Why the 410?

[Questor]

What's the point of the .410? Is there any application for it other than four gun skeet?  It seems like a bad choice for training a kid because they'll outgrow it in about a week.

[willis5]

I like them for sqirrel hunting, and I know a man who uses one for quail hunting. Mine is great for tree rats up to 45 yards.

I still haven't grown out of mine. Are you saying grown out physically or out of bordom?

Cheers,
willis5

[Geno]

I have come to beleive you would be doing someone new to the sport a big disservice with a 410. They won hit as well and will definately lose interest. But I sure love them. They're fun in skeet, for example, adds a higher degree of difficulty and challenge. I like them for a nice light grouse or squirrel gun too. Kind of like using a .22LR for a varmint rifle when a 22/250 would do a better job. within their limitations the little calibers sure are fun. :-D

[Ka6otm]

I'm not sure about this outgrowing it business either.

I've got three .410s now, the last one acquired about 8 years ago.

I also still have the first one I ever got, which was also the first gun I ever got and still shoot it occasionally.  I can see where it is harder to learn with, but I learned wingshooting with this one when I was 9 years old and I'll tell you what...if you can hit with a .410, you can hit with anything.  Unlike what some others may think, I think it's a great training gun for someone who's REALLY motivated to learn to shoot.

My Dad, like a lot of the older guys I have known, used a 12 gauge for Ducks and Geese and a .410 for everything else.  My Dad was greatly disappointed in me when I bought my first 20 gauge.  He used to say that anyone could shoot one of those.  An exaggeration, of course, but a point well taken...

The last one was a Citori O/U....great Quail and grouse gun and we occasionally shoot trap with these .410s on Wednesday Mornings.

Outgrow them?

Not in this lifetime.

Ka6otm

[Hud]

A 410 is something you grow into, not out of. I agree it is a poor choice to give a kid start out with.  

The 410 shoots half the amount of shot of as a 12 gauge but hits just as hard.  A bird doesn't know if it has been hit with 5 #8's from a 410 or 5 #8s from a 12.  I love my double for grouse hunting. I can carry it all day long in the woods and it is still light at the end of the day. The full choke usually means a good hit or a clean miss.

Hud

[Robert]

Send that crappy old 410 to me.  I would love to help you out.  I wont even charge you a dump fee.

[Leftoverdj]

Only reason for a .410 is that 28 gauge guns and shells are hard to find.

[armycar01]

I have a .410/22 L.R. o/u Savage model 24B. it is a fun gun to get out in your backyard just to pop off a few shots at animals or cans, wheatever you like. Main reason, it is cheap fun and was my first gun when i was 13 so it can hold a special place in your heart.

[daddywpb]

If it wasn't for the .410, my daughter wouldn't be hunting and shooting with me now. She tried a 20 gauge, but is afraid of the recoil. It would be great for her to move up to a 20, but I'd much rather have her shooting a .410 than nothing at all. She dumped two crows with it on Sunday. When she gets a little more shot weight behind her, Dad had better watch out!

[River runner]

Taught all four of my sons to shoot with a SXS .410, and all four are very accomplished wing shooters. Started them out shooting at stationery fun targets such as baloons tied to a fence post, the slightest breeze gave them some movement, then tied clay targets to a string and swung them from a tree limb, and eventually they graduated to shooting trap from a hand trap. Once they were ready they accompanied me on dove hunts, and they definitely contributed to the pot. I also found that going to a 20 ga. was a bit of a mistake as they actually recoil more with 7/8 oz. shot than a 12 ga with the same load, probably due to constriction of the bore on a 20.  Anyway the main thing to training a young shooter is to make it interesting. RR:D

[memphis]

Can a smoothbore shoot rifled slugs?

[longhunter]

Rifled slugs in a 410 have accounted for a LOT of deer at under,say 30 yds.At least around here they have.You gotta know the guns limatations is all.

[Bob_K]

I recently purchased a Citori 12 ga Skeet shotgun that came with Briley tubes to shoot 20, 28, and .410.  This was my first opportunity to shoot these other gauges.  When I shot the 20 ga at my club Skeet range, I thought "This shoots just like my 12 ga 1 oz loads!"  Pleasant to shoot, and smokes 'em, too.

The next day I shot the 28 ga.  I thought to myself, "This shoots just like my 20 ga 7/8 oz loads!"  Pleasant to shoot, and smokes 'em, too.

Then I got around to shooting the .410. Darn if it didn't smoke 'em too, when I was right on.  If you're off a bit, yes, the birds will fly away unmolested.  What surprised me was that I could readily see my pointing error with the .410 since it, comparatively speaking, had no recoil.

What I learned from all this was how much fun the .410 can be.  With it's half oz payload it's cheap to shoot (reloads), and can be just as instructive.  It is somewhat akin to using a pellet rifle to learn sight alignment and trigger control, rathar than a .30 cal M1 Garand.  I agree, though, that it can be a difficult tool for the new shooter.  I already had enough understanding of lead and follow through, so I can benefit from the ability to recognize my errors in execution that are not masked by recoil.  One of these days I may even enter a formal Skeet match.

Bottom line:  I think the .410 has a place.  It's a hoot to shoot!

[X-man]

I'm one of those guys who "grew out of" the .410. Started out shotgunning with a single shot break action in .410, with full choke. Got my first partridge on the wing with it, but shot it less and less as I grew into a teenager. Bought myself a new Remington 870 12 ga. pump on CHRISTmas and that was it.... Until an uncle, who was moving, happended to give me a lovely little Savage/Fox SXS .410 a couple of years ago.

