Author Topic: 410 Enfield  (Read 905 times)

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Offline JASON50CAL

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410 Enfield
« on: May 28, 2010, 06:45:43 PM »
I have an Enfield rifle that is in great shape but it was converted to 410 shotgun at some point and it shoots slugs pretty good. I was wondering if i could shoot 45 lc ammo in it. It is a single shot so i'm not trying to get them to feed from a mag or anything, just would like to try to get it to shoot even better and since i load for 45 lc already, i thought about trying it but was wondering if it would be safe to do so.

Offline Mikey

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Re: 410 Enfield
« Reply #1 on: May 29, 2010, 12:32:16 PM »
Jason:  I'm not so sure it really would be safe.  I believe your Enfield in .410 was not converted but manufactured in that caliber for police work in Shanghai (I think, I think....).  It certainly was not designed as a sporting arm.....  That being said I'm not sure of two things (1) that you would be able to safely chamber a 45 Colt cartridge and (2) that the pressures would be safe for that rifle. 

But, all is not dismal.  You mentioned she shoots slugs pretty well, so consider staying with the same caliber.  There is new .410 ammo out on the market today, thanks in large part to the success of dual caliber revolvers like the Judge, that take both the 45 Colt and the .410 has benefitted from it.  I have a nifty little .410 NEF that shoots the Sellier and Bellot and the Brenneke slugs both very well.  There is also new ammo containing different size shot loads for defensive .410s but I can provide that the lowly little .410 has accounted for lots and lots of Chipmunks and Squirrels around here.  I doubt the rifle would recoil much at all.

Offline coyotejoe

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Re: 410 Enfield
« Reply #2 on: June 02, 2010, 05:38:06 AM »
I REALLY WOULD NOT DO THAT! Those Enfield .410's have a normal .410" bore diameter. The .45 Colt cartridge is loaded with bullets of .451"-.454". That's .041"-.044" larger than the bore. The combination .45 Colt/.410 guns have .45 caliber rifled bores so the bullets do fit the bore. And you have a smoothbore so even if there were were no hazard the bullets would tumble and shoot wildly. I doubt a .45 Colt cartridge would fit into a proper .410 chamber but even if it does seem to fit that doesn't mean it is safe to fire, much less a good idea. The Enfield .410 is certainly a much stronger gun than the typical .410 shotgun but that bullet would fly free for something over one inch of chamber and then slam into the much smaller bore. I don't know what would happen but I wouldn't want to find out the hard way.
The story of David & Goliath only demonstrates the superiority of ballistic projectiles over hand weapons, poor old Goliath never had a chance.