Downforce

Dasher "promise" is a strong word 🙂 I'll do my best to remember to put anything meaningful that I discover - including patterns up here

To be honest I wasnt looking for anyone to be right or wrong and just talking about these things often takes people down alleyways - anyways - I genuinely appreciate the intent which was to not get myself a criminal convition for doing something stupid or even just niaive. So RB2 thanks for pointing something out but I tend to agree somewhat with SADDLER - there's the law and then theres what people think is a good idea how the law should be - I always stay on the right side of the law but do sometimes get confused why people - especially those in a position of authority - make it up, so I try and check the actual legislation documents and where I'm not sure discuss it with knowledgeable opinions. After all if someone decides I'm wrong it wont be the FEO/FLO in the dock, so I try to have a full understanding. Thanks - thats very interesting - am I using something lame (FIOCCHI 2 1/2 (sorry I think i said 2.75 before))? As I mentioned elsewhere I did have a few misfeeds in the Mossberg with 3" but I also seemed to hit more (edit - clays) with them. I should have also added I did a lot of looking around at what commercially available ammunition was out there and distance/velocity tables and tried to understand the important bits (like pattern and energy) before I asked the question.

Pretty much all the 410 commercial loads are #6 birdshot or smaller and although I have found #4 Birdshot from justcartridges as I mentioned before when I tried to shoot a squirrel sized milk carton filled with water I wasnt that impressed that the energy at the point of impact 10-15m away - so i was trying to find a load that would retain energy over 20m and cleanly kill a larger vermin (squirrel for example). I only bought a 410 as we had rats coming in from next door but I really like the calibre and am particularly interested in the ability of the load to fire straight and produce a decent pattern. As per SADDLER'S suggestion http://www.fourten.org.uk/mwbuck.html However I cant seem to find that Winchester 5 shot 000 Buck - if you read that article you'll note the comment about mixing smaller shot with buck - theres a thing! Anyway - back to the original questions - does anyone have experience loading such 410 loads with readily available components and does anyone have a Mossberg 500 that sometimes misfeeds 3" cartridges (as I could go with these Winchesters but woulld want them to feed correctly).

Herts

As per the firearms act it doesnt define S2 ammunition as a stand alone statement, what it does is defines the need to hold an FAC except in the circumstances of; (4)This section applies to any ammunition for a firearm, except the following articles, namely:— (a)cartridges containing five or more shot, none of which exceeds ·36 inch in diameter; (b)ammunition for an air gun, air rifle or air pistol; and (c)blank cartridges not more than one inch in diameter measured immediately in front of the rim or cannelure of the base of the cartridge. The obvious benefit of a 410 is that it can be used for vermin (rats,squirrels, rabbits) on private land where it wouldnt be practical to use a 12G where it would be perfectly legal to have a 3" 12G cartridge with (say) 10x 00 or 0 Buck - why would it not be okay to have some 00 Buck and some #4 Buck (as an example)?

Thanks for all the feedback - I am really careful about this sort of thing so have gone straight to the firearms act text and its clearly stated as at least 5 pellets none of which should be larger than 0.36" (9.14mm) I asked the FEO and he told me my understanding was correct there is no requirement for all pellets to all be the same size "shotgun cartridges containing five or more shot, none of which exceeds .36 inch in diameter. All ordinary shot cartridges are covered by this description. However, a shotgun certificate (or firearm certificate authorising possession of a section 1 shotgun) is normally required to purchase shotgun cartridges. All single bulleted ammunition, for example solid slug, spherical ball or projectiles for birdscaring equipment, is subject to the requirement for a firearm certificate."

Hi My first post but I have been reading the immensely helpful comments for years - anyway go gentle with me... While I understand this is an old reloading .410 post I couldnt find anything more appropriate and I had to register and ask everything all at once What I am confused about being relatively new to reloading but not shooting is that many people say that you have to... a) follow the recipe exactly in order to be "safe" [and] b) have years of loading experience before you start changing the load data to work up your own loads.... I really want to be safe rather than reckless and more to the point dont want to do something that breaks my gun or injures me or someone else So after doing simple 12G shells I have a Mossberg 410 pump action and am basically looking to use larger shot to give me a reliable range and accuracy where I can't use a 12G but probably cant use 5x .36" as thats too heavy and too big to fit in a 76mm hull and if I drop below 5 pellets my load is no longer UK legal so I have two options - use a mixture of shot sizes [or] - only use smaller shot like #4 Buck or something Both above options are available commercially but try as I might I can't find any in UK. If I could just buy what I wanted I wouldnt probably bother converting my press and buying 410 specific powder etc. etc. It does seem theres a Federal .410 5x pellet handgun load designed for handguns like the Taurus Judge and again even though I cant buy that I wonder if I could, would a handgun load have the accuracy and velocity I am looking for in order to use a 410 at a slightly longer effective distance than 30 feet as with #6 birdshot. I have shot a milk carton at about 20m with a standard #6 2.75" load and its a bit lame. I am considering if that if I go for smaller than 0.36" 000 Buck that would neatly sit stacked nicely in the .410 cartridge to 00 Buck or 0 Buck by stacking the pellets in a wobbly line it's not going to be as effective and give such a good pattern - think of a line line of snooker balls where the back one is hit and the front one comes out straight vs. the triangle when the queue ball strikes and they go everywhere!! So my initial thoughts revolve around using 2-3 0.36" pellets plus a few #6 to ensure legality But what i am finding is that many of the recipes available quote mainly USA components like Remington hulls and wads and primers and while I can get the hulls OR the wads I can't get the primers or something. So in the context of a catch-22 how do I find a .410 load with the right characteristics so that I can use that as a basis? I have a few reloading manuals and I have downloaded load data from the various providers (Alliant, Hogden etc) but none of those contains either a recipe that does what I am looking for or is similar to what I am looking for using components that are available in UK. I have a MEC 600 press but need the .410 accesories. So my questions are; 1) Does anyone know where I can buy commercially available .410 buckshot cartridges - ideally 000 Buck but I'll try anything #4 Buck up to see if it does the business 2) Has anyone made up reliable, straight shooting .410 buckshot loads using available components in UK that are UK Sect 2 Legal and could provide a good tested recipe? 3) Although several manufacturers offer wads for a single .36 ball in .410 or 7/8oz of #6 shot nobody seems to say what kind of wad works well for 2-3 .36 balls stacked - should it be a case of using a mini wad with the balls stacked on each other or is it better to have all the shot in a wad that petals out as it exits the barrel? Just as an aside my Mossberg is rated for 2.75 & 3 inch shells but does misfeed about 1 in 3 3" shells but works reliably on 2.75" - anyone else had that ? Thanks for making it through my mega post 🙂 Downforce