Newb to shotshell reloading

[waltham41]

Howdy all, have some questions, hope you guys can help. I am new to reloading shotshells, I have a .390 round ball mold that drops them at 90 gr using wheel weights.

Plan on using them in my Taurus judge and a 12 gauge semi auto Saiga

I have 444 Marlin cases I am going to use in the Judge, question is what material can I use for over powder card and over shot card..... I plan on hand loading the .410 without the use of a die set. Can I simply put the powder in, push a card of some sort in over it, put in 3 or 4 balls and put another card in and glue it somehow?

I am thinking of using alliant blue dot powder for the judge loads and the 12 gauge loads... I have a lee load all for the 12 gauge and will have to figure out how many .390 balls to use in that load... but that is down the road, I am wanting to get the Judge reloading going right now.

Any suggestions appreciated.

[SuperBlazingSabots]

Hello Waltham, for .410 read this post:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=158740
and for 12 ga perhaps this might help:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=150140&page=5
Ajay
BlazingSabots@Gmail.com
Blazing Sabots, LLC
www.BlazingSabots.com
www.PreciousVideoMemories.com

[sargenv]

If the 410 hulls were shot in anything other than your firearm, you may want to at least get some sort of sizing apparatus.. If these are not conformed to your firearm and were shot in a chamber with a generous (ie oversized) chamber, they won't fit into your gun and will be unable to fire.

You can get overshot and spacer/overpowder wads from BPI and Precision reloading.

[waltham41]

They are only going to be shot out of the single Judge pistol.... I have a sizer die for the 444 marlin brass so I will be resizing the brass after each use.

Thanks for the info on the wads, will a .410 wad fit snugly enough in a 444 Marlin brass to keep powder in place? If not, can I for example buy a sheet of cork from hobby lobby and cut it to size to fit in place?

Also, what would be a good substance to use to hold the over shot disc in place?

[sargenv]

It might not.. since Inside diam of the 444 marlin might be .428 and inside of the 410 wad would logically be .410".. It might not make a difference if you have enough in there or the fit is snug.. I've not tried loading 444 marlin as a shot load.

[Newtire]

I have loaded lot of .444 Marlin into shot loads and no matter how I try, when I put any kind of a roll onto them, they crack on the front end after awhile. Just put in an overshot wad and hot glue or silicone glue the thing into place. As long as you have a strong resistance initially, .410 loads ignite great. If not, they tend to be bloopers.

[waltham41]

I had read here where a guy was using material from the lid of a cottage cheese container as the over shot disc. Can I also use this as the over powder disc?

[sargenv]

I don't see why it would hurt.. it's a thin plastic and doesn't hardly weigh anything.. In a pinch, it would work as good as anything else. Yogurt container, sour cream, cottage cheese, they'd likely all work.

[waltham41]

Can I get away with 4 .390 balls weighing a total of 360 gr? Like I said, I plan on using blue dot powder.

Anybody have a starting load that I can borrow? Plan is to put a disc over the powder, then silicon in a disc over the shot.

Appreciate the help guys.

[sargenv]

What does the shotshell loading manual tell you? I'm sure you can get some idea about what you should be using from established 410 load data.. Blue Dot is a little fast to be using for .410.. usual powders for .410 is 2400, Lil'gun, H110, 296, 4227, and the like.. Magtech sells brass .410 hulls, I'd suspect they may have some data you could utilize.

[waltham41]

Ok scratch the bluedot. what would be a good powder that would work for .410 and 12 gauge shooting the same .390 round balls?

Wasnt sure if regular data would be any good with the .410 setup since I am using .444 cases and large rifle primer.

[Newtire]

I saw a guy showing how to make emergency 410 loads on the internet somewhere and he was using HS6! As Abraham Lincoldn once said, "Don't believe everything you see on the Internet!" Seriously though, Use only those powders designed fo rthe .410 as sargenv told you about. Make sure you have a good solid crimp and they will work just fine. I'd make sure those wads over the powder fit good all the way around so that you get a good seal. The regular .410 plastic wads will be a loose fit in those brass cases. Not a real great idea. I have used them but not like you get alot of power out of those loads. Have fun but be careful. The .410 is a little touchy but great and economical to load for. Saves you the most of any gauge out there.

