[Scott in TX]

So I bought a slightly used PW800+ last month that I intended to load 410 on. My other machine which is on loan to me is cranking out wonderful 28's and I didn't want to take a chance of messing up any of the settings,

Another new to me PW 800+

well it appears i've been hooked, my original PW800+ is on extended loan to me, I've loaded 3k 28ga shells and shot about 2k of them over the last three months with hardly any problems. I decided I needed a machine to call my own, # 1452, I bought it from an older gentleman at the club who...

www.shotgunworld.com

For reference there is a lot of great info on loading 410 to use,
Dano's notes here along with a few other threads are definitely worth reading

WC820 in 410 & PW tweaks

I've decided to start shooting 410 again for sporting clays :D and I have about 16# of WC820 left over. I'm setting up a new PW conversion. I had written down some "load data" on one of my jugs and want to make sure that I have my old "data" correct and those of you that still use WC820 feel...

www.shotgunworld.com

I replaced the original plastic top plate with a new EZ seal also bought a new magnetic shell holder and a swab for the shell holder,

I had a few primer issues, primer would tilt and catch feeding into the ram, primer wouldn't drop from the tray ( the clear tray cover wing nut was tightened to much, leaving it loose allowed the following primer to lift and the primer to drop),

I did not do Dano's o-ring insert as I was ready to load, making sure I push the wad down has cured the petal catching 100% of the time for me so far,

my recipe is
AA HS
cheddite
H110 with 3A bushing dropping 15.9 gr
1/2ou #9 from #1 bushing (honed out slightly as it was originally only dropping .47ou, about 10-15 pellets short and is now consistently at .495ou )
claybuster WAA410HS

I loaded my first 75 and shot them fine, about my average on the skeet field,
this week I loaded another 400
1 primer issue that didn't sit on the primer seating post for some reason and I missed it and noticed it when it popped off the ram at the downstroke
1 spent primer that didn't drop from the hull (felt the resistance on the downstroke before the new primer crushed it and was able to remove with no issue)
1 wad petal folded on the ram that I didn't firmly push into the wad fingers ( I caught it as the ram touched it ), the 28 doesn't have that issue so I needed to retrain my eyes to look there as I worked the handle

As a new reloader I was quite intimidated by everything I read about PW and 410's but I can tell you my first 500 have been FUN to do ( along with the 4K 28ga's that I did on the other machine), what a finely tuned machine! ready to shoot so I can load some more !

my very first shell before I realized I how far I needed to push the wad into the fingers,

@joe kuhn

 

[painter*]

My experience with my 800+ was similar to yours. I had no issues loading 410.
I have 4 tool heads for mine, and swap them out depending on gauge. It takes a while, but there are literally no adjustments once everything is set up. I'm considering buying the EZ seal, and the Wave primer system to make gauge swaps easier.

 

[Dano523]

Need to tweak the top lips a touch more out, and use a file to round the edge of the tray edge so the primers bottom edges will not stack to prevent the primer from falling into the chute on the tilt over the edge.

Pull the primer chute, and first file any lip between the chutes channel sides and bottom edges to the primer track in the primer assembly. Then when you go to reinstall the chute to the primer assembly, on one primer in the chute, keep the handle down, pull the primer up about 3" in the chute, and let the primer free drop. If the chute is correctly indexed to the primer assembly side channel via the bottom bolt, the primer should slam against the side of the primer feed rod, and bounce back up the chute about an 1". Hence primer not bouncing back off the side of rod, means that the either the side entries to the primer assembly have not be chamfered and catching a bur, the bottom of primers channel has a nasty step lip, or the chute is not centered on the primer side channel.

O ring solves this, incase you don't tap the wad all the down in the wad assembly, so the wad ram does not tag the top of wad to bend a pedal inward of the wad.

Pre-crimper is just a touch too low since the fold line should stop on the inside top of the crimp edge, not over the top of the crimp edge instead. Also, taper crimper (bolt under the tool plate, above the spring on the crimper tool), need to be threaded down about a half more turn, to add just a hint more taper crimp to the hulls.

