YOU be the Judge
I have a 3” Taurus “Judge.” My goal has been to keep it for home defense with the first two cylinders containing Winchester “Defender” .410 cartridges and the remaining 3 containing .45 Colt cartridges holding 255gr cast or 250gr JHP XTP bullets.
For the heck of it, yesterday I ran a test from a distance of 7 yards at 8.5 x 11 inch sheets containing a target of the following ring sizes: 9.25”- 6.25” -and 3 rings and a bull totaling 5.25”.
I fired 2 shots at each of 5 targets using the following .410 shells:
2-3/4 inch, 0.5-oz #8-1/2: total pellets = 497
All 3-inch, 11/16-oz loads of:
#7-12 = 482
#5 =234
#4= 186
Winchester Defender .410, containing 4 copper-plated discs (approx. .38 caliber) and 16 plated BBs, for a total of 8 discs and 32 BBs.
My target plan would initially be the head and face of any intruder, thus avoiding the need to be concerned about clothing penetration, causing a motion stall so I can turn my attention to the use of the .45 Colt loads at the body. What I discovered changed my mind about using the Winchester Defender cartridges.
My face measures approximately 5 inches laterally and 5 inches vertically to my nose, so the 5.25-inch diameter 3-ring center is of interest.
This is how the various loads performed:
#8-1/2 shot: 110 total hits on the entire 8.5 x 11” sheet (22%); 31 (6%) were in the 3-ring, 5.25” center
#7-1/2 shot: 75 total hits on 8.5 x 11” (20%); 28 were in the 5.25” center 3 rings
#5 shot: 54 total hits (23%); 12 (5%) in the 5.25” center 3 rings
#4 shot: 48 total hits (26%); 14 (8%) in the 5.25” center rings
Surprise: Two Defender rounds delivered 6 total hits (15%) on the entire 8.5 x 11” paper, and they were all BBs. Only 2 were in the 5.25” 3-ring center. There was no sign of any of the 8 discs hitting the paper.
The absence of the discs might be explained by the relatively poor accuracy of the .45 Colt cartridges. All of the 4 cast and JHP rounds that I fired averaged 3 inches high and 2-inches to the left of the center of the target. However, that may not be a problem with a center mass target on an intruder from 7 yards, as far as the bullets are concerned.
So, YOU be the judge. Which .410 cartridge would you choose in this circumstance if you were going to do what I plan?
I have a 3” Taurus “Judge.” My goal has been to keep it for home defense with the first two cylinders containing Winchester “Defender” .410 cartridges and the remaining 3 containing .45 Colt cartridges holding 255gr cast or 250gr JHP XTP bullets.
For the heck of it, yesterday I ran a test from a distance of 7 yards at 8.5 x 11 inch sheets containing a target of the following ring sizes: 9.25”- 6.25” -and 3 rings and a bull totaling 5.25”.
I fired 2 shots at each of 5 targets using the following .410 shells:
2-3/4 inch, 0.5-oz #8-1/2: total pellets = 497
All 3-inch, 11/16-oz loads of:
#7-12 = 482
#5 =234
#4= 186
Winchester Defender .410, containing 4 copper-plated discs (approx. .38 caliber) and 16 plated BBs, for a total of 8 discs and 32 BBs.
My target plan would initially be the head and face of any intruder, thus avoiding the need to be concerned about clothing penetration, causing a motion stall so I can turn my attention to the use of the .45 Colt loads at the body. What I discovered changed my mind about using the Winchester Defender cartridges.
My face measures approximately 5 inches laterally and 5 inches vertically to my nose, so the 5.25-inch diameter 3-ring center is of interest.
This is how the various loads performed:
#8-1/2 shot: 110 total hits on the entire 8.5 x 11” sheet (22%); 31 (6%) were in the 3-ring, 5.25” center
#7-1/2 shot: 75 total hits on 8.5 x 11” (20%); 28 were in the 5.25” center 3 rings
#5 shot: 54 total hits (23%); 12 (5%) in the 5.25” center 3 rings
#4 shot: 48 total hits (26%); 14 (8%) in the 5.25” center rings
Surprise: Two Defender rounds delivered 6 total hits (15%) on the entire 8.5 x 11” paper, and they were all BBs. Only 2 were in the 5.25” 3-ring center. There was no sign of any of the 8 discs hitting the paper.
The absence of the discs might be explained by the relatively poor accuracy of the .45 Colt cartridges. All of the 4 cast and JHP rounds that I fired averaged 3 inches high and 2-inches to the left of the center of the target. However, that may not be a problem with a center mass target on an intruder from 7 yards, as far as the bullets are concerned.
So, YOU be the judge. Which .410 cartridge would you choose in this circumstance if you were going to do what I plan?