forward. Not a twitch after she hit the ground. D-U-N..........done.
That'll work. Two shots..............two folded deer with the .460 S&W. I think we're onto something here! This sucker drops deer like the Hand of God!
With a fist bump and a smile, my boy and I walked across the field to the doe.
I am REALLY starting to like this gun/cartridge combination. It is quite effective and accurate.
Here is where the doe was standing when I shot her.
We took pictures and then loaded her in the truck to head home. There was science to be done.
.460 S&W
Bullet: 250gr Hornady XTP
Muzzle Velocity: 2,388 fps (edited to correct velocity)
Distance to Impact: 93 yards
Angle: Right Side Quartering Towards
Impact Velocity: 1,848 fps (est) (edited to correct velocity)
Distance Traveled After Impact: 0 yards
Entrance
Entrance Under Hide
Entrance Under Shoulder
Now, the last deer I shot, the bullet hit the point of the on side shoulder at the joint. I tried to repeat that, but only nicked the shoulder bone right at the joint. Took a chip out of the bone, but that's about it. Sorry.
Entrance through Shoulder
The haze you see in some of these pictures is the steam coming from the deer's body. It was a little chilly.
Etrance Under Shoulder - Meat Removed
The bullet took out 3 ribs while entering the thoracic cavity. And, made a fist size hole in the process.
Entrance Under Ribs
Entrance Under Ribs - Blood Removed
At this point, the bullet is traveling rearward from the point of the shoulder. It has passed through the shoulder muscle, broken 3 ribs, opened a fist size hole in the chest cavity, completely wiped out the front lobe of the left lung, and exploded the heart. Severing the aorta and ripping open the heart like a pomegranate.
It then punctured the diaphragm.
Passed through the edge of the liver and came to rest in the back portion of the stomach.
Now, in the name of science..............I actually opened up the stomach.................and sifted..........and sifted..........and sifted.........through all the fermenting vegetation and bile. Oh, what a WONDERFUL aroma!!!! Handful after handful, I squeezed through my fingers. Feeling for every piece of lead I could find. But, you know what? I found it. and several tiny pieces of lead. I hope you feel sorry for me. My hands still smell like fermented grass.
I'll spare you the visual of the stomach content. But, here was the general location of the bullet in relation to the body.
It passed through just over 2 feet of deer.
Retained Weight
Combined Weight
I am exceptionally pleased with the bullets performance. It held together for the most part and penetrated well enough for deer sized game. In the process, it caused massive initial damage with the hydrostatic shock and temporary cavity. Visual cues as to this can be seen in both the entrance hole to the chest cavity and the "explosion" of the heart as the bullet passed through.
I am impressed. This is a catastrophic combination on deer. The combination of a wide frontal diameter, high velocity, and softer expanding bullet work together to provide dramatic results.
I like it.
