410 reloading

[Gd999]

I am doing a build that works best with Remington 410 express long range 2.5” shells. I couldn’t find them anywhere. I finally bought a case of 250 from gunbroker for $450 with shipping.

I don’t plan on shooting the gun much. It’s an ar setup with a Charles Daly 410 upper.

I found 25 round cases normally sell for $15 but no one had any in stock.

I am new to reloading but slowly getting equipment and supplies. I’ve read 410 is hard to reload. Should I even try?

 

[natdscott]

If you want to shoot ammo.

And you can’t really buy ammo.

But you can load ammo.



Then yeah, you better learn to load it.

Keep your hulls, get some tools ordered, and be looking for some components.

 

[red_zr24x4]

Take your time, do lots of reading, you'll be fine

 

[Gd999]

If you want to shoot ammo.

And you can’t really buy ammo.

But you can load ammo.



Then yeah, you better learn to load it.

Keep your hulls, get some tools ordered, and be looking for some components.

Cool. Thanks man. I’m really mechanically inclined so hopefully I’ll be fine. I guess I better save all the shells!

 

[Gd999]

Take your time, do lots of reading, you'll be fine

Thanks

 

[Wolfhound]

.410 actually makes the most sense to reload. It is usually expensive to purchase factory ammo and it uses less shot and powder compared to 12g or 20g. Also, I have personally found it is not more difficult than any other gauge to reload. YMMV

 

[bobjones223]

.410 actually makes the most sense to reload. It is usually expensive to purchase factory ammo and it uses less shot and powder compared to 12g or 20g. Also, I have personally found it is not more difficult than any other gauge to reload. YMMV

What he said.

The only ones worth reloading are .410, 28, and 16g.

Not sure why 410 would be hard to reload but have never tried it.

All other shotgun rounds are the easiest thing to learn to reload with.

 

[AmmoManAaron]

As others have said, you can save quite a bit of money reloading 410. I have read that your 410 upper is picky and likes full power ammo, I thought about getting one a few years ago myself, but decided to just stick with my Saiga. That pickiness could play a role in your reloading, so don't expect just any old published load to work. It will probably take a bit of trial and error. Load a few and test fire before settling on a recipe and loading a big batch.

Good news: In my experience your Remington hulls are the best currently made 410 hull to reload with. They are long lasting and are more physically consistent than other brands. That consistency makes them fairly easy to reload, not much more difficult than 12ga.

In some instances, reloading 410 can be a real pain, but that is mostly related to your hull selection. I have had a heck of a time with some once-fired foreign makes. The plastic of the hull is thin and poor quality, so even a little bit of inconsistency leads to problems with crimps or with crushing the hull when trying to crimp. Because of its small size, the 410 is inherently more sensitive to hull variation while the 12ga is more forgiving.

Powder selection makes a difference in hull life.

300-MP and H-110/W-296 are good for hull life and also give good performance. One potential problem with H-110/W-296 is that it is a very fine ball powder and that can cause problems with some reloading presses due to powder leakage and the leaked powder causing binding of the moving components. This will depend on your particular press set up, you may not have problems. Unlike most of the other shotgun sizes that I reload for, I mostly load buckshot in 410, so most of the time I either hand weigh my charges or use a standalone powder measure. So, if you find a good load but have powder problems with your press, don't be afraid to dispense your powder with a different tool.

An old school good powder is IMR-4227. No leakage, good hull life, consistent performance.

Alliant 410, Hodgdon Lil'gun, and 2400 are all hard on hulls and give short hull life. 2400 does give good consistent performance, it's just hard on hulls. Alliant 410 is my least favorite 410 shotgun powder of all of them. I will be glad when I finish off the one pound I bought years ago. It is hard on hulls (burnt the heck out of my Win AA-HS hulls) and for some reason is very touchy when reloading buckshot. With some published buckshot recipes (from the Ballistic Products Small Bore Manual) I got inconsistent performance that was borderline scary. Alliant 410 also has no load data at all for handgun calibers, so it is not a good multi-purpose powder either.

I have not used Accurate 4100 or Accurate #9 in 410, but those are options as well. Accurate #9 is a fine ball powder, so the same warning about potential powder leakage and press binding applies.

Hope this helps and don't be afraid to ask more questions!