 

[superskeet]

my recipe is
AA HS
cheddite
H110 with 3A bushing dropping 15.9 gr
1/2ou #9 from #1 bushing (honed out slightly as it was originally only dropping .47ou, about 10-15 pellets short and is now consistently at .495ou )
claybuster WAA410HS

@joe kuhn

Factory AA HS loads have 225gr of shot. 218gr is a true half ounce and you are below that. You're a little heavy on the powder also for my tastes for a skeet load. 15.3-15.5 gr of H110 works great.

 

[Dano523]

Perfect load of HS 410 hulls in a PW/Spolar machines since the sizers will hold the hull sides in shape to prevent side budging during final crimping compression of the loads. You can get close to this in Mec, but gauge the sides of the hulls after crimping to make sure that you have not side budged the hulls beyond the point that they fit cleanly into the tube chambers from the amount of powder in play.

HS hull 2-1/2".
Win 209 primers.
Shot bushing reamed to throw .228grs of shot. NSSA max limit is 232grs in 410, so by having the machine throw 226gr as average, will not come up over 232grs on balk check of ammo.
CB WAA410-hs wad
Power bushing .296" ID with either H110/296( these are the same powder, but different labels) or 300mp (16.9gr drop average), which will fill the hull up the rest of the way for a full volume so you don't have shot ratting in the load (to become a Mayes practice round if you even saw him shaking flats of ammo one at a time before a match doing his shake rattle test of each STS 410 round if it was going to be use for match, or pratice instead) , which should get you close to 1350fps in a 30" barrel, for as close to a perfect pattern as you going to get in 410, while also will be below saami max working pressures.

Note, factory win ammo that is labeled 1200fps, is 1300fps, while factory sts labled 1200fps, is going 1350fps isntead. The reason for this, 410 at 1200fps will hot spot center its pattern every time. As for STS factory ammo, it's average is 232gr at 1350fps and the reason that top shooter use this factory ammo.

Plus, and here is the big one, this load with with even .004" restriction tubes with breaks on the correct side of the field, will dust the target hard when center punched like you are in 20 gauge, and since it has more bark than standard 1200fps loads, allows you to stop treating this gauge as a mouse fart gun in your head begin timid with it, but just shoot it like its a 20 gauge gun with your head glued to the stock isntead.

To be blunt, in center punch shots even on Bio target, breaks should be dust balls in all your sub gauges, while in full loads in 12 gauge, should just leave a void in the sky where the target used to be. The moment that you start to get chippy breaks in any gauge, is the moment that you will get lost in your head thinking that your lead is off/ just catching the target with the outer fringe of the shot; to start being timid with the shots taking them for walks/over thinking with incorrect lead changes instead.

As for reloads on the HS hulls, still get over 8 reloads on them until they become my practice hulls, and still get another 4~6 reloadings out of them until I just call the folds too burn to hold a decent crimp again.


As for 296, or H110, or 300-mp, just shop for the one that is least expensive (or avalible in these times) and run with it for loads. They are all St marks powders, and with the canistor burn rates so dam close between 296/H110 (again the same powder being St marks 296, just different labels) and 300-mp, are all interchangable in 410 for this load to net you close to 1350fps under max pressures. As 3" shells, with the 300-mp have just the slightest of slower burn rate over 296/H110, it's a better powder for 3" hulls isntead.

Guys,
I have seen alot of speculation on what Power Pro(TM) 300-MP is and is not, and here is what I can tell you:
It is made by St. Marks Powder, but it is not WC 296 or WC 297 (it is slower burning). The particle size is very similar to 296/297, but the webs and coatings are not exactly the same. Power Pro 300-MP does not contain flash suppressant, so it is similar to 296/110 in that regard (whereas 297 does contain FS).
We have not yet made any global primer statements on Power Pro 300-MP. Our loads are good as we have tested them.
Thanks for the interest in our new product.
Shoot well,
Paul (from Alliant powder)