Personal Defense Handgun Shotshell ammunition
Wow, that is not a blog title I expected to ever write. Federal have unveiled .410 “Personal Defense Handgun” ammunition designed specifically for the Taurus Judge .45 Colt / .410 revolver.
Two 2.5″ buckshot loads will be available. The first load is 0.5 oz ( 218 grain) #4 buckshot which I think works out to be about 10 pellets (according to wikipedia, correct me if I am wrong). The other load has four 000 pellets (9mm). The muzzle velocity is 1200 fps.
The Judge from Taurus® has emerged as a very popular handgun for Personal Defense®. This specialized gun has been without a specialized load-until now. Federal introduces two 2-1/2″ loads designed especially for The Judge. A special hull design and optimal payloads make these loads perfect for this gun. Choose between a 1/2-oz #4 or 4 pellet 000 buck option-either way the performance will be there.
Taurus Judge photo that I recently uploaded to Wikipedia. Taken by Dennis Chen
When will the 410 handgun ammo become available?
Has anyone been able to purchase this Federal handgun ammunition yet? Where?
Hi guys, I was looking forward to finally getting some #4 buckshot for my Mossberg 500E .410. I bought 2 boxes at Midway. Wondering how many pellets it had, I cut open a shell this morning … it’s #4 BIRD shot, 60 pellets!
I just picked up a box of Federals .410 “Personal Defense Handgun” ammunition 2 1/2″. Bought them from a local shop in St. Augustine FL.
They do contain 10 pellets. There is a huge difference between #4 shot, and #4 buck.
I’d feel comfortable using them in a close in situation.
Just bought a box of “Federal Premium Personal Defense .410 Handgun” “4 SHOT” ammo. I haven’t had a chance to try it out, and probably won’t until Monday.
I hope this is the #4 Buckshot and not #4 Birdshot.
Using an American Derringer Model 4 (4″ barrels).
Last week I fired .45 Colt and Winchester .410 2-1/2″ 3×000 Buck and 3″ 5×000 Buck in the weapon. they all patterened within a 12″ diameter at 21′.
Both barrels seemed to print out about the same.
Fired a total of 14 rounds before the hand started to deteriorate!
So far I’m most impressed with the results using the 000 buckshot rounds rather than the .45 Colt.
I’m looking for a couple of boxes of Federal 2-1/2″ 4×000 rounds.
Federal Premium Personal Defense doesn’t use birdshot.
Birdshot would be just about useless for defence, unless you got a good face shot, and took out their eyes.
I hope you can see the picture. At least my 4 SHOT is BIRD shot (60 pellets). http://webpages.charter.net/aikicircle/pics.html
WOW!
I was going by this artical I found on the web.
“Federal Premium .410 Handgun Ammunition
January 15th, 2009 · 3 Comments
Federal introduced .410 ammunition designed for the Taurus Judge revolver. In two formulations, 000 and #4 shot, these loadings are designed for two different desires.
Federal states the 000 contains four pellets that penetrate to a depth of up to 15″ in bare gelatin. The #4 pellets (approximately 10) penetrate to a depth of up to 6″.
The Federal rep on scene was not able to provide any additional information regarding velocities, shipping dates, or prices.”
http://www.gunsholstersandgear.com/2009/01/15/federal-premium-410-handgun-ammunition/
Well, I finally got around to firing the “Federal Premium .410 Handgun 2-1/2″ 4 SHOT Personal Defense PD412JGE 4″ amunition. 7/16 OZ.
IT’S BIRDSHOT!!! Not buckshot! 50+ pellets (I lost count)
NOT SUITABLE FOR PERSONAL DEFENSE AGAINST MUCH OF ANYTHING LARGE ENOUGH TO WARRENT “SELF DEFENSE” EXCEPT PERHAPS SMALL SNAKES! A large one shot with this round at 21′ will likely kill you before it bleeds to death! With 2 rounds it put 18-20 pellets inside a 12″ circle so the snake better be curled up and there were plenty enough large gaps to miss a head shot.
Soooo, Kevin (or anyone)! What’s the number on the box of #4 BUCKSHOT Federal 2-1/2″ .410 that contains only 10 (approximently) pellets ????
