Fibre wads and lead fouling

Seeking a fresh challenge, I treated myself to a new .410 over-and-under for pigeon decoying and for game later in the year. My pleasure from using the light and easyhandling .410 is marred by the problems I get when cleaning it. I am finding very heavy lead fouling in the first part of the bores. I am using a well-known make of 2½in fibre-wad cartridge. Friends tell me I should use plastic wads but the landowner whose ground I shoot over has asked specifically that I use fibre-wad cartridges. Any advice would be most welcome

Richard says: I have had a friend with the same issue. He too has a new .410 over-andunder with a 3in chamber length. This is common with the ongoing trend to cram ever heavier shot loads into the diminutive bore size. The .410 struggles to produce a good gas seal with fibre wads anyway, due to the much higher breech pressures produced by this calibre and the inability of the small fibre wads to expand as well as larger ones to give an efficient gas seal, as is possible in larger gauges.

They worked well enough when the .410 was accepted and used as a short-range gun with a light shot load, but it has been put under greater stress as shot loads and chamber length increased. That is why the majority of .410 cartridges, and all those used in serious .410 clay competitions, are loaded with a plastic wad.

You do not have that option and will also find that there is a limited choice for fibre wad .410 cartridges. Your new gun most likely has 3in chambers and using this length of cartridge – although more expensive – may help to cut down on the leading you are experiencing. But, unfortunately, some noticeable leading is always possible, even likely, with fibre wad .410 ammunition.

If your landowner would allow it, the use of cartridges with a plastic obturator gas seal with fibre wad would help. Hopefully, there will be biodegradable plastic options for such obturators in future.

Meanwhile, the only answer to your excess effort in cleaning your .410 that I am aware of is to use the very efficient Magic Bore cleaning system. This was made especially to deal with the heavy fouling that started occurring in 12-bore clay target guns with extended forcing cones. I had to get one to clean a very long cone gun I was reviewing some time ago. They work!

I’m pleased to see that Magic Bore has added .410 to the range of calibres it now caters for.