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.