I don't have any leads except call your local gunshops and let them know what your looking for and your price range. All of those guns and calibers will probably come with a half box of shells, I'm thinking.

 

I don't have any leads except call your local gunshops and let them know what your looking for and your price range.

All of those guns and calibers will probably come with a half box of shells, I'm thinking

.

Thats just funny

 

I thought the 460's started out at 10" and go up from there.

 

"I thought the 460's started out at 10" and go up from there. "

With a 2-3/4" barrel the cylinder and barrel would be close to the same length!

 

Why not use a S&W 500, with a 4" barrel such as pictured below. It's the one on the bottom.
You'll get a more complete powder burn and send 440 gr. WFN ,(1 OZ.) close to that of a 12 ga. shotgun
you only lose about 300 fps. I doubt a bear will notice.

 

I like the Smith 329 PD (.44 mag Scandium). Way lighter than that shorty X frame!

 

I like the Smith 329 PD (.44 mag Scandium). Way lighter than that shorty X frame!

TOP is the 329

I also have a 329 PD, the recoil is downright vicious.
Given that the 500 has 3x the energy than the 44 Mag. and an average man can shoot it, I'm sticking by my recommendation.
You have to remember where he's going, I'd take enough gun.

 

I'll add another vote for the 4" 500.

High power rounds are not recommended for protection because they are too hard to handle and make follow-up shots more difficult. Your gun needs to big enough to allow for the nessasary power to be easily controled.

So with the 500 4" you can, very easily, drive a 450cast at 1050fps and (with this load) it is more pleasant to shoot than the 44mag. I can shoot this load one handed with my left (weak) hand. This is an important consideration for a back-up gun since "situations" could leave you injured or otherwise unable to use one of your hands.

It penitrates incredibly well, I watched this loading shoot clear through a buffalo and shatter its shoulder on the way out.

This load in the 500 generates a TKO of 34. The 460 has to drive a 320cast +1600fps to obtain this same TKO. In order to get +1600fps out of the 2 3/4" 460 barrel you will really have to lean on it and the recoil would be extremely violent. And you won't penitrate as far with that much speed on a lighter bullet. "Just food for thought". I know there are a lot of reasons to buy the 460 (like the ability to shoot 45colt, and 454Casull in the same gun) But the best reason to buy a 460 is that is shoots SCREAMING fast with a light bullet and a long barrel, mounted with a scope it become one of the best hunting revolvers of all time...."But that is NOT what you are after for this application"

On the other side of the power spectrum for "ProtectionPower", I can drive that same 450gr. slug to 1500fps out of my 4" 500..this gives a smokin KO of 48 Of course it is hard to hit anything with both eyes shut and your head out of the way!!

 

Wow, there seems to be a lot about these small cannons that I don't know. Thanks for all the good replies. The 4" S&W 500 sounds real good but let me be sure I understand something before I pull the trigger on it.

I had all but eliminated a 500 because of excessive recoil. If the 500 has less kickback than a 44mag, i.e., "more pleasant to shoot", than would it also have less kickback than the 460 or 454Casull? My marginal understanding of physics tells me the bigger the round the more recoil given same powder load. But perhaps barrel length has something to do with recoil strength? In other words does having that 4" barrel on your 500 result in less recoil than a smaller caliber with a shorter barrel?

One thing I should have mentioned up front is that an important secondary use for this weapon would be home protection and target shooting. I thought a 460 or 454Casull would be better for this use since they can fire the lighter 45 round.

S&W apparently did make a 2 3/4 inch barreled 460 if only for the "emergency kit" they marketed - it came with a yellow plastic grip. If you google "S&W 460 emergency kit" I think you'll see it. I also seem to remember seeing regular (black grip) S&W 2 3/4" 460s also. Maybe S&W dropped these short barreled 460s because their 4" 500s are better all around including recoil......

 

I don't mean to confuse you...I meant recoil of my load of 1050fps w/450gr cast is easier to shoot than the factory loaded 44 mag....Just so you know the 500 with full house DoubleTap,BuffaloBore,etc. is quite intense, to put it mildly

But this is the idea:, to be able to have enough power to penitrate a griz lengthwise and still have a chance to break his hips down on the way out, in case you missed his head on the way in. In order to do this, you need a heavy, hard, bullet. So the best way to move a heavier bullet with some amount of "control" we need a bigger gun. With the bigger caliber ( and case capacity) we can move a bigger bullet easier.

 

Hunting a S&W .460 with 2 3/4" barrel for a trip to Alaska's backwoods. Does anyone know where I can buy one new or used?

I have a NIB S&W .460 in 2.75" and 5". Either one is $1400.

 

Also, any thoughts as to this revolver vs. the Ruger Super Red Hawk Alaskan .454 also with very short barrel and the Taurus Raging Bull .454 also with very short barrel for use in Alaska for large animal protection?

I like the ability of the .460 to shoot - .45 Schofield, .45 Long Colt, .45 Long Colt shot shells, .454 Casull, .460 S&W and many of the .410 2.5" slugs/buck/shotshells.

 

Shot a 329 with hot 265's. Whip was FAST and fairly large, so shot recovery aint super quick
Recoil was OK though (but am used to .44 mags hot and N frames fit my hands well).
It had the wood grips on it, when i get mine I'll go Hogue rubber.

 

Shot a 329 with hot 265's. Whip was FAST and fairly large, so shot recovery aint super quick
Recoil was OK though (but am used to .44 mags hot and N frames fit my hands well).
It had the wood grips on it, when i get mine I'll go Hogue rubber.

You can get replacement grips that were designed for the S&W 500 directly from S&W.
They have a mushy texture where grips hit the web of your hand.

 

A snub nosed .460?

Sure glad it won't be in my hand when it goes off!

 

Thanks again to all who replied. For economic and other reasons I purchased a Taurus Raging Bull .454 with 2 1/4 inch barrel. [I would have gotten the Ruger .454 Alaskan but, 1) I couldn't find one since apparently the folks up in Alaska buy about as many as are produced and, 2) The short Ruger is not ported and maybe the ported barrel on the Taurus will lessen recoil a bit without sacrificing too much in terms of power]

Let me quickly point out that, although a neophyte when it comes to firearms, I understand that longer barrels are better in terms of power, accuracy and probably other things. For my use however, a longer barrel would be uncomfortable when hiking, backpacking, fishing etc. and therefore I would be more likely to leave it in the vehicle or at home and I think everyone agrees that having an excellent weapon safely locked up at home or in the vehicle is not as good as having a pretty darn good one where you need it.

As for caliber, I now better understand that bigger is better but, in my case, wanting to use the revolver for enjoyable target shooting as well as self protection, pointed me in the direction of the smaller, lower recoil caliber.

Hopefully I'll never have to fire it in self defense but, if I do, maybe, just maybe the .454 Casul out of that short barrel will be enough to get the job done. If I do use it on my 3 weeks in Alaska trip I will tell the tale on this site assuming I survive well enough to blog........

 

Ive fired a ported 2-3/4" .460 and the shock isnt the recoil, its the blast of wind that blows your hair back . The ported 454 should handle just fine and still have decent accuracy out to 80+ yds

 

Ive fired a ported 2-3/4" .460 and the shock isnt the recoil, its the blast of wind that blows your hair back . The ported 454 should handle just fine and still have decent accuracy out to 80+ yds

80yds, wow, thats some shooting with a snubby.

 

Having shot a 3" Model 29 (K rd butt with a N frame) with full house 240 gr, I cannot imagine a 454 or a 500 in the 3" ... Just in case you were wondering, I have a 12" TC in 45-70 that is not a problem, the 1" bull barrel does wonders