Semi-Autos

The 460 Rowland and 45 Super are both wonderful hunting cartridges. In order for them to do a wonderful job it is necessary for them to apply their step up in energy to the target. There are a lot of bullets out there that will function and feed fine in these guns but unfortunately the profile of the bullet that allows them to feed so well handicaps their ability to destroy live tissue. While a 230gr RN FMJ may run like a 12 cylinder Ferrari it will pencil through the game most of the time leaving a very small permanent wound channel. I have heard the argument that a .357 wont grow but a .45 wont shrink. This is only true until you pull the trigger. A .357 will indeed grow if it is shooting a proper expanding bullet. It is an apples and oranges argument. There have been enough ballistics tests done with .357” and .451” bullets to fill the library of congress.

From first hand testing I will be the first to tell you what you probably already know. The 158 grain XTP or Nosler JHP sporting will leave a much larger wound channel than a FMJ RN .451” bullet. The same result is seen with truncated cone bullets that have a smooth transition to the full bullet diameter from the meplat. If there isn’t a shoulder to initiate blunt force trauma and shape cutting you have the same result as an arrow with a field point. It pencils through the target and although a hole in the vitals eventually means death to the quarry it is generally not a quick death. It may involve a long and arduous tracking job. The solution is to use a bullet that takes advantage of the bullet diameter and energy of these cartridges.

If a non expanding monolithic or cast bullet is used in the two cartridge it needs to have the following properties:

A meplat large enough to displace living tissue and leave a permanent wound channel with at least 90% of the diameter of the bullet or approximately .400” . At the velocities that these cartridges operate that requires a meaplat of at least .370”. Most of the RNFP and TC bullets don’t have meplats this large. There was a bullet sold by Bearthooth however that was perfect in both cartridges. The 265 gr .452” could be sized .451”. They would leave a wound channel close to 1” through thin skinned game and the hardness was around 17BH making them suitable for elk sized game from the .460 Rowland. That bullet was discontinued when Beartooth ceased production and I haven’t found a suitable replacement.

A SWC that weighs between 235 and 260 grains. The bullet needs to be designed along the lines of a Keith bullet. While I am not aware of an exact copy of a Keith bullet in this size and weight there are several suitable substitutes. Conventional SWC designed for paper punching with automatics have been used to successfully take deer but still they are not ideal. Between 235 and 260 grains the bullets have adequate sectional density to penetrate the scapula of a mature buck with no issues. The driving band at the front of the bullet provides a great cutting area to create a permanent wound channel through soft tissue. At the velocities of these cartridges you can expect wound diameters of ¾” and sometimes nearly a full 1”. This allows massive blood loss. Loading these requires the driving band set back inside the case mouth for proper feeding.

JHP bullets between 185 and 250 grains will work in both cartridges. The various 185 grains while not the best shoulder breaker will absolutely destroy the heart and lungs on deer size game. Out of all of them the 185 grain Nosler Sporting bullet has been the best one I have tried. It is perfect for this task from the .45 Super. From what I have seen the nose of the bullet rarely stops up so it generally expands violently but because of the malleability of the lead alloy they use, tend to wad up in a ball rather than disintegrate. I have recovered 2 of these bullets and performance was perfect. If loading in the .460 Rowland I have found it better to slow them down off of the full power loads. The Rowland can launch these fast enough to out-power the tensile strength of the bullet. The 200 grain XTP is a good choice in the Rowland for deer sized game. The bullet is much tougher than the 185 grain XTP and even appears to be slightly stronger than the 230 gain XTP. While not my first choice to encounter a buck shoulder it would get through it at moderate ranges. It will leave a massive hole all the way through the vitals and from the .460 it will usually exit. The 230 grain Gold Dot and 230 grain XTP both work great in these cartridges. I have seen 45 ACPs not expand the XTP but the Super and Rowland both work great with the XTP. Most of the time these exit on rib shots. I have recovered 2 of them. Both performed perfectly.

If you really want to take advantage of these cartridges it starts with the bullet.