.410 ammo

[scoobydoo6906]

first of all how hard is it to find? then is it pretty expensive? I have heard that there is some brass cased .410 out there? never have seen shotgun ammo with a brass case, they base of it but not the whole thing. if they do make brass cased .410 ammo would that still be ok to shoot in a .45 long colt like the judge pistol made buy Taurus?

[hogdogs]

Readily available... Much more expensive than cheap 12/20 gauge. don't know what you would want brass case for but I know nothing about it. I bet that would be quite a bit more $$$ yet...
Brent

[familywgn]

I have a .410 Mossberg for small game and usually order my ammo from Natchess.com, but recently I found that Wal-mart carries .410 that is just about the same price. About $10 for 3 inch and $9 for 2.5 inch. Much more expensive than 12 gauge that is $20 per 100.

It sure makes hunting alot more frustrating, though.

[scoobydoo6906]

answered my own question, they do have brass cased .410 see
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/AMM876-5.html

[zippy13]

As competitive skeet shooter, I'm familiar with .410 target loads. The majority of my practice is with the .410 -- if you're crushing targets with your .410, there's a pretty good chance the gauges will, too. Also, the .410 is the cheapest to reload. It's not unusual to shoot 500+ practice targets per week, so the re-loading savings quickly add up.
I've never seen a brass shot shell outside of a collection; but, at one time they were common. In the early days, it wasn't unsual to load the family smooth bore musket with a patched ball or shot depending on the anticipated game -- talk about your all-around gun!
Firearms have evolved since the muzzle loading days. As the new rifle and handgun fixed ammo went thru various phases, so did shot shells. The transition from black to smokeless powder also effected shot shells. Brass shells were part of that evolution, to be replaced by the less costly paper hulls, which in turn fell prey to plastic hulls. If you have a custom shotgun in a non-standard bore you don't have the option of modern shots shells. Custom full length brass shells are your only (and costly) option.

[Death from Afar]

410 is still pretty popular- here at least- but the cost is very expensive. Its between $20-30 for a box of 3 inch crackers. However, for reloading it is very cheap to shoot. Use the hardest shot you can find, and for hunting, use smaller shot than you normally would- the pattern will give out before the velocity will. I once shot 150 pigeons ( Legal here, no bag limit) in a day with a 410. I love them!

[darkgael]

About brass cased .410s. As noted, they are readily available. They are also fairly easy to make from .303 British brass. I have made a few for use in a single shot; they pattern better than factory shells.
Not a high volume proposition, however, as reloading them is slow business.
They might work well in the Judge if the rim allows them to fit.
Pete

[SilentHitz]

I have heard that there is some brass cased .410 out there?Yes, I just bought 400 slug rounds for my .410 Siaga from an individual for $125

You have to make sure the brass is the type for your weapon...mine is for the unported Siaga only.
It is actually a nickled-steel case.

[darkgael]

Here's a pic of some .410s. The cases on the left are a Winchester 3" and 2.5".
The case in the middle is a 2.5" Magtech brass case. The two on the right have been formed from .303 British brass. First to the right of the Magtech case is an old Privi case and to its right is a Remington case. Both were annealed before fireforming. They retain a "rebated" look, the Rem. more than the Privi, due to the strength of the head of rifle brass. The rebated appearance does not affect function, though it does affect the wad column and shot charge. They pattern very nicely out of the little .45/.410 derringer for which they were made.
Pete
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-3/661868/.410s.jpg

[dakotashooter2]

It really depends on how much you plan on shooting. Given the current price a loader will pay for itself in about 500 rnds. I am fortunate in that I have an friend that will loan me his loader now and then. I loaded around 800 rounds @ $2.50/25 about 5 years back and really have not shot many out of my 45/410 encore so I invested in a barrel insert for my 20 ga and have begun shooting them.

[Death from Afar]

Dude, how on earth did you make those brass cases? that is so cool!

[darkgael]

DfAfar: Making the cases is a simple process....actually two processes. The cases must be annealed (softened) but not all the way down to the head. I stand a deprimed case in a shallow dish with enough water to cover the bottom one-half inch of the case. I use a propane torch to heat the case to a dull red and then quench it. (best thing is to use a Tempilstik heat crayon for 650 deg. F). Dry the cases. Then - this is taken from another forum, written by a fellow who provided me with the instructions. He says it well:

"Construct a blank as follows: Prime the case. I use 10 grains of Unique ( any pistol powder would likely work ), a wad of cotton, a case full of cream of wheat/sawdust/corn meal/etc. then jam the neck into a block of paraffin to seal it.

When firing the blank make sure you treat it as a loaded round. It will kill and injure.

Fire the blank in the weapon you are making shells for. The neck and shoulders should swell to the chamber size. The body may take two or three firings to completely swell. The 303 is about .012" smaller at the case head than a .410 so it will always look sort of “rebated”. I have been using the#9 shot load listed above in the 303 cases."

Once formed normal .410 load data can be used. .410 wads have to be cut back about 1/4" to fit in the cases that I have shown. They use about 1/2 oz. of shot. The case is sealed with a cardboard wad (7/16") and a coating of Duco cement.
It would be a pain to make a lot of them.
Important note: the .303 has a different rim than the .410 - smaller diameter, thicker. It is not a factor in the gun that I made them for but it might be in yours.
Pete

[Death from Afar]

Thanks Dude, thats awesome, good project to make these. The cost of .410 here will bring tears to your eyes, and when you fire 100 in a afternoon at pigeons...well...