Thanks to a few of you gents, I have been entertaining the notion of a 460 S&W Encore. The question(s) I have is to buy a factory 15" T/C barrel or order one from MGM? The T/C is tapered and non braked, and the MGM can be had in full bull configuration and brake added if needed. Can you use the Pachmayr forend with a bull barrel? Can you do without a brake?

Thanks!

Talk to raptortrapper. I think his 460 Encore has an MGM barrel, and he loves it.

Just wondering, do you already have an Encore?

Picked one up this weekend at the local gun show. Stainless frame with blued 7-08 barrel. Included a 2.5-8 silver Leupold.

Ooh, very good find. Just a recommendation, look up Mike Bellm and buy a lighter trigger spring. My Encore's trigger was 3.5 pounds, but with a Bellm spring I got it down to 1.8 pounds. My groups tightened up significantly after that. Of all the things you could do with an Encore, that is the one thing I can't recommend enough.

You mean like THIS??!!

I think Zee has one very similar to mine, but since we're here, allow me to introduce one of my best friends. This is an MGM 460 S&W full bull 14" barrel on an Encore Pro Hunter frame. Leupold 2.5-8X32 VXIII Handgun Scope held on by 4 Warne Maxima steel rings. Don't know about the forend you mentioned, but I'd be surprised if they don't make it. The one on mine was done by Tonysforendsandgrips.net.

You can have this barrel made without the brake if you want, but I highly suggest having it put on. It is worth its weight in gold. It absolutely makes the gun. Although it looks mean and nasty, it is a joy to shoot. I could shoot it all day long and not develop a flinch. And I'm not shooting light loads out of it either. 300gr XTP MAGs over 40.5gr of H110 gives me 1948fps. (That's 2,528 fpe if you're counting.)

The bottom picture is the first sub MOA group I ever shot at 100 yards, with any gun. I've since shot 1/2 MOA groups at 100 yards with this gun. Milk jugs at 200 yards are a walk in the park. If my life depended on one shot, at any distance, I'd take the shot with this gun, no questions asked. To say I love this gun is an understatement!!

YES LIKE THAT!

If I remember correctly, Zee's was fluted as well. Both beautiful specimens. If you had to build your barrel over, would you still choose the 14 inch length, or would you prefer another? Obviously you like the brake. Is it machined into the barrel or screwed on? On the "Tony's" forend, have you had any issues with cracking, and is it the pillar style, or hanger style? Please pardon all the questions, but I am well versed in Contender (9 frames, 20 barrels), not so much in Encore.

Thanks

Honestly, I don't think you could go wrong with any barrel length from 10" to 15". Last I checked, MGM charges an extra $100 for 14" and 15" barrels, so there's that to consider.

No problem on the questions. I could talk about this gun all day! Just ask the guys!!

If I had it to do over again, ABSOLUTELY I would go with the 14" barrel again. And yes, I'd do the same brake. It is machined into the barrel, and is about 1.5" long. No issues at all with cracking or anything on the forend. Tony's stuff is top notch. Check out his website, and be prepared to drop your jaw.

Let me tell ya why I went with the 14" barrel, if I may...

I had a 460 when the S&W X-frame revolvers came out. I had the 12" XVR Performance Center version. I loved it, and I hated it. Loved it cause it was just flat out awesome to see stuff blow up when using the scam bullets. Hated it cause it was heavy, wasted a LOT of potential, and required a wheelbarrow to carry around. So I sold it.

Later on, when I had kicked myself a hundred times for selling it, I wanted another one. But then I thought, "What could this caliber do if it was in a single shot, and I didn't lose any pressure at the cylinder gap?" After looking into this idea, I put together the gun pictured above. I wanted a single barrel platform so I wouldn't lose any pressure like I did from the cylinder gap of the revolver. Was the pressure loss enough to worry about? Maybe not, but in my mind, it was. So I "fixed" it, and took that variable out. It's not like I was ever gonna quickly rattle off 5 or 6 shots out of a 460 revolver anyway, so who cares if my gun holds 1 or 5?

