3" .410 slug would be equal to what pistol?

F

FlySubCompact

New member
Just curious.....

Been shooting some 1/5 and 1/4 oz. 3" slugs out of my little shotgun. These things seem to jolt one of my steel plates more than my Glock 23 (40sw).

Power-wise, (or I guess, ballistically) what would a .410 slug be equal to when compared to pistol calibers?

Thanks.
 
According to my figures, those are firing either 110 or 87 grain slugs. Pretty light for caliber. Unsure of the velocity of the slugs, but I would think theyd really have to be scootin to beat a 40.
 
They run around 800 ft lbs so .357/10mm plus. The Brenneke slug is very good choice. 110 grains at 1,755 fps and 781 ft lbs. More gun than most people realize.
 
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I just love the .410 slug; it will reach out and touch you with prejudices and determination. The Judge shoots the .410 and the .45 out the same barrel.
 
This guy tested four .410 slugs, three of which are the same weights as the ones you were shooting. Muzzle energies were between 704 and 722 ft-lbs, which is more than most commercial .40 S&W loadings fired from pistol-length barrels.
 
Thanks for the link. That "guy" got 1,065 ft lbs with the Brenneke. The terminal performance was awesome. The slug was intact at over 2,000 fps. So we are well beyond .357/10mm, right below .41 mag
 
I figured theyd be much more sedate than that, I stand corrected. Still seems light for caliber to me, but certainly nothing to sneeze at.
 
Brenekke lists their 3" Magnum .410 Slug as 114gr at 1755fps for 781fpe energy. By comparison, Reminton lists their .41 Magnum JSP loading as 210gr at 1300fps for 788fpe. So, energy-wise anyway, it would be pretty comparable to a .41 Magnum.

Bear in mind, however, that energy is only one part of the equation. The heavier bullet of the .41 Magnum will likely give substantially deeper penetration than the lighter, faster .410 slug. Also, the Brenekke slug is very hard lead which is designed to deform/expand little or none. Loaded with an expanding bullet, the .410 slug would likely have very shallow penetration due to its light weight and low cross-sectional density.
 
Six plus inches of penetration in wet newspaper is nothing to sneeze at. About the same as OO buckshot from a 12 guage which goes six inches in wet newspaper. For bad guys and deer, the Brenneke slug would work real good.
 
Interesting. I knew something was going on with these judging by the way it hammered my target plate. I just started reloading with 9mm pistol cartridges. As expensive as .410 shells are (and considering how accurately my shotgun shoots the 1/4 oz slugs) I'd like to eventually reload and custom handload these. Slugs, buckshot and shot.

Speaking of reloading for these.....I noticed that Midway sells full length brass cases. Magtech brass. Anyone here use those?

Scott,

Thanks for that link.
 
Hodgdon Cartridge load data online shows several .357 cartridges that use a 110 grain Hornady XTP bullet traveling at velocities near or faster than 1800 fps (these specs are shown in the handgun section, not in the rifle section, in case anyone wonders), so just in terms of mass and velocity, that's probably as close as you'll get. This would also give them about the same muzzle energy.

Of course, the different bullet designs/diameters will change their end performance.
 
.410 Power

I'm not sure where the idea that a .410 slug equates to a .41 Magnum comes from. I read that a .410 slug weighs around 87 - 110 grains, and it leaves the barrel of a shotgun at around 1,000 f/s or less. Paul Harrell has a YouTube video where he chronographs 00 buck out of a 3" magnum shell at 960 f/s. If that's the speed of a slug, that's roughly the equivalent of a .380 ACP - and not as powerful as a .380 ACP +P. No one thinks of a .380 as a powerhouse; adequate, sure - but powerhouse? The slug would have to be traveling far faster to reach the power range of a .41 Magnum. Granted, a .410 slug is larger diameter - but it's hard to imagine it as harder-hitting than a .40 S&W, for example, which throws a 135 grain out at about 1,300 f/s, more or less. Seems anemic compared to a defensive handgun - and even a 9mm, with a dozen or more rounds ready to go, bests it in bullet weight and velocity.

Update: I checked back to the Paul Harrell video to check my memory; he reported 960 f/s through a chronograph, but with buckshot, not a slug. If you calculate 00 buck at 60 grains per pellet, and 5 pellets per load, that's 300 grains - not 87-110 grains. That would explain the discrepancy; the slug would, given the same powder charge, no doubt be going much faster than the 3 times heavier buck pellets, and have a much higher muzzle energy than .380 - somewhere in the .357 to .44 Magnum range.
 
