.410 steel shot

[regman]

it must be made out of unobtanium! I can not find any .410 steel or non toxic shells in the Los Angeles area. does anyone have a spot they know of that stocks them? thanks

[meno377]

Not in L.A. area.

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/federal-premium-field-range-steel-game-target-load-shotshells

[BOBGBA]

They just aren't that popular, so nobody seems to stock them. For next years hunting season, I expect that they might be a little easier to find.

I bought bismuth shot to reload in 2.5 inch hulls, but haven't loaded any yet. I still have some Rio bismuth shells from last year. You can get them here, but beware of sticker shock, it's not for the faint of heart:

https://www.ableammo.com/catalog/rio-bismuth-shotshells-rbi4107-410-gauge-916-1175-fps-bismuth-shot-rdbx-p-140343.html

If you want steel, you can get them here (free shipping over $100):

https://www.rogerssportinggoods.com/winchester-superx-xpert-steel-410ga-3-shot-size-6.html

Both will ship to your local FFL, if you have your FFL send them a copy of their FFL. Your FFL will collect the sales tax and charge you a fee.

If you live close to Simi Valley, have them shipped to Fort Courage Armory. Both of them already have FCA's FFL. Last time I asked FCA, they charge a $10 fee for up to a thousand rounds.

If you are hunting wild quail, I would go with Bismuth.

[regman]

thanks for the answers. bass pro is a 100 mile round trip for me but might have to. I will look into reloading my own I guess. was hoping to go after quail next week. i'm near downtown LA. lax ammo said they might start stocking it but know sure when.

[BOBGBA]

thanks for the answers. bass pro is a 100 mile round trip for me but might have to. I will look into reloading my own I guess. was hoping to go after quail next week. i'm near downtown LA. lax ammo said they might start stocking it but know sure when.

If you don't already reload and have a .410 reloading press, I would buy some .410 Bismuth shells from Able, to see if you like how it performs.
Ask Lax Ammo if you can have them shipped to them. Depending on the volume of shells you plan on shooting, it may not pay to reload. I already reload .410 with lead for skeet, so I didn't have to buy a reloader.

Here's some info on reloading .410 with Bismuth.
The 3" Rio bismuth shells hold 9/16 oz of shot.
I could not find any reloading data for the Rio hulls.
If you want 3" hulls, you'll either need to buy some lead shells and shoot them up, so you'll have some hulls or buy new hulls from a place like Ballistic Products. Ballistic Products can also sell you a catalog with the load data you'll need for their hulls.

Since I have plenty of once fired AA 2.5" hulls (which will hold 7/16 oz of bismuth) and my reloader won't load 3" shells, I will be reloading what I have.

Hunting birds in Ca with a 28 gauge or .410 bore has become more difficult in the last year. You really have to buy your shells well in advance of when you'll be hunting. I try to make sure I have all the shells I need for the hunting season 2 months in advance.

Alternatively, you could switch to a 12 or 20 gauge and steel shells are available everywhere and much cheaper.

[BOBGBA]

If you get those 3" Federals from Bass Pro, they hold 3/8 oz of steel (1/3 less than the Rio's 9/16 ox bismuth load). Make sure to get them in #6.

By the way, I thought you could still hunt quail with lead, unless:
1) you were in the Condor area
2) on an ecological preserve
3) hunting other species (like rabbit) at the same time, which would require you to carry only non-lead ammo.

https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Hunting/Nonlead-Ammunition

[Thefeeder]

If you don't already reload and have a .410 reloading press, I would buy some .410 Bismuth shells from Able, to see if you like how it performs.
Ask Lax Ammo if you can have them shipped to them. Depending on the volume of shells you plan on shooting, it may not pay to reload. I already reload .410 with lead for skeet, so I didn't have to buy a reloader.

Here's some info on reloading .410 with Bismuth.
The 3" Rio bismuth shells hold 9/16 oz of shot.
I could not find any reloading data for the Rio hulls.
If you want 3" hulls, you'll either need to buy some lead shells and shoot them up, so you'll have some hulls or buy new hulls from a place like Ballistic Products. Ballistic Products can also sell you a catalog with the load data you'll need for their hulls.

Since I have plenty of once fired AA 2.5" hulls (which will hold 7/16 oz of bismuth) and my reloader won't load 3" shells, I will be reloading what I have.

Hunting birds in Ca with a 28 gauge or .410 bore has become more difficult in the last year. You really have to buy your shells well in advance of when you'll be hunting. I try to make sure I have all the shells I need for the hunting season 2 months in advance.

Alternatively, you could switch to a 12 or 20 gauge and steel shells are available everywhere and much cheaper.

You can load steel 3"" 410 on the MEC 600Jr....Big PITA. I even tried to mod my MEC 9000 to load 3" steel......I was one station issue away from success

Never the less I have loaded thousands of 410 steel 3" ...steel shot target were $16.00 a box back then......reload or pull out the big wallet

BTW---3/8 steel in # 7 has about 160 pellets ....#6 is about 125. Not far from the pellet count of 9/16 Bismuth

[BOBGBA]

You can load steel 3"" 410 on the MEC 600Jr....Big PITA. I even tried to mod my MEC 9000 to load 3" steel......I was one station issue away from success

Never the less I have loaded thousands of 410 steel 3" ...steel shot target were $16.00 a box back then......reload or pull out the big wallet

BTW---3/8 steel in # 7 has about 160 pellets ....#6 is about 125. Not far from the pellet count of 9/16 Bismuth

Not sure if I'll ever load steel, unless forced to (if you know what I mean).
The 9/16 bismuth (Rio) that I've shot is #7.
The main reason I prefer it over steel is for the density.

[edgerly779]

Non lead for quail in 2019 not now. Condor zone rules do not apply for quail and dove,If hunting rabbit at same time then all shells in your possession must be non lead.

[Ahansom]

First of the year I bought a case of #7 steel .410 shells from Cabela's and had them delivered to a local FFl. They only charged $5 to receive them for me.

[BOBGBA]

First of the year I bought a case of #7 steel .410 shells from Cabela's and had them delivered to a local FFl. They only charged $5 to receive them for me.

Are you sure it wasn't at the end of last year?
I've called Cabela's and been told that they will not ship ammunition to California period. Not even to FFLs.

[regman]

I will be hunting up in the Angeles nat'l forest. so I believe that is condor zone. I want the non toxic just in case I see a rabbit while bird hunting. I do have a 12 gauge but due to a recent knee surgery weight is a huge issue till I heal up.

[edgerly779]

All of ca is non lead for rabbits condor zone has nothing to do with that.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Yeah maybe everybody should vote for Cox instead of Gavie.

Then maybe this Condor BS would go away. The BS behind it defies logic and common sense.

Randy

[sargenv]

I'm not sure why people say that steel is any worse than loading lead.. If you load the same volume of steel (same shot bar) using the lead data, it seems to work fine. Where it comes into being a PIA, is trying to load larger shot than say #7.. I load 7's and 8's into 3" hulls with no issues.. Every shot goes bang. You could do what I do for loading large steel shot in larger hulls.. Set up your shells like you would when loading rifle on a single stage.. Prime them, drop powder and set the wad.. then line them up and drop shot manually until it's to the top of the section where you have room to crimp. Once all full, crimp and shoot.. You cant load more steel by weight than lead so as long as it crimps well, it should work fine. If you are concerned with steel at high velocity, BPI sells steel specific wads that protect your barrel. They even have high velocity data for said loading.

My club has required the use of steel shot since the 90's for target shooting. We've been loading the sub gauges here since then with positive results.