Judge Help

[lar45]

I have a Judge and my son has one also.
I load 4 000 buck in a 2.5" hull with 2400 powder.
With 45 colt loads, it's reasonably accurate. Guaranteed I could hit a goblin at 25yds.
My son got the poly defender. The grip was way short, so we put a full sized grip on it for him. It's much better now.

[Half Dog]

I have a Judge and my son has one also.
I load 4 000 buck in a 2.5" hull with 2400 powder.
With 45 colt loads, it's reasonably accurate. Guaranteed I could hit a goblin at 25yds.
My son got the poly defender. The grip was way short, so we put a full sized grip on it for him. It's much better now.

Where can I find buckshot reloading information for the 410?

[Barry54]

Where can I find buckshot reloading information for the 410?

https://www.ballisticproducts.com/Bu...tinfo/00MBUCK/

The BPI buckshot loading manual has recipes for loading 000 in 2-1/2” 410. You can load three pellets. Two pellets, or one pellet. The 1 pellet load is supposed to achieve 2500+ FPS in a full length shotgun barrel.

PM me with a way to contact you and I’ll send you a picture of the relevant page. Then you can see if you wanna buy the booklet. I’m unable to attach photos in private message on here.

Your Lyman 5th edition Shotshell Reloading Handbook will have recipes for loading four pellets of 00 Buckshot in 2-1/2” 410.

[lar45]

I used the BPI manual. I looked at the data for 1, 2, or 3 000 Buckshot, then backed off a reasonable amount and tried 4 balls.
I used a roll crimp on top to close it up.
I believe that Federal has a factory load of 4 000 Buck.

[rintinglen]

The only fly in the ointment that I see is that you are shooting a 340 grain payload out of a 29 0z. revolver (Federal 4 pellet 000 buck load, 850 fps). If I did the math right, that works out to about 14 ft. lbs. of recoil energy. That might be problematic for a shaky, and perhaps weak shooter.

[pettypace]

The only fly in the ointment that I see is that you are shooting a 340 grain payload out of a 29 0z. revolver (Federal 4 pellet 000 buck load, 850 fps). If I did the math right, that works out to about 14 ft. lbs. of recoil energy. That night be problematic for a shaky, and perhaps weak shooter.

Yes! And an inexperienced shooter with just enough practice for familiarity could easily develop a flinch to negate any possible gain from the multi-projectile load.

One advantage of the four 000 buckshot load that hasn't yet been mentioned is reduced risk of over-penetration through walls. Hatcher was convinced that penetration through pine boards was directly proportional to bullet energy divided by cross-sectional area. Compared to a heavy .45 Colt load, each of the four 000 buckshots gets one-fourth the total energy which is then spread over more total cross-sectional area. For a nightstand gun, this could be an important consideration.

The total wound mass from the four 000 buckshots (by MacPherson's calculations), is about 40 grams, about the same as the best 9mm JHP. There may be some statistical advantage to spreading that 40 grams over multiple projectiles. But maintaining adequate tissue penetration in the process results in the extra recoil that rintinglen points out.

Too bad Remington discontinued their "Multiball Load." A pair of Centennials loaded with R38SMB would have the same total firepower as the Judge loaded with the Federal four 000 load, eliminate the recoil problem, provide redundancy, and be much easier on the eye.

[rintinglen]

One other aspect that seems to get limited discussion is that most of the multi-ball, buckshot loads I saw being demonstrated on the internet group pretty tightly. Meaning that at house hold distances, (25 feet and in), you must aim your shot nearly as carefully as if it were a single projectile. This ain't your Grandad's scattergun. (and even those require some attention to aiming.) I discount the bird shot mixes as they just open up too fast, with too little energy per pellet to be relied upon to effectively terminate an armed assault.

[Half Dog]

This discussion has given me great information plus sent me down a rabbit trail. I have a Super 14 and O/U in 410 and I’m wanting to load some buckshot, mostly for fun.