410 overshot card punch in stock

The tool consists of two components including a punch, and die. Starting with the punch, it’s made from hardened tool steel designed to maintain a sharp cutting edge. If you’re the kind of reloader who loads tens of thousands of shells, you’ll be pleased to know the tip has been bored out and extra material left in place so that it can be re-sharpened easily should the need arise. The base of the punch is designed to fit a Lee Precision, single stage press, however it should fit any brand with sufficient clearance that’s compatible with Lee shell holders.

To install this tool, the operator begins by slotting the punch into place and raising the ram. This step helps ensure everything’s lined up well when installing the die, to avoid damaging the cutting edge during operation.

The operator begins by lowering the ram part way until the punch is just below the feed port on the die, but still inside the base of the die.  All reloading presses have a bit of play in the shell holder, so the safest way to protect the cutting edge is to simply feed the punch into the die part way before engaging the cutting edge on material.

Next, the user simply slides the material to be punched into the feed port and begins operating the press as normal.  As filler wads are punched, they will be pushed out the top of the die where they can be collected.  If the operator’s intention is to produce a great many filler wads in one sitting, it is advisable to place a container (a margarine container works well) with a hole cut in the bottom on top of the die, allowing them to stack up inside and avoid making a mess.

Originally designed this unit to punch corrugated cardboard, so that seems like a good place to begin.  The punch works quite well with standard corrugated cardboard boxes I’ve cut into strips.  It’s a fast, simple process that yields nice, concentric disks.  Cardboard works great for buck and birdshot as it’s dense enough to take up slack, but flexible enough to compress during loading.  This is critical to obtaining a professional looking crimp with even the trickiest loads.

Next up is craft foam.  It’s not really my first choice due to it not being biodegradable, but I know some folks really like it, so I have confirmed the punch will work with it.  As with the cardboard and cork, it punches very easily, although the edges aren’t quite as smooth as the denser materials.

Finally we have plastic blister packaging.  Although not biodegradable, I really like having a transparent option on hand when I need something as an overshot card.  Once again it cuts smoothly, and easily.  The material demonstrated above is  actually plastic from grocery store salad containers if you can believe it, however thicker packaging not only punches well, it crimps even better.

The finished filler wads measure 0.345″, the same internal diameter as a standard 410G shot cup, and an equally excellent size for use as overshot cards.  With a good supply of these on hand, it’s no trouble at all to customize my shot columns by placing them above or below my shot or slugs.  Likewise, if I’ve got a difficult load to crimp like low-volume birdshot or roundball slugs, adding one to the top as an overshot card makes things a snap.

This punch tool mounts in any Lee Precision single stage press (or press that accepts standard 7/8-14 threaded dies and is fully compatible with Lee Precision shell holders), allowing the operator to produce their own filler wads and overshot cards.  The corrosion-resistant die is made from stainless steel, and will accept material up to 1/4″ thick.  The punch is produced from hardened tool steel, with sufficient material to allow for resharpening if required.  Wads measure approximately 0.345″ in diameter and are suitable for use as filler wads to raise shot column height, or on top of shot columns as overshot cards to achieve professional looking crimps.

Place an overshot card on top of the shot charge just before crimping to improve overall crimp quality and seal in small shot and/or buffer. Excellent for use with BPI Roll Crimpers.

Our testing lab has proven that poor crimps can alter the performance of an otherwise good load. Overshot cards always produce better, more consistent crimps and this consistency is demonstrated in the standard deviation of loads in our lab. Our ballistic lab recommends overshot cards for better crimps in all loads.

Clear Overshot Disks(either plain or printed with shot size) are also offered for great roll crimping options. See pictures in Additional Images or click on this link.

Shotshell size selection: Use the same size gauge as your hull. Smaller diameter cards also work if your particular size is out of stock. For example, a 20ga overshot card works in a 16-gauge shotshell and so on.

