Shot Drop Miseries

[Keith Doty]

Have recently starting to reload the .410, a black art indeed. My unresolved loading issue is shot hanging up in the drop tube. Nearly every round I have shot hanging up in the drop tube, gotta take an aluminum piece and repeatedly bang on the tube. I use a 266 Pacific press. Does anyone have a trick to make shot drop easier and consistently? I'm loading magnum (hard) 7 1/2, not like I was dropping 4s.The drop tube can only be so big. Any help/advice deeply appreciated!
I'm also having some issues with leading in the barrels, tried a couple of different wads but all leave a fair amount of shot above the cup. Again, any help appreciated.

[BRDHNTR]

Remove the tube and run a wire brush in it. Then clean it out. That might work

[Double Lab]

I'm not familiar with the Pacific press but you could try a couple things. Probably the easiest is to switch to 8's. The quality of shot will make a difference too. Or you could remove the tube as Allen suggests and run some emory cloth or 4/0 steel wool through it wrapped around a wooden dowel with your drill motor. Lastly, try some powdered graphite mixed in with the shot. Good luck. I know it must be frustrating.

[Stan Hillis]

I quit trying to load 7 1/2s in .410s. Too much aggravation.

Plus, I want the increase in pattern density that 8s and 8 1/2s give a .410. Pattern density and kinetic energy are the main killing factors with a shotgun, of any gauge. For a .410 to have these, three things must occur, IMO. You must have a sufficient payload with smaller shot (my favorite .410 hunting load for doves and quail is 3/4 oz. of nickel plated 8s), you must use sufficient choke to create that pattern density, and you must limit your range to about 35 yds. maximum, more or less, based on your skill level and your particular gun.

[Bill Murphy]

I have polished and waxed the inside of the tube with mixed results. Maybe there is enough meat in the tube to enlarge the inside. I gave up and load #9. My PW 375 wouldn't even work with #8.

[GH-16]

I have the same problem when loading 28ga #8's in my PW-375. I've tried several different things but found that pulling the drop tube up slightly off the wad before dropping the shot & then tapping the tube lightly with a small brass hammer helps prevent the issue 90% of the time. The other thing that helps on the 375 is to drop the shot slowly rather than just throwing the drop plate over to the powder side quickly like I do on other gauges.

Two of my buddies have the same problem with #8's hanging up when loading 28ga on their MEC loaders as well. IMO, what it comes down to is the I.d. of the drop tubes is main culprit for this when loading the smaller gauges and it's just something you have to deal with, it's frustrating for sure and I can only imagine what this might be like when loading .410's.

The other thing this points out vividly for me is why you don't want to shoot steel shot in tight chokes. When I experience #8 lead shot bridging on my loading press, I can imagine what large size steel shot could do going through a tight choke.

[Jeff K.]

I've had trouble bridging with 7 1/2 shot loading 410s. 8s not so much.

[J. Scott Hanes]

Originally Posted by Keith Doty

Have recently starting to reload the .410, a black art indeed. My unresolved loading issue is shot hanging up in the drop tube. Nearly every round I have shot hanging up in the drop tube, gotta take an aluminum piece and repeatedly bang on the tube. I use a 266 Pacific press. Does anyone have a trick to make shot drop easier and consistently? I'm loading magnum (hard) 7 1/2, not like I was dropping 4s.The drop tube can only be so big. Any help/advice deeply appreciated!
I'm also having some issues with leading in the barrels, tried a couple of different wads but all leave a fair amount of shot above the cup. Again, any help appreciated.

Now you can understand why the manufacturers charge so much more for 410 and 28 shells! Those buggers can't be loaded on the same high-speed loaders as the 12 and 20's. Feeding the shot is a slower process.

I don't know for sure what Remington does for dropping shot charges, but those machines run at about 1/3 to 1/4 the speed of the 12 and 20 loader.

[Bill Murphy]

I would guess that commercial loaders have a vibrator or a hammer device to keep the shot moving.

[Keith Doty]

So far the best result has been rapping on the drop tube with a plastic handle screwdriver. I just invested $14 in a pound of 3000 screened graphite. Going to put about 5# of shot and a couple of tablespoons of graphite in a coffee can, tape the lid to prevent a real disaster and roll it around on the floor. Slicker has gotta be better but I think I'll still require some tapping.