.45 LC out of a .45LC/.410

[Dionysusigma]

I know the basic principle of firearms that can shoot both--they're overbuilt (compared to normal .410s) to handle both cartridges, but that's about it. I have a few questions, though... (assume all .45LC used is to the same spec, and barrel lengths are the same)

1) Compared to a gun that is specifically designed to shoot .45 LC (or .460SW, .454 Casull, .45 Schofield, etc.) how different is the accuracy for a .45LC/410? Is it far worse, or what?

1a) Is a little bit of rifling at the end of the barrel really enough to provide decent stabilization for the bullet?

2) Compared to a dedicated .45LC, how different are the velocities?

3) Is there anything I should be asking regarding this, but am not (due to lack of knowledge)?

 

[S4Lee]

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot41.htm

 

[VA27]

:I know the basic principle...they're overbuilt...

Well, not exactly. To shoot 45LC in the 410, first you have to enlarge the bore. The .410 is .41 caliber, so you can't just stick a 45 in a 410 and shoot it. (Well actually, I guess you COULD, but I'm pretty sure you wouldn't like it!) Then you have to rifle the bore if you want any chance of reasonable accuracy.

The old T/C Contender had a fully rifled barrel and a screw-on choke tube with 'straight' rifling to 'take the swirl' out of the shot as it exited the barrel to help improve the pattern. You had to take off the choke tube to shoot 45LC in it.

The new 45/410 NEF Survivor uses the same basic method using a screw-in choke tube.

Both of those guns can probably handle the +P 45LC loads.

I haven't shot a Taurus Judge, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't have a choke tube and just relies on the short barrel to keep the patterns acceptable. I think it can probably handle the +P loads, too.

I have shot an American Derringer 45/410 and while the 45 shot ok for a belly gun, the shot patterns were so bad that it took both barrels to dispatch a rather large rattler in my front yard. I dumped it and now rely on 22mag or 38 rat shot for home protection from poisonous intruders.

Quite a few years ago I sent the barrels from my SA M6 off and had the bore reamed and rifled to shoot 45s. I only use standard loads or a roundball handload. It shoots with acceptable accuracy and it didn't mess up the shot pattern too bad.

So my educated answers to your questions are:

1. Unless you get really lucky, a dedicated gun will generally shoot better than a half-breed.

1a. Actually the American Derringer with it's half-inch of rifling didn't do too bad with standard Remington and Winchester SilverTips. It shot slugs ok, too. Buckshot was a strictly "across-the-card-table" proposition.

2. I don't think you can tell the difference without a chronograph. In a word, the difference to the target would be 'imperceptible'.

3. I would ask, "Should I go to a range, rent a gun like the one I am interested in and shoot it before I buy one?"

My answer would be, "Yes."

 

[Dionysusigma]

What I'm driving at is:

If a bore were to be smooth until the last inch or so, where it took on a normal twist rate, what would happen? How would performance differ from a fully-rifled bore?