.410 Buckshot?

[Aaro]

I'm fixing to buy a 45/410 Taurus off one of my friends to carry for snakes and such while walking the creek fishing and other outdoor activities. I plan to carry bird shot for the snakes but want to carry something a little heavier in at least two of the cylinders for other bigger pests. I was wondering what y'all thought of buckshot? I know from experience shooting with him its not very effective past about 20yards but that's about right for a self defense situation right. The big thought is will it stop a Po-ed hog? Or worst case scenario someone else? My other choices are a 410 slug or actual 45 colt ammo. Would one of these be a better choice?

[S.B.]

How long is the cylinder on these guns? .410 slugs are a lot longer than the cylinder of any of my revolvers.

[corbanzo]

.410 buckshot is just going to make a po-ed hog po-ed x 2, go with either the slug or the lc, both good choices for defense.   

[rockbilly]

I agree.  Over the years I have found .410 buckshot leaves a lot to be desired.  I would go with the slugs, a lot more effective on big critters.

[singleVI]

You could get a .357 or 44 Revolver and use the shot capsules for snakes and the regular ammo for hogs/humans. A cast bullet from a 357 or 44 would probably be more effective than a soft lead slug form a 410. Just my thoughts...

[Aaro]

After careful consideration I have decided that a good 45LC bullet will be the best to have on me. The buckshot has will have lousy penetration and awful patterns and the 85Gr slug doesn't seem all that lethal when we start talking about Hogs. SingleVI, the reason I don't get a 357 is because I'm getting this gun from a friend at a "reduced" price plus a 45 bullet is bigger than a 38 and everyone knows bigger is better!? Now Ive got to figure out what birdshot im going to use! Man oh man the choices one must make.Those of you that have this gun whats the accuracy report with 45 ammo? Good enough to hit a hog sized target a 25 yards? Also what do yall know about +p loads yes or no or this gun?

[Cookiemann]

My vote goes to the 45LC ammon and then ANY size shot that patterns the way you want.  Try a few different brands and shot sizes in both 2 1/2 and 3 inch and see which shoots the best.  Don't forget to try some of the 45LC shot shells, too. 

cookiemann

[Mikey]

You have 3 choices:  410 shot shells for snakes; 45 LC shot shells for snakes; and, 45 LC slugs for anything else.  I would say to get yourself a couple of different boxes of ammo and shot shells and she how she shoots.  The revolver should be more than accurate enough to hit a hog a 25m but the real question is whether or not you can put anything down the barrel that would have any real effect on a hog.  JMHO.  Mikey.

[coyotejoe]

I have to say that any of the "45 Colt/410' guns are neither. The accuracy with .45 Colt is generally very poor because the bullet must first rattle through the .410 chamber before reaching the bore where it will be neither straight nor concentric. As a .410, patterns are lousy because the bore is .040" oversize and rifled which ruins any hope of a shot pattern. Bearing in mind that the 1/2 to 3/4 of an ounce of shot limits even a .410 long gun you will get the idea that with the reduced velocity and scattered pattern from a revolver it becomes a very short range instrument. It sure is a neat looking piece but not really good for much. The buckshot loads would likely be a good man stopper at very short range, say indoors, and the .45 Colt loads should be accurate enough to stay somewhere on the body to 20 yards but a real .45 would be a better choice.
  Realizing that to get past the BATF regs the bore must be rifled and chambered for some handgun cartridge I think they could do much better than the .45 Colt.  If they called it a 44/40 they could reduce the bore to .427", much closer to the .410. Then make the rifling very shallow, just visible, and give it a very slow twist, again barely perceptible, it would be much better as a .410 and just forget accuracy with the 44/40, although it might be OK with a hard cast .427" round ball. Granted, the case neck would blow out straight when fired but I doubt anyone would shoot a lot of 44/40s out of it and at least it might be an OK .410.

[panman]

All i can tell ya is what i did.I carried a ruger in 41cal.on the left side[cross draw].And when fishing,i ALWAYS carried a derringer,loaded with rat shot.in 22cal.NOT the crimped stile,but the one with the blue tip,CCI.Shot a hell of a lot of snakes when i lived in FL.,while fishing and or hiking.In the ranges of the snakes10ft,hiking?.they didn't move after being hit,99% of the time.i just carried it in my watch pocket,and it was ready all the time.Haven't seen any hogs step up to the plate when the 41 was with me.lol.Just my 2 cents.By the way,the derringer is a double barrel.I killed some big Rattlers,6+ft,and some very aggressive moccasins.pan.

[Outcast]

Have just rung out one of these pistols. Number 9 shot at 10yds is flat out awesome. AT 20yds. you want to shoot .45lc or 410 slugs. They both stay on a man size target. #3 buck only managed to hit a 20yd target with one pellet ...every time.Worthless.

[Outcast]

I have to say that any of the "45 Colt/410' guns are neither. The accuracy with .45 Colt is generally very poor because the bullet must first rattle through the .410 chamber before reaching the bore where it will be neither straight nor concentric. As a .410, patterns are lousy because the bore is .040" oversize and rifled which ruins any hope of a shot pattern. Bearing in mind that the 1/2 to 3/4 of an ounce of shot limits even a .410 long gun you will get the idea that with the reduced velocity and scattered pattern from a revolver it becomes a very short range instrument. It sure is a neat looking piece but not really good for much. The buckshot loads would likely be a good man stopper at very short range, say indoors, and the .45 Colt loads should be accurate enough to stay somewhere on the body to 20 yards but a real .45 would be a better choice.
  Realizing that to get past the BATF regs the bore must be rifled and chambered for some handgun cartridge I think they could do much better than the .45 Colt.  If they called it a 44/40 they could reduce the bore to .427", much closer to the .410. Then make the rifling very shallow, just visible, and give it a very slow twist, again barely perceptible, it would be much better as a .410 and just forget accuracy with the 44/40, although it might be OK with a hard cast .427" round ball. Granted, the case neck would blow out straight when fired but I doubt anyone would shoot a lot of 44/40s out of it and at least it might be an OK .410.

I bet you are referring to a T/C and not a Tarus

[Blackhawk44]

Sorry Outcast, but I think you will find coyotejoe to be right on.  Several recent articles on the new Taurus and my long years of handloading confirm everything coyote said.  Secondly, the Taurus will only accept 2.5" .410 shells, not 3" and I can't recall any 2.5" buckshot loads larger than I believe #4's.  From my experience, I believe that you will find that the finer the shot size, the better patterns you will get, which is just fine for snakes.  As said, a .22 with #12 shotloads works as well and sometimes better than larger calibers.  At 25 yards, a hog is not a threat and the accuracy of this piece with hardball would barely be minute of hog.  If hogs are truly an issue then a good .44 or .45 with one or two CCI shotloads up front would be a far better general carry piece.     

[Dusty Miller]

Pack the 45 with a good cast flat point bullet and learn to avoid the snakes.