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Don't forget to factor in the barrel length. Without a special permit, shotguns are required to be a minimum of 18 inches. This gives plenty of room for the gas to expand and for the slug to reach higher velocities. According to the website linked above, they were getting of 1700 fps to 2100 fps, which is pretty darn fast. I wonder how much velocity drops when shot out of a handgun like the Taurus Judge.

I was able to find this article which predicts the Judge would be pretty devastating. https://shootingthebull.net/blog/how-effective-is-a-hit-from-a-judge/
 
I read that a .410 slug weighs around 100 - 110 grains, and it leaves the barrel of a shotgun at around 1,000 f/s or less.
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The usual 1/4oz slug rounds off to 110gr. However, I got no clue where that velocity figure comes from. Maybe from a short barrel Judge or something like that.. Fired from the long gun, velocities are in the 17-1800+ fps range and some even higher. That's NOT .380acp territory, not even close.

I have a 10" Contender .45Colt/,410, and while I haven't chronographed them, firing .410 slugs, the recoil alone tells you roughly what power class you're in, and trust me, its well above .380acp or 9mm Luger.
 
Comparing the abilities of a soft lead slug to a designed, jacketed, defensive handgun round does not lead me to want to shoot a .410 slug.
 
"I have a 10" Contender .45Colt/,410, and while I haven't chronographed them, firing .410 slugs, the recoil alone tells you roughly what power class you're in, and trust me, its well above .380acp or 9mm Luger."

I can certainly believe that the recoil would be very high out of a handgun, but a sizeable percentage of that could just be the effect of the much faster moving combustion gas and unburned powder coming out of the muzzle. I have a S&W .22 Jet revolver that has a muzzle blast like a volcano - brings people over to my station in the range every time - but the payload is a 40 grain bullet at maybe 1,400 f/s out of that short revolver barrel. No one makes a fuss when I fire my .40 S&W.
 
I can certainly believe that the recoil would be very high out of a handgun, but a sizeable percentage of that could just be the effect of the much faster moving combustion gas and unburned powder coming out of the muzzle
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Could be, but isn't. :D
 
The standard 410 with Foster slug is about the same as a 38special. Brennekes had more
power in all guages than standard slugs. I used 20g & 12g Brennekes for years because they were hotter and more accurate out of my slug guns. I've never shot a deer with a 410
but my wife has got 3 of her 7 with them. She has graduated to 20g now.
 
The standard 410 with Foster slug is about the same as a 38special.
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I seriously disagree. It's not the same, its not even close, the .410 slug is more powerful than a .38 Special. Unless, you are talking about some light loaded brand I'm not aware of. I'm talking about regular Remington and Winchester 3" .410 slugs.

Winchester says their 3" .410 slug does 1800fps. Says so on the box. Now, even if we assume the factory is "enthusiastically optimistic" with that velocity, and throw away a couple hundred FPS that's still waaay beyond a .38 Special's velocity.

So, which do you think it is?? We've got people saying .410 slugs only do 7-800fps or so, and are equal to light pistol rounds such as .380ACP and .38 Special. And we've got other people who say .410 slugs do 1700fps + (and some of them have chronographs) and Winchester says 1800fps on the factory box. Who do you think is right??

I don't have a working chronograph (gave up on them decades ago, but that's a different story) but what I do have is the ability, and the experience of firing .410slugs, .44 Magnum, .357 Magnum, .38 Special, and 9mm Luger, and several other calibers, through the same firearm.

SAME GUN. Same frame, same weight, same barrel lengths, same everything, so firearm weight, shape, action type, grip angle, etc. DO NOT CHANGE. And while I understand how muzzle blast makes things seem different to some people, and is a calculatable factor, its not the most significant factor in felt recoil.

IT may not be something with precise numbers, but, to me, firing different loads from the same gun, and using the difference in the felt recoil is a reasonable way to roughly judge the approximate power levels of the loads compared to each other.

Out of my Contender, .410 slugs recoil more than .38 Specials, and 9mm. Very close to some .357 Magnum loads, and noticeably less than .44 Magnum loads. That's my hands on experience, and I shoot that same Contender in calibers ranging from .22LR to .45-70, so I've got a bit of experience. Take it for whatever you think its worth.
 
The standard 410 with Foster slug is about the same as a 38special.
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Hardly. Fired from a Judge a 1/5 Oz Foster slug gives around 1250 fps for around 345-350 ft. lbs. Fired from a shotgun it gives ~500-600 fps more depending on barrel length putting it into the 800-900 ft. lb range.

Do a lttile research because these numbers are already open source posted based on many peoples personal tests. A 410 from a short barrel is no popgun let alone fired from a long barrel.
 
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