Has anyone used their handgun to hunt with shot shells?

I have a Contender in .410 bore, and have taken numerous grouse and bunnies.

One fella on here from down your way in Westmoreland County was posting video of bunnies and even pheasant he was shooting with a 10" .410. Haven't seen him post anything up this year yet.

I've killed turkey with 14" 45/410; hunted pheasant and dove with it, but never got shot opportunities. I've also kill turkey with a 20ga pistol.

45/410 is a t/c contender
20ga. Is a t/c encore

I think it would be fun to call in a coyote and sling some 00 buckshot at it from a taurus judge. You would probably need to get it inside of thirty yards but that would be the fun part.

30 yards would be way to far

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot53_4.htm

thought that id try hunting grouse with the dan wesson. 5 rounds of shot shells and not one hole in a shoebox at 7 yrds. i hunt grouse then and still with my 16g

I still haven't hit one with a 20 gauge :-)

Is it legal to hunt shotshells?

The Judge won't throw a pattern that far, you be lucky to get a decent pattern at 5 yards that wasn't 3' across. Get a Contender or G2 if you want to have a 20+ yard pattern.

WOW,,, never heard of anyone hunting with a Judge before.

Shotshells in revolvers are totally worthless. Practical range is less than 5 yards. .410 in Contender/Encore is different. I've done many grey squirrels out to 35 yards and fox squirrels (tougher skins) out to 25 years. A farmer wanted rid of his pigeons. I did a genocide thing with #5 shot out to 35-40 yards. Unbelievable fun. The Judge, Govenor, and "President" won't do this.

I was thinking my 357 BH or 44 SBH. I'm think that I'm feeling a big no here. I was just curious about it, I'm a late bloomer in the hunting arena.

If yer thinkin' humminbirds off the nectar feeder, or snakes, you would be good to go. Anything else you need a little more gun. I think the Judge, with the longer barrel, would be a viable hunter if they had a choke like the T/C barrels.

Yeah i'm with S4S4U...i really think shot shells in the 357 or 44 would be highly ineffective for hunting purposes.

I think that I'll scrap the idea.... or buy an encore...

years ago I loaded a bunch of shot cups with #7 1/2's for my .45LC. It was great for riding the quad thru the fields (private land) popping snakes and ground squirrels as they ran although the effective range was about 12 feet.

Probably why they're called "snake loads," or at about boot top range.

Vannooch,

There is another option if you happen to hunt with a contender in a big bore. You used to be able to buy chamber adapters in various calibers that would insert in a Contender barrel, and make a single shot 22lr or other small caliber out of your boomer. These were fine for a single shot suitable for grouse or bunnies. But I agree, having fiddled with shot loads and capsules for a slew of guns over the years, the rifling pretty much destoys any hopes for any decent pattern at any reasonable range.

I did have one exception to this years ago. Of all guns, an AMT 45 ACP DAO backup would put cci 45 acp shot shells into a pretty tight group out to about 15 yards. I still have no clue why this gun would do this, but it was my one exception, having tried this in a bunch of guns over the years.

Craig

Thanks for the input

i tried the CCI in .357 and .44 mag. You have to be ten feet to be in kill range. Stuff in .44 mag knocked off plastic caps jamming up cylinder. Wrist rocket works better.

That sounds like more trouble than it's worth if you ask me.

The Judge won't throw a pattern that far, you be lucky to get a decent pattern at 5 yards that wasn't 3' across. Get a Contender or G2 if you want to Ihave a 20+ yard pattern. [/quote]
I pretty much look at my TC 10" 45LC/.410 as a snake gun. But would it be effective for rabits out to 15 yards?

Thanks

Absolutely, and beyond, with the right load.

The Judge is not much other than real close up...

Like s4s4u...with my T/C "Super 14" .45LC/.410 I have killed to many Critters to count with it, like Rabbits @ 35-40yds
Barn Pigeons, Doves, and 2 Grouse...and possums, Skunks.

I have had limited success with my Bh's. I have tried the 357 and my 44 mag with CCI shotshells. I have taken 2 rabbits with them and numerous snakes in the glades over the years. I have taken a few squirrels but my range is limited to 20 yards or less. If you live near a body of water go shoot your gun on a calm day at the water at 15-20 yards and you will see exactly how well or bad your gun patterns.

Kral, Wondering about the 20ga pistol that you turkey hunt with. How long is the barrel and overall length. Here in Va. the barrel has to be 18 1/2" but the overall length I think is 28" so that kinda kills the 18 1/2" barrell. Just wondering, I did it a few years ago but used a 28" barrel. got agravated and went back to rifle stock.

I haven't really followed this post but I just took in a trade of one of the old Contender 44mag barrels with the removable choke. It's 10"s with a vented rib, elevation is adjusted with the front sight and the rear sight is a flip up for shooting regular 44 mag ammo. I figure it would make a cool survival gun. I know of some of these rechambered to 410 but that would eliminate using regular cartridges. I'm playing with the idea of rechambering it to 444 and then making some 444 shot shells either using a cardboard wad on top or possibly using a shot capsule. I would think I should be able to duplicate 410 performance and then shoot regular 444 ammo. The bad thing is after talking to Bellm about the project he said he built a 10" 444 barrel once and when he test fired it into a pipe running through his shop floor into the ground the fire ball took the hair off his arm up to his elbow. I'm still kicking it around though but we'll see.

I think Bob Milek addressed this long ago in Guns & Ammo magazine. He also gave tips on hitting with the T/C. You could probably research this on the web and refind the article?
Steve

The Judge does not have a very long range with shot, about 15'. THe barrel is rifled and the shot comes out spinning and spirals all over the place. Good for close range self defense but hunting no, unless you can get very very close.
cheers