Is there a good manufactured shotshell out there anywhere? Something better than the CCI stuff. If they can make a decent 410 handgun round for the Judge, why not a good shotshell for my 44 magnum? I'd like to be able to carry it for a little jump shooting & it would be nice to get something with a decent 30 foot pattern.
Hunting shotshell for handguns?
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SAFireman
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Home made shot-shells have been discussed here before....another member here (Jellybean IIRC) had some recipes and instructions that he passed along to me a bit back, but I have not had the time to make any up.....I was wanting them in 41 Rem Mag and they just don't exist on the commercial market.
Being able to choose your shot size and weight would be a nice change from what you can buy at Wal-mart
Good luck in your search...maybe Jellybean will chime in with his instructions again.
Being able to choose your shot size and weight would be a nice change from what you can buy at Wal-mart
Good luck in your search...maybe Jellybean will chime in with his instructions again.
Pisgah
Member
The problem you will find with any shotshell in a rifled barrel will be a doughnut-shaped pattern at anything much beyond a few feet, a result of centrifugal force working on the pattern. They are great for extreme closeup shots, very unsatisfactory at any longer range.
team sidewinder
Member
I doubt very much they will harm your gun for the few times you would be shooting shotshells and the shot is enclosed in the plastic capsule while in the barrel anyway. I used the CCI shotshells in a .357 and they were just about useless at even 15 feet on upland birds which was the main reason I was carring them. I mean I could kill a upland bird with a rock better at 15 feet than the .357 shotshells I was using. Haven't tried them in my 44 yet but due to the poor performance in the 357 I will probably save myself money and use a rock.
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I think that you will find that unless you are hunting at a distance of 5 feet or less, Shotshells from a handgun are pretty much useless, and then only on very small game. They are inaccurate and unpredictable, and just do not perform well through a rifled barrel.
I just watched Field & Stream "Gun-Nuts" last week where they tested a S&W Governor in .410. At a distance of 7 yards the accuracy and patterning was pretty bad. They could not bad-mouth the gun because one of the sponsors was S&W, but you could tell from their body language that they did not think much of it. My prediction is that the revolver style "shotguns" won't have any relative longevity.
Chief38
I just watched Field & Stream "Gun-Nuts" last week where they tested a S&W Governor in .410. At a distance of 7 yards the accuracy and patterning was pretty bad. They could not bad-mouth the gun because one of the sponsors was S&W, but you could tell from their body language that they did not think much of it. My prediction is that the revolver style "shotguns" won't have any relative longevity.
Chief38
WNC Seabee
Member
I think there's a good reason most folks refer to them as rat or snake shot. Anything over 5 ft is wasted energy.
You can buy the plastic capsules and fill them with #12 shot (difficult, but not impossible to find) and they work great on snakes out to 7 or 8 feet, but are pretty much worthless much beyond that distance. The # 8 shot that comes in factory loads gives poor patterns even at 8 feet.
Pisgah
Member
Absolutely not.
And a snake more than 4 feet away is pretty harmless. One closer has probably already bit you.
First of all, it's questionable if there is a good .410 shotshell for the Judge. Most .410 shells are made for smooth, long barrels. Shot out of a very short barrel they lose a lot of velocity, and, as stated above, the rifling imparts a twist which kills any hopes for a decent pattern at even close ranges. I'm not saying it can't be done, I just don't know if anyone is making them specifically for short barrels or not.
Secondly, the next obstacle would be load capacity. There is a lot more room in a .410 shotshell hull than a .44 mag case. In order to get any kind of pattern density you would have to use a small shot size which would hurt your depth of penetration, making them useless for just about anything. About the only "shot shell" that is good for hunting anything is Remingtons old multi-ball loads. And they are better in smaller calibers than the .44s.
Thompson Center used to make Hot Shot cartridges, which were much more useful, but they were only for single shots and are hard to find now days.
SAFireman, thanks for the plug.
You can search some of my previous posts about my experiences with the Speer/CCI shotshells.
I have shot a bunch of small game including rabbits, squirrels, grouse, etc. not to mention a lot of snakes with them in 44 Mag and 45 ACP, mostly.
I have used the 9mm and 38 specials a little as well.
My wife has used them in 44 Mag and 38 Special.
I used to load my own withh the Speer capsules before they loded thier own, but i fine the factory ones so good I no longer load my own.
I did load some up with No6 shot once, but culd not tell that they killed any bettter.I have killed a lot of game with them at 12 yards, some farther...
I have shot a bunch of small game including rabbits, squirrels, grouse, etc. not to mention a lot of snakes with them in 44 Mag and 45 ACP, mostly.
I have used the 9mm and 38 specials a little as well.
My wife has used them in 44 Mag and 38 Special.
I used to load my own withh the Speer capsules before they loded thier own, but i fine the factory ones so good I no longer load my own.
I did load some up with No6 shot once, but culd not tell that they killed any bettter.I have killed a lot of game with them at 12 yards, some farther...
Yeah, but we all know everything's bigger in TX so naturally more shot will hit the target.
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