A couple of years ago I bought a Browning Citori 825 O/U in 410. They sell for around 5 times what you paid used! I have other 410's also.
I load my own, and some things I've learned follow:
1) I buy every partial box of hunting loads under $10 and don't reload them.
2) For Skeet and Sporting Clays use, find a brand you like and only buy that brand.
3) I own both a MEC 600 Jr. and a MEC semi-progressive press. Don't use a fully auto cycling progressive. You will gladly give up the little extra speed for the ability to stop and catch mistakes or SPILLS! My progressive it set up for 2 1/2 inch and the Jr. is set up for 3 inch. Trying to adjust back and forth is terrible!
4) Older style and foreign hulls use a different wad than the current Remington and Winchester HS hulls. Stick with only one type of components. Give, sell, or throw away everything else.
5) The faster velocity you load to, the shorter the life of your hulls. 1155 fps breaks clay birds just as well, but not as far as 1300 fps. I only get 5 +/- reloadings at 1300fps, but 8 to 10 at 1155fps.
6) There are 800 1/2-ounce loads in a 25-pound bag of shot.
7) 410 will kill all small game out to 35 yards. 12 & 20 gauges are pretty hard on eating game without half missing at this distance.
8) I have 7 sizes of choke tubes; I only use Improved Cylinder & Modified.
9) While I own every charge bar and bushing MEC makes for shotguns, on 410 I use the micrometer adjustable type! Be sure to lock in the set screws. The space inside a hull is so limited, you want to take advantage of the gaps between bushing sizes!
An actual case of wads is 5000 regardless of gauge, that is the cheapest way to buy them! They have at least a 20-year shelf life! Virgin shot comes in 25-pound bags, reclaimed shot comes all sort of ways. You want virgin for consistent patterns. All shot has over a century shelf life! 209 Primers and 8-pound jugs of powder (If kept dry and normal room temp) have at least 50-year shelf life. BUY IN QUANTITY, the prices won't be getting lower!
I found that 410 shotguns are extremely addictive! A friend borrowed one of mine and was addicted in 7 shots! He and his wife bought $65,000 in the next 3 months! (real expensive H&H, Boss, Gibbs, and Parkers) Ten years later, they still have eight 410's between them!
Enjoy the new obsession!
Ivan
