Curious on .410 loads

C

CedarGrove357

New member
I have not gotten into loading my own yet, although I plan to.

I have noticed the .410 shotgun round is very limited in its offerings for sabot slugs, etc.

Perhaps I need to learn more about the little .410 caliber, but I was curious if anyone has experimented in the past with making a .410 slug round for .410 bolt action shotguns.
 
Bolt action shotgun. Sounds so weird.

On that note I dont know much eccept lil'gun is supposed to be great for .410. Aside from that Im just here to sub.:D
 
I reload .410 for Skeet and Sporting Clays... 1/2 oz of 9's...and I have used Lil Gun and H110 -- both are good powders for .410

...and I load 30 rds a year or so, strictly for laughs, with "OO" Buck for a Derringer I have chambered in .410 or .45 Colt ....

...but I have never done any reloading for slugs..../ I can't imagine shooting enough of them in a year or so to make it worth your while.

Reloading for the .410 ....whether its a bolt action or an Over Under like I have...or a pump or semi-auto for that matter...is no different. You have to watch your chamber size on your gun ...to make sure you are loading the right hull ( shotguns shells are measured after they are fired ). Chamber on my Browning Citori XS Skeet O/U chambered in .410 is 2 1/2" .
 
Thanks for the notes. Yea, .410 is mostly nostalgia, and training.

I've got three .410 bolt and two 12 gauge bolt action shotguns to play with I was just wondering if the .410 pretty much has lost its usefulness beyond a snake charmer.
 
"...and training..." The .410 is for experts, not new shooters. Issue is the amount of shot in the little fellow.
There's actually a fair bit of info online about the .410 using both slugs and buckshot. However, sabotted stuff needs rifling to work right. Otherwise, you have ballistics like a round ball musket.
 
.410 is useful for all kinds of small game ..and birds..( or clay targets )...

Its a challenging gague ( or bore ) to shoot because the effective pattern is smaller in diameter than a 28ga...but 1/2 oz of 8's is a solid load in .410...
 
During the last century I did calculations on Handi rifle strength and by similarity old Stevens break action 410s. They are much stronger than the brass.

But a recent restoration of a bolt action 410 I did in 2016 revealed to me mucho less metal thickness.

Still, it is mucho thicker than a BRNO Lux 222 Remington bolt action based on a 22LR design.

http://thefiringline.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=101971&d=1462647632
http://thefiringline.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=101972&d=1462647632
 
The box of my Winchester 3" .410 slugs says, 1/4oz 1800fps.

Now, 1/4oz is about 109gr, and assume 1800fps was from a full length shotgun barrel. So, .41 (ish) caliber, ~110gr and 1800fps from a long barrel. Sound like any pistol rounds you know??

Not quite as good as some, better than others, yes??

Takeoff even 500fps for firing from a pistol barrel, and you still have a hot 9mm level load with a slightly wider bullet.
Fired from a 10" Contender, .410 slugs are no slouch.

Subcaliber bullets and sabots are possible, but due to the small demand, one I think is probably already well met by available .410 slugs, one has to wonder..why bother?

Note that the new crop of "defense" loads in .410 isn't focused on slugs, but on 3 or 4 large shot, mostly.
 
Have a Citori 20ga Lighting which has only made it to the woods once in the 25 plus years I've owned it to hunt my property with its good supply of upland game birds.
I do have 410 single shot Iver Johnson that has had its chambered lengthened to accept 3" hulls and has been my choice of shooter for: partridge, sharp tail grouse & snowshoe hare.
I do reload 410_ 20ga._& 12 ga. But I much prefer the 410s 3/4-oz pellet loading over the 20s 1-oz payload on such game. 410 just seems to pollux those thin skinned game without chewing the birds/rabbit into unpalatable table fair.

As far as its loading's. There are many shot loadings and different slugs available. (see the link)

BTW; I have witnessed a old gal (70s) standing right next to me legally harvest a 8 pt with one shot to its neck at a distance of 25 yards or so with a double barrel 410 Winchester Model 21. A dozen seasoned hunters walking in a row on a skidder trail that afternoon. They never noticed the Buck standing broad side watching the parade of humans. I walked with the old girl that day to keep her company as she couldn't keep up with those middle age woodsy wise hunters.
To my surprise the sweet grandma stopped shouldered her shotgun and shot without hesitation. I never seen the animal standing but I sure seen it stumble and run. We found that buck for her not 40 yards from where it was shot. Those who say a 410 is marginal on deer. Perhaps. But not that day I watched a nice deer harvested with a 410 with a 1/4 oz or 109 grain slug.

https://www.ballisticproducts.com/
 
Good info folks, thanks. Seems there's more in the handloading arena than the commercial. I've seen the self defense rounds with the disks and 3 balls, and have some Breneke and Remington Slugger rounds. Thought I would make some future projects out of these little guns.

What would the pitfalls be regarding rifling a smooth bore? These barrels on the 285T and 185 Mossbergs seem pretty thick. I'd get technical measurements but my calipers are out in the shop.
 
What would the pitfalls be regarding rifling a smooth bore?
Click to expand...

The only "pitfall" of rifling is when shooting shot. You don't want a shot charge to SPIN! A shot charge that is spun by rifling patterns like a donut, complete with a hole (no shot) in the middle.

This is the main drawback to shot loads (snake loads) in revolvers and other rifled arms. Depending on variables, especially range, there will be a hole of varying size in the middle of the shot pattern!

The T/C Contender pistols made for shooting shot as well as bullets (.45Colt/.410, etc.) have a "straightener" section of "rifling" (straight grooves) to counteract the spin rifling gives the shot charge. Depending on the specific model, this is either internal to the barrel or external, attached to the muzzle. It is removable (with a special tool) and MUST be removed before firing bullets or slugs.

Rifled barrels shooting slugs is no pitfall, and might be an advantage, if any spin is imparted. In barrels like the .45/.410 shotgun slugs don't engage the rifling much, if any, due to their smaller than bore diameter.

Thanks to Federal law, any shotgun pistol must have a rifled barrel, or must be registered as an NFA weapon.
 
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