[Ratshooter]

My local Walmart has a Mossberg .410 and 20 guage for $207.00. Thats cheaper than I have seen them anywhere else. They seem pretty loose on the forearm and they don't have a very deep blue color and have hardwood stocks.

I would like to have a .410. Is this a decent gun? A local gun store has the same gun with a $369.00 price tag on it. So what do you folks think?

[Guns and more]

What model is it? Maverick? 500? Youth?

[Ratshooter]

It says mossberg 500 on the sticker on the buttstock. It has a 24" vent rib barrel and the stock is not the youth stock size. I don't know if it had screw in chokes or not, I forgot to look.

I don't know much about mossberg but I thought the mavericks all had plastic stocks.

[cratti]

It is the Mdl. 500, standard size. The only youth size Wal-Mart regularly carries is 20ga. Same with the Rem870. We (used to). The Maverick is only available in full-size 12 and 20ga. from Wal-Mart.

[rcmodel]

See if you can find any .410 ammo and price it before you jump in with both feet.

It's been almost impossible to get in this neck of the woods for some time now.

rc

[Guns and more]

$207 is a great price. I'd get it and consider getting another barrel for H/D. (18 1/2")

.410 ammo is available online although it is more expensive than 12 ga. Go figure.
If you have women or kids who might shoot it, the .410 is a good choice.

The Mossberg 500 has a ton of aftermarket stuff available for it.

[KenWP]

410 is the worst gun to try and teach a kid or anyone else to shoot with. It has such a narrow pattern that it takes some one who can really shoot to use it. It's great for rats. The cost of the ammo is amazeing compared to 12gauge.

[Guns and more]

410 is the worst gun to try and teach a kid or anyone else to shoot with
The problem is that a 20 ga. kicks just as hard as a 12 ga. and the ammo is as hard to find as .410.
If you go to a 20 ga. you'll just convince a woman or kid that they can't shoot this thing.

[cratti]

The cost of the ammo is amazeing compared to 12gauge.

Amazing in what sense? Amazingly high?

[Carl N. Brown]

.410 is usually much more expensive than 12 ga. Its a thing called economy of scale IIRC. Basically, if you have mass demand for 12ga and can run and sell boxcar loads, but only cartons of .410, it's more economical to make and sell 12ga versus .410.

I can remember when .22 short was cheaper than .22 Long which was cheaper than .22 long rifle. Demand for Short and Long has fallen off, so mass produced .22 Long Rifle can be sold for less than Short or Long today. Today .22 Long Rifle is cheaper than .22 short and the only .22 Long I have seen recently is the .22 CB Long (subsonic). .22 Long high velocity has gone the way of the dodo bird. I suspect the same thing is going on with .410 versus 12ga.

[RandKL]

.410 is the worst gun to try and teach a kid or anyone else to shoot with.

I think just the opposite. Using a fairly limited in range and destruction weapon is about the *best* to teach a kid to shoot with. It allows the kid to actually learn *shooting* as a skill instead of relying on a fancy weapon as a crutch. By the same token, giving a teen a scoped .308 and sitting him in a treestand over a bait patch isn't "hunting". Giving a kid (or anyone for that matter) a compound bow with all the latest sights and rests and releases etc isn't true archery, and putting a laser on a Glock isn't true marksmanship.

A lot of us oldtimers learned to shoot with .410's and .22's. When my two nephews and niece started shooting, they started on the same. When they master the skill, they can use anything they want. Until they master the skill, though, propping them up with a crutch gun isn't going to do them or anyone any good.

Buy the .410 and have fun. If you want something bigger later on, so be it.

rich

[Runningman]

410 is the worst gun to try and teach a kid or anyone else to shoot with. It has such a narrow pattern that it takes some one who can really shoot to use it. It's great for rats. I got to disagree with this statement. The last thing you want to teach a newer shooter is to flinch and closed their eyes when shooting. Heavier recoiling shotguns can do just that to new shooters.

When I was growing up 410s and 22s were fairly common around farms. My Grandpa had a few 410s in various locations around the farm back in Montana for use on the predators that came around. You would be surprised what a well placed shot with a 3" 410 and #4 shot will do to predators much bigger than rats.

The 410 was my introduction into shotguns. Later when I was around 12 years old my dad bought me a Winchester model 37 single shot 20 gauge. It had a hard plastic butt plate and was very light weight to boot. The light weight 20 gauge with no recoil pad was not a pleasant combination to hone my shotgun skills on I can tell you that from my experience. I shot 410s much better and more effectively through much of my youth.

[Fumbler]

They seem pretty loose on the forearm
That's normal. Loose = works reliably without costing too much.

and they don't have a very deep blue color and have hardwood stocks.
Mossberg 500s are generally not that nice in finish. The blueing is decent, just not nice. Same with the cheap birch stocks.
They're not pretty, but that's why they cost so little.

Is this a decent gun? So what do you folks think?
The Mossy 500 is a decent gun.
It will go bang when you pull the trigger and if it doesn't then mossberg will fix it.
I say if that's what you want, then get it. You won't be dissapointed at that price.

[Ratshooter]

Thanks for the help guys. I have the 12s and 20s in multiples here. I have already bought 3 boxes of .410 to go with the new Spartan 410/22lr combo I just picked up. The price of those rounds takes my breath away. The price of the ammo may be the deal breaker.

I don't shoot shotguns a lot but really enjoy it when I do. The .410 just seems like such a useful round. I have no young kids to train, no chickens to guard, just a desire to have a light kicking, easy to carry shotgun with a limited range.

I wish Lee made their Load All in 410 but they don't. I also wish they would make more of the hand tool loaders that sell on E-Bay for $90 bucks or so. I see a dropped gauntlet here.

I do have a loadall in 20 guage. I have loaded close to a thousand shells with it. It was worth the $25 I paid for it. If you learn to use it, it makes nice ammo. But no more than I shoot shotguns it is almost better to buy the factory stuff. But when the day comes that you can't buy ammo I will be ready.

[Grey Morel]

The first shotgun my fiance' shot was a Mossberg 500E in .410 bore. the first thing we did was go shoot clays.

before we shot for real, I propped a few of them up on t he ground at about 20 yards and had her shoot at them stationary. She hit every one of them. In the air, she hit about 50% of them.

The .410 is much maligned by internet hunters. Its really not that hard.

[RetiredLawman]

In my area, we have a rabbit hunting club where everyone uses a 410. I hunt with these guys from time to time. They bag lots of rabbits. They have more fun than anyone I know. Rabbits are thin skinned and it doesn't take much to kill one. These guys use 3" #6s and are very successful. The first time I went with them, I didn't have a 410 so they let me use a 20 gauge until I could borrow a 410. I use to use a 410 for squirrels using #6 shot back when I was a youngster.

[Deltaboy]

I started out with a 410 and I still use it from time to time for varmits and I carry it hunting for fun and I still put meat in the pot with it. Mine is a single shot.

[Johny]

walmart has the .410 20g and 12g all at $207.00 500E I think there called? I see them when I pass the gun section. Its fun to shoot recoil is strong though because it is a SHOTGUN.

[Bud Tugly]

A .410 is deadly on small game inside 25 yards or so and then the pattern thins out. It'll bring down anything a 12 gauge will as long as you pass on longer shots. If you shoot at something inside that range and can't hit it then blame your shooting ability - not the gun.

People who say they can hit targets inside 25 yards with a 12 gauge but miss them with a .410 must be using very open chokes on their 12 and relying on the outer edge of their pattern to make their hits. Sounds like bad shooting is at the core of that problem.