[LINK] Taurus
Taurus has introduced a revolver which fires both .45 Colt cartridges and 2.5" .410 shotshells. It's available in stainless steel with 3" or 6" rifled barrel, and has rubber grips. MSRP, as of this posting, is a relatively modest $410.
This niche was previously owned by the Thunder Five, a less finished looking firearm. (Check out the video at the link for what it's like to rapid fire one.)
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Taurus promotes the 4410 (or "44 TEN" -- why didn't they call it the .45 TEN?) as a versatile field gun, but it also has potential as a home/car defense gun.
It is reviewed by Holt Bodinson in the June '06 issue of Guns Magazine (article not available on-line).
He found it "carried nicely" in a holster. (It's obviously not optimum for concealed carry, except for very large individuals.)
The chamber throats are .010" larger than a .452" Colt bullet, but
accuracy was good at 20 yards. The author achieved perfectly centered
shot groups of 2" or less.
A series of .410 target shots using 1/2 oz. (111 pellet) No. 6 shot
show a very wide dispersion at 12 feet, tightening to a very tight
grouping at 3 feet. This could work well for home or car defense
purposes, with the first two shells being shotshells (hopeful persuading the bad guy to leave ASAP) and the remaining
three being settle-the-matter .45 colts (as long as you hit the bad guy first with them).
In the field, Bodinson found the shot pattern being pulled down and to the right. He theorized the shot cup was being engaged by the rifling. (He had trouble even hitting a 11"x16" target at 15 15 yards with 1/2 oz. No. 4, 6, and 7.5 shotshells.) He had better luck with the lighter #9 pellets. He plans to try hand loading some #6 without the shot cup.
He also wants to try some Winchester 000 Buck with three pellets at 1300 fps.
Bodinson concludes:
"Whether viewed as a defensive handgun or a handy field gun, the little Taurus blunderbuss is an intriguing piece of ordnance and an awful lot of fun to shoot."
Will some manufacturer PLEASE develop and offer .500 shotshells, so we can buy a 500 S&W / 500 shotshell revolver? And how about a 500 Special while you're at it?
Even better -- or should I say crazier -- idea (inspired by comments): A .55 caliber revolver which can also fire 28 gauge shotshells.
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