TC 45 Colt vs 45/410

[schuetzen]

I rarely come across a .45 Colt barrel for the Encore, but .45/.410 barrels are somewhat common.  Ignoring the chamber length due to the .410, would the rifling on a committed .45 Colt only barrel give more accurate results than a barrel designed for .45 Colt and .410?

[Blackhawker]

I had a 45/.410 Contender barrel for about six months.  After shooting flyers about every five to ten rounds, I decided it wasn't worth having it any longer and sold it.  It was fun to shoot .410's from it but it was overall a novelty, at best, to have it.  I am still in search of a dedicated 45 Colt barrel.

By the way, if you buy a 10 inch 45/410 barrel, there is only about 6 inches of rifling in it for your 45 Colt loads.  Out of the 10 inches of barrel, there is about a 1.5 inch jump in the chamber and roughly another 2 inches of jump from the end of the rifling to the end of the barrel once the choke is removed. 

....just my thoughts and experience with a 45/410 barrel.

[kynardsj]

I wanted a 45 LC barrel for my Encore and had no desire for it to have a 3 inch chamber and shoot 410's too. I was afraid it would sling 45's everywhere. I had MGM build me a 20 inch stainless barrel correctly chambered for the 45 LC. Wasn't cheap but if I do my part it'll shoot just over an inch at 100 yards with the hot 45's it likes. I have only seen 454 Casull and 460 S&W mag in Encore barrels. Never one for the 45 LC like I had built.

[Anonym]

I had a Super 16 for my Contender in 45/410, and as much fun as it was, it did not give me the accuracy I wanted shooting the 45LC, which was it's intended purpose.  I never shot it off a bench, but from standing, kneeling, or sitting as I would in a hunting situation, I was only getting 3-4 inch groups at 50 yards.  I ended up trading it for a Custom Shop 16.25" barrel in 45LC only and noticed a big improvement in accuracy, getting 1-2 inch groups out to 65 yards or so.  My recommendation is getting a dedicated 45LC barrel if that is the intended purpose (and if you can find one).
 
Just a fun story to go along with this, I took it out hunting for the first time this past season and the first time I shot at a deer, which was the first time I shot this barrel without ear protection, I thought my ears were going to bleed!  Ended up reloading some rounds with black powder instead of smokeless and ended up with a great shooting rifle that wasn't so harsh on the ears...

[Doublebass73]

I had a 45/.410 Contender barrel for about six months.  After shooting flyers about every five to ten rounds, I decided it wasn't worth having it any longer and sold it.  It was fun to shoot .410's from it but it was overall a novelty, at best, to have it.  I am still in search of a dedicated 45 Colt barrel.

I had the same experience with my 10" 45/410 barrel. It was lucky to group 3" at 25 yards. I sold it and bought a 10" 45 Colt only and watched the groups shrink down to 0.75" at 25 yards with the right load.

I recently bought an MGM 24" 45 Colt barrel for my G2. I haven't shot it yet, I need to have my gunsmith mount a front sight on it. I can't wait to try it. It balances perfectly on my G2 with factory walnut stocks.

[chiefs50]

I have a Super 14, .45/.410 and a scoped, octagon barreled, 10", .45 Colt barrel.  I enjoy shooting handloaded .410's from the .45/.410 barrel and can get 4" groups at 50 yards shooting the .45's.  I can cut those groups down to 2" or less with the dedicated. 10", .45 Colt barrel.  I love the .45 Colt round and shoot mostly bullets I cast myself.  I'm thinking I will start handloading black powder rounds for this barrel.
 
Mike

[mcwoodduck]

I bought one more for hte 410 than the 45 colt.
I wanted it to shoot Grouse when  headed back from hunting big game.
The diffeence between my 45 410 barrel and the 44 mag or 30-30 10" I have is the sights.  The 45/ 410 sights are different.  The 44, 30 30 are traditional and you would expect better accuracy from them.
 
In the 45-410 barrel there is also the wad stopper.  That needs to be removed ot shoot the 45 Colt.  The wad stopper choke does not stop the wad but stops it from spinning so it lobs the shot out like a traditional shot gun and does not fling it out like snake shot.
The wad stopper, if shot with colt loads will do the same and it would be like shooting a 45 colt with rifleing with NO spin to them.  You are going to get flyers, tumblers, and other strange ballistics based internal and external ballistics.

