5 calibers in one gun - Is it really possible?

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  • bigmisb

    Plinker
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    Jun 20, 2020
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    Hey guys, I have a question that I figured at least some of you could probably speak very authoritatively on: Is it really possible to have a gun (a revolver, I suppose) that fires .460 S&W, .454 Casull, .45 ACP (using moon clips), .45 Long Colt, & .410?? I was watching some videos on YouTube, and putting two and two together, it seemed some of them were essentially saying this was possible. Now, we all know how reliable YouTube is, so, what do you guys think - Fact or fiction?


    ...feel free to read that last part in your best Jonathan Frakes voice, by the way :):
     

    Bigtanker

    Cuddles
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    Aug 21, 2012
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    Sure its possible. A revolver chambered in .327 Federal Magnum can fire 5 different cartridges.

    .327 Fed, .32 H&R Magnum, .32 S&W long .32 S&W short and .32 ACP.

    As for the .460, I'm not sure about the 45 ACP and 410. Not saying it can't, but just never seen it done.
     
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    Oct 3, 2008
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    Can't speak for the specific cartridges you listed without looking up dimensions, but it would be very possible. Build it big enough for the longest and strong enough for the highest pressure. Easy peasy. Actually now that I think about, a 327 Fed mag will chamber and fire quite a few different rounds safely. 327 Fed mag, 32 H&R mag, 32 Long, 32 Short, and 32 ACP are what I remember off the top of my head, might be 1 or 2 others.

    ETA beat by the tanker man!
     

    Cameramonkey

    www.thechosen.tv
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    Possible? Yes. Advisable? No. Because some of those slightly smaller bullets will wobble down the barrel and wont get a good spin from the rifling. Will they go downrange? Sure. Will they be accurate? Probably not.
     

    Tombs

    Grandmaster
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    Jan 13, 2011
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    Sure its possible. A revolver chambered in .327 Federal Magnum can fire 5 different cartridges.

    .327 Fed, .32 H&R Magnum, .32 S&W long .32 S&W short and .32 ACP.

    As for the .460, I'm not sure about the 45 ACP and 410. Not saying it can't, but just never seen it done.

    The 45acp would absolutely work. As would 45 auto rim.

    I'm not sure if the chamber is deep enough for a 410 to work. The problem there is that the crimp is going to unroll, and if it unrolls into the forcing cone you're going to have a very bad day. Not a safety problem, but getting the cylinder out is going to be a task and a half.

    Possible? Yes. Advisable? No. Because some of those slightly smaller bullets will wobble down the barrel and wont get a good spin from the rifling. Will they go downrange? Sure. Will they be accurate? Probably not.

    Uh, 45acp is .451" and the rest are .452". They aren't going to wobble down the bore or have accuracy problems.
     

    Mongo59

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    In the paper work that came with my brother's .460 it tells you that it will shoot .454 Casull and .45 long Colt all with the blessings of the manufacturer...
     

    russc2542

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    As others have said, yes with varying degrees of success, numerous cartriges have evolved longer and longer, .32, .38, and .45 are all great examples.

    Problems happen when you end up too long or too short IE the .410 unrolling the crimp past the chamber or the 2" extra wide leade putting a .45 in a 2 3/4" chamber. Though the rifling is only .001 wider, the chamber sized for a .410 is several hundredths wider and the .45 will indeed be rattling around until it hits the forcing cone.
     

    hoosierdaddy1976

    I Can't Believe it's not Shooter
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    Mar 17, 2011
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    Not recommending it, but...
    [video=youtube_share;TwX9mJvss1k]https://youtu.be/TwX9mJvss1k[/video]

    ETA in an earlier video, they also shot .444 and 30-30 out of this gun.
     
    Last edited:

    Bighoss91

    Marksman
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    Jun 14, 2020
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    Milton
    It can be done but you need to give up on 410 and think 460 rowland and 45 super. Tk customs does moon clip conversion on 460 s&w magnums. So you get, 460, 454, 45lc, 45acp, 45 super, 45 win mag, 45 raptor, and 460 Rowland.
     

    Katana1

    Plinker
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    Dec 26, 2008
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    Hey guys, I have a question that I figured at least some of you could probably speak very authoritatively on: Is it really possible to have a gun (a revolver, I suppose) that fires .460 S&W, .454 Casull, .45 ACP (using moon clips), .45 Long Colt, & .410?? I was watching some videos on YouTube, and putting two and two together, it seemed some of them were essentially saying this was possible. Now, we all know how reliable YouTube is, so, what do you guys think - Fact or fiction? :):

    Not my main area of expertise, but why would you want to do this? A revolver in .454 or .460 S&W would cost about $2,000.

    OTOH, if you buy a .40 Glock 23, you can get a 9mm conversion barrel for it. With some 9mm mags, that would be a handy combination in case, say, you can't find 9mm.

    Back in the Obama years, the US gov. bought about 1 billion rounds of .40 defensive ammo... for "practice" as I recall. I couldn't remember the exact number of rounds, only that it was sufficient to shoot everyone in the US three times.
     

    defaultdotxbe

    Marksman
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    Jul 21, 2020
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    Griffith
    It can be done but you need to give up on 410 and think 460 rowland and 45 super. Tk customs does moon clip conversion on 460 s&w magnums. So you get, 460, 454, 45lc, 45acp, 45 super, 45 win mag, 45 raptor, and 460 Rowland.
    Why would you have to give up on 410? A Taurus Raging Judge can fire 454 Casull, 45 LC, 45 Schofield, and 410. I imagine a moon clip conversion should be able to add the same rimless cartridges to that
     

    Bighoss91

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    Jun 14, 2020
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    Milton
    Its because as the crimp would end up reaching the forcing cone on 2.75 shell in a s&w 460. Note the cylinder length differences when compared to a judge or similar.
     

    defaultdotxbe

    Marksman
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    Jul 21, 2020
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    Griffith
    Don't forget 22 magnum can also fire 22lr, 22 long and 22 short.
    No, it can't. 22 mag is actually little wider than the others (but yes, a 22LR revolver can fire 22 long and short, I do it in my single shot 22LR rifles all the time)

    Its because as the crimp would end up reaching the forcing cone on 2.75 shell in a s&w 460. Note the cylinder length differences when compared to a judge or similar.
    I see, but wouldn't you be able to give up 460 and still have the rest? I suppose if you start with a 460 you wouldn't be able to do 410, but if you start with something that can fire 410 you could do the rest sans 460 S&W?

    Sorry if I'm being pesky, but multi caliber revolvers are a bit of a budding interest for me, so I'm trying to learn :)
     

    two70

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    Feb 5, 2016
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    I suppose if you start with a 460 you wouldn't be able to do 410, but if you start with something that can fire 410 you could do the rest sans 460 S&W?

    As mentioned previously, you can start with a Raging Judge and fire everything from .454 down plus .410. However, don't expect it to shoot anything particularly well.
     

    Bighoss91

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    Jun 14, 2020
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    Milton
    If you did start with a raging judge you would have to leave out 460 magnum, 45 raptor( a rimless 460 magnum), and I think 45 win mag maybe a little much for the judge or similar. The s&w x frame is built like a tank and still only a 5 shot cylinder with these extreme pressure rounds. The 3 listed are at or above the pressure of most rifle cartridges.
     
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