.460 Weatherby Magnum
The .460 Weatherby Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked rifle cartridge, developed by Roy Weatherby in 1957. The cartridge is based on the .378 Weatherby Magnum necked up to accept the .458-inch (11.6 mm) bullet. The original .378 Weatherby Magnum parent case was inspired by the .416 Rigby. The .460 Weatherby Magnum was designed as an African dangerous game rifle cartridge for the hunting of heavy, thick skinned dangerous game.
| .460 Weatherby Magnum | ||||||||||||||||
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Fourth from right | ||||||||||||||||
| Type | Rifle | |||||||||||||||
| Place of origin | United States | |||||||||||||||
| Production history | ||||||||||||||||
| Designer | Roy Weatherby | |||||||||||||||
| Designed | 1957 | |||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Weatherby Inc. | |||||||||||||||
| Produced | 1959–present | |||||||||||||||
| Specifications | ||||||||||||||||
| Parent case | .378 Weatherby Magnum | |||||||||||||||
| Case type | belted, bottlenecked | |||||||||||||||
| Bullet diameter | .458 in (11.6 mm) | |||||||||||||||
| Neck diameter | .481 in (12.2 mm) | |||||||||||||||
| Shoulder diameter | .560 in (14.2 mm) | |||||||||||||||
| Base diameter | .582 in (14.8 mm) | |||||||||||||||
| Rim diameter | .579 in (14.7 mm) | |||||||||||||||
| Rim thickness | .063 in (1.6 mm) | |||||||||||||||
| Case length | 2.913 in (74.0 mm) | |||||||||||||||
| Overall length | 3.65 in (93 mm) | |||||||||||||||
| Case capacity | 141.1 gr H2O (9.14 cm3) | |||||||||||||||
| Rifling twist | 1 in 16 in (410 mm) | |||||||||||||||
| Primer type | Large rifle magnum | |||||||||||||||
| Maximum pressure | 65,000 psi (450 MPa) | |||||||||||||||
| Ballistic performance | ||||||||||||||||
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| Test barrel length: 26 in (660 mm) Source(s): Weatherby | ||||||||||||||||
Prior to the Weatherby's arrival, the .600 Nitro Express had been the most powerful cartridge but the .460 Weatherby Magnum eclipsed this, and was the world's most powerful commercially available sporting cartridge for 29 years until the advent of the .700 Nitro Express.
The .460 launches a 500-grain (32 g) bullet at a chronographed velocity of 2,700 ft/s (820 m/s) from a 26-inch (660 mm) barrel, measuring 8,100 ft⋅lbf (11,000 J) of muzzle energy.