#7.5 shot in a .410 MEC drop tube will bridge much of the time irrespective of most remedies, as you have discovered. Sometimes I use a very small plastic faced mallet to tap the drop tube to jar them loose. Motor Mica or a smidge of graphite helps as does a high polish on the inside of the drop tube, but is not a 100% cure.

#9 shot is the norm for skeet, excepting the .410 when it is wet & damp. In the little gun [edit: under those conditions], you may find #8's or even #7.5's to be more effective. I'm not a particularly competitive skeet shooter, but stand by the remark nonetheless as it comes from both my own experience & some AAA shooters who arrived at the same conclusion through their own experiences; be your own judge on that. As the old question, "What is the dif between shooting a 98 and shooting 100?" is correctly answered, "About $20,000 per year." One has to pay the dues to get there, cost is a part of that. Sustained lead shooting and memorizing what the correct sight pic looks like from each station is another; continuous practice is the last component. A good coach helps too. If it is cold & damp, use a larger shot size when shooting the 'little gun' at skeet. For dove beyond 25 yards I would do the same, use a larger shot size.

In the field on dove, I have known outfitters in S.A. who swore that #9's were "the answer" to high overhead flyers and who stoned them at 120 foot heights with 20ga. guns using 25grams of #9's. Personally, I use #6's for that kind of dove shooting when they are available and never give it so much as a thot.

Anything larger than a #8 in most MEC .410 loaders is a PITA. An old coin-op bed vibrator mounted to your loading bench can alleviate most of the shot bridging, but you will have to recheck your powder drop w/a good scale as it will likely settle & increase the powder drop weight at the same time, even with dense powders like WW296. I know I'll take a razzing for mentioning this particular remedy. Its OK, I'll stand by it, having been tormented by a number of loading issues over the years.

If all else fails, place a cookie baking sheet under and between the loader and the bench; it will retain the spilled shot. Blot it up with a stick of modeling clay & then use it later wrapped in plastic wrap to stuff into a buttstock cavity to adjust the weight/balance point to your liking on some gun that is not quite right. You can place it forward or back in the cavity w/use of styrofoam(sp?).

You asked. Hope something of value here that you may find of use; it is my experience.

Best, tw

Last edited by tw; 11/22/11 11:05 PM.