Anyone loading .41 Magnum shot shells?

[RJM52]

Have been wanting to try this for a while and with the long winter finally made the time to play with some loads.

Load #1 starts with 5 grains of Unique with a Lyman gascheck pushed down on top of the powder cup up. About 90-95 grains of #8 shot filled the case to within a 1/4" of the case mouth. A lead .41 ball that had been sized in a .41 sizing die just to make some flats was then tapped into place and crimped with a Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die. Total weight is about 180 grains.

Load #2 was also 5 grains of Unique with the same Lyman Gascheck. This time the shot filled the case to the thickness of a gascheck and then a gascheck was seated cup up and crimped in place. This was about 125 grains of shot.

Load #3 was the same as #2 but this time filled the case just short of the rim and crimped a gascheck cup down. This allowed about 145 grains of shot.

Hope to try these out next week. I know there is one seller over on GunBroker who has commercially loaded 41 shotshells but for as few as I am ever going to need it is kinda fun to make them ones self... Bob

[littlejack]

Hey Bob:
Years ago (about 40 - 45) I made some for my .41 RBH. I still have about a dozen from that time in my life. I believe I used 5-6 grains of Unique. I had access to some .060 nylon sheeting at my employment back then. I used a hole punch to make the over powder wads from the nylon. I then filled the case with #7.5 shot, but left enough room for a over shot wad. I then used a thin card wad over the shot, crimped it and set it with Elmers glue.
My brother used them on some rattlers in our area and said they worked very well.
I did make a set of dies to make shot shell loads for the 45 acp last year. I found that the smaller shot size (#10 - 11) works very well at a snake shooting range, which I consider to be about six feet. However, they will work out to 8-10' as per may pop can experimentation.
Have fun with your project.
Regards
Jack

[dakotashooter2]

I use about 4 gr of unique, push a 410 wad down the case, trim, fill the cup with #9 shot, press a ..358 gas check just inside the wad fingers and add a slight crimp.Crimp tightens the wad around the GC.

[ReloaderFred]

If you want to get more shot, trim .30-30 cases to just short of the cylinder mouth, and size them to fit in the throats of the cylinders. I don't remember what I loaded in them for powder, but this method gave me a lot more shot than standard .41 Magnum brass did. It's been so long, I don't remember what die I used to size down the neck of the trimmed case either, but you can experiment and find what works.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[Scharfschuetze]

If you want to get more shot, trim .30-30 cases to just short of the cylinder mouth, and size them to fit in the throats of the cylinders. I don't remember what I loaded in them for powder, but this method gave me a lot more shot than standard .41 Magnum brass did. It's been so long, I don't remember what die I used to size down the neck of the trimmed case either, but you can experiment and find what works.

Hope this helps.

Fred

I did the same thing with 30/30 cases back when I was using a Model 58 as a service revolver. While I keep detailed notes on all my reloading projects, I can't seem to find the data on this project. I do remember having to trim the diameter of the rims to that of the 41 as well as the overall length so they cases would fit the revolver's cylinder. As I recall, 231 was the best powder for for the shot shells and No 9 shot gave the best patterns as far as density and energy per pellet. The 30/30 case is a bit smaller in diameter at the web than a 41 so you get a slight bulge in the cases after fire forming, but it's of no matter given the low pressures involved.

I also used 308 Winchester cases to make long shot shells for my 1917 45 ACP revolvers and they were pretty effective also.

[osteodoc08]

I've tried option #3 with a light load of 231 in the past. No issues. Fun to experiment with.

[big bore 99]

Made some of those up using black powder and #9 shot in my .45 S/A. Worked great on tossed up light bulbs. It really impressed a lot of people, until they figured it out. Not too hard either, once you get the lead figured out.

[RJM52]

Thanks for all the replies...

I do have 50 .414 SuperMag cases that I bought just for making up some shotshells but have not tried them yet. I am wondering what kind of die I wold need to reduce the neck diameter so they would fit into the chamber throats. More than likely I'll just have to trim them down to just be as long as possible without going into the throats...

Bob

[ReloaderFred]

See what a .40/10mm die will do for sizing the neck down. If that's not enough, then go to a .38/.357 sizing die. All you want to size down is the neck. These aren't based on measurements, just thinking through my fingers...........

Hope this helps.

Fred

[BK7saum]

I've been thinking about using 30-30 cases for shotshell loads. If I need to reduce the neck, I think I'll just try to run the case up into the bullet sizing die for that revolver and see where I'm at. If the bullet sizer sizes the bullet to just fit the throats, then why wouldn't it size the brass(except for a little springback)?

Then you have the case more or less a perfect fit for the throats.

Brad

[ReloaderFred]

That should work pretty well. I used to carry my Model 57 as my duty gun, and since I worked the desert at the time, I carried a few of my homegrown snake loads with me. That was a long time ago and I don't remember all the steps I went through to make those loads, since I only made a couple dozen, if I recall correctly.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[littlejack]

I tried the 30-30 cases years ago.
The problem came after firing them. The case set back in the chamber and locked up the cylinder. I may have missed something in the process, but I don't know how you would get around that problem.

[mac60]

I have experimented with shotshells for my S&W 657 - with good results. A .41 mag. case with 5.3 gr. unique, a 1/4 in felt wad over the powder then fill the case with #9 shot, seat a .030" card wad and add a roll crimp to hold it in place. I was kind of spurred on by this thread and didn't have anything else to do this afternoon, so I experimented a little. A .30-30 case will drop right in the chamber of a .41 mag. revolver (in fact it is WAY undersize). I dropped a w-w .30-30 case in the chamber and measured from the back of the rim to the front of the chamber and came up with .736". I cut off the .30-30 case with a hf mini chop saw and did a final trim to .730" with a forster trimmer. This is what it looked like at that point.

