[tbmwolf]

Anybody know about the thunder five .410 revolver? Seems like it might be an improvement over the .357 revolver next to my bed now.

[Bulldozer]

UGH! Friend had one. Trigger was miserable and sights were off. It was, IMHO, about as good a gun as the defunct C.O.P. 4-shot derringer of the early 80s. Keep the .357.

[Jim March]

Friends don't let friends buy CHUNDERS.

:barf:

[EJ]

No I think you should stay away from the T-5 I had one that lost timing and became unsafe at low mileage--

Is that you Paul???

Let me know--

[Tamara]

Don't. ;)

[ruger357]

:barf:

[Mr Jody Hudson]

they are a fun gun for snakes in the woods but not reliable enough or powerful enough for home or self defense from my experience and that of another fellow nearby.

[Poohgyrr]

In general, any quality .357 is pretty good and hard to beat. Good, used .357's should be readily available at reasonable prices everywhere here in the States.

[Snowdog]

They're scary-ugly, kinda like a Hi-Point. That would be enough for me.

As mentioned above, a .357magnum is hard to beat.

[makdaddy03]

Noway Man! Keep the 357mag. The Thunder Five suck.

[Mike Irwin]

Absolutely not.

[cpileri]

I fired one with the 45-70 cylinder in and MAN what a cannon! used factory 405-gr softpoints, Remington i believe. Without trying too hard, everyone put all 5 rounds into a phone book (through the phone book mostly) at 25-yards.

Thats minute-of-rapist accuracy at bedroom distances- and with a 405gr slug!

So it'll work for HD if you want.

Careful with close range on snakes: the little shot blast will ricochet. Wear eye protection. Course it goes thru the snake TWICE to do that. What a mess.

Now, as for how much pounding it can take before losing timing, or busting some part, or wether or not you can handle the recoil- those are different questions...

With the 45LC/.410 cylinder in there, I think sticking with some reliable factory 45 LC (255-gr SWC or CCI 200-gr JHP maybe?) would be better than any 410 load.
Those 3 or 5 ball buckshot loads are cool, but make such a big pattern that 5 balls miss alot of coverage even at close range.

Before i get massacred, am just saying it'll work if it had to. No one I know uses one for HD.

Just looking at the other side of the coin.
C-

[Tamara]

With the 45LC/.410 cylinder in there, I think sticking with some reliable factory 45 LC

The main downside to that is that the bullets would have about a mile and a half of freebore to jump...

[cpileri]

Tamara,
Yeah, lots of cylinder length to tavel. The 45LC was accurate, and easy to control on this 4-lb front heavy revolver. But no loads were chronographed at all. So I have no idea what velocity was lost in the cylinder, gap, and with a 2-inch barrel.

I have to say, i did like the thing. (yeah, as if you couldn't tell)

What I think WOULD be a nice HD handcannon without excess penetration is a big, Rugeresque-strong framed, longer barreled 20ga! Course, that would be a short-barreled shotgun and thus a AOW. maybe in blackpowder? like the Le Mat but all in 20ga, and double action.
Ha, why stop there... 12ga? 10? (gulp) 8?!?!!?

Kidding.

I do know the factory does NOT recommend useing Cor-Bons or Garrett Cartridges or anything other than SAAMI-compliant pressure loads. Tim Sundles at Buffalo Bore declined to test it for maximum load tolerance because too little is known about it.
So really, if its power you want, this seems to be a factory load only piece.

It is a cool little curiosity though. And one might argue that factory 45LC/410/45-70 is powerful enough. I wont argue the point!

So for a handcannon, go with a 454 Casull: it parralels the versatility of the 357 in that you can load it all the way from light 45LC power loads up to the mighty 360-gr @ 1500fps from CorBon! BOOM!

For a "hand shotgun" that isn't a AOW, well the Thunder 5 seems to be it. I certainly could be mistaken. If the T5 satisfies your needs then it may indeed be worth looking into.
A bit expensive for what it is though, i think.

But did I mention it is cool?
:)
C-

[PerfectGlock]

The Magnum Research BFR is also chambered in .410. However, it is single action and costs a little less than $1000.

I saw and hated the Thunder Five. It looks and feels cheap. It's got the ugliness and quality of a Hi-Point. Neat looking at first, but closer inspection proves otherwise.

Stick with your current firearm.

[beemerb]

I only had experance with one of them.Ugly,no balance adn this one broke shooting the first cyl full of 45 lc.
In my opinion do not buy one.A 357 or a 44 sp will make a much better gun for you.
Bob