One of these is not like the other...

[olyinaz]

Recently I found several new-old stock boxes of .460 Weatherby at a gun shop and given that they were at least $40 below market for this ammo (and below the brass cost too) I quickly snagged them and called it good. Now I don't like to shoot 500gr .460 Weatherby Magnums, or any factory Weatherby .460 for that matter so I set to pulling bullets and primers today and I'll tumble them and start from scratch with some low power loads that are more fun to shoot.

After pulling a box and looking at the components something was obviously not right with one of the bullets. It was HUGE compared to the others, and that says a lot given that the others are 500gr .458s! I picked through the brass and, sure enough, one of them was also "not like the others".

See below. The "not even close/no cigar for you" round is on the right:








I weighed and mic'ed the bullet and, sure enough, somehow a 700gr .50 cal RNFP got stuffed into a brand new .460 Weatherby case. As you can see, the cases are old but brand new and maybe someone has a theory but I think it was simply a screw up at Norma (if I recall correctly, they load Weatherby's branded ammo and have for years). Would it have chambered? I haven't tried it and the answer it probably not, but I'm still pretty unimpressed.

I put it back together and the wildcat .500/460 Weatherby is now on my son's book self as part of his collection. Hey YK, I wish I'd sent you this one!!

[jeepnik]

I hope you left the powder out when you reassembled it. Maybe you ought to send that photo and info to Weatherby, their may be more of them out there.

[olyinaz]

I hope you left the powder out when you reassembled it. Maybe you ought to send that photo and info to Weatherby, their may be more of them out there.

I did - just the case and bullet. I'll see if I can find some lot info on the box. If so I'll send that to Weathery but it's pretty old stuff (probably on the order of 30 years or so).

[Tycer]

Man. Aren't you glad you figured that one out at home and not on a reload during a pants filling adventure with a rhino!!

[Griff]

Man. Aren't you glad you figured that one out at home and not on a reload during a pants filling adventure with a rhino!!

+1!!

[Blaine]

Norma......Uff Daaaaaaa

[AJMD429]

Maybe they'll send you a new box of ammo in exchange for reporting a defective round...

[ollogger]

I don't think I could stuff a 30-30 bullet in a 25-35 with out crushing the case
does the factory when loading have a big bell on there cases ?
I wonder if they toyed with the idea of a 50 & things got mixed up
ollogger

[Griff]

Hmmm... not exactly like when I got a jacketed bullet mixed in a box of lead 45Colts. At least it'd chamber!!!

[olyinaz]

Man. Aren't you glad you figured that one out at home and not on a reload during a pants filling adventure with a rhino!!

For a dangerous game round - YES - that is a exactly right. It's all fun and games for me, and like I said it would not likely chamber, but I bet it would jam up my Mark V real good! And THAT SIR, is why I think you log the winning comment.

[olyinaz]

Maybe they'll send you a new box of ammo in exchange for reporting a defective round...

Hmmm, we shall see!

[olyinaz]

I wonder if they toyed with the idea of a 50 & things got mixed up?

I wondered about that too. I don't see how a machine would just push that bullet into the case without crumpling the case, but I don't know how much they bell the mouth for machine loading and I note that there's a pretty good chamfer on the heel of that fifty cal bullet. Still, the whole thing is nuts - just flat out crazy.

[olyinaz]

Norma......Uff Daaaaaaa

I'm Norwegian, Norma is Swedish. I claim no shame or loss of face via this incident.

[Pete44ru]

.

Maybe, the .50cal round would chamber..................... .


FWIW, Weatherby magnums have something most other rifles don't - about an inch (19.2mm for the .460WM) of freebore, which is an oversized throat area betwixt the shoulder area of the chamber & the leade/start of the rifling in the rear of the barrel.



IDK if that larger neck OD would make it in, though.




.

[Catshooter]

I imagine that if that puppy was chambered, pulling the trigger could result in some serious recoil!

I bet it'd go down the bore, too. Gunsmith friend of mine has examined two 25-06 rifles that fired 308 rounds and the rifles were fine. No bullets to be found and the brass looked kinda funny.


Cat

[olyinaz]

I think it'd be pretty bad were someone to light that candle, but looking at the neck dimensions I don't think it would chamber.

[86er]

I have a client that hunts with a 500 A Square caliber semi-custom rifle. He forms brass from 460 Weatherby and it is so marked with original head stamp. I think the bullets are .510. I just looked at factory new Weatherby cartridges in 300 and 257. They feature a shiny gold colored primer. I noticed your photo depicts silver colored primers. Maybe yours are indeed hand loads, or were intended to be reformed to 500A Square but weren't? Could have been previously sold, then returned or re-sold before you acquired them ( in spite of local laws and company policies).

[Old Savage]

The internal seating depth was quite different - did the cases have the same amount of powder? Was it the same by appearance? Yes, some question as to how that could have happened if it was factory. I suppose you would have to know the machinery and procedure to know if or how that could happen.

[olyinaz]

I have a client that hunts with a 500 A Square caliber semi-custom rifle. He forms brass from 460 Weatherby and it is so marked with original head stamp. I think the bullets are .510. I just looked at factory new Weatherby cartridges in 300 and 257. They feature a shiny gold colored primer. I noticed your photo depicts silver colored primers. Maybe yours are indeed hand loads, or were intended to be reformed to 500A Square but weren't? Could have been previously sold, then returned or re-sold before you acquired them ( in spite of local laws and company policies).

Joe, all of the factory .460 I've seen has had silver primers. Nevertheless, I asked Terry Murbach if a factory mess up was possible, however unlikely (if I recall he's worked for ammunition companies), and he doesn't think so given how the machines work and how the QC process works.

More than likely, I guess, is that there was a guy out there who pulled bullets to make .500 A-Square but messed up and stuffed one back into a box of .460 ammo that he then traded in with a .460. I'm sure that's how this shop came by it and then re-sold it. They do that. Which is dumb if you ask me, but I was after the brass so it worked out.

Weirdness happens! Just have to be careful out there.

[Sixgun]

Oly,
I agree with 86er' The gunshop owner probably bought it off some old lady and failed to check it out properly.
I know that would happen here as about 85% of my loaded ammo is marked 30-30, .308, 30-06, or 45-70 when about 30 different cartridges are made from them.

The machinery would not have allowed a much wider bullet to slide through.

You say you saved the components? How about the powder? If its still around, weigh it and then look at it with a mag. glass to see if its the same stuff.--------------------6

[AJMD429]

Seems like if you reform brass to another cartridge it would be a good practice to at least get a punch (or set) and mark-over at least one of the digits in the headstamp, even if you couldn't really re-do it to make it look perfect and/or legible. Even a round punch to obliterate the "4" on '460' might at least prompt someone to double-check.