Shot Shells -44 mag

W

Winston

New member
Can anyone describe the patterns/power of .44mag shotshells?

Can this round be used effectively for self defence for example

thanks.
 
Shotshells for the 44 or any other handgun SHOULD NOT be used for self defense. They are good for barnyard pests and snakes out to around 7- 10 yards or so. Used in this fashion I think you will be happy with them.
 
Power wise, my home brewed ones were in the same class as a 2 1/2" 1/2 oz .410, but with a shorter, rifled barrel they weren't as effective of course. I made cylinder length cases from .30-40 Krag brass (requires slight reduction and thinning of the case head) and used traditional shotshell reloading techniques with cardboard wads and a half oz of shot. This was a few decades back when shot capsules weren't yet available. Fun stuff.
 
Not for self defense but I don't want to be shot at with a BB gun.
Like it has been said, it throws a pattern at about an inch per foot. 10 foot-10"--20 ft.-20 inches. It also tends to put the densest shot at the outside of the pattern. Probably from the twist of the barrel. Great snake and pest load. Also does best with smaller shot. 9 shot size is good. 7 1/2 works ok but less shot in the capsule. They are easy to reload with Speer shot capsules and are fun to shoot. Note: DO NOT have a shotshell loaded in the gun and shoot a full power load. It tends to cause the capsule to move forward under recoil and will jam the cylinder.
 
I used to keep two shotshells in front of four slugs when I lived in an apt years back, but no more.

RCBS sells dies to make SS for the 45acp, which will cycle the gun. They must be used in a Colt clone, the Glocks wont set off the rifle primers. A 308 case gets cut down and reformed, then a 410 shotgun shell wad is lightly tamped down over the powder charge with a dowell, cut flush with case mouth, add some #9's and cap the ensemble with a single 00 buck. these loads throw a nice rabbit sized pattern at about 20-25 ft, and could certainly be used for defense with the 00 in there.
I like em' but it seems that everyone I show em to looks at em like thier the red headed step child or something???
 
:cool: As far as self defense is concerned- only if the person is not very motivated. Save them for snakes and ratsl.

good shootin
 
What do these do to the rifling of the gun over time? I am not worried about a few shots, but what about over 20 years and a couple thousand shots or so?
 
I can't imagine damaging the barrel, especially if you used the plastic case type shot shells. But then, I can't imagine shooting thousands of rounds of these in any amount of time. I experimented a little bit with my 4&5/8" Vaquero and found the pattern spread WAAAY too fast for my liking. If I had a reason for using a lot of these shells I'd probably find the cheapest POS pistol with a 6"+ barrel I could lay my hands on and have a smith drill out the rifling for me. Get rid of the centrifugal force and the pattern might be more reasonable.
 
I think if I had a real need to shoot a lot of these types of loads I'de look real hard at a snakecharmer.
www.snake-charmer.net
In the long run, I think a .410 might be a lot cheaper to feed.


Pappy John,
BATF has some rather hard and fast ideas about do-it-yourself smoothbores under 18 inches.
 
Looking back through my reloading notes over the years I see I also made some .41 mag shotshells in the same manner posted above except out of .30-30 cases. Interesting, I had forgotten all about them.
 
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