Velocity Test Results for the RWS Model 460

Straight Shooters Use Score

Plinking	Target Shooting	Pest Control	Hunting
5	3	5	5

The Our Take testing of the RWS 460 has been a long time coming. But we finally received the .22 caliber and found some time to do the testing. This rifle definitely rates up there with the other super powerful spring rifles such as the RX-2, Patriot, Tomahawk, 48, 52, 54 and 350. We try to test the .177 caliber also as soon as we can get one in stock to do so.

I have used this sentence in other Our Take write-ups but it is so universally true that I'll repeat it again. And it is that generally speaking, it can be difficult to get spring airguns that shoot at very high velocity levels to group well. That is especially true when using lighter pellets in .177 caliber. The Model 460 did a pretty good job of handling pellets of all shapes and weights. We were very surprised to see that a spring airgun of such high power levels could shoot as accurately as it did. Of course, we don't test for accuracy when doing the Our Take testing. It is a velocity test but when shooting that many pellets of all kinds, we can't help but notice if the gun tends to throw pellets all over the place or whether it shoots them reasonably well. The 460, as all other super powerful springers, did better with the medium or heavier pellets but surprisingly it didn't throw the lighter pellets all over the place. It kept them in reasonable (if not great) groups and that's always a positive thing. We found that one of it's strengths was that it kept the velocity range very small from pellet to pellet. It was not unusual to have velocity spreads of only 5-8 fps. That's very good for a power rifle and we wanted to be sure to note that in this write-up.

As with the other powerful springers and gas ram rifles, this gun will be an excellent longer-range plinker and pest control gun. It does have some recoil and motion but we were surprised to find that it was much less than we expected. It was acceptably smooth for a gun that shoots as hard as it does. And the cocking effort was considerably less than I expected. Real powerful guns usually require some heavy cocking effort and that just wasn't the case at all with the 460. In fact, it didn't cock any harder than most of the medium powered underlever rifles. That is a real positive for the guy that wants a lot of power without the big cocking effort.

The velocity is advertised at 950 fps in .22 caliber which our tests were unable to verify. Our tests, however, came fairly close with a top velocity of 878 fps. Many guns don't measure up to manufacturer advertising claims though, so don't let that turn you off to the gun. This is one powerful hunting gun which still packs 20-23 fpe of pure hunting power. Nowadays it's always possible that the importer used a Gamo 4 grain pellet for testing to get the extra high velocity. We'll never know.

We found the accuracy to be quite good for it's power range and hitting the mark should not be much of a problem for the average shooter. Being as powerful as it is, there was a fair amount of recoil but less motion than we expected. We have to say that the gun was much easier to cock and shoot than we expected and while it's a howitzer, it might just be one of the easier ones to learn to shoot.

In summary, the gun is well worth the money for a hunter or person looking for a lot of power in a .22. We were disappointed that the manufacturers overstated the velocity because it simply isn't necessary to do so. The model 460 has plenty of power and we don't understand the need to overstate velocities when they are just fine as they actually are using standard weight pellets. But we understand that every manufacturer and importer tries to get an edge in the marketplace. But it doesn't change the fact that the 460 is going to make a very good howitzer for a lot of shooters.

