.410...what's it good for?

[RSVP2RIP]

You know, they're not cheap for how old they are, but I think you could just go buy one for a couple grand, maybe a little more...

Not this one, 1961 Pigeon Grade, Round Knob, Long Tang with 26" barrels and no salt damage. It's in excellent condition. I forgot to mention that he basically stole it from his father. My grandfather bought it and could not shoot it for anything. He said that if my father could shoot it, he could have it. Well he limited on doves and made some impressive shots with it. A family friend said at the end of the day, "Take it before he changes his mind." And thats how he came into possession of it. It's almost $7000 to replace today, if someone wants to give it up. Not cheap, more like anything BUT cheap.

 

[ArmedBear]

Oh, wow. Now I understand.

 

[MovedWest]

Holy cow Hardshell! I so want one of those AR's in .410! That's AWESOME!!! I've read a couple reviews and there's nothing but positive things to say about them.

Do the standard AR-15 lowers accommodate the magazines?

-MW

 

[MCgunner]

.410 may not be a beginner's gun, but a heck of a lot of kids, including me, started with one. My first doves, lots of squirrels and rabbits fell to it.

 

[THE DARK KNIGHT]

Holy cow Hardshell! I so want one of those AR's in .410! That's AWESOME!!! I've read a couple reviews and there's nothing but positive things to say about them.

Meh, why not just get a Saiga .410 (or 20, or 12) for 1/3 the price IMO

 

[CZguy]

.410 may not be a beginner's gun, but a heck of a lot of kids, including me, started with one. My first doves, lots of squirrels and rabbits fell to it.

Me too.................I have many fond memories from hunting with mine.

 

[Sav .250]

Never owned a 410 but to me it`s a "nitch" shotgun. Know what you have and use it accordingly.

 

[pps]

.410 may not be a beginner's gun, but a heck of a lot of kids, including me, started with one. My first doves, lots of squirrels and rabbits fell to it.

Same here MCgunner. Lots of scrub jays, starlings, skunks, raccoon, and even a coyote at 10 feet from the truck.

 

[chuckusaret]

Hey, using the new .410 handgun shotshells in a shotgun would be a great for HD .

Federal introduced .410 ammunition designed for the Taurus Judge revolver. In two formulations, 000 and #4 shot, these loadings are designed for two different desires.

Federal states the 000 contains four pellets that penetrate to a depth of up to 15″ in bare gelatin. The #4 pellets (approximately 10) penetrate to a depth of up to 6″.

 

[21bubba]

What's it good for? Reminding me of my grandpa and uncles, All long gone now.

 

[eldiabloe1]

I dearly miss my old Savage double. It was a 311 or 511? I killed more doves with it than any shotgun since. Some turd decided he needed it so I lost a side glass out of the truck and a shotgun. This was back when everyone in town left their doors unlocked and every kid had a rifle or shotgun in the rack depending on the season. Now they go behind the seat and everyone locks their doors.

 

[Bud Tugly]

If all your shots are within 25 yards or so using #6 or smaller shot and you can hit reliably with a 12 gauge but not with a .410, it may well mean that most of your shots are just catching the edge of your pattern. That might mean that you aren't as good a shot as you think you are.

Anyone who can shoot well with a .410 deserves a tip of our hats rather than scorn IMO.

 

[BBroadside]

Part of the attraction of this caliber of shell must surely be the wide variety of gun types that can chamber it. What else is chambered in:

• bolt-action repeaters with tubular magazines
• bolt-action repeaters with vertical magazines
• single-shot bolt actions based on famous British army rifles
• autoloaders based on famous Russian army rifles
• top-break pistols that can swap barrels to 7mm or 22 LR in a few seconds
• revolvers
• over-under derringers
• cheap-looking doubles based on questionable side-by-side derringers
• beautiful doubles made by the finest shotgun makers
• pump shotguns with strange chokes that no one can explain*
• lever guns that look just like Winchester carbines

If I were a (rich!) collector, I'd get one of each. Then I'd pattern them all and post the results.

* I'm sure someone can explain the "spread choke" on the Mossberg Home Security gun, but it ain't me. I guess it is a duckbill; for a while I thought it was some sort of "blunderbuss" (i.e. reverse choke), but then I read that the bell of a blunderbuss doesn't spread shot, so why should a shotgun bell spread it? Ah, mysteries.

 

[Bud Tugly]

Don't forget the .410 Baikal revolver shotgun. The Russians must have a special love for .410's since they make so many varieties. I wonder why?

 

[Onmilo]

As a poster stated earlier in this thread,skunks.
Raccoons that get into the chicken pen, cottonmouth snakes, barn pidgeons, squirrels, rabbits, doves,etc.
Popping the skull on a pig or beefcow.

There is no finer farm gun than a good .410 for all around use.

 

[CZguy]

There is no finer farm gun than a good .410 for all around use.

As much a I like a .410, I keep an old single shot 12 ga by the back door for general purpose pest control.

 

[HardShell]

Meh, why not just get a Saiga .410 (or 20, or 12) for 1/3 the price IMO

Or just get both, like I did.

(I have a couple of S-12s as well, FWIW...)

 

[HardShell]

Holy cow Hardshell! I so want one of those AR's in .410! That's AWESOME!!! I've read a couple reviews and there's nothing but positive things to say about them.

Do the standard AR-15 lowers accommodate the magazines?

-MW

There are some serious issues with cross-compatibility between the Safirs and std. ARs. The conversions kits do better with that than the complete guns (like I have), but I have still read about issues.

My two biggest complaints are that it shoots the 2.5" shells exclusively (a compromise to mag-well length, apparently) and there are no extra magazines to be had ANYWHERE! (I can't stand having a semi-auto of any variety without extra mags...)

Otherwise, it's a lot of fun... but, so far, I'd have to say the Arsenal/Saiga is more fun.

 

[Southern Shooter]

I never knew.....

Gee, guys. I never knew there was a concern about the usefulness of the .410. 37 years ago my grandfather handed me a Sear/Stevens, single-shot, bolt action .410 to learn shotgunning. Once I was consistently hitting still targets out to 20-25 yards it was off to shoot snakes at the ponds and birds that kept attacking the garden vegetables.

Once, squirrels came on the menu of hunting it did not seem to be a problem taking them, even on the run. I fared no worse than my cousins wielding 16ga, 20ga and 12ga. Like any gun it has its limitations. But, I was taught when, where, and how to use the .410. And, I was taught how to be patient in the hunt and how to aim more precisely.

The .410 is not a nitch gun anymore than the 12ga would be a nitch gun.

I am 45 years old, now. Guess what I bought this summer...yes...a youth sized .410. A single shot .410 at that. Why???? Nostalgia. Simplicity. Short. Light weight.

And, with the harder cast, approximately 114 grain, solid Benneke slugs and 3" 00 buckshot with 5 pellets, I believe that it makes for a great camp gun for critters here in the southeast U.S.A. Both, 4 legged and 2 legged. Out to 25 yards I can put slugs in a 3" group all day long.

It is a great shotgun with versatility. The problem is not with the .410. The only problem I see with the .410 are the hands that hold it and the brain that controls the hands.

 

[sig220mw]

The long shot column of the 410 is a proven killer. Learn to shoot one as you would any other shot gun and you'll love it.