Hornady Critical Defense 410 Bore Ammunition - 200 Rounds of 2-1/2” FTX Slug & Two .35 Cal Balls

Hornady never would have made a 410 Bore shotshell like this if not for the rise of the 45/410 revolvers. In no uncertain terms, if you keep a Smith & Wesson Governor or Taurus Judge for personal protection, this is one of the best shells you could choose for personal defense.

This shell is loaded with two different types of projectiles. The first is a single .41 cal FTX slug, which is made of non-jacketed solid lead and features a polymer insert in its hollow point nose cavity. In addition to preventing the slug’s nose cavity from becoming ineffective as the result of clogging with debris, the tip also helps the slug expand and inflict greater damage to soft tissue. The slug is wide enough in diameter to engage with a revolver barrel’s rifling, and accordingly receives the gyroscopic stability it needs to meet its target tip-first.

Beneath the slug sit two identical .35 cal buckshot pellets (just 0.01” too narrow in diameter to qualify as 000 buck). The cold swaged, high-antimony lead spheres are extremely hard, which preserves the shape they need to bore a deep path through soft tissue. Hornady designs the shell to place all three of its projectiles in a man-sized target at ranges up to seven yards away.

Note that this shell’s muzzle velocity only seems low at 750 fps because Hornady recorded it with a revolver-length test barrel. If fired in a shotgun, the shell’s muzzle velocity would be substantially higher.