460 Weatherby Magnum For Sale Price Reduced

sorry about the typo: I meant the kick of the .378WBM, not a 30/340-378. The 30/340-378 weren't made in WG but it sounds like a great LR guns I wouldn't mind owning.
 
Now we have rehabilitated the cartridge 460 Weatherby Magnum and made enough advertising for it.

@Mark Curry is sure to sell his rifle now !:)
Agreed. All the man wanted to do was sell his rifle, not have a treatise created on the caliber.
 
Used the same years ago firing a 500 grain bullet at around 3650 FPS.
Severe recoil but a magnificent t rifle especially with the Kahles scope.
Very nice rifle!
500gr at around 3650 fps is going to be a pain in the backside never mind the shoulder.....
makes a 570 gr out the 500 at 2350fps seem inadequate
 
500gr at around 3650 fps is going to be a pain in the backside never mind the shoulder.....
makes a 570 gr out the 500 at 2350fps seem inadequate

I think you mean 2650 fps
 
I've been using a .375 H&H and .416 rigby for the big stuff and 240/270 for the plains game. I haven't had a problem with those choices, but I'm collecting German made Weatherbys for the gun cabinet. The .460 is currently missing from the collection. I even have a 22-250 and 30-06 (9 lug). The hunt continues. PS - Roy would disagree with velocity being counterproductive... speed kills. :)
Those German 460s will have either a screw bead Mesquite or African Babinga stoc. Really Cool.
 
Weren't the Schuler rounds stolen by the Brits after wartime? i.e. Jeffery or Rigby?? 416 and 500?? If I had one made today, I'd call it Schuler! :)
I believe you're right but I would call it the Jeffrey. John Taylor in his book on African rifles said it has immense power, fully capable of any dangerous game in the world.
 
Oh , my friend has always dreamt of shooting a .460 Weatherby magnum calibre rifle for the last 50 years . Unfortunately , he never got the chance . He is a retired professional hunter , just like myself. He always hoped that he would have a client bring 1 . Unfortunately , that never happened.
He probably also dreams of stepping into the ring with Tyson
 
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I have one (being completely redone, broke the stock during 2020 so decided to rebuild it all, will post pictures upon completion) but have used it extensively over 22 years. Modern ammo and loads and it is an absolute BEAST of a charge stopper on tusk-less, hippo, buff etc.
I always find it interesting when hunters who fire 500 Jeffrey, 600 Nitro, 550 Magnums refuse to shoot a 460 WBY due to perceived recoil. ;-) ;-) It’s so funny!
On bullet distortion, only one reply…. Hand load and watch out for stupid velocities, you can still get Weatherby performance without having to go bonkers…. If you do that problem solved.
I reckon someone will buy this, but as with many big calibers the “pool” is limited.

My best always.
 
Last edited:
Mr. Curry, Is your Weatherby 460 still for sale? I would like to express my interest in your rifle as it suits a particular need I have.
 
Used the same years ago firing a 500 grain bullet at around 3650 FPS.
Severe recoil but a magnificent t rifle especially with the Kahles scope.
Very nice rifle!

I meant 2650
 
1stly , let's get something very clear . If I have a " complaint " with the bullets , then I will say so myself. I do not like the .460 Weatherby magnum calibre ( in it's factory loaded form ) for various reasons , as listed below :
> The recoil is ungodly . In my 10 year career as a professional hunter , I do not recall having even 1 client who could shoot accurately / handle the recoil of a .460 Weatherby magnum calibre rifle with factory loaded ammunition. I have fired a .460 Weatherby magnum calibre rifle 7 times in my life and I struggled with it as well. Perhaps , I am physically weak , but I weigh 186 pounds and have a height of 6 feet 2 inches . I have also served in the military and seen combat .
> The only way the average man can take the recoil of a .460 Weatherby magnum calibre rifle is by using a muzzle brake . God help your ears and the ears of your professional hunter if you happen to be firing 1 with him near you ( which invariably happens a great deal , especially in dangerous game hunts . )
> At normal ranges where dangerous game is shot ... the .460 Weatherby magnum in it's factory loaded format delivers excessively high velocities which is counter productive . Unless you plan to shoot an elephant or gaur bison or cape buffalo at distances exceeding 200 yards , you do not want such a high velocity .
A lowered velocity produces less erratic results on bullet integrity .

