Questions about reloading .410 shells

[JacobJ]

I have been thinking about reloading for my .410 because the factory shells are expensive, but I have never reloaded and have been looking for information online but have seen conflicting opinions. My first question is what is the best hull for reloading .410. I have lots of Winchester super x hulls but all the data I see is mostly for the Win AAHS hulls. I have read that they are one of the best for reloading. I was also wondering are fiocchi hulls good and where can I find data for loading them. My second question is if its possible to reload without a reloading press, I dont want to spend over $100 dollars on one if I dont have to. The super x hulls I have say HS on the side and on the bottom of the case, and they seem well made so I would like to reload them atleast once. I have read several threads on here and you guys seem very knowledgeable so maybe you can help me. Thanks.

[danthman114]

you can reload all of them. what you need to pay attention to the most is the bases. look on youtube for reloading shotgun shells without a press to get an idea on how. one of the more important things is the wads. they come in different volume cups. black powder is probably the easiest to reload with but the wads are different. with black powder you use what they call nitro cards or over powder cards then the wad then the shot with equal volume as the powder for a "square" load then the overshot card with a roll crimp or a regular star crimp. i think its easier to load shotshells than it is for rifles and pistols...

[Avery Arms]

You can buy empty brass shells for about $1 each and they last almost indefinitely, they are usually reloaded by hand with a few simple tools (handmade or purchased) for knocking out the old primer and pushing the wads in. Brass hull load data is not so easy to find but it's out there.

You can also buy a lee loader which has all the tools for (slowly) loading plastic shells and use all the same components as a normal shotgun press. Unfortunately they aren't making these in .410 any more so you may end up spending a fair amount ($40-50) to get one.

A lot depends on what kind of gun(s) you have and how much time you have on your hands, although startup cost is low these methods are very slow and better suited to break barrel guns than pumps or autos. Some repeaters scratch the heck out of your brass shells and most need them to be slightly crimped for reliable feeding which requires tools and reduces the life of your shells. The lee loader doesn't resize the base of your plastic shells or put a finish taper on the front as they are crimped which can cause functioning problems in repeaters.

I would stay away from black powder unless you can't find anything else, it is very smoky and dirty and extremely expensive because you have to use so much more than smokeless.

[JacobJ]

I'm shooting them in a single shot Stevens .22/.410 so the brass shells would work. What are some websites or books that I could get different load types from, and if I use a certain amount of powder and shot in a winchester 3" shell could I use the same load in a Fiocchi 3" shell or do they have their own specific loads.

[Hogtamer]

No to black powder! Not enough info out there. No to brass, you've already got hulls! If you're just shooting a few once in a while out of a single shot, much cheaper in the long run just to buy shells. But here's a cheap way to start....and a place to get it.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gK037aQN6qc
http://www.lanesreloading.com/410.html

[JacobJ]

Where can I get a list of different loads?

[Avery Arms]

Seperate loads are published for each brand/type of hull, most powder company websites list a few shotgun loads but usually the selection is very limited and you may want to buy a shotshell loading manual such as a lyman or ballistic products.

[danthman114]

theres different reloading maunals. theres black powder manuals that have shot shells in them. ill look at mine when i get home. theres plenty of info on black powder.

[Avery Arms]

No to black powder! Not enough info out there...

You don't need 300 pages of load data for black powder, goex lists one general purpose load for each gauge/shell length and that is more than enough. Failing that if you know roughly how much shot your gun fires you can make a scoop that size and use it for both powder and shot.

Black powder works well in brass hulls because it doesn't need a crimp to burn properly...but like I said it costs a lot to shoot when you are burning 30-100 grains of powder every shot.

http://goexpowder.com/images/LoadCharts/Breechloading-SG-Shells.pdf

[Hogtamer]

page 66
http://www.castpics.net/LoadData/Freebies/RM/Hodgdon/Hodgdon%202009.pdf

[groovy mike]

Get this, it has all the tools you need including reloading recipes.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-410-LEE-LOADER-SET-IN-BOX-SHOTGUN-SHELL-RELOADERS-HUNTING-TRAP-SKEET-/251815594858?ssPageName=ADME:SS:SS:US:1120#ht_38wt _1312

