What do you do with an Encore .410 Pistol?

[whitfang]

Saw an Encore .410 vent-rib 15-inch pistol barrel for sale on Ebay, and was wondering what you would do with this barrel.   

Since you can shoot .45s out of it also, I'm assuming that it is a rifled barrel.   

Does anybody make a .410 sabot or slug that would work on whitetail?  And if you were deer hunting, wouldn't you want pistol sights or a scope? 

I guess I'm just confused as to what anybody would do with this barrel.  What do you guys who own a .410/.45 barrel use it for?

[Thebear_78]

best rabbitgun ever!!!!

[Buford]

'great for snakes, too..........

[whitfang]

I guess it would be great on just about any type of small game.

If it is a rifled barrel, and you shoot a shotgun shell out of it, do you get a column of shot that is spinning like a bullet at the same time?

[Bullseye]

The barrel has a choke tube in the end.  It is not as much a choke but a tube with straight rifling.  The straight rifling is supposed to stop the wad from spinning so that the shot column does not spread out right after leaving the barrel.  When you shoot 45's you take the choke tube with the straight rifling out.

[Ken ONeill]

Mine is a 14" stainless Contender barrel. It's a GREAT squirrel and rabbit gun. I don't plan to ever use it for .45 Colt. I have other guns for that type of use.

[whitfang]

Hey guys, thanks for the answers.

Good answer, Bullseye,  I never would have guessed that a straight-rifled choke tube would be used.

[blhof]

I've been bidding on the 14" ones on Ebay for a while, after I was introduced to shooting clays with one that had the hi vis sights.  It took a while to get consistent, but once you do it's a fantastic adrenaline rush.  If your state allows, try it on quail, or doves.  The one I was using belonged to a friend, unfortunately I've moved away and miss pistoling for clays.

[rickyp]

I have a 10"  contender with normal open sights and a 12" encore with vent rib
I use both for squirrel and rabbits and works great out to about 30-40 yards the contender loves 255 gr cast bullets for the 45 colt ( ALWAYS REMOVE THE CHOKE BEFORE SHOOTINGT A 45 COLT) it is just good enough for deer hunting but will never be my first choice due to the 4-5" groups at 50 yards

[Dusty Miller]

Whatever you do don't try to sell it in the PRC in as much as the fathers have stated that we gun nuts cannot be trusted with a "short barreled shotgun" no matter what. 

[Blunderbus]

I think most people buy the .45-410 barrels to use only in the scattergun mode.  That is, after all, what it truly has to offer.  If you feel the need to justify it, this barrel set-up does have some applications for small game and "close quarters varminting" for lack of a better term. Some guys (not me) have become fairly proficient busting clays with them. I've seen a guy shoot a quail with one, but it was a once-flushed preserve bird and wasn't flying all that great. The guy IS an exceptional shot, though. I also know a man who claims to have killed a turkey with one, although I didn't witness this feat.

The main thing is that they are just plain fun to shoot. I think shooting pattern boards with a shotgun is kind of a drag. Shooting patterns with a Contender or Encore with a .45-410 barrel is almost a guilty pleasure.  Everyone I have ever allowed to shoot mine agrees that it is a hoot.

[steveus]

I shoot marsh hens (clapper rails) in the Georgia salt marshes with my Contender 14" SS 410/.45 Colt. They are slow-flying birds, fairly easy to hit unless they have a tail wind. So much fun you wouldn't believe it!  But the limit is 15/person and good to eat. Both 2.5" and 3" shells do fine.  Steveus