Originally Posted by Stanton Hillis
The nickel plated shot cost me $38.99/10# bag when I bought it. That's $3.90/lb. There are twenty-two 3/4 oz. loads in a pound (remember, mine are a bit under 3/4 oz./ea.). That's 18 cents per round for shot. Add in the primer, powder and shot cup with the numbers you want. Still a heckuva deal for what I'm getting, compared to factory .410 loads, and even some 20 and 12 ga. loads. I didn't figure in shipping because when you order flats of factory shells you pay shipping for them, too.

Far cry from "$3.00 a pop". (Exaggeration is a tool that can be used well, but the use of which requires a subtle hand.)

My comment about the use of a .410 bore, and then putting forth extra effort and expense to obviate it's shortcomings seems to have struck a nerve. That wasn't my intent, and you are certainly free to shoot whatever you wish. However, I agree with what you say about exaggeration as tool that requires a subtle hand. That's why I find it a bit disingenuous to see the subtle suggestion that the $3.00 a pop I referred to had anything at all to do wth your nickel plated shot .410 handloads.

I'm glad to hear that you are able to save money by handloading with components bought when prices were lower. I do the same thing to get more bangs for my bucks. But I was clearly referring to the use of #10 TSS loads as a logical progression to further reduce or eliminate setback damage to shot in a long shot column at higher velocities. One might be able to cleanly kill doves at 50-60 yards or more with a .410 by simply spending more money on harder denser TSS loads to overcome the smallbore handicap. It would be something like the difference between a cheap wood recurve bow and a state of the art scope sighted carbon fiber crossbow. And while it certainly is true that one must factor in shipping costs for flats of factory loads not purchased locally, to be fair, you also should similarly factor in the time involved in producing handloads and the cost of shells fired at a pattern plate during load development. But if it was all about saving money, I'd quit hunting, work some overtime, and buy meat from the grocery store.

Last edited by keith; 09/09/21 07:10 PM.
A true sign of mental illness is any gun owner who would vote for an Anti-Gunner like Joe Biden.