GUNS Magazine Taurus .460 S&W Magnum Raging Hunter

For several years Brazilian gun maker Taurus has been offering a variety of revolvers for shooters and hunters alike. Their Raging Hunter series has been quite popular with the shooting fraternity in several variants chambered in .357 Mag., .44 Mag. and .454 Casull. Its apparent Taurus is not resting on their laurels as they have just introduced a new big bore in .460 S&W Magnum. Why the .460 S&W? Well, why not?

The .460 S&W Magnum cartridge has been around since 2005. It's becoming more popular with handgun hunters, especially those interested in large critters like elk, moose or bear, though it shouldn't be overlooked for whitetail deer or big mean hogs. The .460 S&W is touted as being the fastest production revolver round. The cartridge is basically a lengthened .454 Casull, which in reality is a lengthened 45 Colt. It's a straight wall rimmed case with an overall length of 1.800″ compared to the .454 Casull at 1.383″. The SAMMI maximum pressure (MAP) is 65,000 psi. That's huge! Realistically, commercial factory ammo is not loaded to these specs. The mighty .44 Mag., by comparison, shows an MAP of 36,000 psi. Suffice to say, the .460 S&W Mag. is a behemoth round designed for a revolver.

The .460 S&W is by no means intended for personal defense, competition, or casual plinking. It was purely designed as cartridge for handgun hunters pursuing big game or backup while hiking in big bear country.

An UltraDot MatchDot II was installed on the integral barrel shroud sight rail for testing. Handloaders can customize their loads with a variety of premium bullets. Redding Reloading Equipment provides quality dies and accessories.

Taurus has introduced their new Raging Hunter in three barrel lengths — 5.12″, 6.75″ and 8.37″, with a matte black or two tone finish. My test gun came in matte black with a 6.75″ barrel. The revolver tips the scales at 54 oz.

The new Raging Hunter incorporates a steel sleeve inserted into an aluminum-shrouded housing. The 6.75″ barrel is ported with four holes on each side of the front sight. A full-length underlug looks all business-like. Underneath the barrel in bright white lies the serial number. An integral Picatinny rail makes mounting optics quick and painless without having to install a base mount. The rail has nine slots for flexibility on optic placement.

The fully adjustable rear sight is all black with the standard square notch. The front sight consists of a black post. I elected to shoot the new Raging Hunter with optics so I skipped range sessions with iron sights. An UltraDot Matchdot II was mounted employing the rings which came with the optic. This red dot sight has withstood pounding abuse from other handguns producing copious amounts of bone-jarring recoil so I thought it would be a solid candidate for the .460 S&W Mag. The UltraDot has 11 adjustments for dot intensity which is ideal for changing light conditions. The red dot can be adjusted for 2, 4, 6 or 8 MOA along with two additional reticles. This is a superb optic for handgun hunters with many beneficial features.

A rubber grip with cushion insert is most welcome when touching off a .460 S&W Mag. The black grip is attached to the frame with a single screw that goes through the bottom. It is slightly textured with subtle finger grooves.

The massive black oxide cylinder holds five rounds. The cylinder features dual locks and it took me a while before I got the hang of it. The rear lock pushes forward while pressing downward simultaneously on the front thumb lock. This lock is located on the crane with both latches finely textured. The five-shot cylinder swings out to the left and rotates counterclockwise.

A large hammer spur is checkered aggressively to provide non-slip cocking. The trigger is both wide and smooth, much like you would encounter on a target trigger. The Raging Hunter features a transfer-bar safety with frame-mounted firing pin.

The gun has dual cylinder locks fore and aft of the cylinder. This is necessary for the .460, which nearly doubles the pressure of some other big-game cartridges.

The massive cylinder holds five of the equally massive rounds.

The barrel is ported with four holes on each side of the front sight. Mark says the recoil- and muzzle-flip-reducing ports were very welcome!

One of the positive attributes of the .460 S&W Mag. is it provides shooters with the capability of shooting other cartridges such as .454 Casull, .45 Colt, or .45 Schofield. This ability to shoot lesser-recoiling rounds could extend your shooting sessions and lessen the pain in your wrist and wallet. I needed a few more rounds to complete the shooting evaluation on this project and a box of 20 Hornady 200-grain FTX costs $43 — or $2.15 per pop.