Since my 12G wad and filler wad punches went into production last year, I’ve received well over a hundred inquiries from folks interested in additional gauges. Without a doubt the two most often requested are 20G and .410 bore. With that in mind, I’ve been hard at work designing, prototyping, and testing four new punches to produce full-sized wads, as well as filler wads and overshot cards for both of these.

Beginning with the Filler Wad punches, these produce discs measuring 0.345″ and 0.530″, suitable for use in .410 and 20G shells respectively. These can be used either as filler wads to customize shot columns, or overshot cards for obtaining tight crimps.

Moving on to the wad punches; these will create full-sized .410 and 20G wads that can be used in place of a conventional plastic shotshell wads. These are ideal for anyone looking to load biodegradable, black powder, or brass hulls– or who just want to be able to produce their own components.

As of the publication date of this article, the 20G and .410 punches are $70USD each, plus $15USD for tracking shipping anywhere in North America. Alternatively, international shipping is also available upon request.

I considering to punch my own overshot cards to accommodate a proper roll crimp on 410 shot-shells. But I"m having somewhat of a problem finding a good metal punch around .410 dia. with a pre-sharpened cutter. I"ve ordered a couple of punches from weapons/parts supplier catalogs in the recent past and have had to return them. (both were lacking pre-sharpened cutting edges) I"m not very gifted in sharping rounded edges. A flat blade I can sharpen up enough to shave with. But rounded cutter hardened punches are a whole different ball game for me. Does anyone have a supplier in mind I can mail-order a proper tool from? The punches intended purpose would be for> thin plastic disks .410 diameter.

As one who"s loaded 10,000s of .410-bore shot shells, I gotta ask, why a roll crimp? Stuffing 410s is a big enough bother, why complicate the process? Back in the day, my neighbor was moving and gave me a large carton of once fired paper .410 hulls and a supply of wads. I loaded the 5K hulls with the traditional card and fiber wads according the the recipe of the day. Compared to plastic hulls, with one piece plastic shot cup/wads, the papers performed dismally. Twenty flats of 410"s and there wasn"t a 25-straight in the bunch There"s a reason .410-bore competition scores soared with the introduction of the new ammo, it"s a quantum leap better. IMHO, as far as using a roll crimp on a .410, if you"re gonna re-invent the wheel, don"t start with a square one.

zippy 13: Why a roll crimp? >000 buck used in a tight fitting chambered shotgun is why. The recipe I have is a load not meant for your average weekend skeet shoot but it does call for (2) over shot cards .30 ths. each to be used on either the 2-1/2 or 3" hull loads involving 000 Buck usage. As you know any recipe that calls for a folded crimp can also with a little trimming of the hull in some cases accommodate a rolled crimp also. I have material here that is .60 thick. If cut right? would require only a single card inserted into the shot area which intern would offer a much better crimp support. The material I"ve intended on using is not paper as sold by B/P/I to their distributors.(midway) But plastic. I"ve found for my particular usage rolled crimps work much better in my weapon than any {reloaded folded crimp} does. I think it is due to the fact that most modern metal Crimp Rollers offer tighter tolerances and are less forgiving than those final stage crimpers found on most shot-shell presses these days. I guess I"m old school on some things zippy 13. I"ve found over the years progress and change is not always as good as some profess it to be. Again thanks, for your input zippy 13.

oneounceload. Thanks for the info. But 7/16-th. is to large in diameter and 3/8s is to small to use. The closes drill size I can measure to is >13/32th at .406-ths. In reality the actual measurement is no more than .410 ths. A 13/32 wad / leather cutter would be almost a perfect fit for my application. I"m wondering if there is a business that custom makes wad / leather cutters? I do thank you for your recent input though.

SSMcG, thanks for the heads-up on a different side of .410 reloading. I re-sized a cheapo Harbor Freight punch to cut over powder wads for my percussion revolvers. I have few metal working tools. I spun the thing in a drill press and used abrasives on the hardened steel. It took some while, but the results are satisfactory.

I do not have a Dixie Gun Works catalog, but they used to and still may offer a custom punch service. This is for old off regular sized bores for muskets and fowlers.