And, by the way, I fired 6 rounds of 3″ Winchester 5×000 Buck from the American Derringer Model 4. Enough to decide that the Federal 4×000 Buck is the better round for me.
My hand hurts enough that I won’t be wanting to shoot any more for a couple of weeks!
Dick Getty
Beats the **** out of me Dick.
Why Federal would claim a useless bird shot round is a defence round is beyond me. I’ve got a box of them in my gun safe too. I bought them, and a box of Winchester 225 GR. Silvertip’s at the same time.
I’ve never shot my Judge because I’m thinking of giving it, and the ammo to my Dad for his birthday this August. I’ll make sure to tell him to use the .410’s for snakes, or cans.
I wonder if Federal will ever make the ammo they advertise?
I will write this up birdshot controversy as a blog post either today or tomorrow. Look out for it on the homepage.
Guys, I have written up this info at
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2009/06/12/birdshot-for-self-defense-federal-say-yes/
Thanks for the comments, and thanks Stephen for the photo.
- Steve
There has been a lot of confusion on the web about this new Federal product, made for the Taurus Judge. Many people on the Web claim it is 4B in other words #4 Buck shot which would have 8-12 pellets. (In fairness Federal doesn’t claim anything, but they are are silent). The package only says “4 shot”. I just received mine from Cabela’s and just opened a shell up. The pellets are brass and there are 60 in the 2.5 inch shell. In a Winchester .410 #4 shot I have (bird shot or maybe rabbit shot) there were 68 lead pellets. SO DON’T BE FOOLED INTO THINKING THIS IS 4B BUCK SHOT BECAUSE I HAVE DONE THE TEST.
Guys here in Georgia they have both the buckshot which contains three large pellets and 4 birdshot which has a good spread. There are also 250 gr hollows and a hotter ballistic load with a conical shaped bullet for greater penetration for hogs and such. I shot the 410 and hollows in myu judge and it was crisp and physically comfortable. Yall should calm downn and stop hating.
For the Federal defensive round in the 2 1/2″ for a Taurus Judge there are 4, .36 cal copper jacketed lead balls. I have 3 boxes of them. You can see the ball just by looking at the tip of the round no need to cut it open. So 4, .36 cal lead balls flying at someone at 1200′ /sec and you have 5 times to pull that trigger in a Judge. That is 20 holes in that person. Hard to miss since most confrontations take place around the 10′ mark according to police statistics. So is it a good defensive round? You tell me if you would get hit with just 4 balls traveling that fast it wouldn’t make you turn and run, if you can still run. More or less 20 balls at that speed. I carry mine all the time.
John Smith is correct
You can see the copper ball at the end NO NEED to cut open the shell.
Wally World has them!
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k228/dogdpit/IMG_0026.jpg
Federal .410 Personal Defense handgun ammo, designed specifically for the Judge, has 4 ( I repeat 4, not 16, not 20, not birdshot, etc.) copper plated balls just shy of 3/8″ wide. Major hurt at 15′-20′ with a 12″ kill zone but with a 3″ rifled barrel, the grouping decreases at increased ranges. Cost is about .65 cents/round and available at Walmart (limit 4 boxes but duh, just go to the next Walmart) I got my 200 rounds so have at’er with the limited supply. The shells slide easier into my Judge than the #4 birdshot but if you are having jamming issues, I suggest getting a .45 cal wire brush cleaning tool, hook it on your drill and spin it around in each cylinder. Takes a little off but not too much.
Citizens without firearms are SLAVES, support your 2nd Ammendment right. Ok, sorry for preaching to the choir.
I recently bought a new Taurus Judge and when picking it up bought 2 boxes of Federal 4shot ammo. Those indicating this is bird shot are right on,as I found out after opening a round. Federal surely put this out as a varmit round because if you try defending yourself from other than a mad squirrel you may get seriously hurt. In other words it shouldn’t be used for self defense,instead their buckshot rounds or .45 cal long rounds should be in your chamber.
Dutch, you are still buying the wrong ammo. Look for the words “.410 HANDGUN”, PERSONAL DEFENSE, 4-PELLETS-000 BUCKSHOT on the Federal Box. All the words are there in large letters. This is not birdshot, unless you’re shooting at ostrich’s or emu’s.