If you lower the powder charge of the .460 Weatherby magnum and bring the velocity down to 2350 feet per second or thereabouts , then you have good performance.
If high velocity is your fancy , then you use a monolithic solid bullet of 500 grain weight, with a flat point ( as opposed to a round point ) . That will not deform .
The South African company , Rhino will turn out such bullets for the .460 Weatherby magnum calibre . Barnes used to do it as well , but ceased manufacturing them after BATF ( Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco , Fire Arms & Explosives ) declared them to be armour piercing .

Issues that occurred 50-60 years ... Hmnnn , let's see. So , in 1990 a professional South African elephant culler by the name of Mike LaGrange published a book named " Ballistics ln Perspective " ( a book which I highly recommend to anyone who plans to hunt dangerous game someday ) . This gentleman shot more that 6000 African elephants between 1980 and 1990 , when he was in charge of the culling team at Nyamanetchi . In his book , he documents the dismal failures of factory loaded .460 Weatherby magnum ammunition when used on big bull elephants for brain brain shots , or cape buffalo with frontal heart shots and shoulder shots .
In 2011 , a professional hunter named Pierre Van Der Walt wrote a book called " African Dangerous Game Cartridges " where where he speaks of the dismal failures of .460 Weatherby magnum calibre factory loaded ammunition on African elephants and hippopotamuses .
Sure .. I am no spring chicken ( I turn 80 this year ) , but 2011 seems fairly recent to me .

Regarding the .458 Winchester magnum ... It is not a cartridge which I have much love for , either . A .375 Holland & Holland magnum cartridge case is 3 inches long and propels a 300 grain bullet with marvellous results . By contrast , a .458 Winchester magnum cartridge case is 2.5 inches long ( 0.5 inches shorter ) and yet it employs a 500 grain bullet ( which weighs 200 grains more than the aforementioned .375 Holland & Holland magnum ) . In my eyes , this is conceptually wrong .
When Winchester launched the .458 Winchester magnum calibre in 1956 , their factory manufactured ammunition was loaded to achieve a velocity of 2150 feet per second. Unfortunately , they realized that shelf life with such a powder charge was very definite . Ammunition stored for a few years tended to develop erratic velocities , often delivering velocities at least 100 feet per second less than what was advertised . In 1960 , Winchester began to manufacture their factory loaded ammunition to achieve a slightly lower velocity of 2130 feet per second . Unfortunately , shelf life was still a problem ( especially compared to other calibres ) . In 1973 , Winchester began to load their factory manufactured ammunition to achieve a slightly lowered velocity of 2120 feet per second , in yet another attempt to improve shelf life . Unfortunately , the desired result ( a longer shelf life for .458 Winchester magnum calibre ammunition ) was still not achieved . In 1978 , Winchester finally decided to do something drastic . They lowered the powder charge of the .458 Winchester magnum calibre factory loaded ammunition to achieve a velocity of 2040 feet per second. This move DID improve the shelf life considerably . Unfortunately , it also made the .458 Winchester magnum calibre an unreliable performer for frontal brain shots on big bull elephants , and this phenomenon was recorded widely by the Zimbabwe Department of National Parks and Wild Life Management, whose culling teams experienced numerous penetration problems on big bull elephants , using the factory loaded ammunition produced by Winchester and Remington for the .458 Winchester magnum at that time ( 1980 to 1984 )
Remington also followed the same route as Winchester . When Remington 1st began to manufacture .458 Winchester magnum calibre factory loaded ammunition in 1961 , the advertised velocity was already 2130 feet per second ( because they had already learnt from Winchester that a velocity of 2150 feet per second was causing problems with shelf life ) . They experienced shelf life problems and thus , by 1973 the powder charge was lowered to achieve a velocity of 2120 feet per second. They still experienced shelf life problems , and thus in 1978 they ( like Winchester ) also lowered their powder charge to achieve a velocity of 2040 feet per second . The effect ( or lack thereof ) that this lowered velocity had on thick skinned dangerous game ( especially frontal brain shots on big bull elephants or frontal heart shots or shoulder shots on cape buffaloes ) was widely recommended by the African game departments of the 1980s ( as I have elaborated on , in the above paragraph ).

