Can You Shoot 410 Out Of A 45 Long Colt
Can You Shoot 410 Out Of 45 Long Colt Barrel Ammo

What lovelier shotgun can there be than a .410 built on the proper-sized action? The old Winchester Model 42 is sleek as a Ferrari, and the new Tristar G2 Viper .410 is equally svelte. Go to the National Rifle Association’s museum and check out the .410 Purdey, Boss, Holland & Holland and other classic British doubles in the Robert Petersen Collection, and they look like magic wands. But the .410 isn’t all a bed of roses.

Check out www.hr1891.com and look at NEF's Barrel Exchange Program. You can get a.45 Colt /.410 barrel fitted to your son's gun, although it might not shoot.410's worth a damn! (IMO) I had an NEF 'Survivor'.45C/.410, but wasn't impressed with its performance when shooting 3' #6's in the.410 and got rid of it. What lovelier shotgun can there be than a.410 built on the proper-sized action? The old Winchester Model 42 is sleek as a Ferrari, and the new Tristar G2 Viper.410 is equally svelte. Go to the National Rifle Association’s museum and check out the.410 Purdey, Boss, Holland & Holland and other classic British doubles in the Robert Petersen.

Often touted as a “beginner’s gun” the truth is that it is far from that. Instant success is the key to attracting new shooters (especially young shooters) and the .410, with its thin patterns, doesn’t deliver a high-voltage charge of enthusiasm. But to understand why the .410 is so lovely, you must first understand its history.

Can You Shoot 410 Out Of 45long Colt Barrel

The origins of the .410 go back to the end of the nineteenth century, when farmers shot birds and small game to feed their families. There wasn’t any wing shooting involved here, just pop them wherever they were and take ‘em home for mom to cook. The .44-40 pistol/rifle cartridge came factory loaded with shot specifically for small game, but because it blasted through a rifled barrel, the shot spread very fast and its effective range was only about 10 yards. The J. Stevens Company was probably the first to manufacture a firearm to shoot .44-caliber shot shells—the Stevens Pocket Shotgun chambered in .44-50 (2-inch shells) and .44-65 (2 ½-inch shells). It was followed by Marbles’s over/under Game Getter in 1908 with a .22 rimfire barrel on top of a smoothbore lower barrel in .44 caliber. The .410 as we now know it took shape in 1911 when the bore diameter was reduced to .410. Some shells were head stamped 12mm/.410 giving credit to the German origin of the paper cases.

At this point, I should clarify: The .410 is a caliber, not a gauge. Yes, ammunition companies print their ammo boxes .410 Ga., but that’s a misnomer. If the .410 was rebranded as a gauge, it would be a 67 Gauge. There is also some confusion with the .410 and the 32 and 36 gauges, which are recognized as gauges. Never heard of them? Don’t worry, few have, but side-by-side shotguns in those gauges were made mostly before World War I (though RST Shells in Friendsville, Pennsylvania makes commercial loads for the 32 gauge).

The clay-target game of Skeet essentially kept the .410 alive. Invented by William Harnden Foster in about 1932 as a way for him to keep in shape for grouse hunting in the off season, it evolved into a highly competitive game shortly thereafter. Today some sporting clay competitions also feature .410 courses. In Skeet, the rules mandate the use of a 2 ½-inch shell loaded with a half-ounce of shot, though since targets are no more than 22 to 24 yards from the shooter, the contest is still within the .410’s limitations. Likewise, sporting courses also take into account the limited range of the .410, and like Skeet, limit the shot charge to a half-ounce. The allowable quantities and shot sizes for Skeet and sporting clays are 174 No. 7 ½ pellets, 204 No. 8 pellets and 298 No. 9 pellets, per half-ounce charge respectively.

Many refer to the .410 as a “fun gun,” and to the extent it is used with good sense, it really is. There’s minimal recoil and it can consistently kill game within 25 yards. Some years ago, I did a pattern test using Briley thin-wall choke tubes in one of my Winchester Model 42 .410 pumps chambered for both 2 ½- and 3-inch shells. The other is a Skeet chambered specifically for 2 ½-inch shells. Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, the best choke at 25 yards proved to be and improved cylinder (I.C.). Shooting lead No. 7 ½ shot these were the most even patterns while the full choke delivered patchy patterns. I used both 2 ½- and 3-inch shells and the shorter ½-ounce load also patterned more evenly. Why? Because the very long shot column necessary with the 3-inch shell causes more pellet deformation as the shot rockets down the barrel at about 900 miles per hour. During this brief passage, it crunches together and is abraded by the barrel walls, regardless of the plastic shot collar, and the many deformed pellets no longer stay within the pattern.

The late B. C. “Barney” Hartman, the great Canadian skeet champion of the 1960s and ‘70s shot a Model 42 that he claims was choked to deliver the shot charge to about the size of a pie plate at 21 yards. “I either hit them or I miss them,” Hartman said. In the late 1970s, he broke 398 of 400 targets at the Canadian Skeet Championship, and the two misses were with the fickle .410.

Can you shoot 410 out of 45 long colt barrel price

All of this leads to the question of whether or not the .410 is a beginner’s gun? Yes, there is no recoil, but the limitations prescribed by the ammunition really prohibit a beginning shooter early success. Now, if you just want to go to a skeet field and shoot the low outgoing target at Station 7, that’s fine for first shots at a moving target, because you only need to shoot directly at the clay. It’s here where success and fun can come quick. However, the gun must also fit the shooter to ensure breaking even these simple targets. But vary from that, or take a new shooter into the field after pheasants or quail with a .410, and the results can be frustrating.

On a more positive note, the development of commercially available tungsten super shot loads like Federal’s Heavyweight TSS, has created an opportunity for the .410 to make a name for itself as a turkey killer. The light weight and low recoil of a .410 shotgun make it ideal for a young or small-framed turkey hunter. Or, the turkey hunter who is tired of lugging around a 12-gauge and is dedicated to calling in toms as close as possible.

Read Next: Federal Heavyweight TSS .410 Turkey Load

With the exception of that specialty, the best gauge for beginner shooters is the 28, or perhaps the 20, with light loads. Guns in these gauges typically handle better than most .410s, which tend to be whippy and hard to control. Most important, the larger gauges offer a sufficient payload of shot to be effective on any game-farm bird, dove, rabbit, etc. All of this of course presupposes some instruction, practice on clays, and a gun that fits the shooter. Seeing a youngster trying to mount and shoot an adult-sized shotgun is not pleasant.

A number of years ago, shotgun expert Robert N. Sears penned these words, “A few true experts use .410-bore guns creditably in the field. More than wing shooting skill is involved. Recognition of the gun’s limitation and the ability to judge range are as important as pointing skill in avoiding unacceptable crippling losses.” That pretty much sums it up.

Classic .410 Shotguns

Today there are a number of .410 shotguns available, some were made many years ago, and some you can buy at your local shotgun dealer. Here’s a quick look at some of the finest ever made.

The Winchester Model 42 looks like a miniature of their classic Model 12, but it was a totally redesigned gun. First released

Can You Shoot 410 Out Of 45long Colt Barrel