At the range I tested two factory Hornady offerings — 200 FTX and their new 200-grain Monoflex bullet in Handgun Hunter ammo. I also shot two Federal Premium offerings — the 275-grain Barnes Expander and 300-grain Swift A-Frame. This is serious hunting ammo!

Targets were set at 25 yards since the gun had not been sighted-in or previously shot. The first thing I noticed was the trigger pull. According to Lyman's digital trigger pull gauge, the trigger broke at 7.13 lbs. This is too heavy for my liking but a competent gunsmith could change this quickly. The Raging Hunter balances well and the cushioned grip feels comfortable.

I would be remiss if I did not address the recoil — it is a handful. Recoil is subjective but you will definitely know when the hammer drops on a .460 round. Those cushioned grips are most welcome and so is the porting. Groups from 25 and 50 yards were satisfying with all factory rounds tested. After shooting the 6.75″ barrel, as a hunter I would opt for the longer 8.37″ model for my undertakings. The shorter barrel models may be ideal for carrying a powerful package in bear country.

During the range session, I also shot a 30-grain .45 Colt load from HSM. This ammo also performed well by judging from the small groups and is much friendlier to the wrist. Despite the heavy trigger pull, the new Taurus was accurate with a variety of ammo tested.

Versatility — all these can be shot in the .460 S&W Magnum, from left to right: .45 Colt, .454 Casull, .460 S&W Mag. Taurus has just introduced the .460 S&W Mag. in their popular Raging Hunter line.

If the rising costs of new ammunition is prohibiting you from shooting all you want, handloading the .460 S&W Mag. may ease some of the financial discomfort. I’ve been using Redding equipment with four dies. I prefer seating the bullet in one stage and crimping in a separate step. Thanks to Redding's T7 turret system, you can install and adjust all four dies. When one stage of the process is complete, simply turn the turret and go to the next stage. There are several premium bullets available for the .460 S&W Mag. capable of tackling a variety of big game pursuits. Hornady provides their 200-grain FTX and 240-grain XTP Magnum Barnes. Speer and Swift also manufacture quality bullets intended for large critters. I’ve been working with H110 and IMR 4227 recently. Other powders may work equally as well including Accurate #9, 2400 and Accurate 1680. For lighter loads and cast bullets, Trailboss is your friend. The .460 S&W Mag. was designed for large rifle primers.

The ergonomic finger-groove rubber grips incorporate a cushioned insert.

The wide target-type trigger is smooth but at 7.5 lbs. on our test gun, a little heavy for most shooters.

So what purpose does the .460 fill for handgun hunters? Great question and the answer will vary greatly depending on individual preference. Some states allow handgun hunting with straight wall pistol cartridges only. While some consider the .44 Mag. realistically effective out to 100–125 yards, the .460 S&W Mag. can extend the effective revolver range when that big buck steps out in the bean field 200 yards away. Obviously a lot of practice will be necessary but the cartridge is up to the task if I do my part. There is nothing wrong with the .460 S&W Mag. as an effective deer cartridge and will definitely handle those big mean, ugly hogs.

With a spring black bear hunt in Alaska scheduled, I plan on taking the .460 up north. I’ll be hunting in a two-bear area and will try two different loads if things work out. In my home state of Missouri, we’re scheduled to experience our first black bear season late in the fall so the .460 may possibly get another opportunity at a bruin. Later in the year a trip to Africa is on-tap for some plains game. The .460 will also get a workout on the Dark Continent for kudu, nyala, warthog and more.

Whether you’re sitting in a deer blind on the back 40, stalking big bears in Alaska or chasing Rocky Mountain elk in the west, the .460 S&W Mag. makes a worthy candidate for those big-game encounters. Taurus has just provided a new platform to launch this round in their Raging Hunter at an attractive price-point. I liked the 6.75″ model but will opt for the 8.37″ barrel for my hunting purposes. Those who wish to keep weight and length to a minimum could very well prefer the shorter 5.12″ model, especially for a packing pistol. Taurus provides choices and this new iteration in the Raging Hunter line-up will see action in the field. Let's go hunting!

https://www.taurususa.com

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