# .45 acp Shotshells...Roll Your Own



## SeaTex (Aug 27, 2009)

This round has been around since WWII, used as a survival round for downed Aviators. In the 1970's a guy named Ed Harris refined it by adding a .410 shotwad and crimping a .35 cal. gas check on top and was successful in getting it to cycle the slide (earlier military rounds wouldn't). RCBS has special order dies available for a mere 170.00 but I didn't want to spend that kind of money. I decided I wanted to go with more payload and make mine without the shotwad. I went with a set of .400 Corbon dies which neck down a .45 acp to .40 and started working up a load from there. I cut my .308 cartridges to 1.120 with a tubing cutter and trimmed them down to 1.180. You will need to remove your barrel and check headspace as you adjust your sizing die. A Lg. pistol primer is used instead of a Lg. Rifle to eliminate firing pin damage. This means you have to take care not to seat them to deep. The Harris recipe called for 6.0 to 6.5 gr. of W231 which I didn't have so I started with 4.0 gr. of Clays and worked my way up to 5.0 gr. which did cycle the slide. My O.P. wad was cut from cardboard and compressed on top of the powder with a wooden dowel rod. The cartridge was filled with 115 gr. (1/4+ oz.) of #8 shot and an overshot wad of cardboard was sealed with clear fingernail polish 11x hardener. (I'm in the process of modifying the .400 Corbon flare die by taking the flare plunger out and replacing with a countersunk plunger that should crimp the mouth.) The target was placed at six feet (about as close as I want to be from a snake) and patterned well from my 4.25" commander length barrel. 

Now I know some will say "Why not just buy CCI shotshells" (1.50 ea.) or "Just buy a Judge". Well my answer is I like the fact that I took some old rifle brass that was going in the re-cycle bin and found a use for it and I'm able to re-produce a .45acp shotshell cheaper than I could buy some at the store. Plus it was a project that I wanted to prove to myself that I could do.


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## prarie dog (Feb 28, 2011)

I like it, should be real effective snake killers. This is the sort of thing that makes reloading fun.


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## c-man69 (Feb 22, 2013)

my grandfather and i have been loading these for quite a while. very enjoyable to shoot. we actually take a .410 wad anc cut it down. It increases the effective distance. We have not found any automatic that these will not function in. I am down to about 40 rounds...time to load some more!


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## SeaTex (Aug 27, 2009)

c-man69,

Are you guys using the RCBS dies? I told a friend what I was doing and he is using a set of .41 magnum dies and is able to insert a cut down .410 wad in his.


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## c-man69 (Feb 22, 2013)

SeaTex,
Yes sir we are. We actually run our brass through the forming die and cut with a hack saw. Just a little note for you.....military brass is quite a bit thicker and a little more difficult to work with. We made 100 round with them.....were able to reload them 4 more times than regular brass (they tend to split above the shoulder). 
We took a dowel rod, drilled a golf ball and glued the rod into it. This is what we use to pressthe wad in with. Works pretty well.


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## SeaTex (Aug 27, 2009)

Thanks c-man. Yea right now I have 30.00 invested in the .400 Corbon dies and i have a functioning round. Hindsight I should have went with .41 mag dies and I could go with a shotcup if I wanted to. But for strickly a "snake round" I'm not complaining. I've got an extra mag that these function in and will probably just carry it in the field for a quick swap when needed. There is no recoil...so a double or a triple tap places a lot of shot on target quick.


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## c-man69 (Feb 22, 2013)

I generally keep an extra mag loaded with them myself. You just never know when you will come across a snake that needs killing!

I have heard "rumors" of people shooting birds with these loads. I asked a GW about the legality as i wanted to try myself. He said no, it is not legal. I have shot "at" a few hand thrown clay's though......apparently I did not hit them.


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## SeaTex (Aug 27, 2009)

I've heard the same thing...but I'm sticking with the snakes. I read where the shotcup will hold a tight pattern (6" circle at 10 yards) and then spread about an inch a foot. With only around 105 #8 shot in the round it loses its effectiveness fairly quickly.


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## CHARLIE (Jun 2, 2004)

We did it this way in the olden days but it was a single shot ordeal.

45ACP brass sized and primed. Powder, melt candle wax over the powder, shot, candle wax over the shot. Worked great. measurements , dont have a clue.


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## prarie dog (Feb 28, 2011)

My kid was getting a little twisted about a hawk that was using our front yard for a dinner table. The hawk was taking a quail a day when they came in to feed. So my son took some 12gauge birdshot loads, emptied the shot out of them and reloaded with airsoft pellets. He's got feathers a couple of times and the Hawk's moved on.


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## horned frog (Nov 9, 2008)

Cool post. Thanks for the pictures too. I have a bag of #12 shot like what is used in the .22 LR "rat shot" loads. Would be glad to send you a bit if you want to try it in your .45 shotshell loads.


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## SeaTex (Aug 27, 2009)

Thanks for the offer horned Frog. I'll pm you.


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## CDHknives (Mar 17, 2012)

This thread got me interested, so I started researching it. Now almost 2 months later I have made myself a set of case forming dies using this guide:

http://www.ammomfg.com/funstuff/45_shot_cartridges.pdf

I also tried a piece of buckshot in the nose instead of a gas check, and 1/2 gallon milk/juice carton for overshot wads. I used cut down 410 wads in them all.

So far I can get a good slide cycle but can't get them to lock open the slide on the last shot. Too much powder seems to be a big problem, not with hazardous over pressure but it expands the 'neck' enough to drag on the rifling...and the case then hangs up half out of the ejection port.

Comments: A 40 S&W flaring die does a great job removing the mouth crimp enough for ease in reloading and inserting the 410 wad.

You can wait to neck down the case until after adding powder and the 410 wad, making the wad insertion very easy.

With a wad I get about 105 grains of #9 shot for a payload.

A good deburring is critical after trimming or you will play heck getting the wad in and the neck formed.

Fun stuff!


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## c-man69 (Feb 22, 2013)

CDH, I have been shooting these for about 6 years. We have had the same problem about the slide not locking back on the final round, we have jsut gotten used to it. Another issue that I forgot to mention was that when using the cut down .410 wad, you do end up with plasic built up in the barrel if you shoot very many rounds. We ALWAYS scrub the barrel very well before shooting regular rounds through them. 
One thing about it though, these are anabsilute blast to shoot! Exceptionally effective on rattlesnakes. Best shot I made though was pure luck. I shot and killed a jackrabbit at 30 yards! 2 pellets entered the head and dropped him right there!


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