410 slugs

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Piper106

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Does anyone have an explaination for why 410 shotgun slugs are so light??

410 slugs (1/4 oz.) are only about 1/2 the weight of the shot in a 410 field load (1/2 oz or more).

In comparison 12 gauge slugs weigh about the same amount as the shot in field load. 20 gauge slugs are the same, a slug weighs about the same as the shot in field load.

I'm dazed and confused why their should be such a difference.
 
I am guessing in is because of the design of foster slugs, they need a hollow base so they can expand to seal the bore. Also they swage down through the choke, so a 1/2 oz slug would need to be twice as long, maybe causing pressures to be too high? A long, heavy slug at low velocity would probably also be very unstable in flight.
 
I've been told that the 410 slug was made lighter to keep pressures down in the scads of old, cheaply made arms chambered for it.

Perhaps. I think a sabot enfolding a .358" SWCHP at 1200 FPS would work well at reasonable pressures.

Ballistic Products has some reloading options for the 410 slug shooter....
 
I killed a 120lb doe with a .410 slug when i was in 5th grade....my first deer
it fully penetrated at 75 yards and left a exit would about the size of a golfball....1/4oz seemed to work pretty well then...
 
they work very well on whitetail where legal. great first caliber for a new hunter on a budget.
 
I am gonna make some popcorn, and go drag out all of my 410's to clean them, as everybody who knows ya can't shoot deer with a 410, and those who think it too small to be a "worthwhile" small game round, will soon weigh in here. :)

I don't care if THEY/YOU don't like 410's,... I happen to,..and I know that I ain't alone. I too took my first deer with one,..and many more that followed,..along with a boat load of bunnies, squirrel and other tasty critters over the last 50 years or so,.......

In fact,..it's small game season here in northern Michigan. I think I need to go take a walk in the woods.......

YMMV
 
I use my .410 all the time, for just about everything when I can. Many bunnies and squirrels have been taken along with other critters including a coyote with a slug.
 
The limitation is making a aerodynamic, self stablizing foster slug design that fits the diameter of the .410 barrel, specifically the full choke.

I have fired a few slugs through my M6 Scout, whose .410 barrel has a full choke. Accuracy beyond 20 yards was bad.

Kinetic energy of the .410 slugs (650 to 750 ft/lb) starts off between handgun performance of the .357 magnum (540 ft/lb) and .41 Remington magnum (750 ft/lb) level and drops off to a bit over 200 ft/lb at 100 yds. I have a few slugs for emergency use only.

At http://mcb-homis.com/slug_410/ run by a fan of the .410, he claims his measured cylinder bore Winchester 9410 shoots 2" groups at 50 yds with Remingtons. Not so well with others. But he recommends a true cylinder bore and some kinda sights for accuracy with the .410 slug.
 
There as been some interesting answers, but I'm still confused.

I would have guessed that in powder burning weapon that payload is payload. Remington lists 410 shot shells with a 1/2 ounce of shot at 1200 fps. I'm still trying to figure why there couldn't be a 410 load with 1/2 oz (about 215 grains) slug at about 1200 fps.

"That`s almost a 110 grain bullet, what`s wrong with that ?" Gee maybe sectional density. I would not want a 40 or 41 caliber handgun bullet that light. Part of the low downrange retained energy of current 410 slugs might be because the poor sectional density.
 
Slug weight for a given gauge is usually close to the weight of a gauge diameter round ball.

A 12 gauge round ball weighs 583 gr. or between 1 1/4 oz and 1 3/8 oz. We see slugs in 1, 1 1/4, and 1 3/8 oz.

A 20 Ga. ball weighs 350 gr. or .8 oz. We see slugs in at 5/8, 3/4, and 7/8 oz.

a .410 ball weighs 104 gr. Slugs weigh in at 1/5 oz or 98 gr. Heavy slugs weigh 1/4 oz. or 110 gr. If you use a .395 ball you have a weight of 93 gr.

*Weights based on pure lead.
 
410 Slugs / Buck

Hi guys, Im new here. Just starting to experiment with reloading 410/12 ga.

Saw somewhere a guy was using .41 cal 215 gr SWCs with a stump wad, putting the bullet in backwards with a roll crimp to create a slug . A 215 gr lead bullet comes in at almost 1/2 oz. Anyone heard of or tried that? I would guess that powder charge would be the same for 1/2 oz of anything.

In addition, I am looking for some 410 receipes that use Unique (which I have a lot of). I did find someone who suggested that using a 45 LC receipe would be the same as long as the round weight was the same, or a little less because of the shotgun primer being hotter.

I am also looking at replacing the 1/2 oz shot loads in bought rounds with 000 Buck. I have a lot of ideas, just want some additional input. Anyone with any information on these issues, thanks ahead of time...
 
Those looks like they'd be effective. Otherwise, a M1 Carbine is "more gun"!

John
 
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