Thanks zippy13 & Dave McC for your input. Harbor Freight is an old friend of mine. Purchased many items out of their catalog in past years including a wire feed welder that"s still work"en believe it or not. Been to Track Of the Wolf this afternoon but their punches graduate in size rather quickly. Nothing in 41 caliber was seen on their site. {3/8 to 7/16ths and nothing in between.} Dixie on the other hand also is and old acquaintance as well. But I haven"t had time to check out Dixie"s site tonight. I believe I do have an old catalog of Dixie"s to peruse while watching CNN tonight. "I"ll probably find the catalog more interesting though." Thanks guys for your time, effort and those great ideas. I appreciate it.

The BPCR folks use wad punches in reloading. Here"s a site with a selection of punches including .410" & a .403": http://www.buffaloarms.com/wad_punches_pr-3756.aspx

Hey there Don H: >Way to go!!!< Thank you Sir, for the site. They have just what I need in.410 dia. Not to bad a price either. I"ll check them out in the AM and place an order for one.-- 410 ga. 000 Buck load should preform flawlessly now, since I"ll have the correct tool to punch them over shot-cards with. Again "Thank you Donald." Sure Shot Mc Gee aka tom

2. You need to cut discs of appropriate size. “Hollow Punch” chisels are available at HarborFreight and elsewhere (not at HD or Lowes… checked yesterday when I bought these).

Perfect for application and 28ga; I need a .55-.59 (14 or 15mm) cutter for 20ga though. The 20ga shell I did up above was “firm”, but it’s juuuust in there–I could move it with a screw driver to the side and pop it out. It really needs to be .57-.59″ to sit snugly underneath the roll crimp for 20ga. Here’s a plug cutter that is 5/8″, or .625, that’s just a bit too big but would cut plastic too. You want 9/16 punch or 14 or 15 mm.

Anyways, with a fat 20ga roll crimp (this was my first ever, on Win universal which is thin walled), this would work for 20ga; and certainly works good for 28ga. I’m tired of tool searching so I’ll leave someone else to find a 14 or 15mm hollow punch you can chuck in a drill for the “perfect” 20 OS.

I thought this could be a good thread to list the other parts/tools for making homemade fillers like OS cards, wad inserts of felt and thick cardboard. Here’s the ideas I’ve read or come up with:

Here’s a link to larger hollow punch, it has 9/16 (.56″) and 5/8 (.625). The 9/16 should work for 20ga OS while the 5/8 for 20ga nitrocards (used for 12ga load spacers).

Hobby Lobby claimed to have a “Large hole punch set” for $7 with 5/8″ size… but this was a goose chase, she fibbed to me on the phone, it was just 8mm.

I ordered the 15mm hollow punch chisel from ebay I listed up above. It was $4.39. It shipped from China and arrived in less than 2 weeks. It looks good and is decent quality.

For the other punches listed up above, after hammering out 100 cork discs or so on a piece of pine, it seems to me the cutting edge is getting dull on the 1/2″ one.

For the plastic OS discs, you need to chuck the cutter, (rotating plug cutter or drill type hollow punch shown above) into a drill, my drill press will accept the 1/2″ punch and use it as a drill too.

I got an idea on the internet from a post by guy named “BT Justice” of a way to hold the punches if they don’t chuck in your drill– use a shotgun hull with a bolt through the primer hole to chuck into the drill, and then shove the punch into the end of the hull to hold it.  I know BT has indicated he’s been miffed when ideas aren’t given proper attribution, so want to be sure I do mention– that was his idea.  Using a punch set to make wad fillers is of course an idea that hundreds of folks have thought up, besides me, on the internet.    BT made a post back in 2011 apparently talking about using meat tray styrofoam as a wad filler, so I hereby give full credit to all concepts about using a punch with a meat-tray to him!  I got the punch set idea from Cerberus on ShotGunWorld though.

A great guy who goes by the moniker “lostknife4” produces some beautiful looking roll-crimped shells, and puts a nice round label over the OS card.  A lot of folks liked it, and here’s what Lost said about how he made the labels: