.410 Reloading (whack-a-mole style)

[zxcvbob]

I won a Taurus Judge recently in a raffle. It's the one with a 2.6" long cylinder (for 2.5" shells) and a 6.5" barrel. I will probably shoot mostly .45 Colt cartridges in it, which I already reload for. But I've been reading about reloading shotshells, and I have several pounds of Alliant 2400 already I'm going to buy box or two of Winchester or Federal high-brass field loads, and appropriate plastic wads to reload them (probably with four 00 pellets if that will fit; it should be right at 1/2 ounce)

I was going to necro one of the other .410 reloading threads, but they all seem to be closed.
My biggest questions are about sealing the ends.

• If I roll crimp them with something like the Ballistic Products crimper, can I reuse the hulls? Do I have to trim the ends every time, and they get shorter and shorter? Maybe .410 hulls burn thru so fast this is a non-issue.
  
  
• Can I glue overshot wads in and skip the crimp altogether? I know you can do that for singleshot shotguns, but don't know if they might come apart under recoil in a revolver?

 

[witchhunter]

Why not just use the crimp with the die?

 

[entropy]

I believe 'whack-a-mole' is his descriptive way of saying reloading them with out a press. Not a wise thing to do, wad pressures are inconsistent, then there's the crimping issue.

 

[Dog Soldier]

I think you need to read a shot shell reloading book. Do not use glue in your shot shells. This will result in separated shells.

 

[cfullgraf]

I was going to necro one of the other .410 reloading threads, but they all seem to be closed.
My biggest questions are about sealing the ends.

• If I roll crimp them with something like the Ballistic Products crimper, can I reuse the hulls? Do I have to trim the ends every time, and they get shorter and shorter? Maybe .410 hulls burn thru so fast this is a non-issue.
  
  
• Can I glue overshot wads in and skip the crimp altogether? I know you can do that for singleshot shotguns, but don't know if they might come apart under recoil in a revolver?

A quick search of the internet yielded that roll crimped hulls can be reloaded but their life is probably shorter than folded crimps. But, you can extend the life of a hull originally folded by trimming it and roll crimping when the folds begin to fail.

I've used glue to seal the over shot wad on brass .410 hulls. Works fine except the glue that I used (Duco cement) seemed to fail as it aged after a couple years. Made a bit of a mess with shot going every where.

There are other glues that are recommended but it has been a while since I have looked at the information and I do not remember what they were.

One of these days, I'll get back to fiddling with the brass hulls. I have a better crimping method than before which should eliminate the need for glue to seal and hold the over shot wad.

Glueing the hulls was time consuming and a pain. I would not fool with it.

When I was shooting skeet competitively, my plastic .410 hulls would not last as long as my 20 or 28 gauge hulls but the difference was not much. Usually the folded crimp was the part that failed first. So, I'd suspect the life of roll crimped hulls would be dictated by the number of times the hull can be crimped as well.

If you do not have one, I'd get some information on loading roll crimped shot shells. Ballistic Products has some information techniques for roll crimping shot shells.

 

[Blue68f100]

I started reloading on a 20ga Whack a mole 5 decades ago. What I did back then, was to use candle wax to seal the crimp if needed.

 

[jmorris]

Lee used to make their "whack a mole" loaders for shotshells but they bring a premium, I have seen .410 kits go for over $150. You can buy a fairly nice machine for that price.

I am going to guess you are not going to load them like you would if you shot clays in competition, so here is another idea.

Get you some 303 or .444 brass, use .410 wads, over shot card and crimp.

These I made from 308 brass for 45 ACP pistols using the same concept, except you won't have to go through as much work.

 

[midland man]

mec 600jr press would be great!! I need one myself...

 

[jmorris]

I could hook you up with a 366 in .410 but that would be the polar opposite of the old Lee loaders.

 

[FROGO207]

FWIW Magtech makes brass 410 hulls that I have used to make buckshot ammo with. After I got into it I got a set of 444 Marlin dies and brass. Then I was able to resize it back down after things got to sticking on ejection. I used nitro cards and fiber wads all available from Ballistic Products. I got the brass from Natches Shooters Supplies for the least cost. If you already have a press this might be your cheapest option. I had been told some shotguns would not eject the 444 brass due to the rim being smaller in diameter but my Savage 24's and my NEF Handi rifles had no such problems. I used cream of wheat as a buffer and hot glue to hold a nitro card in as the overshot card.

 

[jmorris]

I usedcream of wheat as a buffer and hot glue to hold a nitro card in as the overshot card.

Have you ever tried the hot glue method in anything other than a single shot?

 

[zxcvbob]

In the olden days, I think they used waterglass or shellac to hold the overshot wad. But I don't know if that worked for doubles or just single-shots. And a Judge might recoil more than a double.

This is the best article I've found on reloading .410 shells w/o a press. http://beforeitsnews.com/self-sufficiency/2013/10/homemade-410-reloading-kit-2463934.html It includes an optional sizer, which I don't know if I need with a Judge or not if it's my only .410; it should have oversized chambers to accept .45 Colts.

 

[kingmt]

Hot glue didn't work for me. Recoil made the hot glue come out. I still use these buy one at a time. I've even had them come out in my pocket tho.

 

[FROGO207]

No. I never used them in anything but a single shot. You could roll crimp them with that overshot card with a 444 Marlin or 45 ACP seating die I would think though. I was trying not to overwork the brass mouths on mine.