Smith & Wesson offered us a chance to try out the most powerful production revolver in the world. Meet the Smith & Wesson Performance Center 460XVR 460 S&W Mag 5 Round 14″ Stainless Steel Pistol
When we first opened the box and the nylon zipper case on the Smith & Wesson Performance Center 460XVR 460 14″ Stainless Steel Pistol, our first thought was “How do I mount a stock on this thing?” only to be rebuked by the thought of that cylinder going off so close to my face.
“It’s a lot of gun”, is the understatement of the year.
Brief History of Why
At one time my favorite handguns to shoot were considered oddballs. Take for example the Thompson Center Contender in 41 Magnum, 30-30 Winchester, 223 Remington or 45-70 Government. That was all about squeezing the maximum velocity out of a powerful round in a handgun. Then there was the Remington XP-100 in 7mm BR and the Savage Striker in 308 Winchester.
The problem with the XP-100 and the Savage Striker was that they were awkward to shoot for many shooters. The Thompson Center Contenders and Encores also suffered from being single shot and the case could be made that an 8″ to 10″ bbl hunting revolver was a wiser investment.
Many of these “cut down rifles” disappeared from the market when something better came along from S&W in the forms of the S&W 500 and S&W 460. Many shooters mistakenly believe that they were developed for Brown Bear encounters in the Great White North.
On the contrary, they were developed as serious hunting handguns for big game as they ballistically mirrored the powerful .30 caliber Magnum rifle rounds in a (slightly) more portable package revolver style.
Smith & Wesson offers short barreled versions of these revolvers for those who venture into bear country, but we caution our readers for using these revolvers for that purpose. The hard recoil may cost you a quick follow-up shot and much of the power of these round are lost in a sub 8” bbl.
The Design
In 2005, Smith & Wesson rolled out the 460 S&W on their powerful X-Frame which had been developed for the earlier 500 S&W Cartridge. The frame is precision machined from stainless-steel hammer forgings with a brushed satin finish. The unfluted cylinder holds five rounds. The barrel is fluted forward of the shroud to reduce weight and increase rigidity. The barrel is crowned with a side-venting muzzle brake, which controls barrel rise, vents gasses to the sides and makes one hell of a fireworks show.
Top and bottom Picatinny rails adorn the barrel shroud. The top rail is for optics and the bottom is intended for a bipod.
Shooting the Most Powerful Revolver on Earth
Surprisingly we found the ammunition a bit cheaper than we anticipated at $34 for a box of 20 rounds of Hornady 200 grain XTPs at our local sporting goods store. The muzzle velocity with these rounds through the 14″ barrel came out to 2,370 f.p.s.; with a kinetic energy of 2,495 foot lbs. of energy.
Despite those numbers, the felt recoil was much less than we anticipated (particularly when you realize that you can download to a 454 Casull).
We have spent 30 years shooting big bore revolvers and as we mentioned, rifle calibers out of pistols. We used to think that this made us a poor judge of recoil until last year when we fired 5 rounds from an 8 3/8″ S&W 500 and had to put a pair of gloves on to finish the box!
The 460 S&W was less punishing. Some compare it to a heavy 44 Magnum. We do not find that to be accurate. It was much more comparable to a 454 Casull. We suspect the 5.5 pounds of revolver and bipod soak up much of that and the Hogue grips help out quite a bit as well.
Live Inventory Price Checker
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Smith and Wesson 460XVR Stainless .460 SW 8.38 Barrel 5-Rounds | GrabAGun | $ 1470.99 |
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Smith & Wesson 460XVR Performance Center .460 S&W Magnum Revolver, Stainless - 11626 | Palmetto State Armory | $ 2621.99 $ 1939.99 |
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Smith & Wesson 460XVR Performance Center .460 S&W Magnum Revolver, Stainless - 11626 | Palmetto State Armory | $ 2621.99 $ 1939.99 |
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Smith & Wesson 460XVR .460 S&W Mag Revolver, 10.5" Barrel, Adjustable Sights, Silver - 170262 | Palmetto State Armory | $ 2432.99 $ 1799.99 |
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Our first outing with the revolver was to get used to the recoil and have a few members of the staff at Reno Guns & Range get acquainted with it. Not only to see if they wanted one as a rental gun but to see if they had the same sense of recoil that we did.
With our suspicions confirmed we took it out to the local outdoor range and sighted it at 100 yards using the factory sights. You will get better accuracy with a proper optic, but iron sights with the bipod from a bench gave us a sub-3-inch five-shot group.
We know of other shooters that really get that down to just under or just over an inch and we can see that. Our eyes at that distance even with a bipod are probably a bit too old for iron sights these days.
Final thoughts
If you are a dedicated handgun hunter and want a wheel gun capable of taking any animal in North America, this one is right up your alley. If you are a certified power fiend who wants to push the most energy down range; this revolver has your name on it. Again, the sub 8-inch barrels are probably not worth it for either of these tasks, yet they possess a unique “cool factor” in their own right.
We have not seen many holsters for this one, but S&W includes a nylon sling for ease of carrying.
Although you can download to the other straight wall .45 revolver cases, we probably would not go much shorter than the 454 Casull due to bullet jump through that long cylinder.