Lee is the classic. Lanes has started making them too.
http://www.lanesreloading.com/410.html

[FLHTC]

Depending on what firearm you are going to use your shells in will determine how picky you have to be with reloading. I never turn down an empty 410 shell at the range because they are so easy to load. I started out loading 410 before any other shotgun round with the Lee loader but so much of that kit can be improvised. A Lee universal decapping die for removing the primer. A piece of copper tubing and mallet for reseating it. A Lee powder scoop for charging and a MEC five dollar star crimper for crimping. You can get started for around $40 or, pay $230 for a 600 Jr.:shock:

I second the recommendation for the reloading kit on ebay........but the scoops are missing.:sad:

[trapper9260]

To learn to load any shotgun hull get your self a Lyman reloading manual for shot gun and it will give you all the data you looking for.As for what is stated about the lanes loader it would work good for the gun you want to reload for I have a savage that is a 22/410 and use to use the lee one but later I got a Mec one.that is a press I load also for my pump.Like stated about the scoops for the lanes loader you can get the Lee set of scoops for a not bad price.

[JacobJ]

I bought a Lyman shotshell manual on ebay and am watching the lee loader, so far no bids but it has 2 days left. I watched a youtube video like Hogtamer mentioned and it looks pretty simple the guy just improvised using basic tools. Thanks for the help guys

[jimb16]

I picked up a used .410 600jr at a gun show for $100. Works fine fo me. And I never pass up any .410 hull laying on the ground unless it is damaged. They all reload well. Some just last longer than others. I have 3 different .410 shotguns. I load WC 820 in all of the hulls and get good results. I even use them for shooting skeet. (I average 19/25 with my o/u field gun.) I mostly shoot the "generic" hulls from Ballistic Products. I suspect they are Cheddite hulls although they are unmarked. They come already primed with Cheddite primers.

[milltownhunter]

you might try 444 marlin I use 444 using 410 data and wads and 44 gas check work well in my judge and bond

[W.R.Buchanan]

I have been loading .410's for about 3 years now. I shoot skeet with my gun so I shoot up 100+ rounds everytime out.

Your Winchester Hulls are the best out there for the .410. AA's and Super X are Identical. Save all your 3" hulls for hunting ammo. 2 1/2" for target shooting or Doves.

l bought a set of hand loading tools from Paco Kelly, they are made from Brass and a very nice looking set of tools, however the crimp function doesn't work very well so I bought a Pacific DL266 Shotshell loader in .410 which produces perfect Reloaded and Crimped hulls everytime and is a joy to operate. This was a little more expensive but it works perfectly and I assure you that most of the cheaper ways don't work that well.

For loading a box of shells once in a while the Hand Tools can be OK but if you shoot even a box a month the dedicated loading machine is the way to go.

Any of them will knock the primer out, and install the new primer and all the internals. Closing the crimp is where the problems lie, and getting it to do the same thing twice in a row is not that easy and can become very frustrating, very quickly. .410's are by far the hardest hulls to get the crimp to close right.

Also the Lee Tool, if you can find one, will not be $50. They never go that cheap on Ebay and I would buy one in an instant if there was a BUY IT NOW for less than $100. Every complete set I have bid on has broke $125! and I have seen >$150 more than once.

A used MEC press would be a good way to go, and if you can find one you should buy it immediately as it probably won't be around for long.

The biggest problem with loading .410's is that they are in not in high demand so production is low and everything for them is more expensive. $12.50 a box at Walmart should be a clue, when 12 ga AA Trap Loads are $7.50 a box, and Winchester Universals are $4.00 a box on sale.

I bought 1000 once fired Win AA 2 1/2" Hulls for .15 each off www.trapshooters.com (http://www.trapshooters.com) (this was a good deal normally they go for .25 ea.) O/F 12's go for .03-.04 ea.!

I also got my press off that site and had to pay $250 for it. Similarly my DL266 in 12 ga. cost me $50 off the same site and was nearly new. Any .410 machine is going to be more expensive simply due to the low production numbers, and will not be on the site for very long. My Browning Citori Sporting Clays Edition with 32" bbls was on there for < 7 minutes before I grabbed it. The matching 28 ga. gun the guy had lasted for 1 minute!

