Ouch
Les Jones says he wouldn’t shoot a 45-70 derringer on a dare. I have shot one. It was an over/under model called the Alaskan Survival Gun. The barrel could be loaded with 45-70 or a 410 shotshell. The 45-70 wasn’t so bad. The 410 hurt.
Les Jones says he wouldn’t shoot a 45-70 derringer on a dare. I have shot one. It was an over/under model called the Alaskan Survival Gun. The barrel could be loaded with 45-70 or a 410 shotshell. The 45-70 wasn’t so bad. The 410 hurt.
Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.
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September 10th, 2007 at 11:06 am
I wouldn’t shoot one unless I was about to do lunch with a grizzly bear.
September 10th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Unc, the gun you shot was a .410/.45 Long Colt. The .45 Long Colt is a straight-walled pistol round. The .45-70 is a tapered-case rifle round.
September 10th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
I’m pretty certain it was a 45-70.
September 10th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
confirmed with the owner. it would fire all three.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
The .45 LC is about 500 foot pounds, the .410 is about 700 or 800, and the .45-70 is 1500-2000 or more. If the .410 hurt and the other one wasn’t so bad, I’m pretty sure the other one was a .45 LC.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
Well, I fired the 410 second. So, maybe my hand was already hurt from that.
September 11th, 2007 at 9:12 am
That gun is made by American Derringer. It is chambered for .45 Colt/.410 only, according to their web site. I saw one reference in a gun forum saying that the top barrel is .45-70 and the bottom barrel is .45Colt/.410, so that may have been made in the past, but if so they must have decided that it wasn’t a good idea. A .45-70 derringer with a tiny grip and weighing only a pound would be pretty much uncontrollable, I would think, **far** worse than a “measly” .410. You’re talking a powerful rifle cartridge capable of taking down bear and elk. I’ve heard people who own .45-70 T/C Contenders, say how much they hurt, how much skin they lose, etc., and they’re a LOT heavier guns. Even .45 Colt would be a handful in a derringer, although as Les says, not as bad as a .410.
Magnum Research makes a revolver called the “BFR” with many powerful chamberings, including .45 Colt/.410 and .45-70, but they specifically say on their web site that the two are incompatible.
September 11th, 2007 at 9:36 am
Oops. American Derringer now makes their guns in many chamberings. .45-70 is available, but it’s separate from .45 Colt/.410. I still wouldn’t want to fire one!
September 11th, 2007 at 9:37 am
Like I said, the one I fired was 45-70. I think the second shot (410) hurt more because I’d already done damage firing the first.