Factory .45 Colt loads for 10" 45/410 Barrel

[Doublebass73]

Hi all,

Contender noob here, I bought my first one recently and it has the 10" 45/410 barrel. I love H&R Handi single shots
so the Contender was a natural for me for my first hunting handgun. I shot it last Sunday for the first time and had great time.
I shot 250 gr. Speer GDHP and some 2 1/2" .410 # 6's. The 410's were very fun to shoot and so were the '45's, not a lot of recoil.

I grouped the .45's about 2 1/2 - 3 inches at 25 yards off of a rest. Is this about normal accuracy for one of these? I know the bullet has a long jump to the lands so I'm not expecting miracles but I was wondering if anyone is able to get minute of deer accuracy at 50 yards?
I don't have reloading equipment so I was wondering if anyone knew of some factory ammo that shoots well out of these?

Thanks

[DEACONLLB]

All that I ever shot in mine was factory loads as I do not reload and to say the least I could not hit any thing with the one that I had. one shot would go left, next would go right, next would go low, was all over the target. I think the problem is in the long jump and then about a inch or so as it leaves the barrel. I sold mine and picked up a regular 45 colt from ed and it shoots great. I also had a Comanche single shot in the same cal 45/410 and it shot the same way. I would say getting a 2 to 3 inch group is not bad for that barrel.
Deaconllb

[Blackhawker]

I had a really nice 45/410 10 inch barrel for about a year.  I shot it over and over and couldn't hit a dang thing with it.  I am a reloader and I tried several different loads and still got scatter out of it.  At 50 yards, about one third of the rounds key-holed my targets.  I finally gave up on the 45 Colt's and just played with it for a while, shooting the 410's.  The 410's were quite fun but it wasn't worth keeping the barrel just to shoot a few plastic bottles etc. 

When you think about it, the barrel is made to fit 3 inch shells and then when you remove the choke to fire 45 Colts, you really only have about 7 inches or less of rifling in the barrel.  Aside from three inches less of rifling, add to the trouble a 1 inch jump from the face of your 45 Colt rounds to the lands and you have a good recipe for inaccuracy and tumbling bullets. 

When I bought my barrel, I was really looking for a good 45 Colt barrel in which I could work up some strong and accurate loads.  What I ended up with was a waste of time and money.  I'd say that if you're looking for accuracy and power, buy a Ruger Blackhawk with a 7 1/2 inch barrel or a dedicated 45 Colt barrel without the 410 option for your Contender. 

Maybe other shooters have had different results, but that's what I got.  Personally, I don't know why T/C even sells the barrel with the 410 option.  Can one legally hunt rabbits etc with a 10 inch shotgun barrel?

[Doublebass73]

Here in NH it's legal to hunt rabbits with the 10" .410

I usually see lots of partridges when I go deer hunting so my thinking was it would be nice to be able to have something that I could shoot an occasional partridge with then take the choke out and have something capable of taking a deer at 50 yards. I usually hunt thick brush so 50 yards is usually the maximum shot anyway. I have a bad back so that got me interested in having a light handgun to carry in a shoulder holster vs. carrying a rifle all day.

I'll probably try a few more boxes of ammo to see if I can extend the range a little beyond 25 yards. I see some companies like Buffalo Bore have 45 Colt +P's, can these barrels handle the hotter loads?

I plan on getting a .22 LR barrel at some point for cheap practice and if I can't get a little more range out of this barrel I'll start looking for a .357 Max.

[Keith L]

Start looking.  It is not to common for someone with one of those barrels to be happy with the .45 part.

[Blackhawker]

Doublebass,
To conserve weight while hunting, get yourself a T/C multi-tool, find another dedicated 45 Colt barrel or another caliber barrel to hunt deer with, and keep the 45/410 barrel to switch out in the field to shoot at little critters with 410's.  I wouldn't waste time with the 45 Colts in that barrel, especially if you're thinking of hunting deer with it.

