41 magnum shotshells

[jn 41]

Has anyone figured out a way to load 41 mag shot/snake loads?

 

[32shooter]

Here is an interesting thread with a lot of info that might help you.
https://smith-wessonforum.com/reloading/546429-home-made-44-shot-shells.html

 

[contender]

Just about any straight walled handgun case can easily be loaded with the stuff to make shotshells. Powder, wadding, shot,, over wad, roll crimp over it. Seal with wax if desired.

 

[Mobuck]

"Powder, wadding, shot,, over wad, roll crimp over it. Seal with wax if desired."
It's possible that a 3/8" diameter 'gasket maker punch" might make nearly perfect over powder/over shot wads.

 

[Blackhawk Convertable]

Same method as everyone else except I use fingernail polish to seal the over shot card

 

[BULL'S-EYE]

I made a few in 41 once using the gas check method, one over powder and another inverted over the shot, then a roll crimp over the bottom of the top check. They worked just fine, but since Speer offered plastic shot capsules in 44 cal, I just decided that was a better choice for such a load.

 

[Hertervillian]

I’m interested in doing this with a .327Fed. Is there some sort of “formula” ?

I’m thinking an H&R mag powder charge, card, topping it up with shot (assuming weight doesn’t exceed 120g) and another card over that, seal it up. I’ve even considered hot glue as both card and seal.

Any thoughts, or experiences?

 

[jn 41]

Thanks to everyone. I will try these and report back

 

[hittman]

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?427015-Easy-41-magnum-shotshells

 

[nvbirdman]

30-30 brass cut to cylinder length.

 

[contender]

Ok, my first response was very short & sweet.

One thing I've done is to weigh out a case full of shot,, then remove a bit to get an idea of "bullet weight" so to speak. I play with shot weight vs powders I'd use,, and try & find a "starting load" for that weight of shot. Once I do that,, I tweak it after testing a few.

 

[The Norseman]

One thing I often wondered about is how
the rifling handles the shot. I wouldn’t
think the lead shot would damage anything.

Any experience or opinions?

 

[Hondo44]

Use whatever powder charge you normally like for whatever caliber/cartridge you want to load with shot. Just don’t let the total weight of the shot including the wads (cardboard or gas checks), exceed the weight of the bullet that your loading manual lists for that powder charge.

The rifling will scatter the shot so lower powder charges work best.

 

[BearBiologist]

One thing I often wondered about is how
the rifling handles the shot. I wouldn't
think the lead shot would damage anything.

Any experience or opinions?

Probably pretty cool with lead shot. Might need some serious cleaning if you shoot them too often!

 

[jn 41]

Ok gang. I found an easy answer. Sage outdoors, their main business is gaschecks. But they also sell shotshell kits for various calibers including 41 and 32. There's also a link with instructions. Pretty much the same instructions you guys gave here. And if you don't have lead shot, they sell small bags of it. So I now have several techniques to try. Give me a week or 2, I will let you know my results. Thanks again. jn

 

[Hertervillian]

Ok gang. I found an easy answer. Sage outdoors, their main business is gaschecks. But they also sell shotshell kits for various calibers including 41 and 32. There's also a link with instructions. Pretty much the same instructions you guys gave here. And if you don't have lead shot, they sell small bags of it. So I now have several techniques to try. Give me a week or 2, I will let you know my results. Thanks again. jn

This is exactly the place I have hoped to find. Thanks for sharing.

 

[jn 41]

Ok, I got out to my camp and spent some time on the range today. I had moderate success with several formulas. All shooting was at 10 ft. Rem and win brass, cci300, 4grs of W231 or 700X. Powder choice made no difference. The best patterns came from a win AA 410 shotgun wad with petals cut off, so the wad stood 1\2 to 5\8inch tall. Pushed snug by hand, on top of the powder charge. Fill with shot. Topped with a 410ga/.412 dia. overshot card. And roll crimped. sealed with clear fingernail polish. But the overshot card started working loose, when I fired 2 rounds. The same load with a 410ga\.412 dia. 1/8" think nitro card. Work well, but the pattern was spread wider/thinner. And the nitro card hit the target, somewhere in center of pattern. The same load with 41cal gas check did the same. So all 3 are serviceable. The gas check was the most convenient. So i will probly go with the gascheck formula. I may try the same load, but use 3 overshot cards on top the shot. Also 4 overshot card seated on the powder charge. Shot topped with nitro card worked ok. But was more time consuming at the loading bench. I could not get the 1/8 inch nitro cards to push into the casing deep enough to seat over the powder. Same with using a gas check over the powder, could not push in far enough. I think several of these will serve my needs. But I wish I had found the SAGE kit, before I bought all these components. I had no problems using these in 2 ruger blackhawks. BUT, use this information at your own risk. Jn

 

[jn 41]

I did some more experimenting. I expanded the cases more and got the gas checks and nitro card to seat over the powder. Shot both. The gascheck loads work good. But the 1/8 inch nitro card over powder with a gas check topping the shot patterned very well.

 

[protoolman]

Everyone loading shoshells in brass should bookmark Sage's web page. Hit the box with 3 bars at the top and you can go get all the info you need. Also click on more info on the individual product descriptions. He sells vegetable fiber pads for 17 bucks a thousand. I wouldn't punch them myself for that!

 

[JCK]

I cut my wads with a 7/16" hole punch that is spun in a drill press. Best are the heavy/glossy wine boxes.
I seat the wads on top of the powder, fill to near the case mouth and seat/crimp another wad on top. I use a 5/16" punch for the .357/.38.
With the.38/.357mag I use 3.5gr of Bullseye. With the.45Colt I use 5.0gr, so I would extrapolate 4.0-4.5gr for the .41mag.
I use 2.7gr in the .327FedMag.
Patterns blow out quickly due to the spin of the rifling but are effective to 12-15feet.
What is interesting is how effective the .44mag and .45Colt are when fired in a .410 shotgun. At 0.4oz they are like .22shorts in a .22lr.
Loaded with #6 shot, I've taken squirrels cleanly at 50ft.

 

[jn 41]

Double Tap ammo is selling 41 mag shot ammo.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

What is interesting is how effective the .44mag and .45Colt are when fired in a .410 shotgun. At 0.4oz they are like .22shorts in a .22lr.
Loaded with #6 shot, I've taken squirrels cleanly at 50ft.

That's interesting. May have to try it.