.45 Long Colt in a .410 shotgun?

S

SerenityNetworks

New member
I understand something like the Taurus Judge can fire both the .45 Long Colt and a .410. That leads me to wonder can a light or medium loaded .45 Long Colt be safely fired in a standard .410 shotgun? If 'yes' then what would be the expected accuracy if fired from a smooth bore (traditional shotgun) barrel? If 'yes' are any .45 LC bullets made having some grooves to impart some spin to improve accuracy if fired from a smooth bore barrel? It seems a 200+/- grain LC bullet would pack more oomph than a 90 grain .410 slug - or would it, if the load were light enough not to exceed safe pressures in a .410 barrel?

The reasons I'm asking are: (1) Curiosity. (2) I'm considering getting a trunk/pack/early-season-squirrel gun, such as the Chiappa Double Badger .22/.410. Being able to fire a .45 LC from the .410 barrel would add a little more versatility to the gun if I ever needed it for survival or some other unexpected purpose.

Thanks,
Andrew
 
You could probably fire it at least once if it would even fit in the chamber. A big consideration is that the 410 barrel might might be choked which could cause a big problem. Accuracy would be about zero since there is no rifling in the shot gun. And I haven't ever heard of rifled .45 bullets. I think the Judge barrel is sized to fire 45 Colt and that's why it is possible to shoot the .410 shells through it. If the gun barrel was properly sized for the 410, you couldn't fire the 45 Colt in it.

Bottom line is I wouldn't do it.
 
Last edited:
Thank you. That answers that.

I wondered how the different sizes chambered. I figured it was some nuance in the measuring between pistol and shotgun that made them essentially the same. I now wonder if firing a .410 shell in a Judge leaves you with severely expanded brass.

Anyway, that doesn't deter me from wanting a nice little over/under. I was just wondering, "Hey, what if..."
 
Technically... If the barrel was thick enough you could have it bored out to fit the 45 colt. I don't know if the action or the chamber would handle the pressure.

Boomer
 
IF your life insurance and health insurance are paid up, and your feeling SUICIDAL,,, then you could try, but if you have a .410 shotgun that can fit a 45 long colt cartridge, your survivors will be RICH from the lawsuit.
 
I see you've been planning this for awhile ;)

On the TV show "Sons of Guns" They loaded 410 shells with black powder and shot Arrows over 300 fps with it. :D

Boomer
 
.45 Long Colt

I remember the TC Contenders offered a .45/410 same barrel. Two of my friends had them, I shot them with both shell/cartridge, we are still here, all fingers and eyes in tact.
 
Yes, there are some firearms designed and marketed to take and fire both with various degrees of interchangeability (I think NEF handi-rifles need a choke change).

Otherwise I'd be giving it a big miss for anything other than a one-shot, this-is-all-I-have-and-I'm-going-to-use-it life-or-death situation.
 
.45 Long Colt

I remember the TC Contenders offered a .45/410 same barrel. Two of my friends had them, I shot them with both shell/cartridge, we are stillhere, all fingers and eyes in tact.
Click to expand...

They're bored is not .410, it's about .45. They give you a slightly larger pattern with shotshells though.

Boomer
 
Confusion

There has been and still is continuing confusion about this idea, though most of the necessaries have been addressed here.
You can shoot .410 Shotshells in a gun chambered for .45 Colt....if the chamber is long enough. The Judge and the Contender .45/.410 barrel are examples of this.
It does not work safely the other way around though...shooting a .45 Colt cartridge in a standard .410 bore shotgun. Why? Modern .45 Colt loads use bullets that are .452" in diameter. The bore of a .410 is, well, .410"......and .410 shotguns frequently come with fixed full choke barrels. That reduces the diameter to something around .395".
People will tell you that they do this, that it has been done, that they have never had a problem....OK, "people" do lots of silly things.
Just because you can, doesn't mean that you should.
Pete
 
Can you fire .45 in a .41?

Short answer, NO!

The reason the .45/.410 barrels work is that that barrels are .45cal and the shotgun shells are .41 cal. It does NOT work the other way.
 
Only if you have "The Little .410 That Could" that IraqVeteran8888 had... Although, that did blow up eventually, but it took a while... Actually, I wonder if, had they exclusively fired .45 Colt, if the thing would ever have blown up.

But yeah, short of that, I wouldn't advise it...

Now if you were to have a gun like a pardner .410 that you didn't care about... You could fire as many .410's as you possibly could within reason to prove... heh... (Not from the shoulder obviously). If I was made of money, I'd probably try it myself.
 
Ya!

Only if you have "The Little .410 That Could" that IraqVeteran8888 had... Although, that did blow up eventually, but it took a while... Actually, I wonder if, had they exclusively fired .45 Colt, if the thing would ever have blown up.
Click to expand...
They really seemed to have tried to blow the thing up....and yet, they were obviously sad that the receiver blew apart.
I have been looking for that video and have been unable to find it on YouTube.
Is it still on?
Pete
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top