Water penetration test: Federal Premium .410 000 Buckshot 4 pellet in a Bond Arms Derringer

Me testing the penetration of the Federal Premium .410 000 Buckshot 4 pellet load in water filled milk jugs.

I screwed up in the intro, it's the 4 pellet OOO buckshot load, NOT birdshot. I didn't realize my mistake until I got home.

Gun is a Bond Arms Derringer chambered for 45 Colt and .2.5 410 shotshells.

Test Setup: 5 milk jugs full of water and shot from a distance of about 4' into the bottom half of the milk jugs.

Test Results: All 4 pellets penetrated into the 4th jug. Two of the pellets impacted the end of the 4th jug hard enough to make large indents on the 5th jug, but they did not break the 5th jug. This means that 2 pellets had between 18" and 24" of water penetration and two pellets would have had slightly more than 24" of penetration had they not been stopped by the jug.

Recoil was slightly greater than a 45 colt round, but not enough to make getting off two shots difficult.

Observation of recovered pellets: All 4 pellets were at the bottom of the 4th jug, gathered toward the far end, indicating that the two pellets that didn't impact the far side of the 4th jug at least made it close to the far end.

It is quite clear in what order the pellets were loaded into the shell as one pellet is seriously flattened and the others get progressively less flat.

The path through the jugs appeared to be straight except for one pellet that seems to have corkscrewed a bit as it's path through the jug is slightly curved it seems.

Personal Conclusion: This ammunition, from my derringer, appears to meet the 12" of penetration that many people desire. It offers a reasonable, but not excessive, spread at distances up to 5 yards. This is NOT a long range weapon, nor is it intended to be. At 5 yards it is easy to keep all 4 pellets on a pizza box sized target but beyond that you will probably have one or more pellets miss.

If you do the math you find that 4 000 buckshot pellets have a frontal area of .363 square inches while an unexpanded 45 colt bullet only has a frontal area of .159 square inches. The 45 colt makes a bigger hole, but the buckshot makes more holes.

I hope people find this helpful.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Bond Arms
• .410 buckshot

[toogoodbw]

That is not #4 buckshot. It is 000 buckshot

[Crosshair84]

@toogoodbw Yea I know, I corrected myself in the description.

[wiisaluteyou]

tehe.....BONG arms!!! XD lol

[Crosshair84]

@wiisaluteyou Yes, typo on my pat that has now been corrected.

[baalpeteor]

Have you ever tried the 5 pellet 000 3" 410? Winchester makes them (Super X).

[Crosshair84]

@baalpeteor My derringer is chambered only for 2.5". A fellow shooter has tried them in his 3" gun. The pellets in the Winchester load are too soft and flatten to a horrific degree.

[gunman848]

@yahtzee4u i done some test with my rough rider 45/410 with 000 buck, and pdx1, and it had about the same temp wound cavity per pellet as a 9mm, and at close range all pellets hit within 2 inches of each other. a 410 can tear a carcass up. you can have all the fancy gel test, but when lead hits bone, the facts dont lie.

[BigAgitator]

Thank you

[yahtzee4u]

@wtg2989 ....I don't know what 1.5 inches of wood penetration means....Are you saying that means it'll penetrate a human body adequately? I do a lot of gelatin testing, it isn't perfect, but it's 10% and it's the right temp. All I can tell you is that even from my 18inch barrel a 410 federal premium 000 buckshot penetrates quite a bit less than a .380. Buckshot has good diameter, but a light weight, and that means less penetration. The Judge is a cool gun, it'll dampen a BG's day.

[wtg2989]

@yahtzee4u I have seen 000 buckshot penetrate a 2x4 from the judge. Any thoughts?

[yahtzee4u]

@wtg2989 No.....No...........No. Out of an 18" break action shotgun it could be, but out of little barreled guns like the Judge and Derringers it just does not have the requisite penetration. The other issue, especially from a Judge is that the spread is very inconsistent. Water will let you know how rounds expand to some degree, but 20" of water penetration would equate to how much through skin, fat, muscle, and a sternum.........?

[wtg2989]

given this info would you say that a 410 is a good self defense weapon?