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.177 Caliber Pellets

Pellet Name	Pellet Weight (grains)		Ratings at the Muzzle		Ratings at 10 Yards		Ratings at 25 Yards		Ratings at 50 Yards		Ballistic Coefficient
Name	Advertised	Tested	Velocity (fps)	Energy (ft lbs)	Velocity (fps)	Energy (ft lbs)	Velocity (fps)	Energy (ft lbs)	Velocity (fps)	Energy (ft lbs)	Average Energy
Hobby	6.90	6.90	933	13	786	9	628	6	433	3	.008
R10 Lite	7.00	6.90	958	14	802	10	640	6	442	3	.008
Meisterkugeln Pistol	7.00	7.10	927	14	765	9	593	6	385	2	.007
Silver Bear	7.10	6.90	950	14	797	10	637	6	439	3	.008
Super-H-Point	7.40	7.10	907	13	768	9	615	6	423	3	.008
H&N Match HS	7.70	7.30	942	14	792	10	633	6	436	3	.008
Napier ProHunter	7.72	7.80	900	14	826	12	735	9	611	6	.016
JSB Express	7.90	7.80	911	14	825	12	723	9	585	6	.014
Premier Lite	7.90	7.90	899	14	829	12	742	10	624	7	.017
Bearcub	8.09	7.40	905	13	767	10	614	6	422	3	.008
H&N Match	8.20	8.00	862	13	767	10	652	8	498	4	.011
JSB Predators	8.10	8.10	883	14	803	12	704	9	571	6	.014
R10 Heavy	8.20	8.20	814	12	710	9	584	6	418	3	.014
SuperDome	8.30	8.10	819	12	744	10	649	8	517	5	.013
SuperPoint	8.30	8.10	801	12	709	9	594	6	441	3	.010
Meisterlugeln	8.30	8.20	798	12	697	9	573	6	410	3	.009
JSB Exact	8.44	8.40	837	13	785	11	717	10	618	7	.020
FTS	8.60	8.40	848	13	778	11	690	9	567	6	.015
Silver Sting	8.61	8.00	842	13	720	9	578	6	396	3	.008
FTS Double Gold	8.70	8.60	795	12	736	10	659	8	548	6	.016
Crow Magnum	8.80	8.50	807	12	728	10	628	7	491	5	.012
SuperMag	9.50	9.20	685	10	616	8	524	6	398	3	.011
GoldenRod Lead-Free	9.50	8.90	832	14	749	11	646	8	505	5	.012
JSB Exact Heavy	10.33	10.20	743	13	704	11	649	10	568	7	.022
Premier Heavy	10.50	10.40	685	11	644	10	587	8	502	6	.019
Kodiak Match	10.60	10.20	722	12	676	10	613	9	520	6	.018
Kodiak	10.60	10.20	719	12	673	10	610	9	518	6	.018
Kodiak Double Gold	10.62	10.40	653	10	614	9	560	7	478	5	.010
Silver Arrow	11.50	11.70	624	10	570	8	497	6	393	4	.013

.22 Caliber Pellets

Pellet Name	Pellet Weight (grains)		Ratings at the Muzzle		Ratings at 10 Yards		Ratings at 25 Yards		Ratings at 50 Yards		Ballistic Coefficient
Name	Advertised	Tested	Velocity (fps)	Energy (ft lbs)	Velocity (fps)	Energy (ft lbs)	Velocity (fps)	Energy (ft lbs)	Velocity (fps)	Energy (ft lbs)	Average Energy
Meisterkugeln	13.90	14.10	932	22	734	17	615	12	457	7	.010
Super H Point	13.90	14.40	809	21	715	16	600	12	445	6	.010
Premier	14.30	14.30	838	22	788	20	722	17	628	13	.021
JSB Express	14.30	14.40	826	22	783	20	726	17	642	13	.024
SuperDome	14.50	14.50	812	21	718	17	602	12	447	6	.010
SuperPoint	14.50	14.40	808	21	705	16	580	11	415	6	.009
FTS	14.60	14.70	818	22	763	19	690	16	586	11	.018
FTS Double Gold	14.72	14.70	780	20	731	17	666	14	571	11	.019
Napier ProHunter	15.40	15.10	776	20	732	18	673	15	585	11	.021
Silver Sting	15.74	16.00	767	20	704	18	620	14	502	9	.014
JSB Exact	15.90	15.90	792	22	752	20	698	17	617	13	.024
JSB Predator	16.10	16.20	773	21	723	19	655	15	556	11	.018
LR Missile Lead Free	16.60	16.90	773	22	704	19	615	14	490	9	.013
Silver Arrow	17.10	17.70	731	21	656	17	559	12	425	7	.011
JSB Exact Heavy	18.00	18.20	741	22	708	20	661	18	590	14	.026
Crow Magnum	18.20	18.00	708	20	647	17	565	13	449	8	.013
Kodiak	21.10	21.20	640	19	609	17	566	15	501	12	.024
Kodiak Double Gold	21.12	21.30	601	17	570	15	526	13	459	10	.022
JSB Exact Monster	25.40	25.30	564	18	540	16	505	14	452	11	.027

RWS Model 48 .22 Beech	RWS Model 56 .22 Beech Recoiless Thumbhole
$399.00	$675.00

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