That might work ok. But is the barrel rifled?
I’m not sure about that but Colt stopped making them in ‘88. They are also hard to find and somewhat spendy.
First off forget about a “smooth bore” pistol. They’re completely illegal in any caliber without a very pricey tax stamp from the Feds.
For the purposes you’ve outlined here I’d recommend a .22 revolver with a 4-6 barrel. Ruger makes some very nice ones. You may be able to find something used in your price range. I’d not recommend any semi-auto as the shot shells will most likely not feed reliably due to the rather fragile plastic “bullet”.
If you’re going to use this against any sort of aggressive critter you want reliability over everything. A 4 inch barrel .22 revolver won’t weigh very much, comparatively. And you will know that it will go bang every time you pull the trigger.
Just my two cents. YMMV.
L