B&P Upland Game 410 3 Inch 6 Shot – Rugged Nickel Plated Load

Description

BP Upland Game 410 3 Inch 6 Shot is a hunting load for the smallest common bore, and it takes that job seriously. Three quarters of an ounce of nickel plated 6 shot at 1125 fps is a genuine field load rather than a scaled-down plinking shell, and the plating is the detail that separates it from most of what sits on the shelf in .410.

What Nickel Plating Buys You

Nickel plated lead shot is harder on the surface than bare lead. Pellets that resist deformation in the forcing cone and choke stay round, and round pellets fly straighter and hold the pattern together. In a .410 that matters more than it does in a 12 gauge, because you are working with roughly a third of the payload and cannot afford to lose pellets to flyers.

The plating on BP Upland Game 410 3 Inch 6 Shot also reduces friction against the bore and the wad, which shows up as slightly better velocity consistency across a box. Neither effect is dramatic on its own. Taken together in a bore where every pellet counts, they are the difference between a load you can hunt with at 30 yards and one that is really a 20 yard proposition.

The 6 pellet size in BP Upland Game 410 3 Inch 6 Shot is the coarser of the two .410 options in this line. It is the right call for cottontail, squirrel, and larger upland birds where you need energy at the far end of your range more than you need pattern density up close.

BP Upland Game 410 3 Inch 6 Shot Specifications

BP Upland Game 410 3 Inch 6 Shot is a 3/4 oz 1125 fps load in a 3 inch .410 hull with nickel plated 6 shot, packed 25 rounds to the box. The 3 inch case is what makes the three quarter ounce payload possible; a 2-1/2 inch .410 shell typically carries about half an ounce, so you are gaining roughly 50 percent more shot by stepping up to the longer hull.

Made by Baschieri and Pellagri in Italy, this is part of a range of Baschieri Pellagri upland ammunition that leans toward hunting rather than clay targets. The company has been loading shotshells since 1885 and its .410 hulls are dimensionally consistent, which matters in a bore where chamber and crimp tolerances are tight.

Velocity on BP Upland Game 410 3 Inch 6 Shot is moderate and deliberately so. The .410 does not benefit from being pushed hard. Higher velocity in a small bore mostly buys recoil and pattern disruption rather than useful downrange energy, and 1125 fps keeps the column together on the way out.

• Gauge: .410 bore
• Shell length: 3 inch
• Shot size: 6
• Shot weight: 3/4 oz
• Shot material: nickel plated lead
• Muzzle velocity: 1125 fps
• Primary use: rabbit, squirrel and upland birds
• Rounds per box: 25
• Manufacturer: Baschieri and Pellagri
• Country of origin: Italy

Being Honest About the 410 Bore

The .410 is a skilled hunter’s gun, not a beginner’s gun, and it is worth saying so plainly. Three quarters of an ounce is a small pattern. At 30 yards with an improved cylinder choke you have real gaps in it, and a bird that would be a routine kill with a 20 gauge can slip through. Shooters who do well with a .410 do well because they get close and shoot accurately, not because the shell is forgiving.

Chamber length is the other thing to verify before buying BP Upland Game 410 3 Inch 6 Shot. Many older .410 shotguns, particularly single shots and some fine European doubles, are chambered for 2-1/2 inch shells only. Firing a 3 inch shell in a 2-1/2 inch chamber raises pressure sharply and is genuinely dangerous. Check the barrel marking before you buy a case of this.

Within those limits it is a pleasure. Recoil is negligible, the guns are light to carry all day, and a well-placed pattern of hard nickel plated 6 shot kills rabbits and quail cleanly inside 30 yards. Pattern your gun with this specific load before the season; .410 chokes vary enough that two guns marked the same can throw noticeably different patterns.

Experienced .410 hunters who want BP Upland Game 410 3 Inch 6 Shot for rabbit, squirrel and upland birds at close to moderate range, shooting a shotgun verified as chambered for 3 inch shells.

If your birds flush closer and you would rather have pattern density than reach, the same shell in 7.5 shot is the other half of this pair, and stepping up a bore to the Upland Game 28ga 1oz 6 Shot gives you a third more payload for not much more gun.

Store BP Upland Game 410 3 Inch 6 Shot indoors, dry, and away from heat. Small bore shells are more sensitive to a swollen hull than a 12 gauge is, because the chamber tolerances leave less room, and a box that has taken on moisture can chamber stiffly in a tight break action.