Actual Sizes of Loaded .410 Bore Shotshells

[BB42 4]

Based on my experience, finding ammunition that will actually fit & function in both the factory 4 rd magazine and SGM 15 rd magazine for the .410 Saiga, hasn't been easy. It's a curious thing to know that the various ammunition factories seem to have differing opinions on just what the overall length of a loaded .410 bore shotshell should be. To date, for my SGM magazine, anything exceeding the overall length of the steel hull Golden Bear #4 buckshot load is hit or miss in the factory magazine (mostly miss). The GB, whether buckshot or slug, has been 100% for me. I also had 100% function with Federal 3" #7.5 birdshot, but don't have any loaded shotshells on hand to measure

 

For those interested, here are the OL's for what ammunition I've tried and still have on hand:

 

Golden Bear 3" #4 buckshot - 2.729"

Golden Bear 2 3/4" 97 grain slug - 2.727"

Winchester Super X 3" 000 buckshot - 2.718"

Winchester Super X 3" #6 birdshot - 2.732"

Rio 3" #4 birdshot - 2.613"

Sellier & Bellot 3" 00 buckshot - 2.766

Federal 3" #4 birdshot - 2.772"

Nobelsports 3" 00 buckshot - 2.842"

 

Personally, I haven't experienced any case separations like member bigdaddyhatty. Based member PCF's post, the OL of the Remington HD 3" 000 buckshot load is 2.678", so it'll probably work for me.

[liberty -r- death 1,445]

Thanks for the extra data.