As far as components go, there you can save money as the Wads are not expensive at all and you only use half the shot you would normally use loading 12's or 20's. A 25 lb bag of shot will yield 800 rounds. Powder will also go a long way and a standard load is between 16-17 gr of H110, so a pound of that will yield @425 rounds. Primers are normal 209 shot shell primers. Hulls will lonely last 4-6 loading as the crimp area is pretty tightly folded and gives up quicker than a 12 ga. hull does.

I can tell you that shooting a .410 is very addictive and sooner or later you will buy another gun. A double gun such as a Side by Side or Over Under will allow you to shoot Skeet and Sporting Clays at your local club, and a few times doing that and you will be hooked.

If you are only going to use your Stevens/Savage 24 for hunting you can probably get by just shooting Factory Loaded ammo.

Also with your gun 25 brass shells would last you forever and there is no crimp on those. Most people use a hot glue gun to seal in the over shot card.

You can make all your tools for those with no problems. All you need is a 16d nail to knock out primers, a piece of 3/8 dowel to seat the new primers using a flat surface. Another piece of dowel to ram the wad in, and two Lee Scoops for Powder and Shot or you could even make those out of pistol cartridge cases.

All depends on how far into this cartridge you want to get. I bought some Federal Slugs for my M6 Scout gun which have 125 gr Slugs being pushed at 1775 fps! That makes this gun actually useful for something as that is better than .357 magnum ballistics. I have no need to reload these as I doubt I will ever shoot up the 20 that I bought (4 boxes of 5) But I have them if I need them and the gun is in my car just in case.

Randy

[wallenba]

I learned about this company just recently. I ordered the 2-1/2", 3" .410 combo set. Have not come yet. (only been 2 days) http://www.lanesreloading.com/index.html

Works like the old Lee set did.

Video (potty mouth warning);) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK037aQN6qc

[jmort]

I have Lane's Reloaders for 2 3/4" and 3" in 12 gauge. Nice tool but some differences between Lane's and Lee.

[JacobJ]

I got my Lyman manual this weekend and was looking through it and was wondering if you know of a place I could get a scale for a good price. If I did use brass where can I get data for loading them because there isn't any data for them in the lyman manual. Could you use overshot cards in plastic hulls because I saw a guy in a youtube video do it and In an article I read about loading .410 without a press, but he was using black powder. Will overshot not work with smokeless. I know im asking a lot of questions but I have never reloaded and just want to be sure, thanks.

[jmort]

Lanes Reloading makes a .410 brass kit. The only published data for .410 brass hulls is for black powder. There is smokeless data out there that people are using. Just exercise caution.
http://www.lanesreloading.com/images/100_0962.jpg
This kit comes with the tools to deprime and prime and a ram rod to pack your 410 gauge brass shells the only thing needed is primers, powder, shot and wads. reloading has never been easyer.this kit will reload 2 1/2 magtech brass shells ."
http://www.lanesreloading.com/410.html

[chambers]

If you can buy a MEC sizemaster if reloading 410 hulls, it will do everything you are looking for. You can reload both hull lengths. It is not a fast process. Use some book load data.

[wallenba]

I have Lane's Reloaders for 2 3/4" and 3" in 12 gauge. Nice tool but some differences between Lane's and Lee.

You're they one I learned about them from, from another recent post. My set is on the way. Thanks again.

[koehlerrk]

If you can buy a MEC sizemaster if reloading 410 hulls, it will do everything you are looking for. You can reload both hull lengths. It is not a fast process. Use some book load data.

What! Not fast? How fast do you need to go? I ask because I walked into a great deal on a nearly new 410 Sizemaster a couple years back and that thing will crank out 410 shells almost faster than my son and I can empty them. I don't think it takes even 5 minutes to reload a box of 25 shells... The slowest part is that with a 410 MEC can't drop a primer through the resize tube like they do in larger gauges, so you have to place each one in the little recess on station 2. Doesn't take long at all, especially if all your hulls are the same brand. Then it's just line 'em up and crank 'em out!

