45 colt/.410 Contender?

[tomme boy]

Do you treat the loads for this as Contender loads or low PSI 45 Colt loads? I friend bought one an wants to try some colts in it. I told him I would bring everything over to load a bunch for this to try. I have some FP 255 an RNFP 255 an 300 gr SWC's to try. I might bring some Unique an Red Dot.

[wantoutofca]

I use "ruger only" data in mine but as usual YMMV.

[quilbilly]

It will take the hotter loads but I have found that in my 45/410 barrel, the 45's may not eject every time with the hot ones. Fortunately I rarely use the 45's and mostly the 410 for grouse while hunting bigger things

[runfiverun]

i'd be surprised if 6 grs of red dot or 8 grs of unique didn't do well.

[MikeS]

I've often wondered if it would be possible to use the brass 410 shells, but load them as if they were normal ammo. What I mean is to load them with a load the would be ok in a 45 Colt, then add filler, then boolit crimped onto the end like a standard cartridge. This would be not so much to try and load them hotter than 45 Colt loads, but rather to have loads that don't have to travel unsupported in the chamber for such a long length before reaching the barrel and it's rifling.

If this is even possible, has anyone here done it? I would imagine getting the boolit closer to the throats/barrel has to help accuracy. It certainly would make an impressive looking cartridge!

[Jim]

Mike, I don't know how the chamber on a Contender is cut, but the chambers in a Judge are stepped. I tried that and the boolits made the loaded catridge diameter too big to go into the final stage.

[MikeS]

Jim: couldn't you have trimmed the brass back a little bit to fix that? I would still think that boolits loaded that way have a better chance of being accurate than 45 Colt ammo that has to jump about an inch or so (I don't recall the actual dimensions) totally unsupported.

I don't know how the Contender barrels are chambered either. Years ago I had a Contender with a 44Mag barrel (the one with the removable choke designed to break open the plastic shot capsules) that somebody had chambered for 410 shotshells. I never shot any 44 ammo thru it, and only once shot 410 shotshells in it, and once was all it took to realize that it wasn't a very safe setup.

[lostchild0]

I just used 445sm brass and loaded it per 445sm data. Some times it would take two times to fully fireform the brass. I took the 445 brass, belled the case enough to start a 45 bullet and used regular 45colt dies. There were no sighns of high pressure and they shot well (3-4" at 100yds). Hope this helps.....lost

[lostchild0]

I just used 445sm brass, belled the case just enough to start a 45 bullet, I used 445 load data. Some times it would take two firings to fully fireform the brass (there were no signs of high pressure). These loads shot ok (3-4" at 50yds). Hope this helps.....lost

[mnkyracer]

Do a search here for .450 mongo. I've been using .444 brass, but would like to get some 9.3 x 74 brass to try.

With .45 Colt brass, I could not get any accuracy with boolits, but it would shoot decent with jacketed. Using the longer brass got me close to jacketed accuracy, but I still have some room to improve.

[geargnasher]

The steps in the Judge chambers are there to prevent chambering and firing of .454 Casull or .460 Ruger rounds, which I'm sure would destroy the gun. I don't know for sure, but I don't think the Contender has the step since the action can take much more pressure than the Judge revolver.

I've wondered too about using longer brass (several options) to get the boolit out into the forcing cone when chambered. A filler could be used, or just Unique with no filler. The pressures should be lower with the larger case volume with an equal charge compared to .45 Colt brass.

Gear

[unclebill]

The steps in the Judge chambers are there to prevent chambering and firing of .454 Casull or .460 Ruger rounds, which I'm sure would destroy the gun. I don't know for sure, but I don't think the Contender has the step since the action can take much more pressure than the Judge revolver.

I've wondered too about using longer brass (several options) to get the boolit out into the forcing cone when chambered. A filler could be used, or just Unique with no filler. The pressures should be lower with the larger case volume with an equal charge compared to .45 Colt brass.

Gear

trailboss powder maybe?
i love that stuff for things like this.

[rexherring]

A friend of mine has the H&R Handi in .410 / .45 and I thought of the brass .410's would probably work to get the boolit closer to the lands. Trail Boss would probably work good or AA5744. If someone tries it, keep us informed.

[Rocky Raab]

All the 45/410 barrels I've ever seen were of the really light 10" octagon style. I had a straight 45 Colt in that style once. Trust me, even medium power loads are nasty kickers. If you load to "Contender/Ruger" level loads, load just one round of it. That may well be all of them your friend will EVER want to shoot through it.

Also tell him up front to consider minute of barn to be typical accuracy for those combo barrels.

[unclebill]

Also tell him up front to consider minute of barn to be typical accuracy for those combo barrels.

i tried and tried to get one to shoot worth a darn.
no luck after WAY too much time spent in load development.
never again.

[tomme boy]

We put on a set of Williams universal rifle sites. We tried a few different loads an 17gr 2400 with the 300gr Accurate 300f shot the best. Recoils was not that bad at all. More of a push compared to the red dot loads at 8gr. Busted a few clay birds at 100yds laying on the ground. He is very happy so now I have to cast some boolits for him.

He liked them so much an for me helping him, he gave me a new Hornady tumbler!!! He knew one of mine just bit the dust. Pieces went flying out from the bottom an smoke came out. Good thing I was there when it happened. I think I will make him up a box of 500 of the 300gr.

[Hank10]

I have both the Octogon and the round barrel 45/410 and the .44 Hotshot. The hotshot gives the best shot patterns but the 45/410 does OK with shot and better with cast & .444 Marlin casesi n the 45. I once shot my oct. 45 with 420 gr. bullet @ 1500 fps, did that only once, didn't hurt the Contender but almost broke my wrist. Had a 45/410 in a H&R handy pistol with a 1 in 66" twist that shot the 410 shell and the .45 Colt really well, as accurate as any .45 I've ever seen. It had no choke either.
H10

[Dale53]

My experience with cast bullets in the .45 Colt/.410 shotgun barrel in my Contender was not good. I couldn't get an decent accuracy at all with the .45 Colt.

On the other hand, using .410 shotgun shells (reloaded and factory) I had shotgun results at 25 yards as good as a .410 shotgun single shot I used as a control. I was really impressed with shotshells in this gun. I shot a bit of skeet with it and you can sure look good at station eight if you practice a bit. Of course, you cannot shoot doubles (with a single shot?:groner:) but it is fun on station one, seven, and eight. It the field, it can be a very practical gun for snakes and edible small game.

FWIW
Dale53