.45/.410 contender barrel

[donald duck]

Recently purchasrd a .45/.410 Contender barrel with choke on Gun broker. Do I need to remove the choke before firing lead cast bullets?? Do I leave the choke tube in place for all shooting?? If you have used one I would appreciate your comments. dworley7@msn.com

[cdet69]

The choke is for only bird shot. It should have come with another choke for shooting bullets The one for use with bullets should be rifled.

[Doc Highwall]

The instructions for the one that I have say to remove the choke for shooting 45 colt nothing about screwing in another.

When I look down the barrel there is rifling with a right hand twist, and with the choke screwed in the choke has rifling but it is straight with no helix to help stop the bird shot from making a pattern that looks like a donut with a hole in the middle.

[dale2242]

Remove the choke when shooting boolits...dale

[quilbilly]

Always remove the choke tube before using it as a .45. Mine occasionally has extraction problems with the 45 so I carry an alternative means to eject the case if I am in the field but I use the barrel as a 410 almost exclusively for grouse and cottontails with a rifled slug or two in the belt pouch if needed. That 410 is deadly on grouse out to 20 yards

[Artful]

Mine has very shallow rifling shot jacketed ok but never shot cast well - always remove the choke tube - for shotshell I use 7 1/2 or 8's seem to work best

[LUCKYDAWG13]

i had one shot the 45 like crap i would sell and just look for a stright 45lc
to much of a jump for a boolit to shoot good but it was kewl to shoot a 410
in a pistol

[Dale53]

I have a .45/.410 barrel for my Contender frames. It patterns as well at 25 yards as a .410 shotgun. That fact surprised me, too!

It SUCKS with the .45 Colt. I attribute it to the extremely long run before the slug hits the rifling. At any rate, I bought it for .410 shotgun use, so that doesn't particularly bother me.

I a number of barrels for my Contenders and they shoot extremely well with all except this one.

Dale53

[bearcove]

Shot 100's of clay birds off the trap. Tons of fun. My dad was uncany with the thing never missed a bird. He is a great wing shot.

Shot squirrel, rabbit quail woodcock and snipe with mine.

Never shot 45Colt. Its not made for that it is only a legal technicallity to make a legal .410 pistol. When I get another one I plan on lapping out most of the rifling and making some smooth chokes.

[45-70 Chevroner]

bearcove: Probably not a good idea to alter bore (rifling). There's that legal thing again. A law officer with bad eye sight might hall you to jail. Besides with the choke in place the 10" 410 will shoot very well with in the effective range of a 410 long gun.

[onesonek]

I would agree with 45-70 Chevroner on that issue. Beyond that, I can't add to what has already been said. I just use mine with shot for small game, so the choke stays in it. For bigger pest if the need is present, I use Winchester 3" 5-000 buck load. For the most part, it is my primary Pheasant rig, for hunting over a pointer.

[Dale53]

As I mentioned before, the TC .410 as a shotgun is as effective as a "real" shotgun in .410. However, it is far more difficult to score effectively with the .410 pistol on flying game and targets. I proved that on the skeet field. However, it is also downright amazing how well they CAN be shot by someone who is willing to spend the time and money to learn how. You better have a LOT of ammo, tho', because it can be difficult.

On the other hand, much small game is easier to handle with it (as an example, squirrels and rabbits). Grouse, now that is another thing, entirely, unless you get them sitting (you wouldn't really shoot a sitting bird, would you?). Well, I have shot more than a few sitting with a handgun - THAT is sporting in the extreme. No, I don't shoot sitting birds with a shotgun, but that's just me.

Just a thought or two...

Dale53

[RonE]

The device on the end of a .410/.45 Colt barrel is not really a choke, it has what looks like stright rifleing that was designed to take the spin out of plastic shot cups so that the shot would have a somewhat reliable pattern. The device should also have a wrench that is used to remove and tighten it.

My Contender barrel shot the .45 Colt pretty well, a 2-3" group at 25-30 yards, pleanty good for deer or people. Using #8 or 9 shot in 2 1/2" shells was great for shooting rats inside a barn with a metal roof, killed the rats but didn't penetrate the roof.