I just started reloading for my 460 in preparation of the upcoming gun seasons for deer here in Iowa and want to pick some brains. I have a S&W 460XVR with the 8-3/8" bbl. It wears a Leupold VXIII 2.5-8X32 scope.

I loaded up my 1st 10 test rounds the other day. 5 of them were 45gr of H110, 5 were 47gr of H110 pushing Hornady 240gr XTP MAGs. I used once fired Hornady brass and CCI #250 Magnum Large Rifle Primers. When I went to shoot them I had 8 of the 10 rounds fail to fire. The primers were being struck decently but not going off. Here's a pic of seven of them that were struck but did not fire..........


I had done some research before hand and seen that magnum primers were recommended for the H110 but after seeing the results of what happened and doing a little more research on the internet I've seen other guys have the same issue with CCI Magnum primers not going off. Seems the are harder and have a thicker cup? I Also have some Federal Large Rifle Primers on hand and when I got home I did a test and primed a few cases of empty brass and went out to the garage and fired them off and those primers went off just fine in my gun.

One question......will the Federal primers work just fine while using H110? I believe I have a good crimp on my test rounds if that question arises. I did load up several more test rounds last night using the Federal primers and 45gr of H110 and will try and shoot them today to see what happens.

Have any of you guys had the same issue with the CCI Magnum primers by chance?

Also, on a side note. The 2 rounds I did get to fire had a POI that was several inches higher @ 100 yards than the factory Hornady 200gr FTX ammo I've been shooting out of my 460. I really expected POI to be lower using a heavier 240gr XTPMAG that should be running 250-300fps slower than the factory ammo. Maybe you experts can explain this to me.

Thanks in advance for any/all responses to my inquiry.

Trevor

One other quick question as well. about 1/3 of my once fired Hornady brass is measuring in the 1.805-1.810" range which is longer than the maximum 1.80" for SAAMI specs so I think I need a good way to trim this brass just a little before I load it. Any suggestions on a trimmer that will work because my L.E. Wilson trimmer isn't going to work from what I can tell.

For my full power, 47.5 grains of H110 behind a 240 grain XTP load, I use standard primers. My current choice is the Federal #210 large rifle primer. I've also used Winchester WLR primers in the past, and they also worked just fine. From what I can tell, it seems as though all the powder burns just fine. I've also heard that CCI primers have a tougher cup, but I've never used any, so I can't help you there. That said, I have used Winchester WLRM magnum rifle primers on occasion, usually while experimenting with reduced loads because they help the small powder charges ignite more completely. They've never failed to go off, either. In fact, the only primers I've ever had fail to fire were due to the fact that I didn't seat the primer fully in the pocket, so the firing pin expended its energy pushing the primer deeper. These loads fired on the second attempt.

So, three possible solutions: First, make sure you're seating your current primers completely. If that doesn't work, switch to standard primers, preferably Federal or Winchester. If neither of these work, have your revolver looked at by a gunsmith.

As to your second question, about the slower, heavier rounds hitting higher than the faster factory loads. While I'm no expert, I have seen something like that before. The slower bullets from the reduced loads I've tried in my 460 have always hit much higher than my 2000 fps H110 loads. The reason is apparently that the slower rounds are in the barrel longer as it recoils, meaning the barrel is pointed slightly more upward by the time they exit, hence the higher impacts downrange.

I use a Hornady case trimmer for my brass. It's pretty easy to use, but I don't remember how much they cost individually since I got mine as part of a kit. I haven't had to use mine much since all my brass is a bit short, especially my Hornady cases which are in the 1.770" to 1.780" range.

I am using standard fed210 primers in my 460 loads but I am using Alliant 2400 for my powder. My 460 is a TC encore barrel however and my TC has a beefed up hammer spring. I have had some light strike issues with cci 500 primers in my Taurus 357. I have also heard that cci primers are harder to strike. I plan on getting some different primers for my 357 loads and trying that.

IAshooter,

Lee Precision makes an inexpensive (not cheap) case trimming tool for the 460 S&W and many others, you need to purchase the universal cutter and lock stud in addition to the cartridge specific mandrel:

http://leeprecision.com/gage-holder-460-s-w.html
http://leeprecision.com/cutter-lock-stud.html

Lone Wolf is correct, the longer dwell time (time in the barrel) for the heavier bullet is translated into higher impacts, due to the exit of the bullet when the barrel is higher in the recoil arc. Also, if the primers are not seated fully in the primer pocket, it may result in misfires - one of the causes. I have used CCI, Federal, and Win primers with no problems.

