Advice needed making 444 to .410 shotshells

[pounder410]

Hi

New to this site and in general forums.

I would like to use 444 marlin brass to shoot as a shotshell in my .410 Savage 94 single shot. What specific steps do I need to perform to do this?

Should I use Black Powder ot shotshell powder like clays or unique?

Any help in what powder, primer, shot sizes, MOD's to the empty brass etc would be much appriciated. I plan on hunting squirrels, rabbits and other small game.

Can a brass shell such as a 444 be changed to use a 209 shotgun primer?

Are there better brass cases suited to changing to a .410 shotshell than the 444 Marlin ?

[Ed in Missouri]

I have used .303 British to make 410 all brass shells, some other people have written about using 30-40 brass.

[Carbin86]

I'd be interested in hearing this aswell good topic

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Forum Fiend v1.0.1.

[pounder410]

My goal was to make a sustainable hunting/shooting system out of a single shot .410 shotgun. When the ammo is gone and all you have are Black Powder, 209 primers and wads..... I have been buying what I can of 209 primers when and where I see them, all makes and kinds...... even the Russian ones........ when the lead is gone, you can even use sifted small pebbles as shot, lambs wool or cotton wadding and in really tough times can make your own BP. The only thing you should really stock up on is the 209 primers and they have been eaier to find and are low cost.

After a lot of research, there are some choices, (.303, 7mm, 45-60 and 45-70 cases as well as others) some easier than others. 444 Marlin seems to be the easiesst and most viable option. Just drill the primer hole through to 15/64" and chamfer primer pocket .128 depth. These have loaded very well for me with no special tools. This allows using 209 primers rather than rifle or pistol primers. I have only done black powder loads, but, have done them in BB, 4, 6, 9 , 00Buck, 000Buck, swaged and cast slugs as well a wax slug and buck n ball. All have performed really well. Most loads I am doing are from 50 grains to 75 grains FF Goex or equiv Faux black ppowder like Pyrodex with an equal shot load of some kind.

The shells are very sturdy and clean up well with agood dawn soap wash or a vibe or tumbler. I have not detected any stretch or cracks after 30 shots for each shell.

I did try the full brass .410 shell from Midway, they are about $25 a box and also need to be drilled out with a 15/64" drill. In my opinion, the 444 brass works and holds up much better.

I use goex FFF or FF, an over powder wad of rubber/cork gasket material .125 thick, the shot or slug load, another over shot wad of .040 cardboard and sealed with beeswax to .125 deep.

This loading style has continuously taken 7 squirrels, 12 rabbit, 8 quail, 3 Pheasant, 1 tom turkey, 4 Coyote and various other game and pest animals.

Barrel is easily cleaned with hot soapy water (I use Dawn dish soap) with a bore brush and then snake some Rem Oil down the bore and at the breech face and working parks.

Black powder has been very easy to find as well as pyrodex. 209 primers here and there but when I find em, I buy a lot of them, usually 1000 at a time. In this crazy time of ammo shortage and cost, using BP has even been cheaper than the over inflated .22 rimfires. I have accumulated 17,000 various makes 209 primers and about 25 pounds of various BP and subs of BP. That should go a long way to a sustainable hunting and shooting system if all things go bad.

I have also been using my .410 as an muzzle loader with Dave Canterburys black powder adaptors, avail for 12 ga and .410. They are avail via The Pathfinder Store. Just load it like a shell into the breech, there is an o-ring to keep it in place, then muzzle stuff your shotgun like you would a BP shotgun smoothbore. The adaptor allows the use of 209 primers that can be pulled with your finger nail and reseated with a push of your finger, no tools needed to reload the 209 primer. You will need some sort of ram rod. I just use a 3/8" hardwood doll rod with a .380 acp shell on the tip.

This all allows for much versatility in a .410. .410 ammo is getting harder to find and priced out of range. Using BP in either shells or muzzle stuffing it is low cost, as effective and easy to use. By also adding other adaptors for .22lr, .22mag, .17hmr, .32acp/mag/H&R, .38 special as well as the black powder adaptor allows a wide range of use of using avail ammo as you find it. The basic adaptors for rim or centerfire are about $25-$35 each and way cheaper than a new gun. The whole adaptor set I have can be carried along with a few rounds each caliber and a small container of shot and powder (usually plated BB's), 209 primers and wads and cover a wide range of shooting, hunting, and sustainable wilderness surrvival.

Plastic hulls tend to get chewed up within 10 shots each, so the brass ones are the way to go. You can however reload the plastics with BP until they fall apart and cut them down to the brass to use as a primer holder to make a simple muzzle stuffer conversion. The BP/209 adaptors do seem to do a better job than cut down shells though. Stay away from the Russian steel and aluminum shells for this, they tended to crack, stretch and otherwise get as nasty as the plastic hulls.

[rbuck351]

444s is all I use in my 410s anymore. The brass is good for over 40,000 psi so at shotgun pressures they last for ever. I know this is an old thread but others may be interested. Primers are now back on the shelves so messing with 209 primers is no longer needed. I just size them once in a 45acp sizer die IIRC, seat new primers and use a normal charge of 2400 or H110 for a 3/4oz shot load. I then insert a 44cal gas check cup down over the powder, put in one card wad and 3/4 oz of 8s or 9s another thin card wad and glue it in with silicone caulk. It takes out Snowshoe hare and grouse nicely to 25/30 yds. If the 444 case fits your 410 chamber, you don't have to size it.