doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Old reloading data for the 410

Twicebarrel, your idea for testing is good, but there is a "frontera" between us, so...
But if someone can seriously check this recipe and call it good, I think all 410 reloaders could benefit of it.

1,000 reloads with a pound of Red Dot!
Those will be cheapest shotshells around.

For now I still need to pay about $15 dollars for a box of 410 shotshells.

Best,

The first sign of overpressure in a .410 is usually the whole front of the shell going out the barrel! That effect can also be achieved by using too hot a primer with an otherwise safe load.

Perhaps a phone call to Mr. Armbrust would solve your problem. He has been doing shot shell testing for years and may have tested data on hand.

His phone number is (815) 385-0037.

I thought about the Mexican thing. Then I remembered I had a load for a 44XL w/ red dot.
So I looked up red dot cartridge loads and all the 220 ish grain loads for pistol/ carbine shooting. Most use 5-6.5 grains. But all were less than 1000 fps.

So I'd guess there is either a leading or pressure problem in the 44xl loads above 1000fps w/ red dot.

Long way round is to send $10.00 to someone here that reloads .410 and have them send in the samples for you to Armbrust.

Lots of CAS shooters use the little red dot loads 'cause they're cheap.

I shoot single shot rifles, been a member of ASSRA for years. Most of us look at old manuals when working up loads for obsolete cartridges and substitute powders no longer available .

We do it with extreme caution and have found many glaring errors in well known manuals. Lyman in particular. It's what we have to do in many cases to get a nice old rifle shooting. Rifles you can start very low and work up, and pressure signs show easier than with shotguns .

Modern shotgun plenty of tested loads available using modern components, old data is not worth the risk.

Boats

About 40 years ago I loaded a small charge of Unique behind 170 gr projos in a .30-06. Duplicated early .32-40 ballistics. Which means I easily killed three deer with it. A guy named Ed Harris published the data - it's somewhere in my AR archives......now somewhere in the attic...... But if you do a C E Harris search you can find it online.

As many here realize, of course you can use RD in a .410. The reason nobody publishes data is simple: you cannot safely get 1200 fps with a 1/2 oz payload. And nobody seems interested in, say, 600-700 fps .410s. Nor is there a clamor for, say, 1100 fps 1/4 oz loads.

RD in the .410 is an extreme case. Wasn't too long ago we were all told not to use GD in the 7/8 oz 20. The extreme upper variation in pressures could be too much for tubes, and exceeding SAAMI. Do you know how many shotgun "experts" (other sites) told me I'm going to die b/c I load GD behind 3/4 oz 20s, even with 13.6 gr charges? Thank heavens we now have published data.

As stated above, send some loads off pressure testing. I'd probably start with something under 6 gr for 1/2 oz, but what would really interest me is smaller payloads.

About 6 grains of RD under 3/8oz of shot would be a similar (very slightly heavier actually) loading to the old standard 3DE-1 1/8oz in 12ga based on load density. This load in the .410" bore would undoubtedly run a bit higher pressure than the 12ga load.
It is true the .410 can take higher pressures without destroying the gun as most are built on larger frames with thicker barrel walls. However I personally would see such a load as only being useful with small size lead shot. High chamber pressures are not a good thing on little lead spheres & when it comes to patterning the .410 NEEDS all the help it can get.
"IF" of course one had a very nice little 32 gauge then 6-8 grains of RD with a �oz load of shot should be a very workable light load giving much shooting for the Dollar.

I've shot quite a few .410 skeet loads in an old 44XL hammer gun. That's why I mentioned the loads.
I never though OP was asking about rat loads or dove loads w/ larger shot. My misunderstanding.

If I had any red dot (I always considered it a very sooty powder) I'd make up the loads for him myself. I have a garbage barrel full of the old AA .410 hulls.

Don't like your gun much do you? The old paper shell,fiber wads, and early plastic shot cups where much more forgiving.