I had co-worker ask me if I had a .410 shotgun and, after saying yes, said he had some old ammo he'd acquired and he didn't have a .410 and said he'd give me this ammo.

I followed him out to his car and he had a complete box of Western Super X 3 inch paper hulled shells in #4 shot. He also had a baggie of loose rounds, mostly paper hulled 3 inch Remington in #71/2 shot. The box of Super X was marked with a price of $2.65.

I took a couple of the Remington rounds and tried them out in my .410 double barrel and they slide in and out of the chamber with no problem, and both rounds fired off like they were new.

I just checked current prices of comparable 3 inch .410 ammo and it's upwards of $20 a box these days.

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Congratulations on getting some great ammo for small game and birds, if you still do that sort of thing.

The #4's will be great for the larger birds like Sage hen or Chuckar, if you can find them.

Enjoy.

That takes me back!
As a kid, I often hunted with two Brothers who hunted with a 410 Bolt Action.
Those old shells look exactly like the ones they used!

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Make sure you check the chamber length on those shells before firing any. You'll find many 410 shotgun chambered for 2 1/2 inch shells and firing a 3 inch shell in a short chamber will result in a big spike in pressure as the shot/Wad hit the constriction formed by the thickness of the shell walls inside a .410 inch bore. on Modern guns Chamber data is normally stamped on the barrel sides on one side and the opposite will usually have the manufacturer. On antiques all bets are off, the chamber data could be on the barrel flats or the action. In addition on older budget guns you may not find any chamber information, that was provided in the paper provided with the gun.

Think you would be lucky to find a box of 3" .410 shells @ $20 these days....great snag!

Not many things smell as good as a freshly fired paper shell on a crisp autumn day.

Are you sure about that? Wouldn't want any disinformation here.

There's something especially good about them!

h you did god. 3 in 410s are 25-30 dollars a box. I shot an awful lot of the old Win and Rem papers back in the day. Buy 'em in the hardware store for a quarter a piece. Had 3 410s Win 37 a win 42 3 inch and and Savage/Stevens 310 double. I shot the old single better and heck I was hunting rabbit/squirrels most of the time so I shot the single. I missed more with the double and the pump. Couldn't afford that. After I started reloading 410s about 1965 I shot the pump mostly. 2 1/2 inch shells shot much better patterns out of all 3 guns...so I loaded them. Paper shells didn't last but about 3 loads...4 if you ironed them. That powder and wax smell after shooting papers...ummm had to sniff 'em.
I started reloading 12 ga in 1958/59. All we had for shooting was paper shells. I ha shell ironers in every ga. Rem had the 1st plastic shells Just never smelled the same after AAs showed up...but boy did they last!

Yes sir, all of my .410's have chambers designed for firing 3 inch shells.

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As long as ammo is stored at least half way decently, it is very durable and has an incredible long shelf life. I have shot many thousands of rounds that are older than I am (close to 70) and never had any failures. I have hunted Pheasant with shot shells that have paper hulls (from the 1950's and 60's) and have never had a failure.

The ammo in the photo looks to be in good shape and I'd bet every round would go bang.

While I am not recommending that one should use 50, 60, 70 or more year old ammo for SD, I'd say 99% would work just fine. The only hand full of rounds I have ever seen fail have been rounds found out in the elements for many years or have been soaked in water a very long time.

I love Skeet's "quarter a piece at the hardware store" remark. Those were the days.

They were cheaper in my hick hometown I guess. Old man Brundage that ran the store there would give me one .410 shell or five .22 long rifle cartridges, my choice, for every rabbit I brought in. If I'd bring in 5 or more he'd give me some extra.

I haven't smelled that smell in at least 40 years, but I still remember it well, curling out of my Hammond Arms single-shot.

Paper hulls are fine, as long as they're kept dry. The smell brings back good memories!

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I learned to shoot on a Wards Riverside .410 single shot bolt action shotgun. Mine only chambered 2 1/2" shells. I remember going to Sears when I first got it. Ammo was $4.99 a box and it did not seem cheap then! I think you did well.

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