Nef Survivor 410/45 colt

[Wagnerwerks]

Hey guys. I just picked one of these up in well truck worn condition for cheap. Anyone have one? I got some brass and a set of dies while I was at it so I'm going to be loading a few and shooting this afternoon. If love to hear some feedback. It's my first 45.

[GhostHawk]

My problem with the .45/.410 is that it is neither fish, nor fowl nor good red meat.

Accuracy with the .45's is going to be marginal from all the reading I have done. Long long jump to the rifling.

And with the .410 with shot you have rifling which is other than close range going to blow out and doughnut hole your pattern. And with slugs you have essentially a 40 cal bullet in a .45 bore.

Not a recipe for great accuracy.

In the pistol, for close range, a .410 shell with a triball load of big buckshot could be serious medicine.

But, all this is hearsay.

To be honest, I have been tempted. Take .410 brass hulls, size them down a bit, Fireform them to chamber. Do a chamber cast.
See what is the biggest bullet I can get to chamber up next to the rifling. But it seems like a lot of work. And there are still regular .45 colt barrels out there. Just have to be delligent and willing to jump when you see what you want.

I truly wish you the best of luck with yours. And please, do tell us how YOURS shoots. Be honest. Be realistic.

[Wagnerwerks]

Thanks for the reply. I am going into this one with realistic expectations. I just loaded 50 rounds of 190g lswc over 9g of unique for a shooting session after church. Hopefully we can get through the snow to the range.. lol. I wish I had taken before pics, but I sanded the ole girl down and sprayed then baked with high temp paint. It was a basket cases. As soon as I can get a pic loaded, you'll see the new version.

[Outpost75]

.444 Marlin or brass .410 2-1/2" hull loaded with Accurate 45-370Y heeled bullet and 60 grains of FFg black.

Attachment 214474

[Buckshot Bill]

The problem with loading longer brass in a .45/410 chamber is the chamber is two sizes and any attempt to fire form the cases will get them stuck in the chamber. The chamber is reduced to .410 dimensions ahead of the .45 portion of the chamber so longer cartridges like .454 etc cannot be chambered. The chamber can be reamed so it is the same ID from end to end, I have done this and got very good accuracy from fireformed .444 cases loaded with 230 grn cast .452 slugs.

Otherwise as GhostHawk stated, you'll have a mediocre rifle, and a mediocre shotgun at best. Survivalist types like them because of ammo versatility but the point is moot if you can't do any damage with it. Just my .02

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I bought one new back around 2000. It was satin nickel finish, and had a thumbhole stock which I despised, as one doesn't find thumb hole stocks on shotguns very often -- kind of gets in the way of swinging on wing shots. The stocks were black plastic, and I got NEF to sell me a straight wristed stock that fit nicely and greatly improved the looks and handling. Funny, but as I remember, they were kind of reluctant to sell the replacement stock. Also as I recall, although in subsequent years they might have changed various features of the firearm, it came with a screw-in choke tube that you had to remember to take out if you were going to fire .45 L.C., or the literature predicted you'd ruin the gun and be followed by bad karma in the next life. As I recall, it shot very well with the .410, but way low with the .45. I put some adjustable sights on it and then it wouldn't shoot well with the .410, so I figured the best solution was to give it to my son-in-law.

[Wagnerwerks]

Lol. That's funny... I'm a son in law so I completely understand.

Shot her a bit today with 45 long colts loaded with 190g pc lswc and 9g unique. It definitely needs a heavier slug, but that's all I had. It's no tack driver... That's for sure. I got around 6" groups at 30 yrds. This one is drilled and has a scope rail. I mounted some Chinese rings and an old tasco I had laying around. The hole through the rings was my shotgun sight and I hit 3 out of 4 hand thrown clays. It was a blast.

I think I'm going to call it good with this barrel for now, but I may revisit the reaming and brass later. I was going to fireform some 303 shells or even just buy a few 410 brass shells. We will see. I have 2 .356 bore barrel blanks sitting here and this is the frame I was waiting for to use them. Now to build a couple lugs.

[wonderwolf]

I tried the .444 marlin shells a long time ago and found that in some .410's the ejector/extractor will jump the rims something to keep in mind. I'm not sure what kind of set up the survivor barrel has but my NEF .410 barrel did not want to extract the fired .444 "hulls" I ended up carrying around a brass knock out slug to pop the cases out when that happened.

[Wagnerwerks]

So if I ream the chamber, will I no longer be able to shoot 410s or will they just jump through? I honestly don't care about shooting shot shells, but hey... If it works. I've got the lug pattern for these handi barrels here so I'm working on finding someone to knock a few out. Wish I could get my hands of the cad file!

[35 shooter]

I use the Lee 290 gr. .454 minnie ball in my 45/410 handgun(BondArms derringer) in standard 45 colt brass.
Yes, it has a long jump to the rifling, but i still get at least "combat" type accuracy with it...2 1/2" to 3" at 25 yds. The hollow base in it seems to do a pretty good job of flaring out and sealing the bore during the jump to the rifling.

Might do even better in your longer bbl? My derringer has only about what...maybe 5/8" or so of rifling in the bbl? It's a four inch bbl. chambered for 3" 410 shells.

[Wagnerwerks]

If I ream the chamber to fit 444 length casings, can I still use 410 shot shells?

I just ordered a 230 and 300g 45 Lee mold to try them the way it is..

[3leggedturtle]

Don’t know why 410 wouldn’t. You aren’t changing extractor are you? I’ve shot 410 in a 45/70 chamber. You could chamber it for a 9.3x74r case blown out to .45 and seat bullet right at rifling. It amazes me how much your 45/410 goes for when you can find them. Todd/3leg
Just don’t get a 454 or 460 round get mixed in tho!