I had heard that you can fire .410 shells out of a 45/70 marlin. I decided to try it out this fall on ptarmigan while guiding hunters. It did not work worth a sh!t. They fired all right but the patterns were terrible even at 5 yards. I did manage to pepper a grizzly that came into camp and run him off as well as win a $30 dollar bet.(I bet a fellow guide that if he threw a can in the air, I could hit it with my " 45/70". he did not know about the shot shells.) I am going to experiment a little this winter with my 45/70 and shot.

Anyone have any ideas?

Daryl

What I've been told, from Marshall the owner of BearTooth Bullets, is that he can fire 2 3/4 inch 410 shotshells from his Marlin 444SS. Plus, they function through the magazine.

He said in one rifle that he had to lengthen the chamber something like .010", but another rifle (newer?) required no modification.

Seem to recall patterns were good to about 15 yards.

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Brian
The 416 Taylor WebPage!

Darryl: Try loading your own shotshells using .45-70 cases. I made shells for an Enfield .410 musket using .444 brass, which is much closer to .410 specs. I used an Ox-yoke wonder wad (for cap and ball revolvers) and a veggie fiber wad (for loading BPCR cartridges) over the powder, then added shot and capped with another veggie wad. Then I ran the case into a .44 Magnum seating die to give it a crimp. Pattern isn't the greatest, but then I didn't use a shot cup.