From what I've read in the Speer manual regarding shot loads for handguns loading hot just tends to blow holes in the pattern. But it might make for an interesting experiment!

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regarding shot loads for handguns loading hot just tends to blow holes in the pattern

Heard the same thing from a guy who used shot capsules.

I never had any real luck with .357 shot capsules...a lot of fun, but no real luck.

Cheers, Vince

I have heard it was a trick used by professonal sharp shooters something along the lines of 2" .410 shells in 44/40 to pop balloons ar moving targets. the .22 number 12shot was not even good for sparrows in the chook house.

Vince...Have you ever pattern shot one at a piece of card board? Get close...And remember that when you have to shoot a viper that their strike range is a little less then their body length...

I made my own shot shells for the 357 and get about 1" of pattern for every foot to the target. At ten feet they are dense enough for snakes. I found that anything over 1100 fps made the pattern worse and anything below 800 fps was worthless against anything bigger than a wren at close range.
I used a special paper shot cup and loaded 150 grains of #9 shot. I would have to look up the data to tell you how much 231 I was using.....

I've used shot loads (Speer shot cups) in 38 Special, 357 Magnum, and 44 Special. Some time at the pattern board will tell you that they are a close range proposition- 10 feet or so being the ideal distance. Also, faster is NOT better. Hot loads do indeed blow a hole in the center of the pattern.
I have also made shot loads for 45ACP similar to what the pictures show. Didn't have the RCBS die set (it ain't cheap) so I cobbled together a way to do the same thing from several dies I already had. Getting 45 ACP shot loads to cycle is a sometimes thing- the reason being that the shot charge is around 145-150 grains (quite similar to the charge a 38/357 Speer shot cup holds). A problem you'll run into with the 45ACP is that increasing your powder charge to improve cycling will make your shot pattern go to hell.
IMO, using shot loads in a 45ACP is best looked at as a single load proposition- still useful, but you have to rack the slide.
Elvis, this is sort of a historical trivia, but in Thee Olden Days, there was a 44-40 shot load available from some ammo makers. Annie Oakley and others of the day did some of their shows indoors, shooting at thrown objects, etc, and never blew holes in the roof.