133202
Here it is in the cylinder.
133203
I seated a cci 200 lr primer and charged it with 10.5 gr. unique then took 1/4 of a square of tp and packed it in the case and filled it with cream of wheat and packed the mouth with paraffin wax. Here it is fireformed.
133204
I don't have any more time to fool with it tonight. I have to give it some thought and come up with a powder charge and means to separate the powder and shot and cap it off at the mouth. Suggestions?

[osteodoc08]

I have experimented with shotshells for my S&W 657 - with good results. A .41 mag. case with 5.3 gr. unique, a 1/4 in felt wad over the powder then fill the case with #9 shot, seat a .030" card wad and add a roll crimp to hold it in place. I was kind of spurred on by this thread and didn't have anything else to do this afternoon, so I experimented a little. A .30-30 case will drop right in the chamber of a .41 mag. revolver (in fact it is WAY undersize). I dropped a w-w .30-30 case in the chamber and measured from the back of the rim to the front of the chamber and came up with .736". I cut off the .30-30 case with a hf mini chop saw and did a final trim to .730" with a forster trimmer. This is what it looked like at that point.

133202
Here it is in the cylinder.
133203
I seated a cci 200 lr primer and charged it with 10.5 gr. unique then took 1/4 of a square of tp and packed it in the case and filled it with cream of wheat and packed the mouth with paraffin wax. Here it is fireformed.
133204
I don't have any more time to fool with it tonight. I have to give it some thought and come up with a powder charge and means to separate the powder and shot and cap it off at the mouth. Suggestions?
Heavy cardstock

[mac60]

The constriction at the end of the case (the portion that's in the throat) is complicating things. Whatever I put over the powder has to squeeze through the constriction at the mouth of the case and still serve the purpose of effectively separating the powder from the shot.

[ReloaderFred]

I believe when I made mine I used plastic .410 over powder wads by slipping them in sideways and then turning them to sit on top of the powder.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[NavyVet1959]

I'm made some shotshells for .357 by packing a paper towel wad over the powder, adding shot, and then putting some wax over the top of the shot. The wax I use is basically a paraffin wax that I failed in an attempt as making a pan lube out of. The wax basically disintegrates upon being fired, so it's just the pellets at that point.

[RJM52]

For what it takes to kill the average snake at the average distance I am not sure if trying to get a whole cylinder lengthful of shot is really necessary....but is a good exercise in reloading....

Bob

[mac60]

I agree with you Bob, the whole project is of dubious value. I'm planning on making a cylinder full of 'em though - just for "fun".

[fastdadio]

I've seen a couple threads now on loading shot shells but no mention of the Speer 'blue whistlers'. Been around for as long as I can remember. They need to be loaded kind of hot in order to break the capsule in the bore. Loaded too light, they come out whole and act like a wad cutter. Linky;
http://www.speer-bullets.com/products/components/empty_shot_capsules.aspx

If these were mentioned and I just missed it....oops, carry on.

[ReloaderFred]

Unfortunately, Speer doesn't offer their shot capsules in .41 caliber, and that's the subject of the thread. It's just a trip down "experiment lane" for those who like the .41 Magnum.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[mac60]

Bob I was not able to make a marked improvement on your load #3. I think the diameter of the .30-30 case (which is MUCH smaller than a .41 mag case) is a limiting factor. Several different powder charges and experimenting with different over powder wads didn't help much. I had much better results with a .41 mag case. Here's a target I shot a good while back.

133289

I like to test shot loads by shooting a 'tater too. I don't have a pic, but it shredded the potato. For me, using the .30-30 case didn't work out so well. I consider it a colossal waste of time.

edit: The over powder felt wad was 1/8" not 1/4".

[NavyVet1959]

For what it takes to kill the average snake at the average distance I am not sure if trying to get a whole cylinder lengthful of shot is really necessary....but is a good exercise in reloading....


I'm not particularly concerned with snakes. They eat rodents and I hate rodents. Snakes, I'm pretty ambivalent towards. I will shoot a rodent on sight, snakes, I will just avoid or relocate if they are in my way. If the snake is poisonous, I might just cut it's head off with a hoe, but it's not worth shooting.

[justashooter]

i have used the 8X57 case in the 1915 45 ACP revolver, with up to a half ounce of shot over 4.5 grains green dot. the longer case makes a huge difference in 45 ACP applications.

[fastdadio]

Yup, I was being a doofus again. I realized the .41 wasn't listed in the link about 1.49 seconds after I posted.
Any of you folks at all concerned about unsupported shot pellets causing leading problems? How about cut down .410 shot cups with a dab of wax on top? I shoot 20ga. shot cups out of my .58 hawken and they work great. Two .535 round balls stacked fit perfect and hit about 4-6 inches apart at 100 yds. BB's and bird shot disperse quite rapidly. Just about anything that will fit it the cup has been launched out of that .58 but that is amusement for another thread.

[Scharfschuetze]

How about cut down .410 shot cups

Yes, I use those in 45 ACP shot loads and I used them in the long 45 shot loads that I made out of 7.62 NATO cases for 1917 revolvers. They worked very well and precluded the minor leading that I got making long shot shells for the 41 Magnum. I didn't use the 410 shot wads in the 41 load. As I recall, I tried; but the diameter at the mouth of the case was too small. As I noted earlier, it's been years (35 or so) since I made them, but I can assure you that they were not a waste of time and that they were quite useful.