.410 Shotshell in a 45/70 ?

[Zerstoerer]

Not suggesting that this might be smart or safe or anything - but:
Could a .410 shotgun shell be fired in a 45/70 rifle? Since there are .45LC / .410 combos out there.
Again, emergency use only.

 

[LAGS]

Well, Lets see ?
The rim on a .410 is not as large of a Diameter.
The rim is not as thick.
A .45/70 chamber is wider.
A 45/70 chamber is not as deep or as long as even a 2 1/2" .410 shell.

You have nothing going for you that says it is feasable or would even fire not to mention that the .410 shell would probably expand and maybe rupture in the chamber.
Then will the extractor be able to reach the rim of the shell to extract it.

And NO
A .410 and a .45 LC are not the same.
They make guns that will shoot both, but the .410 shell expand a bit.
And it is Not Wise to try and stuff a .45 LC into a .410 shotgun chamber.
I have seen people do it, but I walked away and never went shooting with them again.

 

[Onmilo]

2.5" .410s will chamber in my Sharps Infantry rifle.
Not going to tell you if they shoot OK cause I don't know what kind of gun you are shooting but I will say I have all my digits intact and both my eyes are still in the sockets.

 

[Zerstoerer]

Thanks for the replies.
Thinking Marlin Guide Gun in 45/70 for wilderness survival plus a few .410 shells for a bird or rabbit.
Got to check my reloading manual for dimensions of a .45LC chamber versus a 45/70.

 

[Willie Sutton]

Handloading a few pieces of .45-70 brass as shotshells ought to be easy. But... mebbe... handloading some pieces of .45-90 trimmed to be the same length as a .45-70 with a bullet loaded might be an idea? Just an out of the box idea. But we did that years ago with .308 brass to load up .45 ACP shotshells (common base dimensions).


Willie

.

 

[Curator]

When I was in college 50 years ago, it was common practice to wrap some masking or electrical tape around the base of a .410 shotshell to shoot in old trapdoor Springfield .45-70 rifles out in the countryside. Not a recommended practice as the shells do split and gas did leak from the breech. Patterns were poor to non-existent. I remember shooting at a squirrel from about 20 feet and actually missing! The rifling spun the shot into doughnut patterns with nothing in the center! The wad column did not seal the powder gas behind the shot blowing patterns and reducing velocity substantially. #6 shot would not fully penetrate a beer can at 25 feet. Get a real .410 shotgun or make some shot loads from real .45-70 cases. Don't expect shot from a rifle to give good patterns.

 

[AethelstanAegen]

Handloading a few pieces of .45-70 brass as shotshells ought to be easy. But... mebbe... handloading some pieces of .45-90 trimmed to be the same length as a .45-70 with a bullet loaded might be an idea? Just an out of the box idea. But we did that years ago with .308 brass to load up .45 ACP shotshells (common base dimensions).

That's a really neat idea. I'll have to try that sometime.

 

[Willie Sutton]

^^ Hornady used to make dies for the .45 ACP to neck down trimmed .308 or .30-06 brass for shotshell use. I only ever shot them in a S&W 25-2 revolver.

Might be easier with the straight wall .45-70 chamber. Just trying to think outta the box.


Willie

.

 

[Zerstoerer]

I knew someone had already thought of that.
The brass case is probably the way to go, now that I think about it I have Speer plastic shot capsules that I used to make .45LC snake loads.
No crimp though or they break.

 

[LAGS]

Just make shotshells out of your 45/70 cases.
All you need is the primer, some powder, use fiberboard , cardboard , felt or cork discs for a wad, your shot and seal the end with a cardboard disc held in place with wood glue.
That is how I make some loads for the .410 using .303 british cases that I reformed with a set of punches, and then thinned the case rim so the breech will lock up.
I also make .41 loads for the .410 out of .45LC cases resized to .475 in a homemade sizing die plate, and I load them with .41 caliber lead bullets for the .410 shotgun.
I know, you can buy .410 Brass Casings.
But I like to dink with things that are outside the box.

A 45/90 casing will not fit your chamber length, so it gives you no advantage trying to make a shotshell out of it.

But shotshells will shoot like crap out of a rifled barrel.

 

[Zerstoerer]

Never actually hunted with a .410- would it even have enough pellets/power for a rabbit or bird?

 

[LAGS]

I knocked down three doves in the early season already and two rabbits on the run with a Savage .22/410 OU model 24 that I am going to build into a camp survival rifle.
The .410 actually reaches out pretty far, but doesnt pack a lot of pellets.
I also load Buckshot and slug loads for it.
I once limited out on opening day of Dove with my wifes .410 Mossberg pump.

A good suggestion for your 45/70 and using it as a survival rifle.
Load some .45/70 shells with 000 Buckshot for close range hunting, and defense.
5 - .360 dia. pellets has quite some knock down power at 25 yards, and a good spread pattern even with a rifled bore.

For the 45/70 you dont even need a press to make shot shells.
Just a nail or punch to remove the primer, a Vise to seat the new primer, and the cases will probably not need any resizing as long as they fit back in the chamber.