If you wished to get desirable results on thick skinned dangerous game , with the .458 Winchester magnum , then the trick was to do 2 things :
> use ammunition loaded to the original advertised 2130 to 2150 feet per second.
> Use VERY FRESH ammunition , taking the short shelf life in to the equation .
The early patterns of Winchester and Remington factory loaded ammunition ( which was loaded to accomplish a velocity of 2150 feet per second and 2130 feet per second , respectively ) were marvellous performers if the operator was using freshly loaded / factory ammunition . I have personally seen what freshly loaded .458 Winchester magnum ammunition ( loaded to velocities of 2130 to 2150 feet per second ) can accomplish . They are good performers.

Today , most modern hunters who use achieve good results with the .458 Winchester magnum AND get a good shelf life , use bullets weighing no more than 480 grains . This increases powder space and shelf life. Those who use monolithic bullets typically use 450 to 465 grain bullets . Of course , sectional density is compromised . However , they do the work properly.

Your statement that bullets were also bending in the .458 Winchester magnum calibre is also too generalized . There were , indeed a few batches of Winchester " Full Metal Jacket " factory loaded ammunition produced in the late 1960s ( I 1st became aware of the issue in 1967 ) , where the " jackets " of the " full metal jacket " 500 grain bullets were poorly constructed and upon being fired at thick skinned dangerous game , these bullets often had a tendency to have their " jackets" rupture .
However , Hornady 500 grain " full metal jacket" bullets were also available during our time , as a hand loading component . These bullets had extremely thick and sturdily constructed " jackets " . When used in the .458 Winchester magnum , I had never seen a Hornady 500 grain " full metal jacket " bullet distort ( even if the ammunition was loaded to a velocity of 2150 feet per second ) .

The same Hornady 500 grain " full metal jacket " .458 calibre bullets , when used in the .460 Weatherby magnum ( loaded to factory velocities of 2600 feet per second ) were prone to distorting . If you lowered the velocity of the .460 Weatherby magnum calibre ammunition to achieve 2350 feet per second ( which is ample for anything which walks God's Green Earth ) , then these Hornady 500 grain " full metal jacket " bullets were sweet performers .

At the end of the day , however... If I was guiding clients again and a gentleman showed up at my outfitters with a .460 Weatherby magnum calibre rifle or a .458 Winchester magnum calibre rifle , then I would still be more than happy to guide them ( provided that they can shoot straight with them , of course )
 
1stly , let's get something very clear . If I have a " complaint " with the bullets , then I will say so myself. I do not like the .460 Weatherby magnum calibre ( in it's factory loaded form ) for various reasons , as listed below :
> The recoil is ungodly . In my 10 year career as a professional hunter , I do not recall having even 1 client who could shoot accurately / handle the recoil of a .460 Weatherby magnum calibre rifle with factory loaded ammunition. I have fired a .460 Weatherby magnum calibre rifle 7 times in my life and I struggled with it as well. Perhaps , I am physically weak , but I weigh 186 pounds and have a height of 6 feet 2 inches . I have also served in the military and seen combat .
> The only way the average man can take the recoil of a .460 Weatherby magnum calibre rifle is by using a muzzle brake . God help your ears and the ears of your professional hunter if you happen to be firing 1 with him near you ( which invariably happens a great deal , especially in dangerous game hunts . )
> At normal ranges where dangerous game is shot ... the .460 Weatherby magnum in it's factory loaded format delivers excessively high velocities which is counter productive . Unless you plan to shoot an elephant or gaur bison or cape buffalo at distances exceeding 200 yards , you do not want such a high velocity .
A lowered velocity produces less erratic results on bullet integrity .

