410/45 Derringer test results
Derringers chambered for both 410 shotgun shells and 45 Colt have been getting pretty popular. I have been curious about these for a while so I went ahead and bought one of those Cobray side-by-side 410/45 colt derringers. Today I got the chronograph out and obtained some velocity readings. The pistol itself is what one might call a Saturday Night Special. It is robustly built as well as being very crude and awkward to use. But it is inexpensive compared to the more common 410/45 Colt over and under derringers. A knob for tilting the barrel flung off on the second shot.
The barrels are just under 3 and ¾ inches long with a small amount of rifling at the end of the barrels.
The velocity readings are quite low:
Winchester Cowboy 45 Colt 250 grain averaged 537 fps. Some of the bullet holes at four paces showed obvious tumbling. Recoil was light/moderate and next time around I will get the full-powered 45 Colt. I think a hollow base soft lead bullet would do best in sealing in the barrel and engaging the rifling.
Remington Extra Long Range 3” 410 #4 shot averaged 670 fps. The shot pattern was very wide with only four pellets hitting a six-inch target at four paces. The recoil is pretty fierce.
Winchester Sporting Clays 2 ½” #8 shot averaged 706fps and had a tighter pattern. Recoil was fairly strong but not at all bad.
I made my own triple ought buck round by cutting the top off a 3 inch Remington shot shell and replaced the shot with 3 triple ought lead balls which squeezed firmly into the shot cup. All three pellets hit within a six-inch target at four paces. The velocity was 682 fps. Recoil was moderate.
Based on my velocity readings I think that these 410/45 derringers should be viewed as a novelty or trail/snake gun and not used for defense. This is not to say that these pistols are not capable of being quite deadly but I think that there are better alternatives out there to use.
Derringers chambered for both 410 shotgun shells and 45 Colt have been getting pretty popular. I have been curious about these for a while so I went ahead and bought one of those Cobray side-by-side 410/45 colt derringers. Today I got the chronograph out and obtained some velocity readings. The pistol itself is what one might call a Saturday Night Special. It is robustly built as well as being very crude and awkward to use. But it is inexpensive compared to the more common 410/45 Colt over and under derringers. A knob for tilting the barrel flung off on the second shot.
The barrels are just under 3 and ¾ inches long with a small amount of rifling at the end of the barrels.
The velocity readings are quite low:
Winchester Cowboy 45 Colt 250 grain averaged 537 fps. Some of the bullet holes at four paces showed obvious tumbling. Recoil was light/moderate and next time around I will get the full-powered 45 Colt. I think a hollow base soft lead bullet would do best in sealing in the barrel and engaging the rifling.
Remington Extra Long Range 3” 410 #4 shot averaged 670 fps. The shot pattern was very wide with only four pellets hitting a six-inch target at four paces. The recoil is pretty fierce.
Winchester Sporting Clays 2 ½” #8 shot averaged 706fps and had a tighter pattern. Recoil was fairly strong but not at all bad.
I made my own triple ought buck round by cutting the top off a 3 inch Remington shot shell and replaced the shot with 3 triple ought lead balls which squeezed firmly into the shot cup. All three pellets hit within a six-inch target at four paces. The velocity was 682 fps. Recoil was moderate.
Based on my velocity readings I think that these 410/45 derringers should be viewed as a novelty or trail/snake gun and not used for defense. This is not to say that these pistols are not capable of being quite deadly but I think that there are better alternatives out there to use.
