Originally Posted By: Pickaway MickA friend just got his son a 410.Right now the little guy is shooting 2.5" ammo.It wont be long till he is onto 3" ammo.He will be hunting with it and probably a lot....and shooting a lot.I suggested his dad getting a press so it will be a little less painful on his wallet.
(1)Is there a good 3" hull for reloading?
(2)What to do in the transition time between 2.5" and 3"?
His Dad and I have been reloading centerfire for quite a while.
I have been loading shotshells for a long while ,first with a MEC 650,and currently with a MEC600 Mark5 JR.I started out with 12ga as a youth and know little about 410.
(1) The Winchester "AAHS" hull is the ONLY hull to load for the .410. There are some who use Remingtons, but the vast majority use the "AAHS". DO NOT confuse the new HS hull with the older AA compression formed hull. They are 2 totally different animals.
(2) Don't understand the question about "transition time".
You already have the ultimate loader for the 410 ... the MEC 600JR. The progressives are "finicky" with the .410 and unless you're shooting 1000's of rounds a month, it isn't worth the trouble. My son is shooting 15,000+ yearly across 4 different gauges and I'm managing to keep up with four 600's.
Just a few pointers........
Once-fired AAHS hulls for the .410 are EXTREMELY expensive. My best advice is to purchase a flat of WW AA Target loads and then use those 250 hulls as a starting point for reloading. You can plan on using a hull for 10 or so loads before it starts to unravel. BTW ... the Winchester "value packs" and other factory offerings are NOT the hulls you will want to reload. If the box doesn't say "AA" on it, it isn't the HS hulls. If push comes to shove, the best place to purchase hulls is GunBroker. They are offered on there regularly, but they run 18 cents or more.
Get a good loading manual and FOLLOW IT EXACTLY. The .410 operates at extreme pressures and a slight over-charge can cost you DEARLY. No substitutions on primers or wads. Never ever. It's a small hull. Don't let it fool you. Smaller capacity = less room for mistakes. Not trying to scare you, but just passing along info.
Don't buy the Winchester wads. There are better and cheaper alternatives. DownRange and ClayBuster both offer wads that are replacements in any load that specifies a Winchester wad. (notice I said replacement ... not substitution
)
Lyman makes a good manual for shotshell reloading. I suggest you get one if you don't have a current one already.
I'll be more than glad to help in any way that I can. Keep that kid shooting!
Steve