I'm an avid rabbit/grouse hunter, but had been using 12 ga. for all upland game since I was 16. The 12 is a great gun. However, if you hit something with a 12, especially at close range, and you get a lot of spoiled meat. My brother and I trained ourselves to aim for the head, and we usually hit it, but there's always that one body shot... Anyway, after receiving the little double .410, I decided to take it along on my next bunny hunt. The beagles were on one inside of three minutes after slipping the leashes. Game on!!!

Now when I was hunting with the 12, you had a rather large "margin for error" when it came to bagging that bunny, since the odd alder branch or young spruce didn't really offer all that much impediment to that load of shot. With the .410, you sure aren't throwing as much shot, so you have to learn to be a little more selective in where and when you shoot and you have to learn when NOT to shoot. After a few hard looks from my beagles and a few digs from my brother about missing the "easy" shot on 'ol Bugs I set to work re-learing the art of the .410. I missed my first couple of opportunites and decided to pass on several more on that first hunt, but nevertheless, managed to bag several hares for the pot. It was a hunt that I'll always remember...

Its now a couple of hunting seasons later and I'm still using the .410. I believe it has made me a much better shot and a much better hunter. My success rate in the field is just as good, if not better, than when I was hunting exclusively with a 12 ga, and I haven't had to discard a single bunny or bird because of excessive pellet damage.

I now know why the .410 is called the "experts" gun. While I don't deem to call myself that, I sure like to think I'm on that road and will eventually arrive at that point.

Don't get me wrong though, I still hunt with the 12ga and there are obviously a number of hunting scenarios where it is much more logical than a small bore. Turkey and waterfowl hunting come immediately to mind. However, you shouldn't turn you nose up at the challenge a .410 can add to your next upland game hunt. Dust off those great old singles and doubles and take to the field. You won't be sorry!

[spinafish]

These posts are just too good to not comment on.  I too started with a .410 single shot (Stevens) at the ripe old age of 8 1/2 yrs of age.  Dad and all my relatives rabbit hunted at the time(quail was for rich folks and there weren't any deer..).  The .410 accounted for a truck bed load of rabbits through the years,but I got a Mossberg 20 pump for my 14 th Christmas and sorta retired the single shot.
As I became able to expand my gun collection I have obtained two more .410s and love  all three of them (yes,I still have my first one..it now belongs to my 9 year old boy).  My other two are a T/C Contender pistol with 14" barrel (best snake gun going)and a Fox BSE side by side.
I hope to always have a .410 or three in the gun cabinet..they works wonderful for rabbit and squirrels,but lack some on doves and quail.
What I can't understand is the fact that no manufacturer of repeating shotguns (only H&R offers a single shot)offer a youth gun in 28 gauge..20 gauge only  I understand not too many folks want to fork out $10.00 for a box of shells,but the lessen recoil and the extra lead in the air is worth the money with dealing with a new shooter..either a youngster or a recoil sensitive adult...the cost just might make one think about reloading!!!,plus there is not a whole lot of difference between the price of a box of .410 and 28's. I bought a Browning pump in 28 for my boy and am now thinking of having the stock shortened..he is left eye dominant and the BPS works like the old Model 37 Ithaca..loads and ejects from the bottom!

[wilfam]

You never outgrow a 410 It is an experienced shooters gun. It would be too dissappointing for a youth to start with one. Just not enough BB's. All I use now is a 410 for rabbit hunting. I shot 56 rabbits last year with my 410. GOOD Hunting, Ken

[hillbill]

hey q! ill admit i started out wingshooting with a .410 and it kind of soured me on shotguns. but i must admit i was raised a rifle man{one shot one kill} the shells are twice the price of 12 ga here and my fierst .410 was an ithaca piece of junk lever action single shot. i traded it off and never regreted it. i agree with enough shells and enough training the .410 would be a great entry level shotgun. however i was buying my own shells and i couldnt justfy the cost when i was 12. i would think a moderately loaded and moderate weight 20 or 12 would be a better training gun for a kid. i wont argue the fact though that if you can down birds with a .410 you are a hell of a shot. same as with rifles, you got to know your own limitations. for rabbits and squirells the .410 is prob the best kids gun available but for birds im not so sure. what youall think?

[Hound_Dog55]

I started my son out with a single shot 410 when he was 6. He never got discouraged when he missed a quail or a squirrel for that matter. Now he is 13 and usually outshoots me. He has several different shotguns now ranging from a 31/2" 12 that I wont hardly shoot back to the single shot 410. He still takes the 410 on squirrell hunts sometimes. I always keep a box of shells for it around. I guess a lot depends on the kid.

[LCSNM]

Think I was about 16. Buddy of mine in HS was a gun nut, along with his family. Showed me his gun safe with all kinds of guns, asked me if I wanted to go hunting for Quail.  He loaned me a single shot .410.

Note:  I had never been hunting before.  We had agreed that for safety reasons, walking along together, I would shoot right, he would shoot left. as I was on his right.  

Up popped one, about midway between us about 35 yards ahead.  Remember, I had never shot a .410 before.  Where I got the knowledge, I DO NOT KNOW.  I remember mounting quickly, taking a breath , letting out, beading on bird, than remembered I had to lead, did so and fired.

In the embarrassment of remembering I had shot to the left, across my friend, I didn't watch the bird that apparently disappeared!  After profusely apologizing we looked and looked for about a half hour, finally found the bird with his head blown off, clean shot.  Never took another shot that day.