If you lower the powder charge of the .460 Weatherby magnum and bring the velocity down to 2350 feet per second or thereabouts , then you have good performance.
If high velocity is your fancy , then you use a monolithic solid bullet of 500 grain weight, with a flat point ( as opposed to a round point ) . That will not deform .
The South African company , Rhino will turn out such bullets for the .460 Weatherby magnum calibre . Barnes used to do it as well , but ceased manufacturing them after BATF ( Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco , Fire Arms & Explosives ) declared them to be armour piercing .

Issues that occurred 50-60 years ... Hmnnn , let's see. So , in 1990 a professional South African elephant culler by the name of Mike LaGrange published a book named " Ballistics ln Perspective " ( a book which I highly recommend to anyone who plans to hunt dangerous game someday ) . This gentleman shot more that 6000 African elephants between 1980 and 1990 , when he was in charge of the culling team at Nyamanetchi . In his book , he documents the dismal failures of factory loaded .460 Weatherby magnum ammunition when used on big bull elephants for brain brain shots , or cape buffalo with frontal heart shots and shoulder shots .
In 2011 , a professional hunter named Pierre Van Der Walt wrote a book called " African Dangerous Game Cartridges " where where he speaks of the dismal failures of .460 Weatherby magnum calibre factory loaded ammunition on African elephants and hippopotamuses .
Sure .. I am no spring chicken ( I turn 80 this year ) , but 2011 seems fairly recent to me .

Regarding the .458 Winchester magnum ... It is not a cartridge which I have much love for , either . A .375 Holland & Holland magnum cartridge case is 3 inches long and propels a 300 grain bullet with marvellous results . By contrast , a .458 Winchester magnum cartridge case is 2.5 inches long ( 0.5 inches shorter ) and yet it employs a 500 grain bullet ( which weighs 200 grains more than the aforementioned .375 Holland & Holland magnum ) . In my eyes , this is conceptually wrong .
When Winchester launched the .458 Winchester magnum calibre in 1956 , their factory manufactured ammunition was loaded to achieve a velocity of 2150 feet per second. Unfortunately , they realized that shelf life with such a powder charge was very definite . Ammunition stored for a few years tended to develop erratic velocities , often delivering velocities at least 100 feet per second less than what was advertised . In 1960 , Winchester began to manufacture their factory loaded ammunition to achieve a slightly lower velocity of 2130 feet per second . Unfortunately , shelf life was still a problem ( especially compared to other calibres ) . In 1973 , Winchester began to load their factory manufactured ammunition to achieve a slightly lowered velocity of 2120 feet per second , in yet another attempt to improve shelf life . Unfortunately , the desired result ( a longer shelf life for .458 Winchester magnum calibre ammunition ) was still not achieved . In 1978 , Winchester finally decided to do something drastic . They lowered the powder charge of the .458 Winchester magnum calibre factory loaded ammunition to achieve a velocity of 2040 feet per second. This move DID improve the shelf life considerably . Unfortunately , it also made the .458 Winchester magnum calibre an unreliable performer for frontal brain shots on big bull elephants , and this phenomenon was recorded widely by the Zimbabwe Department of National Parks and Wild Life Management, whose culling teams experienced numerous penetration problems on big bull elephants , using the factory loaded ammunition produced by Winchester and Remington for the .458 Winchester magnum at that time ( 1980 to 1984 )
Remington also followed the same route as Winchester . When Remington 1st began to manufacture .458 Winchester magnum calibre factory loaded ammunition in 1961 , the advertised velocity was already 2130 feet per second ( because they had already learnt from Winchester that a velocity of 2150 feet per second was causing problems with shelf life ) . They experienced shelf life problems and thus , by 1973 the powder charge was lowered to achieve a velocity of 2120 feet per second. They still experienced shelf life problems , and thus in 1978 they ( like Winchester ) also lowered their powder charge to achieve a velocity of 2040 feet per second . The effect ( or lack thereof ) that this lowered velocity had on thick skinned dangerous game ( especially frontal brain shots on big bull elephants or frontal heart shots or shoulder shots on cape buffaloes ) was widely recommended by the African game departments of the 1980s ( as I have elaborated on , in the above paragraph ).

