The idea of a .410 shotgun revolver really appealed to me. It seemed like an ideal home defense gun. Having owned a number of 410s, I knew they had a tight pattern that would make a terminal wound at close range without the dangers of over penetration that a big bore revolver might do. A friend who bought two Taurus Judges last year, was searching for a high capacity .223 carbine to use in the upcoming collapse of civilization. Since I had a "surplus" Kel-Tech SU-16, and he was willing to pay the cash value difference, we traded. So the deal was done and now I have this most intimidating horse pistol.

The long cylinder holds five .410 2.5" shotshells or 45 long Colt rounds. This one has the 6" barrel, but a 3" version is also available. The hogleg weighs about 2.8 lbs loaded.

I just had to know, or as the man said in Dirty Harry, "I gots to know". So I stepped out back and blasted the ash catcher or whatever it was to my old Weber fireplace. This was at a range of only about 7 feet or less, "Oh, a snake" range.


Wow, talk about a scatter gun. This pattern is much wider than I anticipated.
An armed assailant at 25 or 30 feet might be peppered all over with #4 shot,
but the damage might not be enough for a stop. On the other hand, at car jacking range, it would be quite effective.
So what am I going to use this for? It is too big to use as a trail gun. I could use it on rattlesnakes, if I loaded it with smaller shot, but the high raccoon population here keeps them in check. I could load it with alternating rounds of #4 or #6 shot and 45 Long Colt ammo for home defense, I guess. After all, I have some nice little trail guns that can take snake shot.

The little S&W model 317-1 with 8 .22LR capacity is a favorite, as is the S&W Air Lite Ti in .38 Spl +P five shooter. And my Charter Arms Bulldog Pug in .44 spl isn't much bigger and packs a whallop.



I'm going to have to think on this for a while. Right now, I would not recommend the Judge for personal defense unless loaded with .45 Long Colt ammo.

ah...the .410

Its well known here as a "snake" round too. The spray pattern looks very good at that distance. Try it on one and let us know how it turns out <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I only kill venomous snakes in my yard. A machete seems to work well enough for me. I think the Taurus is made to stop carjackings or something. Too much spread for anything beyond about ten or fifteen feet. Of course, it will shoot 45 long Colts, too.

It would be cool to chop the barrel back a bit and then thread the end to accept a choked barrel extension. Then you could opt for either a .45 colt snubby or a midsize .410 with a tighter pattern....

Yes, then it would work well, as my old Thompson Contender .410/45 LC did.

If memory serves, mossberg made a home defender 410 shotgun aimed at the female market. One of the things they were pushing is that a 410 slug had more muzzle energy then a 44 mag pistol.

Can you shoot a slug out of that pistol comforatably?

There is no way a 410 slug has the energy of a 44 magnum. It is probably close to a 357 magnum. I would rather just shoot a 45LC. Maybe not big in the energy department, but a proven man stopper.

They were comparing the shotgun ballistics against a pistol.
If I can find the magazine that it was in I'll double check the numbers. Never owned a 410 so I don't know it's ballistics at all. My 44 rem mag is a marlin 1894 so it shows higher velocity/energy then a pistol

A quick wander through some tables suggests that common .410 slug loads versus common .357 magnum loads are surprisingly similar in muzzle energy when fired through the same length of barrel. However. The .410 is fatter, which means a bigger wound and faster energy transfer. The .357 magnum is known to send bullets in one side and out the other of medium sized game, so it has more velocity than it can really use: all else being very approximately equal, you want the biggest possible hole provided you can get at least halfway through the target.

The .357 mag very quickly dominates as the range opens up, but in your typical self defense situation 5 yards is long range. So retained energy is a moot point here.

My opinion is that .410 slugs would do a pretty good job on a human at short ranges. Not any better than other alternatives, though. When you consider how expensive .410 slugs are to practice with, and how limited the selection is next to the wealth of good quality hollow points in handgun calibers... Probably not worth the effort. If you're going to use the .410 for self defense, you probably want it full of number 4 or 5 pellets on the theory that a hundred hits is better than one. That's a hundred chances to get lucky with an eye or an artery, plus it's going to cause absolutely horrific flesh damage. The sheer pain would disable any non-drugged attacker. The only limitation here is abysmal range, but again, in self defense range is hardly ever a problem.

I'm with Horn Dog on the .44 magnum: The .410 slug and .357 mag are dealing with numbers in the 500-700ft# area for muzzle energy, while the .44 magnum can easily develop over 1000ft# from a handgun, 1200ft# if you shoot it in a carbine. Totally different animal.

http://www.hoeningbigboresouth.com/Big%20410%20Ballistics.html

HD
Just saw this, if you want to try it for sh!ts and giggles. I wonder what the muzzle flip would be for something like this

Between my replies you replied, remmington showed the 410 at a muzzle energy of around 650ftlbs, which is considerably less the the 44 mag.
My memory is probably off, maybe the add I saw compared the 357 to the 410. There whole point was that it was similiar ballistics in an easy to use shotgun for women

My pistol shooting expierence is very limited;
22 rimfire
9mm short
9mm
recently 10mm
years ago 38 special.

Far from an expert on the subject

I am not minimizing the power of the .410 slug. I have seen wild hogs taken with them. But for personal defense, the 45LC load should be more than adequate.
Believe it or not, I used a .410 double barrel for hogs years ago. I was deadly accurate with slugs fired from the right barrel. Of course, the range seldom exceeded 40 yards.