Love my 460s. Hope this helps,

Doc

doc with a glock, thanks for the links. I have those purchased and on the way now. Found them on Ebay w/o any trouble. I went with the large cutter just in case I ever end up with a 480 or 500.

And the other responses. Thanks again.

I just got an Encore in 460 S&W. I'm loading H110, and using Fed 210 Rifle primers like I do in most all of my loads. I started with the 240grn XTP Mag's and they are shooting great. I found 100 of the Barnes 200grn HP bullets and loaded some of them. They are shooting about 2" at 50 yds but my red dot front screw sheared off. I have new screws and I'm ready to go.
No problems with the Fed 210 primers. That is in my Encore though.
Mike

I am going to address primarily the "Primer Question" Do use the magnum primer for the H110. Yes they do differ in degree of Cup Hardness. CCI is probably the hardest. Federal seems to be the softest. Next we find that the primers produce different degrees of flames or temperatures. this may sound ridiculous, but it is a known fact among certain circles. Shotgunners are one and long range and even Bench rest shooters have experimented and learned this. Trick shooters or exhibition shooters seem to know that the Federal primers are the softest. I am referring to shooting double action pistols, with light double action triggers. I am going to post a chart, and I was looking for another article on this, as I have had a few to my availability in the past.
http://www.castingstuff.com/primer_testing_reference.htm
(NOTE HERE THAT THE FEDERAL 210M IS A MATCH GRADE PRIMER NOT A MAGNUM PRIMER) Why Federal did this (labeling) is beyond me, but I have run into this argument and question many times. I use this primer with all 308 loads.

Here is some of the best reading on Primers concerning information without getting into every detail such as charts do,, and charts, that can sometimes be misleading, or misunderstood.
http://www.shootingtimes.com/ammo/ammunition_st_mamotaip_200909/
I do hope that the links work but if they do not maybe one can copy and paste them.
I am not going to offer up the info for the shotgun primers, as this post was about the large Rifle and Large Magnum Rifle primers.
Please read the Shooting Times article, and note that Allan Jones talks about Bridge Thickness.
I prefer to seat my primers by hand. This helps to know and control the depth of the seating, since it is so important.
FYI: Allan Jones used to work for Speer. He retired either early this year or at the end of last year. He is already missed.

My suggestion is to stay with the handbooks info, and keep safety paramount.

Also, on a side note. The 2 rounds I did get to fire had a POI that was several inches higher @ 100 yards than the factory Hornady 200gr FTX ammo I've been shooting out of my 460. I really expected POI to be lower using a heavier 240gr XTPMAG that should be running 250-300fps slower than the factory ammo. Maybe you experts can explain this to me. ( quote from OP)

Heavier bullets always give a higher POI than lighter bullets.

lA---Please remove the grips from your S&W XVR and make sure the strain screw is fully tightened... lts a small screw that presses against the long flat spring that powers the hammer.. lt controls the tension on the hammer spring...Some people loosen it to get a lighter single action pull

I might have to check that, thank you.

I did check the strain screw. It's good.

I went out today and test fired some new loads using the Federal 210 primers instead and good news.......they all went BOOM!

These are 240gr XTP MAGs with 45gr of H110.

I knew these hand loads had a much higher POI than the factory stuff I had been shooting, aprox. 8-10" higher @ 100 than the factory stuff so I adjusted down 9 MOA on the scope right off the bat before I shot anything today. I started @ 50 yards and the shot was a couple inches high which is just about exactly where it should be according to the ballistics, etc. I've run for this load for how I want it to shoot. I then shot a 5 shot group @ 100 yards and I wanted to be 4" high to get a MPBR (Maximum Point Blank Range) of about 200 yards for an 8" zone (deer vitals). The wind was 12-15 at roughly 45 deg into my face from left to right. I like to use this site when I'm looking at ballistics etc......... ShootersCalculator.com

Here's a pic of my target @ 100 yards...............



I did break one shot badly and I knew it when I shot it but the other 4 made a very acceptable group that is just about nuts on the 4" high @ 100 yards I'm looking for so I'm pretty happy with the results today.

Good shooting! I think that'll work for deer hunting.

Glad it worked out.