[Doublebass73]

That sounds like a good idea Blackhawker. By the time I'm done buying a few boxes of factory .45 Colts to see if this barrel works or not
I can be halfway to a .357 Max barrel. I was thinking of that barrel because I already have tons of .357 and .38 ammo on hand. Carrying the extra barrel in the backpack shouldn't be an issue.

[Blackhawker]

With the 357 Max, keep in mind that factory ammo is fairly scarce and you'll pay a premium for it.  Since you already shoot 38's and 357 mags, you might get into reloading.  One set of dies will load all three of those rounds.  The 357 Max from a pistol will do more than enough on a deer at 50 yards.

Good luck!

[Doublebass73]

Yes, I was planning on getting into reloading anyway. I have lots of Mag and Special brass saved up. I have a .357 Mag Handi rifle that I want to ream to Max so getting a Max barrel for the Contender would be a natural. I'll be happy if I can make a 50 yard gun out of it.

Thanks

[Keith L]

A 357 Max in a Contender has a much longer range than that. 

[Blackhawker]

Absolutely Keith!

[Doublebass73]

A 357 Max in a Contender has a much longer range than that. 

Yeah, I kind of figured that. I would want solid accuracy at 50 to hunt with it but would definitely practice at longer ranges to figure out my personal maximum effective range. What do others here get for effective range out of a .357 Max Contender?

[Keith L]

Guys, what do you think?  I don't currently have one, but I am thinking 150 yards maybe from a Super 14?

[Mack in N.C.]

my barrel shoots 45 hot loads to the tone of  2inchees at 25 yds....figure i am ok to abot 60 ydsor a hair more......never had one keyhole......410 barrel is great for rabbits it the thick stuff......not to good shooting a squirrel up a 100 ft tall tree though.........its good at waht it does.........no deer has ever gone out of my sight when shot with my tc 45 colt, most have fallen in there tracks.....those deer never new it had to jump to get to the rifling........its not a 100 yd gun but then i dont take it to 100 yd stands...mack

[greenmtnboy]

How about 410 slugs ?  I hear thats the best way to go.  cant say for sure I havent tried it myself but I was told by a friend that Rabbit hunts with one and he says the same  45 is'nt very good but 410 slugs shoot great groups. He always has a few with him and of coarse you need to remove the choke the same as with a 45, but says there thats the way to go.
                                                Rod

[Doublebass73]

I haven't tried slugs yet, they're cheap enough to try though.

I shot it a little more yesterday with the same box of ammo (tough to find factory 45 Colt around here) and managed to get a best 3 shot group of 2 inches at 25 yards. Had a few groups that showed promise but ended up with the third shot as a flyer that opened the group way up. I probably didn't wait long enough in between shots.

I tried some .410 loads, it seems to pattern better with #8 shot vs. #6 shot.

[spinafish]

My first Contender barrel was the 45LC/.410.  Mine did really well with hot 250 grain and 300 grain loads.  I even went as far as to purchase a shotgun rib mount to put a red-dot on mine.  It didn't seem to notice the jump either.With the red-dot one could use either cartridge and get a really good sight picture instead of that large gold bead.

[Doublebass73]

spinafish,

What kind of accuracy were you getting shooting those hot loads? Were these lead or jacketed?
I have iron sights on my barrel.

[MikeP]

I would not predict that .410 slugs would work well in a .454 barrel. But, it does with some, as reported above. It just goes to show you to never fear to try  things, even if theory would argue against...as long as it's safe, of course.

Personally, I've had excellent accuracy by fireforming 3-inch-long brass from a 9.3x74R case. This case brings the .454 bullet right up to the rifling. It's a proven deer-killer in my 10-inch-long .45/410 barrel.

I also use the barrel (with choke attached) with No 8 birdshot from .410 plastic cases, as well as those loaded in .444 and 9.3x74R cases. Taken squirrels (and destroyed snakes) testify to this.