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While looking for a Parker .410 I was told was for sale at a local gun show, I accidentally bought yet another 16-gauge. This one should be fun since it's a pinfire. It has 32" twist barrels and seems to be in pretty good condition. I will have it professionally evaluated prior to pulling the trigger on a live round.

This gets me to the question. Does anyone know where I can get pinfire shells or, possibly, hulls and reload gear in this country. The only ones I could find on the web were from England. I'd like to at least let the old girl shoot a ditch chicken at the game farm this winter.

By the way, the Parker was nowhere to be found.

Member Joined: 31 Jul 2009 Posts: 51

You might try Sellier & Bellot.I have one of their .16 ga. pinfires in my collection.It is 2 9/16" paper case,brand new ,never loaded.It is a very light bluish color with a brass head of 3/16 ".I don't know how old it is as I've owned over 25 years.Good luck with your search.

Hello

Look here

http://hlebooks.com/pinfire/cal16-01.htm

I looked there but $38 per shell for the basic components seems a bit high. I found another site in - I think England - which offers factory loads but they will not ship their completed shells to the U.S. (probably a wise decision).

Buy two and reload on the spot like muzzle loaders. It can be done. Shocked

If you do, you will have a gun.

If you do not, you will have a club.

The reloading kit is a renewable resource.

ANYONE who can afford a Parker 410 can afford two of these pinfire kits??

Mike

Hello Ted
Now to be more helpful.

Contact

Bob Hayley
Hayley Custom Ammunition
211 N River St.
P.O. Box 889
Seymore, Texas 76380

Telephone 1-940-888-3352

See the article about this service in "Handloader" magazine April 2010

Hope this helps
Mike

Thanks. I'll call Mr. Hayley.

It's not that I cannot afford the pinfire kits, it's just that I suffer from O.L.D. and don't want to mess with it if I can simply send dollars to someone else and let them do the work.

Besides, shipping parts here from wherever (I think it's Belgium) is a less attractive idea than keeping my money in the U.S.

Joined: 21 May 2010 Posts: 603 Location: Victoria BC Canada

Are these the expensive ones from France?

http://www.hc-collection.com/PBSCCatalog.asp?ActionID=67174912&PBCATID=335267&PBCATName=16 gauge Pinfire Shotgun

I do know that someone was having Magtech shells converted to pinfire. I think the double gun shop knows something about it.

Thanks - that was about 1/4 the price of the other place. I ordered enough to let me play for a while.

Joined: 21 May 2010 Posts: 603 Location: Victoria BC Canada

Before I start, the following site was mentioned several times in my googling.

http://www.peterdyson.co.uk/acatalog/CARTRIDGES.html

I phoned my friend who told me about the converted Magtechs. He had had some for sale, but wasn't impressed. They were too troublesome in reloading. They were made by the same guy who supplied the Doublegunshop with their 209 primed Magtech cases.

My friend started hunting in England with a Boss pinfire gun. It was one of the last three pinfire guns made by Boss. The one before it was converted to central fire before leaving the shop, and the one behind it was returned for conversion. His gun was chambered with a wider rim-seat appropriate for a central fire cartridge.

The first hurdle in converting cases is the rim diameter as pinfire chambers had only a hint of a rim. Because of the way his gun was chambered he used Federal plastic factory cases. The current favorite for conversion is the all plastic ACTIV cases that can still be found in estates and gunshows, as the rims can be easily reduced to fit your gun. If one wishes, a gun can be re-chambered to take modern cases without troubling with finding ACTIV cases or bothering with the metal bases of modern cases.

Here is how he did it;

[u]Step 1. Use a fine burr in a Dremel tool to cut a hole in the side of a fired 209 primer near the muzzle end. The hole should just be enough to accept a #11 percussion cap inserted base first into the 209 primer, face out so the pin can be inserted to touch the priming inside. He used #11s, but any suitable percussion cap could be used.

Step 2. As the resulting cartridge must fit your gun use it as an indication of the size and position of the pin. Select some brass rod from a craft or hobby shop for the pins. Steel could be used, but might suffer from corrosion problems.

Step 3. Drill a hole into the side of the base of the case using the pin size, angle, and location suitable for your gun. Maybe a bit of cut-and-try here?

Step 4. Insert the #11 cap into the drilled 209 primmer. Load the charged primer into the primer pocket using a regular press. File witness marks to allow you to assemble the components in the right position. Insert the pin through the hole you drilled in the side of the case to fit into the bottom of the cap.

Step 5. Load the case in the normal manner on your regular press. Keep the pin oriented to the front of the shell holder.

On reloading modified cartridges; Withdraw the pin just enough to free it from the primer assembly, and deprime with a regular press. Repeat steps 4 & 5.

The best way to carry pinfire ammunition in the field is with a cartridge box like the Civil War style, or a Dyer box, or whatever. Drill the wooden insert tight enough so the round won't rotate to leave the pin pointing in a dangerous direction.

My friend told me that the altered 209 primers could be reused many times. The crimp on even a good quality case will fail long before the altered primers.

I have not tried this. I am just passing on my recollection of two very recent telephone calls. However he does know vintage ammo and guns, and I trust his advice. The components are cheap & plentiful allowing for a reasonable learning curve for someone handy with tools & reloading techniques.

Thanks for this information.

I am not able to open the link or any variation of it. Any suggestions?

Joined: 21 May 2010 Posts: 603 Location: Victoria BC Canada

Thanks - it worked that time. I think I'll order a few (very few at that price) of the empty hulls to work with.

The French pinfire looks exactly like the German gun I just bought. Same trigger guard shape, underlever, etc. Even the wood looks very similar.

I'll join you in drooling over the H&H. I actually got to shoot one once. Owning one is probably not on the schedule.