410 Reloading

[Ivan the Butcher]

Suppliers are telling me they haven't seen new AA's in 3 years.

I have shotshell dies for single stage presses in 12 and 20 gauges but they at in the 1 1/8" thread pattern. These are by C-H 4-D in Mount Vernon, Ohio. I can't hurt to call and see if they have 7/8-14 dies in 410. Mag-tec make all bras 410's in 2". Ballistic Products sells them and all the proper components.

I gave all my 3" 410's to a friend. My current AA 2.5" have about 8 loadings on them and about ready to be trashed (I use a 1280-1300 fps Sporting Clays load of WW296/H110 and burns them up fast) This batch started as 2000 new AA HS's and is down to about 900. I've been hording about 1500 for a fresh start, but am fearful of when I can find resupply.

I use to have a Lee Loader (Wack-a-Mole) in 410/2.5" I ran 50% failure rate, so I bought a MEC 600Jr in 2005 whin I bought a good O/U Browning, When I hit 5000 rounds a year I bought a MEC Grabber (non automatic progressive)

It's a little late to tell you this, You really should have a stockpile of two or three years' worth of powder, shot, wad, and primers. That's how all the shotgunners are still shooting (at least practicing). My brother and are a little more paranoid so we maintain about 5 years on shotgun and 3 years on rifle and pistol.

410 is the most expensive to buy new, and the least expensive to reload!

Ivan

 

[2152hq]

...... Would plastic .410 shot cups work in .303 or 30-40 brass instead of fiddling with gluing in wads? I admit I'm fascinated by the prospect of .303 Brit brass working in a .410. I think I'll try it for an old Stevens single shot I keep for utility use even though I have tons of conventional .410 shells.

Yes conventional plastic 410 shot cup wads work fine in 303 or 30-40 brass used for .410.
You still need to 'glue' an over shot wad into place on top though.
Either that or lightly roll crimp the brass case mouth over onto a card overshot wad.
Some people use an inverted copper gas check as an overshot wad for more rugged handling. But roll crimped regular shotshells from the past used a plain rather thin card wad over the shot w/o any problems.

The use of a conventional 410 plastic shotshell wad inside the brass case makes it handy and quicker to load the rounds. The plastic petals protect the bore from leading. But the petals do take up some room from the shot load. Every little bit counts here.

Another thing it does do is they take up more precious room inside because of their extended colume height of the over-powder cup portion as compared to a couple punched out card wads from say cereal box cardboard.
You have to experiment a bit and see which works the best and allows you the shot payload you are seeking to use w/ the particular brass case and powder .

You can usually fit the standard 1/2oz shot load in there OK.

 

[scooter123]

It really Irks me when people say the 410 is a poor choice for a youngster. IMO the reason for this claim is FEAR, as in some older shooter is afraid that he might be humiliated by a 10 year old who has a habit of shooting straights. Yeah, it's a bit harder to hit with the 410, because you have to place that wee little shot string with precision. However if you start a 6 year old out with a light weight 410 he won't grow a fear of recoil and he'll learn to shoot with precision. Once that kid is about 5 feet tall he'll start out shooting his elders routinely.

BTW, I'm 67 years old and started shooting Skeet August of 2020. Got hooked good and hard and now do 4 gun Skeet Competitions. Found out at my first registered that I'm too old to shoot with tubes so I have a 12, 20, and a 28/410 2 barrel gun set. I've fallen in love with the 28/410 combo, it's a perfect fit and just plain FUN to shoot.

For reloading I have MEC single stage presses for 12 and 20 gauges and for the 28 and 410 I have MEC 9000-G progressive presses. about 70% of my practice now is with the 410, in part because it's the least expensive to reload. Cost per box at current component costs is 6.26 USD. BTW, 1 ounce 12 gauge runs 8.38 per box.

Now for Components. Ballistic Products is my goto for Primers and Hulls. Was a time when if you wanted primers you had to check their site 2 times a day and purchase a case the instant it showed up. Now they have enough primers on hand that the limit is now 20,000 per month and the cost with shipping and Hazmat is roughly about 80 dollars per thousand. As for 410 hulls, they have been nearly unobtainum lately but at the end of October and early November they had Fiochi 2 1/2 inch 410 hulls available. Because of the split I was able to get the October Maximum of 500 and the November maximum of 500. So I added 1000 pre-primed hulls to my stash. That is the benefit of checking for stock daily. Bad news is Fiochi 410 hulls are about 3/32 inch shorter than Cheddites so I had to dial back the shot charge on my 9000-G from 219 grains to 205 grains. So it's a light charge but I've already found it's good enough to break targets with. For powder, wads, and shot I've been able to get them locally at my club. However powder is a bit spotty so when I see a powder I use I'll pick up an 8 pounder. BTW, if this seems extreme I've loaded over 10,000 rounds this year.