[schuetzen]

In the 45-410 barrel there is also the wad stopper.  That needs to be removed ot shoot the 45 Colt.  The wad stopper choke does not stop the wad but stops it from spinning so it lobs the shot out like a traditional shot gun and does not fling it out like snake shot.
The wad stopper, if shot with colt loads will do the same and it would be like shooting a 45 colt with rifleing with NO spin to them.  You are going to get flyers, tumblers, and other strange ballistics based internal and external ballistics.

Does one switch out the wad stopper choke with another choke when shooting 45 Colt or is one shooting 45 Colt without a choke?  It would seem to me that shooting 45 Colt without any choke would make it difficult to clean the threads in the barrel before re-install the wad stopper choke?

[schuetzen]

I have a Super 14, .45/.410 and a scoped, octagon barreled, 10", .45 Colt barrel.  I enjoy shooting handloaded .410's from the .45/.410 barrel and can get 4" groups at 50 yards shooting the .45's.  I can cut those groups down to 2" or less with the dedicated. 10", .45 Colt barrel.  I love the .45 Colt round and shoot mostly bullets I cast myself.  I'm thinking I will start handloading black powder rounds for this barrel.
 
Mike

Perhaps a .454 Casull or .460 S&W might be an alternative for a hard to find barrel dedicated in a .45 Colt?  I've seen some .460 S&W rifle barrels still relatively easy to find.

[mcwoodduck]

In the 45-410 barrel there is also the wad stopper.  That needs to be removed ot shoot the 45 Colt.  The wad stopper choke does not stop the wad but stops it from spinning so it lobs the shot out like a traditional shot gun and does not fling it out like snake shot.
The wad stopper, if shot with colt loads will do the same and it would be like shooting a 45 colt with rifleing with NO spin to them.  You are going to get flyers, tumblers, and other strange ballistics based internal and external ballistics.

Does one switch out the wad stopper choke with another choke when shooting 45 Colt or is one shooting 45 Colt without a choke?  It would seem to me that shooting 45 Colt without any choke would make it difficult to clean the threads in the barrel before re-install the wad stopper choke?

The choke is removed to shoot the 45 colt.  The choke threads are pretty far away from the muzzel, that is now recessed.
I really have not put enough rounds through mine to tell you how gunky the threads get I cleaned mine with a Q tip and some hoppies #9.  Lubed the male threads and re installed my choke tube. 

[Keith L]

I have never seen a 45/410 rifle barrel.  I don't know why you would need one.  410 barrels are available and universally legal in rifle length. 

[mcwoodduck]

I have never seen a 45/410 rifle barrel.  I don't know why you would need one.  410 barrels are available and universally legal in rifle length.

But my 10" hip cannon is not legal in most states with out the rifleing and even illegal in others with it.
 

[Keith L]

That is my point.  The only reason for the combo barrel was to make it legal in some states in a short barrel.  It doesn't do the 45 barrel's job very well, but that's OK because it is also a compromise as a shotgun.  The only  barrel I have ever sold is the 45/410 that I couldn't get to work to my satisfaction with either.

[Camp Cook]

I went with a 10" octagon 45 Colt barrel and a 14" MGM 45 Colt carbine barrel then jumped to a 21" 410 barrel for my Contenders have no interest in the combo barrel.

[GarrettJ]

I had a Super 16 for my Contender in 45/410, and as much fun as it was, it did not give me the accuracy I wanted shooting the 45LC, which was it's intended purpose...

Digging up an old thread here, but it's somewhat relevant. 

I found my Super 16 .45/.410 to exhibit less than impressive accuracy as well.  Shooting from a bench at 50 yds, I was shooting much better with a 4-5/8" Blackhawk, using the same loads. 

However, I can't blame the barrel right off.  I've got the vent rib barrel, and the sights are not exactly a precision setup.  It has a front bead, with a U-notch rear sight.  I was having a very difficult time getting a consistent sight picture. 

I keep thinking I need to either remove the rib and install a more traditional set of sights, or just put a rail and a red dot sight on it.