You guys are getting confused. Federal does make a Premium .410 handgun round. It is a .410 2-1/2″ Buckshot round that has 4 copper jacketed lead 000Buck pellets in it. The pellets are .36 caliber and there are only 4 pellets in each shell. I have fired many of these rounds and feel very certain that these will easily kill an assailant. The Judge is a great gun and finally has a great round that earns it a deadly combination. Now I’ll wait until the 3″ rounds are available. When they come out, it will end the debate of whether or not the Judge is a capable defender.
Yep, Dutch…you are buting the wrong stuff. The ammunition you are lookung for is the Federal Premium .410 Handgun ammunition. The side of the box will say “.410 GA 2 1/2 IN Buckshot, 4 Pellets – 000 Buck, Muz Vel 1200 FPS, Personal Defense”. If it doesn’t you are buying the wrong stuff. Trust me, you will like the new round!!!! I am only waiting for the 3″ chambered round now. Come on Federal, where is the 3″ in this stuff!!!!!!???????????????????
I have never read so many opinions of a gun from people that don’t even own it. Not to mention the total lack of common sense about the ammo questions. Man! Comments on having the wrong ammo, talking about the wrong ammo, even saying they cut open a round and being wrong on the number of pellets. READ THE BOX! now that was easy wasn’t it.
Bruno, I do own the gun and as for the ammo I asked the dealer I bought the gun from and he said he didn’t know for sure what load was in the rounds labled Federal Premium .410 Handgun 2 1/2″ 7/16 oz 4 shot Personal Defense. Beings the rounds are new on the market there is confusion and most aren’t as sharp as you think you are. Now that was easy ! I now know they have the buck shot rounds labled as such but finding them in this area is impossible and all Internet sites I’ve visited are sold out. If anyone knows of a dealer who has some in stock plus the .45 cal long rounds I’d appreciate the information.
Sure Dutch,
I just bought a couple of boxes of the new Federal personal defense 000 buck from Cabela’s website. They are also at a few Walmarts in my area. They are the shells with 4 pellets.
also, my remarks were in general, not specifically directed at you.
The .410 personal defense round 4-pellet copper jacketed 000 buck ammo is NOT well known, even to the experts. I was just at 2 gun shows and not one of the gun shop guys even knew about the round ( I surveyed 20+ dealers, AKA the experts). When I showed them the shot, they were all impressed.
My phone book test was equally impressive. At 20′ the grouping was 8-10″ and the rounds penetrated 2+” with minimal expansion/compression. The paper was flying with each shot and after the second shot there was complete penetration (3″+). Five rounds blew the phone book apart with pages in shreds. It’s like firing 4-9mm rounds with one pull of the trigger. Sold my glock 9mm and Persuader 12ga, 7+1, 3″ chamber, 20″ barrel at the show because I have the Judge.
FYI: You can buy .45 cal converter shells that shoot .22 cal LR out of the Judge. Cheap way to shoot the Judge on a regular basis. The only problem is that I had several non-fires because of bad ammo or positioning of the converter. Accuracy is also an issue. Hope my comments helped.
IM THINKING ABOUT BUYING A JUDGE IS THERE ANOTHER ROUND OTHER THAN THE FED. ROUND USED FOR PERSONAL DEFENSE. HOW WELL DOES THE .45 CAL SHOT FROM THE JUDGE.
E-mailed Federal about the 410 personal defense ammo. They said the 2 1/2 inch #4 shot had about 118 pellets in it. Skock me i thought they used buckshot?
George
The person at Federal is obviously confused. I just bought 4 more boxes of the 410 HANDGUN PERSONAL DEFENSE 000 BUCK 4-PELLET at Walmart this morning. 4-copper jacketed 000 buck pellets. It’s like shooting 4-9mm rounds with one pull of the trigger.
DAWEED
The 45 long colt “cowboy round” fires great out of the judge and extremely accurate at less than 20′ with either the 200 grain or 250 grain. The 250 grain trajectory is severe at 40′ but that’s called murder, not self defense.
