so my son and i were at my brothers last weekend, doing some shooting with our sons. my brother drug out an old single shot bolt action 410, that my dad bought for our mom, trying to get her out in the woods with him. she went a couple of times, but was killed in a car accident. anyway, my brother asked my boy if he wanted to shoot it, and there was an enthusiastic YES! at the end of the day, he asked my son if he wanted to take the gun home with him. again, a very enthusiastic yes! no big surprise to me. anyway, it is marked as a 3" shells on the barrel. can this use 2 1/2" shells as well? or is it a strictly 3" only thing? all the shells my brother had were 3" shells. and he was not sure either. he never shot the gun, and our mom was killed back in 1976, which was probably the last time the gun was fired (or cleaned). thankfully, dad and i clean and store guns with one thing in mind. protection. the gun is still beautiful. and we aim to keep it that way. it is an old western field. i don't know who made it for Wards, so if anyone has an idea about that, that information would be appreciated as well. thanks for your help.