Imagine this scenario that plays out sometimes at Beavertown Guns and Grocery: (some minor details have been embellished for perspective) An enormous, muscular man strides in. His shirts says “2012 Alligator Wrestling Finalist”. His leather pants have grizzly bear teeth marks in them. His steel toed kevlar boots have an authoritative “clump, clump” as he walks. Beads of testosterone show on his forehead. Through the window you can see his motorcycle parked out front, with 350 V-8 valve covers showing on either side. He pulls a green tobacco stalk from his shirt pocket and bites off a piece as he strolls up to the counter. In his other hand he holds 3 unfiltered cigarettes that he puffs simultaneously. As he approaches the hand gun display, he glances at them, throws his head back and grunts. “Bah, don’t need them” he says, dismissing the guns with a wave of his hand. “I got me a .357 magnum, and on the weekend I poach elephants with it” he boasts. “That gun will set anyone back on they’are haunches”.
Whoops!! He just revealed he is not only ignorant, but actually a bit of wimp to boot. My grandma could shoot a .357 one handed. (although she also has a class A CDL and used to drive a Corvette) When I first was introduced to hand guns at a tender young age, I thought a .357 was THEE gun to have. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against a .357 Magnum, I own three of them. But it’s just not the biggest, baddest gun on the block. Not by far. And a lot of guys are strutting around pretending they are. I first realized the .357’s lack of potency when I was down in Texas. I shot a wild hog with one, and he just stood there and blinked. It took almost a full cylinder to make him realize what was going on. At that point, I realized I needed a bigger handgun.
What if a tiger got out of the zoo and tried to get in your house? Or a grizzly bear charged you? You would be better off shooting in the air hoping to attract help. That was when I first discovered the Smith & Wesson .460. It is the second most powerful production handgun in the world. Perfect for someone wanting some snap, but not needing the best. (The S & W .500 is the most powerful) It is fast enough to set off an exploding target, something a .357, or most other handguns won’t do. (more on exploding targets some other time) It also is supposed to be able to stop a charging grizzly bear, something I don’t plan on researching first hand.
To help you appreciate the .460, I took some pictures comparing the .460 to the .357 cartridge. The downside to shooting this powerful gun? A box of 20 shells can set you back $65. But on the plus side is that you can also shoot Colt .45’s in the same gun. I do like my .357 magnum to take along hiking in the Pa woods. But when the time comes to head to Alaska, I’ll take the .460. By the way, I do have to admit that I do not have a .460 yet. The model I am interested in costs around $1,400. (another drawback)
Happy hunting! Checkout the pictures below, and you will see why you should have a .460:
