question about .410 bore

I

imp

New member
I have a H&R single shot .410 that I bought when I was a kid, and I hardly ever pull it out of the safe anymore. However, I started seeing all these advertisements for the taurus judge, thunder 5, and some of ther other .410/.45 colt pistols, and it got me to wondering if I could use .45 colt ammo in a longer barrel, smoothbore shotgun.

There are a couple of components to this. First of all, will it work? I know my shotgun barrel is choked to a degree, but not sure how much. Secondly, is it legal. I can't see why it wouldn't be, but in this day in age, who knows. And third, what kind of accuracy can be expected from a smoothbore?
 
I'd say it would fire a 45 lead round

But being unrifled, I wouldnt count on accuracy,

Being an old gun, I wouldnt be trying FMJ's and I dont know how long the old barrel would last :eek: I dont think it would Kaboom, but it might end up a little out of round, If the barrel is choked at all, it wont be for long, IMO

I would ask a smith first, failing that, I would pull the slug off a round, test fire the capped case (see if it fires) And if it fits snuggly in the breech, then drop the projectile down the open breech and push it thru with a rod (to see if it can pass thru the barrel (or if any choke will stop the pill from freely leaving the barrel)

Ask a smith, IMO just to be sure :D
 
The .45 Long Colt is considerabley larger than a .410 shotgun bore and would have to be swaged down from .454 to .410 to fit down the bore. I wouldn't try it.
It won't be accurate.
It's not illegal, as far as I know, there is no law against a smoothbore "rifle" as long as the barrel is longer than 18 inches. It's when it is a pistol that the barrel better be rifled in order to not be a sawed off shotgun.
 
Thanks B.L.E. I wondered if a .410 actually was a .410, instead of just named the way most things are. Nothing is ever the size it claims to be, and I was hoping that .410 was big enough....
 
Thanks B.L.E. I wondered if a .410 actually was a .410, instead of just named the way most things are. Nothing is ever the size it claims to be, and I was hoping that .410 was big enough....
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You are quite welcome, and yes, in the case of the .410 shotgun, the bore really is .410 inches. If it were measured like other shotguns, it would be a 67.5 gauge shotgun.

If you want to change other gauges into bore size, take the cube root of the gauge number and divide that into 1.67 inches.

If you want to convert bore size into gauge, divide the bore size into 1.67 inches and then cube the answer.
 
.410

Chances are good that the .45 Colt cartridge will not even chamber in your gun. I know that I have two .410s - which I just checked - and the larger Colt round will not chamber in either of them.
Also, .410s tend to be fully choked - maybe yours is not but if it is then the choke reduces the barrel's bore to 0.390" (0.020 constiction), a lot smaller than .452"
Pete
 
Just after the powder ignites, that .451 inch bullet will be forced down a forcing cone tapering to .410 inch. That would cause a rapid pressure icrease which could damage you or the gun. 410 bore shotgun is a great small game gun, and I've heard about good success on deer with 3in 5 pellet 000 buckshot; very tight pattern. (Many areas on the east coast we're restricted to buckshot for deer).

If you really want that gun in 45 colt, try sleeving. Take your barrel, or better yet find a pitted out spare one for cheap, and cut it off at the chamber. Ream and tread the chamber. Screw in a 45 colt barrel.

That's the simplified procedure. You would need to measure the outside diameter of the chamber to insure you have enough material to work with. If you're a handy with tools, it makes a nice home gunsmithing project.
 
I had somewhat the same idea one day, wondered if I could shoot a .41 mag out of a 410. I had an old .410 single shot that I really didn't care about so I took a small table with a bench vise on it outside and clamped the gun in itpointed at a target 15ft away. Created a light .41 mag load on the old RCBS. Chambered the round and tied a 50ft. piece of decoy line to the trigger and fired it. hit the target with no harm to the gun. This does not mean I'm gonna start shoulder firing these things, just an experiment. although I proved that it can be done with a .41 I am also certain that it IS NOT a good idea.
 
The thought of mixing shot shells and rimmed revolver cartridges pops-up from time to time. There are occasions when it makes sense to have your handgun loaded with shot: The first, and most obvious, is when you're in a snake rich environment; the second is for specialized exhibition and target shooting.

Long before T/C introduced the 45/410. There were special revolver shot shells and how-to articles about loading your own. How many of you are old enough to remember when making shot shells for the 1911 pistol from 30-06 brass was current?

The procedure has always been a shot shell in a "bullet" gun -- never a metallic cartridge in a shotgun -- a fact some of you have forgotten (or never knew). The reason doesn't have to anything to do with dimensions, and which fits into what, it's basics engineering. Metallic cartridges and their guns are designed to operate at much higher pressures than shot shells and shotguns. A revolver cartridge in a shotgun is an over pressure failure waiting to happen. If you truly want to shoot bullets from a smooth bore, do as our forefathers did -- get a musket or a hand cannon.
 
My Contender barrel is a .45 Colt chamber and bore, with a straight choke tube to stop shot wad rotation, as are most of the dual-purpose guns.
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Yep! And, it started out as a pistol designed for high pressure magnum metallic cartridges. The 45/410 barrel has a longer chamber, than the standard .45, to accommodate the .410. While the .410s are a little loose in the .45 chamber, the robust pistol doesn't seem to mind. On the other hand, there have been reports of split base brass with some .410 ammo.
 
Yeah, and my old .410 bore barrel may have been even better--just shoot slugs through it if you want something solid. I can't afford .45 LC's now anyway.:(

-7-
 
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