I started to believe the 460 was a LONG distance load just based off my research. Then some of the guys on this forum that have more experience than I do with the 460 started talking about this same topic. My ears perked up big time! Then Max wrote his book and talked about the 460 and its capabilities in there. But nobody has really tested the chambering at long distances yet, that I'm aware of, so I don't think we really know the "limit" yet. I know that if I have a shot on an elk at 250 yards, I won't hesitate to take the shot. Is it capable of more than that? Some would argue that it is, some probably say it isn't. In my limited experience with it, I'm leaning towards "Yes, it most certainly is". I went with a 14" barrel and a 1.5" muzzle brake because from the people I talked to at the time, they said that the amount of powder in a full house load will require just over a 12" barrel to be most effective. I built this gun for the sole idea of being a long range (At the time, my idea of "long range" was 100+ yards. Then Ernie came along and introduced me to the TRUE meaning of "long distance". HA!!) hunting handgun, so getting the maximum benefit from pressure and powder burn before the bullet left the barrel was my number one priority. Plus a little extra weight out front helps keep it steady on the rest when lining up at 100 yards or more.

I've got all the confidence in the world in this gun out to 250 yards for hunting. Would a slightly longer or shorter barrel have made any difference? Would it be a MEASURABLE difference? Don't know. But I can tell you I am VERY happy with the setup I have, and I wouldn't change a thing if I had it to do over again. So far, it has been up to the task any time I start to stretch my distance abilities. For straight wall cartridges, I believe it has to be one of the top choices for anything over 150 yards. But again, that is my opinion based solely on shots at paper, milk jugs, and exploding targets. On wild game, it could be very different. You would have to talk to those more experienced than myself for those types of questions. Just speculating, I'd say the 14" barrel with a 1.5" muzzle brake is the "sweet spot" for me. Not to much weight out front, but yet plenty of barrel to let the bullet run!

Dang! Sorry I got so long winded, but like I said, I could talk about this gun all day. It's certainly my go-to gun, and one that interest me a LOT as far as down range performance and capability.

Mine is a 14" stainless, full bull, fluted, integral muzzle brake, MGM barrel as well. Has a 6-Hole MGM scope base w/ Weaver 2.5-8x handgun scope in Warne rings.





I am running 250gr Hornady XTP w/ 49gr H110 at 2,388 fps.

Took two deer with it this year. One at around 93 yards and the other around 123yrds or something like that. 1 shot flattened both of them. Excellent penetration and expansion. Retrieved both bullets as both shots were quartering to me. Stellar bullet performance.

I bought the barrel and stock set (unknown maker) used and the seller failed to disclose a cracked forend. It eventually split in half. Glued it back together and it eventually split again. Ended up bedding 4 aluminum cross bars inside the barrel channel and bedding the two halves back together with aluminum bedding compound. It's held together now.

The gun is awesome. Get one!

Would a 13 inch with brake work as well? I'm asking because over 13 is an additional $50 or $75.

One nice thing about big bores, they don't lose as much velocity when the barrel is shortened. You wouldn't really be handicapped with a 13" barrel. The brake will make it closer to 15 when done, and that is plenty long for a "handgun" ;-)

My barrel is 14" overall. So, the actual length to crown is about 12.5" or so. And I still get the velocity I do. Yes, I think you would be perfectly fine with a 13" barrel.

I think you would do fine with a 13" barrel. If you can swing the extra bucks for a one time charge, I'd do it. I have no regrets about going with the 14" overall length. Like Zee said, the 14" with brake makes it about 12.5" of actual barrel. It may not be noticeable, but after having it at 14", I can tell ya I myself wouldn't order another 460 barrel at any other length, muzzle brake included.

When you can pick off golf balls at 100 yards consistently, why change it??

You guys are killing me. I was just getting that 460 Bug out of my system and now this thread comes back to the top. I talked with MGM about the same barrel after seeing the one that Zee has.
I had them write up the order and put it on hold.
I might just have to pull the trigger on this one with a 13" barrel with their break, flutes , 6 hole scope base and I will use a hanger bar for my Pachy forend. I have Burris Z Signature rings and a Bushnell Elite and Weaver scope.
It will go on a Encore Pro Hunter frame. I just have to find brass and dies now.
Mike

Enable Mode......On

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/293729/starline-reloading-brass-460-s-and-w-magnum?cm_vc=wishList

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/681170/...=ProductFinding

Throw in some H110, Large Rifle Primers, and some Hornady 300gr XTP MAG bullets, and you're all set!

I have plenty of H110, large primers and a bunch of 300grn XTP's I shoot in my 45 LC Ruger Blackhawk and a bunch of cast in that weight. Found some dies and brass on Midway and I have a gift card for them. Now I just have to get the barrel.
Mike

Perfect!! I was going to tell ya, once ya have the 460 bug, you'll never get rid of it till ya buy the gun. After ya buy the gun, you'll never get rid of it without wishing, at some point, that you still had it.

It's all coming together as planned.

HAHAHAHA!!!! Yes, yes it is.....

No one can escape the allure of the mighty 460 S&W.

