I've used shot loads for years without any issues.

I use pre-made shot capsules over BE in the 38 Special and I make 41 Magnum shot loads out of 30/30 brass. For the 45 ACP, I start with 308 Winchester cases. When growing up, they were de rigueur in our .22 rifles when out on vermin patrol or just strolling the country side. Later on, as an LEO, I carried a couple of revolver snake loads on my Sam Brown for the odd little emergency that didn't need a HP projectile.

When we were still issued the 1911A1 pistol, I always took a magazine of shot loads with me to SE Asia and to Central America for the odd viper that needed to see the Promised Land. My 45 shot loads function without fail, so with a 1911, you've got a handful of insurance.

I always wanted to make a shot load revolver with a smoothbore barrel for better patterns, but that is distinctly illegal as I understand it. Thompson Center used to make a 357 barrel for their single shot pistol that had a screw in choke that had a reverse cone to the rifling twist in order to take away the centrifugal force for the spinning imparted from the rifling.

Attached Images

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Keep your powder dry.