OK, let’s start with the .45’s.
The .45 ACP is a round designed to be used in semi-automatic pistols, particularly the 1911 Colt, which was the US military sidearm from WWI until the 1980’s. This is a very credible self-defense round, used daily by many, many people who carry semi-auto pistols for self defense. Because it is a semi-auto round, it won’t typically headspace properly in a revolver without some sort of “clip” holding the rim of the case flush or proud of the back of the cylinder.
As a rule, I’m skeptical of using semi-auto ammo in self-defense revolvers for reasons I won’t explain here just now, suffice to say that there’s many, many revolver cartridges which were designed for revolvers which perform quite well in a self-defense weapon. There’s no need to resort to such logistical issues as cobbling a pistol round into a revolver. Moon clips are cheap enough, it’s the logistical issue of needing them at all where I simply cannot accept them in a self-defense gun.
The .45 Colt, sometimes incorrectly called the “.45 Long Colt” is a revolver cartridge that was first used in the famous Colt Single Action Army revolvers - you’ve seen these revolvers in many, many westerns on TV and the big screen. The SAA was a “single action” revolver and needed the hammer manually cocked for each shot. I don’t think many people carry single action revolvers for self-defense, and I would not recommend such a weapon. But the .45 Colt round? It has enjoyed a resurgence as a “cowboy action shooting” cartridge in revolvers and lever-action rifles. It is every bit as powerful in standard loadings as a .45 ACP, and modern weapons can use the same bullets launched out of either a .45 ACP or .45 Colt case. In some revolvers (particularly newer, single-action revolvers), the .45 Colt can be loaded to be as powerful as a .44 Magnum - or more. I wouldn’t do that in this revolver, tho.
The ability to shoot .410 shotgun loads is where I find these weapons and I part. The attraction is that you get more versatility in your choice of ammo, but the downside is that now, the cylinder of the revolver must be made longer (much longer) and the overall gun heavier. The upside is that in 00 or 000 buckshot, you’re getting four (00) or three (000) pellets of buckshot vs. your one bullet out of a .45 cartridge.
There are now several ammo manufactures making “defense” loads for the .410 shotgun, specifically with these small revolvers in mind. At short distances, they’re quite probably devastating, putting three or four good-sized projectiles within the critical center-of-chest area at 7 yards and under.
The only thing I can tell you is to find a range where you can rent one and shoot it.
>> There are now several ammo manufactures making “defense” loads for the .410 shotgun, specifically with these small revolvers in mind.
I’ve seen that — it’s got like seven #4 shot, five solid disks, three big pellets, and a partridge in a pear tree.
There’s probably a little kitchen sink off a charm bracelet in there too.
It might indeed be effective. I guess I’ll never know because it’s PRICEY as all get-out and I’m too cheap to spring for it for an experiment.
A twenty gauge auto loader would be better and give more choices in ammo. I have an Akkar 600CY which I cut the barrel down to 18 1/2 inches and put a pistol grip collapsible stock onto that measures 37 inches long (with stock at 13 inches of pull). The semi auto shotty has a reduced recoil from even a pump.