BTW, all my 410 hulls are Remingtons, they were what was available here, and they're good, but supposedly the Winchester HS hulls are the best. Can't say, don't have any.

Also, you may want to go to http://www.ballisticproducts.com/ and get their "Small Bore Manual" - great source of load data for the 410.

[gunarea]

C'mon now
Gotta go with the not so fast. My sizemaster does a really good job compared to what I've used throughout the years, but, my 8567 grabber pumps em out. This I base on producing standard loads with fewer issues. The 410 is as much fun bulleteering as any cartridge/shell I've ever done and a sizemaster will do it all. An excellent machine that lends itself to whatever challenge offered. A picture is worth a brazilian typing errors on my part.
Original post was, shortest 410 hull? A good round ball load as shown is one inch. Making hulls for those loads was as easy or hard as I cared to make it. So many years of trash picking has allowed me the experience of discovery in pretty much all brands of semi disposable 410 hulls. Vinyl shells are the best, but anything will reload. I am worse than worthless as to reloading brass shot shells(absolutely zero experience). In a pump Mossberg with the magazine plug in, ten of those ball loads function perfectly. The break open guns fired even quality control reject hulls with no problem. Casting 36 caliber ball in a single cavity mould is the worst part of the whole deal. All the shells in the picture came off a MEC Sizemaster.130512

[Janoosh]

Shotshell loading is all about weight of projectile/shot, pressure of wad on powder, and type of hull (straight wall or tapered) and their relation to each other, for optimum performance.
IMO the old time style of reloading shotshell was less complicated.
For loading 410 brass cases you will need to use larger wads than the case for best performance.

[koehlerrk]

Okay, okay, yes, compared to a Grabber the Sizemaster is slow.... but the 410 is a lot of fun to load and shoot...

[gunarea]

Hey koehlerrk
The Sizemaster however does have the advantage of much easier individual shell manipulation when bulleteering. I can easily mess around with modified short shell creation. The Grabber has a three step crimp and seldom crushes a hull. Loading 410 shells really makes one aware of the screwing being handed down by the manufacturers and retailers. Honestly, I get a chubby, beating those shooting 12ga. AA silver. They call me a ***** for shooting that little gun. I say you are what you eat.
Roy

[Newtire]

Where can I get a list of different loads?You can try snooping around in here on the Ballistic Products site. I have loaded all the .410 loads and shot claybirds with them and they worked just fine.

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/loadoftheweek.htm

[jimb16]

I hit 22/25 the other daywith my .410 while shooting skeet. And that was with a i/m field gun. I always load 1/2 oz #7.5s. I use a MEC 600 jr. My hulls are the Cheddites from Ballistic products and I normally get around 10 reloads before they start to show wear.

[nanuk]

...
Your Winchester Hulls are the best out there for the .410. AA's and Super X are Identical. Save all your 3" hulls for hunting ammo. 2 1/2" for target shooting or Doves.
.....
The biggest problem with loading .410's is that they are in not in high demand so production is low and everything for them is more expensive. $12.50 a box at Walmart should be a clue, when 12 ga AA Trap Loads are $7.50 a box, and Winchester Universals are $4.00 a box on sale.
.....

Randy

the last box of .410's I bought was $25 for 25. Crazy.

I am saving all my hulls, and will probably scrounge up some brass ones, or use rifle brass.

I really like my .410s

[MT Chambers]

Get a Mec 600 junior and load forever, quit ******* around, match components with what's in the manuals. Black powder charges can be arrived at by the "drams equiv"., with 1 dram equaling 27.5 grains.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Nanuk: if you have a local Trap and Skeet club that may be a good place to find OF Hulls.

Lots of people who shoot shotguns don't reload.

Sorry about the $25 a box price up there. You have a large group of politicians that need to get reigned in, and I'm pretty sure they are regulating you by imposing ridiculous Import Dutys on Firearms related stuff.

There is no other reason why there should be a 2X price for you guys as it is the same distance to ship to you as it is to ship to me. That border just allows them to get their mitts on some cash that they are only going to spend on more gun control.

Randy