They're like the .22LR of the shotgun world, and the only gauge that can be reloaded using standard 7/8-14 metallic cartridge presses. They use the sme powder as the .357 and .44 magnums, and factory ammo is still readily available. They're hard to beat for most lowland purposes.
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I still want one of those, but already have something pretty close. I just wish it had the shorter Stoeger barrels.
In a close combat situation a 12 gauge is the only thing scarier to me than a blade. I'm an ammo loader and know what's in them and how fast that stuff leaves the muzzle. And it's a lot of stuff.
.410, .411.... whatever it takes
67 gauge if you prefer.
Isn't that the same bore as .45 long Colt as well?
Edit: It's the other way around, do NOT do this!
Certain barrels chambered in .45 LC can shoot .410 shells
In firearms designed as such like the Taurus Judge, yes. I would never drop a .45 Colt into this thing unless it was a "The Road" scenario and I hacksawed the barrel down to at least the end of the forearm to open it up as much as possible. I imagine I'll long be dead before someone has to resort to that with this gun.
I had no idea the judge could fire .45 Colt. According to the interwebs it's not a well advised thing to do though so I understand your 'The Road' comment haha.
Remember that video of the judge blowing up in that dude's hand as he fired? I wonder if that was +P (plus powder? first I've heard of this) .45 Colt ammo. We may never know. https://www.taurusarmed.net/threads/45-colt-p-ammo-in-a-judge.68245/
I have a single shot contender barrel that will do both. Lovely gun as long as ya remember to take the choke out.
Did you say Contender?!?! OMG I have three frames and at last count over 20 barrels. I bought my first one around 1980, a 14" .30-30 blued with the Herrett wooden stocks. I also bought a Mequon loader and taught myself handloading. From there I became addicted to both the Contender and rolling my own. Every time I'd buy a new caliber barrel, I'd buy a set of dies to go with it (I got an actual press about a year after I started once I knew I was going to stick with it). The Contender is the ideal platform for load development and testing.
I am now retired, and live in the deep South in a semi rural community on the coast. Lots of dirt roads, golf carts and four wheelers. It's the start of rattlesnake season, and neighbors have already killed a couple copperheads. I've got one of my frames set up with a 10" .44 mag barrel, which I keep near the back door with a pack of the CCI shotshells. I throw it in the golf cart when I'm just going somewhere in the neighborhood. Not as potent or tight patterned as a .410 in a long barrel smoothbore, but they will do a job on a snake and it's mighty handy.
I cannot help but think we've crossed paths before. The Contender is such a great product though, so it's understandable that the owners of such a fine piece of American craftsmanship would accrue a niche but prevalent and enthusiastic following. I'm pretty sure we've gone down this line of comments before though.
God love ya and all your contender frames/barrels. That's pretty fucking sweet.
My favorite is the .223 cuz fireballs are fun.
I used to spend a lot of time in /r/reloading on reddit before I deleted my account about four years ago, so maybe we chatted there.
Thank you for comments and compliments. It has taken 40 years to collect what I have, and I still want more. I wish I had bought a .30 Carbine barrel way back, but now they're hard to find and afford. I do have the 7mm TCU in both 10" & 14". The 10" with factory ammo will light up the night!
I have an 18.5" .223 barrel and the carbine stock kit, makes a super handy little rifle that you can carry all day long.
I'm fortunate enough to have a C1 frame(? with the engraving) and a couple barrels.
I am impressed with your enthusiasm but am impressed moreso by the absolute plethora of available frames and barrels available for this iconical piece of machinery.
God love ya, and God bless Thompson.
Does yours have the sliding bar safety through the hammer that makes a pin protrude to prevent a firing pin strike? The .410/.45 Colt barrel you described with the screw on tube is definitely first generation stuff. Those barrels are really scarce now.
The rarest barrel I own is an 8" .256 Winchester Magnum, blued tapered octagon no less. It's a beautiful little thing compared to my other barrels. The irony is, it was given to me by a guy that simply said he had no need for it, mainly because ammo was too hard to find. It's like a "reverse wildcat" in that it was introduced as a factory round, but now you pretty much have to make your own brass for it out of .357 cases, which is not terribly hard to do.
God bless you too ma'am/sir, and I'm always thrilled to meet another Contender fan who appreciates them for what they are. We seem to be pretty scarce ourselves these days, I never see any others at the range anymore. I've had a lot of people will come over and ask me "What the hell is that?" though. :)
Edit: I apologize for the walls o' text, it's so rare that I run into anyone these days that has one or knows anything about them.
Thanks for posting that pede. I think guns like the Taurus Judge have done a great disservice to the .410 shotshell.
The ballistics are pretty horrible for 410 out of a short barrel. 410 pistols are a nice novelty and you can take out some small varmints, snakes, etc. but for self defense you're far better using a 45 pistol round than a 410 slug or buckshot. My parents were looking for something to have in case of a bear/wolf/etc. I recommended a youth 20Ga instead. Light and easy to sling carry but way way more effective. Good ballistics and you can hit stuff with it.
I know several people that bought a Judge, because "Cool! A revolver shotgun!" I usually don't say anything because they've already wasted their money. For those that ask before buying one, I try to discourage it by explaining why they aren't good at anything, including aesthetics. To be legal, they have to have rifling in the bore that makes the .410 pattern like crap. But the rifling is very shallow to keep the .410 from patterning even worse. The shallow rifling does little the help the accuracy of the .45 after the bullet has had to rattle down a ridiculous about of freebore in that long assed cylinder before ever getting to the forcing cone.
They're heavy and just ugly as homemade sin.
Why own a shotgun instead of just handgun + rifle? I never understood the appeal of shotguns.
Pistols put holes in people. Rifles put holes through people. With the right load and distance to target shotguns take chunks off people.
I would also suggest not trying to hunt fowl with a pistol or rifle. Not even ones that don't fly. Have you seen a turkey load? You'd think turkeys were made of chainmail...some of them might be.
My God you sound like a childhood friend of mine. Thanks Pede!
I think this is what puts me off shotguns. I don’t mind blowing people apart, but rather that I have to consider shell and range combinations while loading the thing. And speaking of loading, the shell management put me off there too. There’s only one way to load a rifle and it works the same from 10 inches to 1000 yards.
You try to hit a pissed off rattlesnake with a handgun in the head. My .410 Henry is the right tool for that job. Own a Judge as well for shooting smaller varmints. Country life
I'm running one of these.
https://dygtyjqp7pi0m.cloudfront.net/i/39206/34306269_2.jpg?v=8D73EBAF5CCE6A0
Varmint killer for sure!
It was my first real gun. and I can't seem to miss with it.
Bird hunting, short range, hip fire, ammo price, ammo available, ammunition options (slugs, 00 buck, T shot, dragons breathe), price of gun
Is there dragonbreath .410?
Don't know.
It's hard to explain, but I was raised on shotguns, no rifles or handguns of any kind in my childhood home. Maybe the opposite-- why own a handgun and a rifle when one shotgun will do can explain it.
Shooting clays is fun. And going on bird hunts.