[waltham41]

Appreciate the advice very much :)

I think I am ready to start loading, all I have to do is pick a powder and find some loads to start out with.

I have a leather hole punch that cuts the perfect size card for the brass case. just a tiny bit oversized. I am going to put cottage cheese lid plastic/cardboard/plastic over the powder, and then plastic with silicone to hold in place over the shot

Is there any powder that will work on both a .410 and a 12 gauge? I know they are different animals, but I try not to have any more different powders than I have to.

[Newtire]

The slowest powder used in a 12 gauge is still too fast for .410 loads unless all yopu are going to shoot in your 12 gauge are 1-1/2oz. + magnum shells. An old Lyman manual has some Hercules 2400 loads and another has some IMR 4227 for the real heavy magnum 12 loads. 2400 and the H-4227 and IMR 4227 powders are 410 powders.. If you are going to load your 12 gauge for lighter loads, then the powder will have to be different. No getting around it.

A good all around shotgun powder is Unique but not for anything smaller than 20 gauge-definitely not for .410. 2400powder is a good one for .410. Get yourself a shotgun reloading manual or two. There are some threads here on those so won't mention them all-I have most of them, but then, I am a sick-o too!

[waltham41]

I guess I will have to get two different powders then.... I plan on loading 1oz + in the 12 gauge, (however many .390 balls I can fit) but they will not be magnum loads by any means.

I have the 12 gauge Lee load all to do the 12g shells with, so it will be easier to find load data for that.

Since I am not doing a traditional set up with the .410 I will hopefully find someone who has done similar and can suggest to me a starting point for a load.

[Newtire]

Get yourself an older load manual that has information on loading loads using card wads instead of the cup type seal used on modern plastic wads. Make no mistake, it makes a big difference in pressure. Just use the plastic cards or paper cards and then use the loads for them. If it is a 1/2 oz load, use half ounce loading data, an 11/16 oz, use 11/16 oz. There are even some 3/4oz loads out there. If you are using .444 brass, go with a large pistol primer.
When the cup type over powder wads first started being used, the recommended reduction was to reduce your loads by 5%. So, if using 2400, and the load using plastic cup wads was 14.5 grains, you would be using somewhere around 15.0 grains with your card wad setup. I have loaded lots of these things and that's the way I did it. I'm just saying, I did it and I am still here. Not responsible for anything that happens to you- got it? If you are going to be reloading, get a book and a scale for the powder..

[waltham41]

Get yourself an older load manual that has information on loading loads using card wads instead of the cup type seal used on modern plastic wads. Make no mistake, it makes a big difference in pressure. Just use the plastic cards or paper cards and then use the loads for them. If it is a 1/2 oz load, use half ounce loading data, an 11/16 oz, use 11/16 oz. There are even some 3/4oz loads out there. If you are using .444 brass, go with a large pistol primer.
When the cup type over powder wads first started being used, the recommended reduction was to reduce your loads by 5%. So, if using 2400, and the load using plastic cup wads was 14.5 grains, you would be using somewhere around 15.0 grains with your card wad setup. I have loaded lots of these things and that's the way I did it. I'm just saying, I did it and I am still here. Not responsible for anything that happens to you- got it? If you are going to be reloading, get a book and a scale for the powder..

I understand that I do this at my own risk... that is the way it should be ;)

I appreciate the advice, I am not totally new to reloading, just new to reloading shot shells and have always heard it is very important to have the right charge for your setup.

All I need is a book and the powder and I am ready to give it a shot so to speak

Many thanks to everyone for the advice!

[shotman]

The cottage cheese LIDS work not the container. you can use a 45 acp case to cut them . they fit very tight so you need to use a press with an expander die like a 44 cal to seat
I would not resize unless they start to fit tight . I have shot them about 10 times and have yet to resize.
Make sure your shot cup AND ball will pass through the bore. The judge has rifling and it will spin the cup. I cut the petals off and it works better for me .
I dont list loads so you are on your own there
\Blue dot would not be my choice in the short barrel but what ever you like

[waltham41]

Appreciate the info :) Good point about making sure the cards will go through the barrel. I plan to check the barrel for the first 10 rds or so to make sure everything went out like it is supposed to.