CCI's .45 Colt shotshell replaces the bullet with a plastic capsule holding 150 grains of #9 birdshot, made for pests and snakes at a few yards. It leaves the muzzle at 1,000 fps with 333 ft-lbs of energy for the whole charge. The case is aluminum, so it cannot be reloaded.

Those numbers read differently from a bullet load. The 333 ft-lbs is shared by every pellet in the charge, so each one carries a small part of it, and the pellets begin to spread soon after they leave the muzzle. That keeps the useful distance to a few yards, well inside the 25 yards used to zero a bullet load, and it means there is no trajectory to plan around. At that range there is no hold to learn; the spread of the #9 shot covers small errors in aim that a single bullet would not.

Buy it to carry in a .45 Colt revolver where snakes are a concern, or for pests around a barn or shed, at a few yards. It is not a defensive load and not a load for anything beyond close range. For a single projectile that reaches farther, Underwood 135-grain Extreme Defender leaves the muzzle at 1,410 fps.