The judge is the most comfortable big cal revolver I have ever shot and I love the versatility of ammo…birdshot to 45 cal. Check out the Ruger LCR for a very lightweight (13.5 oz) .38 cal everyday carry. You forget you even have it on you, unlike the Judge that feels like you are carrying an anchor after 6 hours. My Judge is bedside and at easy reach in the car, but the LCR is my preferred carry.
Hope my comments helped.
Love the Judge
You are talking about #000 Buck,I’m talking about #4 shot both are self defense ammo from ferderal.I have 000buck & you are right on for that.
George:
Thanks for your response. I have shot the #4 out of the judge and also the #6 birdshot. I prefer the #6 in the first chamber to deter further attack and because of the increased number of hits at 20′ in a 4×5 area. The #6 had 2x the number of hits and like the #4, is more of a deterant/shock round, rather than lethal. Chambers 2 and 3 are loaded with the #000 buck; chambers 4 and 5 with the 45 cal long colt. My guess is that I will never get to the 4 and 5 chamber in a personal defense situation (2 legged threats). Bear/Wolf/Cougar areas demand a different selection, eliminating the #6 shot unless you’re going for the blinding shot and have plenty of room to run while firing over your shoulder. LOL.
Love The Judge
Bought a judge Public Denfender a few weeks ago have not had a chance to shoot yet, to cold for me. But i like your thinking about the #6 shot vs the #4 shot. I got some remmington #4 shot,but can’t fine federal # 4 shot at this time. I have the 000 buck by federal.What brand of #6 shot are you using? Good luck and thanks for the advise.
George
#6 Winchester works great for blinding shots or snakes (slithering or 2-legged).
Has anyone used the 4-pellet round on Pheasants or other game/varmits? I hate spitting shot out when I eat, what I shoot so…if you hit it, it will go down and not much to pick out. Just curious. I am going to try it out on a single shot 410 shotgun soon just to see if the theory matches reality.
Beware of still water, a still dog and a still enemy-German proverb
Fio Para Bellatur – Latin for “Be the prepared warrior”.
Winchester has a new self defense .410 round for the Judge. The PDX1 2.5″ .410 gauge round is optimized for use with the Taurus Judge revolver. The reduced recoil round is loaded with three 000 Buckshot sized discs backed by 12 BB sized pellets.
A buckshot / slug combo is utilized in the 2.75″ PDX1 12 gauge round. A 1 oz. Targeting Ranger Slug is pushed at 1200 fps and is backed by three 00 buckshot pellets. It too uses a reduced recoil load.
You guys using the Federal stuff are pretty silly. Winchester has been making ammo for the Judge for quite some time! There is even much more accurate ammo out there made by sellor & berlot and a few others, but you have to order those online.. The Winchestor can be found at carter’s country and other gun ranges.
I have the 3″ version and have shot nothing but winchester’s through it since I bought it over a year ago.
I use the 3″ 000 buck and the 3″ rifled slugs. Nothing else!
The 000 buck has 5 36.cal pellets, and the slugs have a 1/4oz. rifled slug rated at 1800fps!
At the range I loaded it .45, slug, 000 buck and let the gun range monkey shoot it..
He handled the .45 smoothly, the slug kinda startled him, and the 000 buck damn near jumped out of his hand and he handed the gun back to me and asked “what the hell the 3rd shot was?!” LOL I just grinn’d and told him it was the self defense round. (I would of got kicked off the range if he knew I was shooting 000 buck at the 10 yard range)
Btw, if you ever have the pesky glock guys right next to you launching hot shells at your head, Just unload a few chamber’s of 3″ 000 buck and they will move down a stall or two…
The pressure wave that comes off the gun with those rounds makes people close by miss their targets completly.. The 3″ slugs are pretty damn nasty too! My wife and I were getting a kick out watching other people while we took turns shooting the Judge! After shooting those two loads, it makes the .45 long colts seem like .22’s
The federal number 4 buck is available in 3 inch only. Made for the 3 inch chamber judge. The two loads for the 2 1/2 inch judge are OOO buck 4 pellets and #4 shot
I just picked up 3 boxes of Federal 2.5″ 000Buck 4 copper pellets at Dick’s Sports for $14.99/ea. Anyone find them cheaper? Where?
Colin
WalMart has same thing at $12.50 a box of 20.Also has #4 shot FEDERAL for $12.75