They are a pretty darn impressive cartridge, looking at the numbers on paper is one thing but when you get out and shoot it's completely different. The muzzle flip is a little more than a standard 45 acp but the compensators work great and put most the extra force straight back into your palm, adding a little more discomfort with a slim 1911 frame but considering the near 44 magnum performance and the simple follow up shots it's worth it.
My first 460 Rowland was on a 4" Springfield XD I traded for, that would have been a great combo but the 4" XD ran on a stock 2 stage(forget the technical term) spring. I couldn't find any way of increasing the spring weight so I sold it. But a double stack 460 Rowland with reliable springs would be any bears worse nightmare, which is why I decided to get a 460 in the first place.
My 1911 has been 100% reliable with 460 ammo but needed some tinkering around. I was using the 24lbs spring that came with the Clark kit but my stainless SW1911TA has a loose slide to frame fit and needed a heavier spring, before I moved up to a 26lbs spring I broke one of the stakes or posts of the plunger tube. I took my sweet time ordering a new plunger tube and a very gracious member here sent me his plunger tube staking tool. Once I got the new 26lbs spring and new plunger tube I took it out shooting and just the change from 24 to 26lbs spring really upped the pressure of the rounds I had loaded, I imagine the weaker spring was allowing the brass to start extracting before pressures subsided and the new spring kept everything locked up tighter and gave me a big pressure spike.
I just had to use one of those dang hammer type bullet pullers to unload 120 rounds.
And my 460 barrel always shot around a foot high at 20 yards so I started measuring things and realized it wasn't fully engaging the locking lugs leaving the chamber tilted down by a few thousands. So when it gets back from Clarks it should be in tip top shape now.
They are awesome fun to hunt with also, I got a doe with it a couple years ago, she was napping on the side of a hill behind a large tree stump, I snuck up 10 yards away from her. Last year I used my buddies Springfield 1911 with the Clarks kit and got another doe.
The bullet performance is great also, I load 230gr XTPs and my buddy got 500 185gr XTPs from Hornady he has been using. The only thing that bothers me is that the increased weight of the springs really hammers the hollow points and deforms them, one of the reasons I started thinking about copper solids and the Lehigh extreme defender design seems like a perfect solution if they function as advertised. I would do a good amount of testing before I trusted the little 120gr bullets for hunting though.
With this 1911 I've had a strange problem when shooting 45 acp from the conversion that I didn't have with the XD. One or two shots out of 20 will sound like a little pop going off with little recoil, it wont cycle a new round and when I inspect the case the primers are flat as a pancake and pierced by the firing pin. I can't tell what's happening, I'm thinking that the case will be chambered without fully seating against the slide. Maybe the extractor is pushing the case from the magazine and the longer chamber doesn't allow the extractor to grab the rim but the firing pin has enough reach to hit the primer and when the round goes off the case head gets slammed against the slide...?
