Bird Shot through .45

[YoungFowler]

I work in the woods heavily as a forester, and often run into grouse far off of roads. Carrying a shotgun isn't conducive to getting my work done, but I'm considering switching the loads in my side arm to some of these .45 #9 or so bird shot. Anyone have experience with this? Is it safe for the gun with the rifling? I'm not trying to shoot far, since I'm not there to hunt, but want to take advantage of those birds that just stand and stare at 10 yards.

[2MANY]

I haven't worried about that but that doesn't make me right.

Ever crouched down and clucked them in to stick clubbing range?

[ducks4days]

I killed a rattlesnake years ago, .40S&W bird shot at 5 yards. I wouldnt trust it to do anything passed 15y, the rifling and lack of powder just make handgun shotshell not effective. You may also run into cycling issues with autoloaders, depending on the handgun platform and cleanliness. Plus, youre going to have to shoot birdshot at a bear or cat or bipedal predator just to get a real round into the chamber, or manually load the birdshot round when you see a bird. Neither option is ideal. 

If you want to take grouse with a handgun just get a target .22. 

[CP]

I’ve tried that in the past.  The rifling will disperse the shot pattern very quickly giving a very short effective range.  I mean a few yards, not 10s of yards.

Lead shot will stick to the rifling; not unsafe, but hard to clean out.  I learned to fire a FMJ round or two to help clean out the lead fouling.

[Woodchuck]

I killed a rattlesnake years ago, .40S&W bird shot at 5 yards. I wouldnt trust it to do anything passed 15y, the rifling and lack of powder just make handgun shotshell not effective. You may also run into cycling issues with autoloaders, depending on the handgun platform and cleanliness. Plus, youre going to have to shoot birdshot at a bear or cat or bipedal predator just to get a real round into the chamber, or manually load the birdshot round when you see a bird. Neither option is ideal. 

If you want to take grouse with a handgun just get a target .22. 

.22 shot shells have been very hard for me to locate, at least locally...

[acrocker]

I've used .44 mag birdshot loads effectively on grouse in the past, but I think regular 22lr ammo would be more effective and have a longer range...

[Oldguy]

 I harvested a rabbit at about 20' using a .38 shotshell in my .357. I'm sure it would be very effective for grouse for close range.

[RobinHoodlum]

I tried what you are proposing with 'snake charmer' shells. No good. Peppered and lost a few birds. Most seemed unscathed, but probably a few that ultimately died. Under my personal code of hunter ethics (not judging anyone else here!), this was a short lived experiment that I found unacceptable.

I'll throw out a possible alternative though. I was able to borrow a Thompson Contender one fall from a friend. It was a 45/410 and the 410 was both accurate and highly effective on grouse. Would take up a bit of room on your cruiser vest though.

[passman65]

TAURUS JUDGE should work

[metlhead]

Ditch the Judge. Pack a LeMat

[wadu1]

Back in the day I carried an M6 scout folded in my day pack.

[BeerBugler]

Judge is not worth a chit on grouse. Ruger Mark VI target is the perfect grouse medicine.

[ducks4days]

 

Judge is not worth a chit on grouse. Ruger Mark VI target is the perfect grouse medicine.

[Ricochet]

My limited experience with shot shells in my .357 led me to believe that if I was close enough to a grouse to kill it with the shot shell, I was close enough to shoot its head off with a regular round. I've killed more grouse with a stick than I ever did with those worthless shot shells.

[huntingfool7]

Ten yards is effectively out of range for those.  They're best at half that or less.   It's the rifling in the barrel that buggers the pattern. 

You'd do better head shooting them with the 45 or a 22.  Will also make you a better shot.