Using .311 black powder ball in a 410

[twinscrewcanoe]

I have a Lee .311 ball mold for black powder and was wondering about loading it in a 410. Size wise it falls between #1 and #0 buckshot. It would save me buying a buckshot mold and I've heard Lee buckshot molds are hard to use/fill. Any thoughts? Could I use buckshot loads other people have posted here? Any favorite loads? Thanks in advance for any input.

[Delkal]

Your problem will be how do you stack them. I doubt you can get two pellets side my side so they will be in a random arrangement and get crushed when firing. You want OOO buck since they fit neatly behind each other. They still get crushed but flatten in a predictable way. Not sure if any of the smaller buckshot can fit in a repeatable pattern but loading them into a small .410 shell would be a pain.

I have a Lee buckshot mold and while you don't always get 100% fill you end up with more than enough good ones after they are trimmed apart.

[armoredman]

Do it and show us the results I say.

[Barry54]

I wouldn’t be afraid to swap 0.311” in place of 0.330” (00)buckshot. The column might get a little shorter for crimping, so put a card or felt wad under them if needed.

I’ve seen recipes for 00 inside regular 410 wads.

Let us know how it works out for you.

[Nobade]

I've used .375" pistol balls in a .410 with good results. I'd check your wads and see what fits inside without bulging the case. And make sure it will fit through the choke if you have any.

[GhostHawk]

Like Nobade I have used swaged balls for .36 cal cap and ball with good effect.

I preferred cast boolits from a .40sw mold. But even a 200 gr .357 boolit will work much better than one or 2 buckshot.

I love #1 buck for its easy stacking and ease of loading. But it would not be my first choice for the .410.

[beemer]

I have a .310 mold but have not used it in a 410. As already said they will not stack right. You can't hurt anything by trying it. Maybe pour a harder mix and put them in a shot cup with some kind of buffer or spacer. Thing about a shotgun is that you can load a lot of stuff, might do well or might not but you can use it. I use my 310 mold for a 32 rocklock, it's a single cavity mold. It would work me to death trying to feed 5 balls per shot..

A 375 ball is too tight for a shot cup haven't tried them without one. I use a .395 ball for the 410, it goes through the choke of my 410's with thumb pressure. I have loaded three but use two most times. The above mentioned 357 bullet sounds good, you would have some weight and if it hits sideways, oh well. Think I'm going to try it next time I dig into my 410. All this stuff is short range anyway.

About a month ago I ran across a couple 25 round boxes of S&B 410 buckshot really cheap. They seem a little weak and didn't pattern very. Probably made for a pistol so they didn't recoil much. I really prefer my .395 ball load.

[Barry54]

All this talk about 410 buckshot has me thinking. I bought some TPS wads for tungsten turkey loads. Now I can’t wait to get home and see if number one buckshot fits in them?

Six of the #1 BAM buckshot from BPI fit in the their TPS wad. I had to mash them down to fit. The bottom one stuck. It would probably release when fired though, because it’s slit pretty far. I’d give a range report, but need some 3” hulls...