Smith & Wesson Performance Center 460XVR 460 S&W Mag 5 Round 14″ Stainless Steel Pistol Specifications
- Model: PERFORMANCE CENTER Model 460XVR – 14″ Barrel with Bi-Pod
- Caliber: 460 S&W Magnum (will chamber 454 Casull, 45 Colt, 45 Auto Rim, 45 Schofield)
- Capacity: 5
- Barrel Length: 14″
- Overall Length: 21.5″
- Front Sight: Black Ramp
- Rear Sight: Adjustable
- Action: Single/Double Action
- Grip: Hogue
- Weight: 87.1 oz
- MSRP: $1559
About Mike Searson:
Mike Searson’s career as a shooter began as a Marine Rifleman at age 17. He has worked in the firearms industry his entire adult life as a Gunsmith, Ballistician, Consultant, Salesman, Author and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1989.
Mike has written over 2000+ articles for a number of magazines, websites, and newsletters, including Blade, RECOIL, OFF-GRID, Tactical Officer, SWAT, Tactical World, Gun Digest, Examiner.com, and the US Concealed Carry Association, as well as AmmoLand Shooting Sports News.
I own the 4 inch barrel 500 smith and wesson and have shot 15rds + with zero issues and I have to got to say, it its almost more fun to shoot than my 50 bmg, the recoil is not nearly as bad as I am reading but I also shoot quite a lot so maby I am just adjusted to it. I also own the 14 inch s&W .460 but to recent nerve pinch in c4, c5, and c6 I have not been able to take her out to test fire her. But I am imagining it will kick… Read more »
Not the most powerful revolver on earth. That would be the TII armory 500 Bushwacker.
I’ve had mine for several years now. I’ve got a Leupold VX-3 on it with their PRW rings holding it on. I only use 200 grain Hornady FTX factory loads. After several hundred rounds, I have zero wear/cutting on the strap. A few years back I tightened my barrel cylinder gap to 0.07mm, and boy did my speeds go up. I have also yet to see any binding due to heat caused cylinder expansion. I shot a deer with it a few years back from 25 yards, and it created a 5” exit wound and blew the front leg clean… Read more »
I love the .460 ! personally, I think the .500 is too big for the X frame. The .460 is a perfect fit. Arthritis, carpal tunnel, broken hands in the past, 150# wet and the gun is no more threatening than my .357 or .44 mag. I listen to folks complain about it and I can’t figure why. I am confident my 395gr. bullet hitting at 2865 foot pounds of energy would stop a bear or intruder without any problem. Awesome gun. Shoot 2×6’s and the 500 will go through 6 and stick in 7. The 460 will go through… Read more »
I picked one up with 8 and 3/8 barrel in 2007and probably put 1000 round through it developing loads. I developed load data for everything from a 45 Colt equivalent 255 gr to 400 grain rhino-rollers. I shot a Coues whitetail with the 460 using the 200 gr FTX at 2300 fps. The shot was about 25 yards quartering toward me. The bullet went in on the point of the left shoulder and exited just being the shoulder blade on the right. It turned the whole front portion of the deer into hamburger and literally took out half the heart.… Read more »
I love my 460. It has become my standard carry when I’m in bear country. For anyone looking for a holster for one, or any other large revolver, may I suggest https://www.diamonddcustomleather.com/
I have the Guides Choice Chest Holster which really helps distribute the weight of a large revolver and, for me, has been incredibly comfortable. Excellent craftsmanship and customizable.
My Ragingbull 6.5 inch barrel 454 Casull shooting 300 grain XTPs get the job done for me .
Maybe this long barreled .460 is a contender for most powerful PRODUCTION revolver, but it’s not the most powerful in the world. The Austrian Pfeifer Zeliska .600 Nitro Express revolver shoots a big elephant gun round and produces over 4,500 foot pounds of energy, and the .500 Bushwacker – designed as a custom upgrade for Magnum Research’s BFR revolver – can produce over 5,000. (At least one functional larger revolver based on a blackpowder Remington was made with a 28mm bore, but that’s NOT handheld, so it doesn’t count in this context.) If you have a .460 or .500 revolver,… Read more »
I just got mine, today was the first day of shooting. It put both 45 Colt and 454 Casull rounds touching at 25 yards, so the long leap to rifling is the none issue anyone who has used revolvers knows it would be. At 125 yards, 460 rounds were minute of pie plate for two shooters using the weaver stance with a Leopold 1.5 X scope. I look forward to elk hunting with this new gun this fall. Lots of hand loading components are on their way’
Mike the 500 is the most powerful and the 460 is the fastest. I have no problem banging away with my 6.5 inch 500 without gloves.
Dave jones … Quite right .. 500 mag is the most powerful .460 can be a little “quicker” … Also I have no problem shootin my 4″ 500 mag without gloves … This is a poorly written article full of opinion and inaccuracy
You have to go by muzzle energy for power. Which means this stockless carbine is more powerful. Put a barrel on a 500 the same length and it will be more powerful. I have a Spike Driver in 500 made by Big Horn Armory and it is more powerful than this 460. It has a 20 inch barrel. As it stands, yes, THIS 460 is more powerful than the longest barrel 500 at this time as a revolver. Both rounds are bad ass. I have a S&W 500 collection.
the 460 is neither the most powerful or fastest. I am not sure how people fall for the marketing hype of the 460 or the comments that the 500 is to much recoil and the 460 is better. Does everyone understand the 500 can be loaded as hot or as light as anyone would wish. You can have it recoil like a 25acp or like a full bore 500. I can not see anyone using one of these and not reloading. Cost accuracy bullet selection. First on most powerful. That is easy handlload the heaviest bullet possible at max pressure… Read more »
The leap is all theory and no real world issue. Just like 38 special in a 357 Maximum, it really does not matter. I like my 460 for Bullet selection.