Shooting 45 ACP from a 410 shotgun?

.410 Circuit Judge

I have shot my friend's Circuit Judge several times, and it seems to handle both .45lc and .410 fairly well... only thing I noticed to dislike was the escaping gasses if you are standing to the right of the shooter....the left side of the cylinder is shrouded...

I like shooting .45lc brass in my .410 single shot, as well as .444 Marlin. With a muzzle I.D. of .395", I keep the projectile smaller than the opening. Use 00 Buck, not 000--- , and .38 wad-cutters in .45 sabots, for the .45lc brass. Works surprisingly well.
 
A bit of background:

The .410 shotgun cartridge evolved from .44WCF/.44-40 shot cartridges originally made for smoothbore rifles and handguns often used in "wild west" shows. So the .410 today has approximately the same size rim and maximum cartridge case diameter as the old .38-40 and .44-40 cartridges.

Fast forward:

Some years back, Taurus had prototypes of their revolver initially in .44-40/.410 on display at the NRA Annual Convention. They were asking convention attendees their opinion of this new concept. Taurus representatives said in order to import these revolvers had to be rifled and had to chamber a "regular" handgun cartridge as well. I heard a number of comments that a .45 Colt/.410 combination would be better because the .44-40 was obsolete and hard to find.

When the chance came to examine the prototype and talk with a Taurus representative, I suggested that the metalic cartridge combination of the .38/40 and .410 would be the best to build a successful shot revolver around. The base of the .38-40 would closely fit with the .410 and the "rattle fit" of smaller .40 caliber bullet would allow for a small amount of choke in a .41 caliber rifled barrel with very slow twist rifling. Such a combination would make for a great .410 shot revolver.

Well the .45 Colt/.410 combination with a .45 caliber rifled barrel won out as more of a dual purpose concept than a dedicated shot revolver. These revolvers are .45 caliber revolvers that can also shoot .410 gauge shotshells in their extra-long chambers and .45 caliber barrels.

Note: The .38-40 actually a .40 caliber round.
 
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