 

[GypsmJim]

I use to have a Lee Loader (Wack-a-Mole) in 410/2.5" I ran 50% failure rate,



Ivan

My .410 Lee Loader is a 3". What I learned early on is that you need to add a shot card to keep them together. Then it was easy peasy.

I never had one single round disappoint me. What do you mean by 50% failure rate? What failed?

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

My .410 Lee Loader is a 3". What I learned early on is that you need to add a shot card to keep them together. Then it was easy peasy.

I never had one single round disappoint me. What do you mean by 50% failure rate? What failed?

At the time I was loading Remington black ribbed 2.5" hauls with white shot cups. The cups wouldn't fill up with a 1/2 ounce of shot. So, when crimped, the crimp collapsed.

The thing is you can't tell if the loading data is wrong or one (or more) of the components is out of spec!

Got rid of the Lee Loader and haven't looked back.

Ivan
.

 

[Paul in Nevada]

I would have figured 3" would be the way to go for all loads but I see a lot of recommendations for 2.5". I see 2.75" listed but this seems less common. What's are your opinions? Looks like most of the brass shells will form out to less than 3" except for the 9.3's.

I bought 100 rounds Federal 3" #6 lead yesterday but I am thinking this is not ideal. I see people saying #7.5 or even #9 shot for hunting. I would think the #6 hits harder but it's the pattern that matters. My barrel is a full choke, which is what I hunted with as a kid. I can't remember what shells we used but I bet they were 2.5"s. I wonder if I could either chop the barrel a little to make it cylinder choke or rent a reamer and thread it for removable chokes.

I will say that I am getting excited about this project. You guys have me looking at 410 doubles now.

 

[Nevada Ed]

3" hulls are best for hunting, since they will hold more pellets of a larger size
that will give you more energy and penetration, plus range.

2.5" are all that is needed for target, trap or pest control.

#9 lead fills the pattern best, with 8.5 & #8's used for trap at the longer
distances at 30-40 yard shots.

You need to know where and how your shotgun shoots, so several rounds at a pattern board
is needed with #9 and #8's to see what patterns the best, even though you have to waste a few loads
it will pay big divedends in the end.

With H110 or 296 powder, you might get 7-9 loads out of a hull, depending on the fps that you use.
Some powders "Fry" the ends of the hulls after just 5-6 loads, so you
will need to learn what powders will work for your type of loads.

You have a big can of worms, that you just opened.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

You have a big can of worms, that you just opened.

But what beautiful worms they are!

Ivan

 

[Paul in Nevada]

I do have a bunch of H110/296 and Lil'Gun from pre-crisis so I have that base covered. Cheddite 209's available at the LGS but you know how that goes.

 

[2152hq]

The 303 and 30-40 brass fire forms out to less than 2 1/2" but the interior capacity is greater for it's length than a 410 shotshell hull.
303 is 2 1/4"
30-40 is just slightly longer by about 1/10" or so.

The rifle brass has thinner walls and the fact that the shotshell hulls have a thicker(higher) base wad inside than the rifle brass uses as an interior base.
So the rifle brass can easily load 1/2oz of shot. Especially if you use card wads.

If you are loading plastic 410 hulls of different mfg'rs (like I do!) and they leave different amt's of empty space above the shot load due to internal differences in capacity,,simply place a Cheerio or a few Rice Crispys kernals on top of the shot load and then crimp.
I do the same when loading 12ga for the same reason.

I used to use popped popcorn, but I find the cereal much easier to use and handle. Plus I don't eat the stuff while reloading like I was with the popcorn.
...and one Cheerio layed flat fits near perfectly on top of the shot column and inside a 410 hull.

The cereal adds no appreciable weight to the load. But will fill the odd and extra empty space for you and when crimped provides a nice cushion for the fold crimp.
They all come out very nice that way regardless of the depth of the empty space you are filling up.
The cereal compresses easily when the 'loader crimps the hull, so you can't really overcharge the hull with the filler. I usually fill the hull to the mouth and then pre-crimp,,then final crimp it.

 

[GypsmJim]

At the time I was loading Remington black ribbed 2.5" hauls with white shot cups. The cups wouldn't fill up with a 1/2 ounce of shot. So, when crimped, the crimp collapsed.

The thing is you can't tell if the loading data is wrong or one (or more) of the components is out of spec!

Got rid of the Lee Loader and haven't looked back.

Ivan
.

When I first started with the .410, 3 inchers seemed to be the norm so that's what I bought. I use AA hulls (red) with red AA wads.

My book data shows loads up to a max of 11/16 oz of shot. I also had an issue getting it all in, so I settled on 5/8. For the 2 1/2" HULLS it shows a max of 1/2 oz. I dunno, but maybe using a 3 incher might be better if only a lite 1/2 oz load is desired.

At any rate, my shotshell loading is limited, I only use Lee Loaders for 12 and 20 gauge as well. Gotta love those little guys. I bet more people started the hobby with them than any other equipment. Mine still load perfect ammo, although at a slower pace.