Reviving the thread for an update. Ever since the original post, I have been checking Gunbroker.com, and MGM for an already made barrel that would fit my criteria. One finally popped up on Gunbroker that caught my attention. It wasn't exactly what I wanted (13 inch barrel, stainless, bull contour, built in brake, six screw scope mount), but after building it on MGM's website it sounded like a good deal. I'm going to try to add the picture, but the last time I did, it came out fuzzy and someone had to fix it. The barrel is 16 1/2 inches including the brake, it has diamond(?) fluting, black ceracoat, and a 6 screw base. The total weight of the gun is 6 pounds 6 ounces. I hope to sight it in this weekend, and try some reduced loads (250gr XTP, 19.0 to 21.0 grains of Power Pistol). They should be going about 1500 fps or so. The barrel also came with 18 loaded rounds (200gr FTX Hornady factory loads and 2 pcs of brass. I have no experience with this type of brake so we will see.

It's beautiful!

Looks like it means business!

That's awesome!! Very nice!!!

Wouldn't wanna meet that in a dark alley! What a thug of a gun, I love it!

Just back from the ranch with some results. Initial sight in and load testing was done at 50 yards. This is my permanent range set up and requires less time to get going. The Hornady 200 grain FTX factory loads clocked 2812 fps for an average of 3 shots. That is insane!!! I have about a box and a half of those and didn't want to use them up sighting in, so switched over to my light loads consisting of a 250gr XTP, 19.0 grains of Power Pistol, and a Win Lrg Rifle primer. These loads shot a full 5 inches lower at 50 yds and clocked 1648 fps. That's about 200 fps faster than the Speer manual lists the load when shot out of a S&W XVR. Worked my way up to 21.0 grains which yielded 1806 fps. None of these loads shot better than 2 inch groups and were traveling far faster than I was expecting. I feel that Power Pistol is too fast burning to achieve much accuracy in such a large case and will be trying out 2400, AA9, and maybe HS6 for my lighter loads (1600 fps give or take).

Second round of tests for the 460. I shelved the light loads for the time being, since hunting season is fast approaching. I worked up loads using 240gr XTP Mags using IMR 4227 and Lil' Gun. All loads used Hornady brass, and Winchester large rifle standard primers. Groups were again shot at 50 yards for ease of range set up and take down. Bullets are seated to cannelure and then crimped in a separate operation. Before this loading session I pulled down one of the factory 200 grain FTX loads to compare the bullet to my 250gr XTP, and 240gr XTP Mag.

The 200 and 250 grain bullets take up the same amount of case capacity, while the 240 actually seats a little farther out. The factory load contained 48.3 grains of a ball/flattened ball powder. My IMR 4227 loads ran from 40.5 to 44.0 grains, and velocities were 2085 to 2202 fps. Best accuracy was 41.0 grains, 2100 fps, and group size for 5 shots was 1.666 inches. Not as good as I had hoped, and I was beginning to have some doubt about this setup. Maybe the use of magnum primers would tighten it up a bit. Next up was the Lil' Gun loads, 48.0 to 51.0 grains, with the top load yielding right at 2300 fps. The angle of the sun caused my chronograph to act goofy during this round so not all powder charges recorded. Best was 50.5 grains producing a 4 shot group of .691 inches. The Lil' Gun loads only had 4 shots per group because I was running short of brass.

I'll move out to 100 yards and try this same load with several different primers to see what works best.

Don't know how I missed this thread, sweet gun and good luck with load development. I am waiting on my 460 barrel it should be here in a week or so

I had a very good hit with the FTX and very poor results. Will NEVER shoot it at an animal again.

Well guys, I finally got my Encore together after getting a MGM 460 on another site. 14" complete length, 12" barrel with MGM break.
Full bull, (I'm glad!). Encore pro hunter frame, Pachmayr grips and Bushnell Red Dot. Hope it hold together.
Got 2 boxes of Hornady brass, dies and scope base with barrel.
Loaded some with H110, 46grns, CCI Benchrest Large Rifle primers and Hornady 240grn XTP-Mag.
Will be shooting it this week. Can't wait.
Mike

Sweet! Can't wait to hear how it performs.

That is the exact barrel I have! You will love that thing! It is flat out crazy accurate with the 300gr xtp mag's and a stiff dose of H110. Oh, and I don't set the bullets all the way into the cannelure. I measured the chamber, then pulled back .002". I run a crimp with it, but nothing to heavy. Enough to keep the bullet from moving, but not stupid heavy like I do on the Brute Squad.

You will be glad ya got that one! Great score!!!