If you wished to get desirable results on thick skinned dangerous game , with the .458 Winchester magnum , then the trick was to do 2 things :
> use ammunition loaded to the original advertised 2130 to 2150 feet per second.
> Use VERY FRESH ammunition , taking the short shelf life in to the equation .
The early patterns of Winchester and Remington factory loaded ammunition ( which was loaded to accomplish a velocity of 2150 feet per second and 2130 feet per second , respectively ) were marvellous performers if the operator was using freshly loaded / factory ammunition . I have personally seen what freshly loaded .458 Winchester magnum ammunition ( loaded to velocities of 2130 to 2150 feet per second ) can accomplish . They are good performers.

Today , most modern hunters who use achieve good results with the .458 Winchester magnum AND get a good shelf life , use bullets weighing no more than 480 grains . This increases powder space and shelf life. Those who use monolithic bullets typically use 450 to 465 grain bullets . Of course , sectional density is compromised . However , they do the work properly.

Your statement that bullets were also bending in the .458 Winchester magnum calibre is also too generalized . There were , indeed a few batches of Winchester " Full Metal Jacket " factory loaded ammunition produced in the late 1960s ( I 1st became aware of the issue in 1967 ) , where the " jackets " of the " full metal jacket " 500 grain bullets were poorly constructed and upon being fired at thick skinned dangerous game , these bullets often had a tendency to have their " jackets" rupture .
However , Hornady 500 grain " full metal jacket" bullets were also available during our time , as a hand loading component . These bullets had extremely thick and sturdily constructed " jackets " . When used in the .458 Winchester magnum , I had never seen a Hornady 500 grain " full metal jacket " bullet distort ( even if the ammunition was loaded to a velocity of 2150 feet per second ) .

The same Hornady 500 grain " full metal jacket " .458 calibre bullets , when used in the .460 Weatherby magnum ( loaded to factory velocities of 2600 feet per second ) were prone to distorting . If you lowered the velocity of the .460 Weatherby magnum calibre ammunition to achieve 2350 feet per second ( which is ample for anything which walks God's Green Earth ) , then these Hornady 500 grain " full metal jacket " bullets were sweet performers .

At the end of the day , however... If I was guiding clients again and a gentleman showed up at my outfitters with a .460 Weatherby magnum calibre rifle or a .458 Winchester magnum calibre rifle , then I would still be more than happy to guide them ( provided that they can shoot straight with them , of course ) .
Tons of respect and admiration for you, your experiences over the years and now the knowledge share your doing with us! Wish I could somehow inject all you have learned into me! And I say that with 59+ years of experience under my hat!
 
Is this really the place for this discussion? This poor guy is trying to sell a rifle not create a space for a diatribe on bullet failure/success. I just want to see if it’s still available.
 
Used the same years ago firing a 500 grain bullet at around 3650 FPS.
Severe recoil but a magnificent t rifle especially with the Kahles scope.
Very nice rifle!
My oh my.....my 500 Jeff 570gr at 2350fps is a pissy....I will slink away into the woods.....
Africa brace yourselves shit on the way.....big shit....
 

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