.410 handgun ammo in longer barrel guns.

[rromeo]

Federal, Winchester, and others make ammo that is tailored to handguns, such as the Judge and the Governor. Is there a downside to using this in a regular length shotgun?

 

[Sniper66]

There is no difference. It's just marketing.

 

[Sniper66]

Oh, another thing. If the pistol or older long gun is chambered for the 2.5 inch shell, a 3 inch shell may not go in and if it does it will get stuck in the chamber. Most use 3 inch, but some, like my old Winchester Model 20 shoots 2.5 inch.

 

[kBob]

I think the OP's concern is that the stack of projectiles might not make it through the tight full choke of his red letter Winchester 37 or 48 without causing damage to the gun.

Those things are not your typical .410 .38 Special HBWC like slug and are sold as being for handguns. Might be nice if he knew for certain they were safe for his college aged daughter to use in the old Brazilian folding .410 side by side he gave her to go off to school with and not worry about the shells being as dangerous to her as an invader.

-kBob

 

[TimSr]

Federal, Winchester, and others make ammo that is tailored to handguns, such as the Judge and the Governor. Is there a downside to using this in a regular length shotgun?

This is usually defense ammo that is designed to hold a straight line better in a rifled barrel. Its safe to shoot in a long barrel smooth bore, but holds no advantages, and may not pattern as well as regular .410 ammo.

 

[bangswitch]

There is no difference. It's just marketing.

No difference, and no advantage. If you're going to use a .410 for HD, #4 buckshot or a slug is about all that will not just piss off who you shoot with it.

 

[gp911]

In a .410, for a defense load, the answer is 000 buck. Five .36 cal pellets with minimal spread are devastating on a target even though they are somewhat light for the caliber. The 2.5" load with three pellets would be my choice if 2.5" was the only option. Anything else (shot, wimpy slugs, handgun ammo with discs and shot) would stay on the shelf. I have tested a lot of .410 loads and the winner for defensive use by FAR is the 000 loads.

 

[suemarkp]

Agree. It should go even faster from a full length barrel than a short handgun. And it should pattern better out of a shotgun barrel instead of a rifled handgun. If you think OO in a 12 gauge is nice, OOO is going to penetrate more and make a slightly larger hole. Federal makes a 4 pellet 2.5" load, and a 5 pellet 3" load.

Penetration is about ideal for the caliber because it doesn't expand.

There some nice testing of 410 rounds here (focus is on handguns, but they compare ammo patterning in normal shotguns too): http://www.410handguns.com/index.html

 

[plumberroy]

the federal 410 handgun buckshot 4 pieces of #000 buck groups better than any other 410 buckshot I have tried. I have fired it out of 4 different 410 single shots . when I lived out in the country it was my goto load for varmits bothering my chickens . I put all 4 pieces of buck in the north end of a south bound possum @ 25 yard and ended the egg stealin' career of the little b_____d
Roy

 

[rromeo]

Thank you for the help.

I recently purchased a Revelation 330, bolt action. I've been shopping for ammo lately, and noticed that the 410 handgun ammo is more readily available.
plumberroy, that is similar to what my usage will be.

 

[cpileri]

Believe it or not, I have used the federal OOObuck in that same shotgun just to check pattern, and it was actually pretty decent at 20yds.

I didn't do extensive testing, and I do wonder what the velocity difference is in short v long bbls in this load. but the pattern was very useable.