What is .410 good for?

[plumberroy]

It is for people who know how to hunt I killed every edible critter (and some that weren't) that roamed the hills of kanawha in the seventies. I was in my early teens I was shown max range and told if I was inside that range it would do anything a bigger gauge would . I also knew that if I got caught taking longer shot I would get my butt kicked

 

[Dave McCracken]

"Ethics come from within".....


Amen, Bud. Regardless of the instrument,we all have an obligation to take only shots with a low percentage of merely wounding.

A note, back when I'd take off the squirrel opener, my friend Marty did his squirrelin' with a bolt action, single shot 410. It was an old family gun. I recall he took 4 limits one year, 20 squirrels, with 20 shots.

He reloaded those little cases with hard "Magnum" 6 shot, had the skills to get within 25 yards consistently and even, get this, PATTERNED his loads. If all of us took that much trouble, the world would be a better place.

Tom Held is a very good shotgunner. I've seen him go 19/25 on trap singles using a nice little Browning O/U 410 with 2.5" 1/2 oz loads, and he tells me he's since shot 23/25 with 3" handloads. That's good shooting.

However, trap targets do not limp off bleeding when poorly struck. With any gauge or caliber, it's crucial to keep within the limits of what the cartridge and load will realistically do under field conditions.

And with new shooters, the most important thing we can teach them may be not to take iffy shots.

 

[oneounceload]

Most people who own, shoot, and enjoy .410s either don't shoot clays or if they do they use another gun for that purpose.

Actually, the 410 is one of the 4 gauges used in competition skeet, as well as one of the sub gauges finding popularity in sporting clays

 

[winchester '97]

.410 is good for alot of things. Squirrels being the one that really pops into my mind, though ive taken and seen all kinds of small game taken with it, If you think its useless exept on very small stationary animals you need practice in my oppinion. It is also somewhat popular in states where you can only take deer with slugs with old and frail or young hunters of small stature, i saw a man in a wheelchair that hunts deer with one, as well as a family friend that cant handle the recoil of a 20 or 16 guage slug due to injuries suffered in a bad motorcycle accident. It does have its uses. And the OP's idea of a quiet pest control gun seems like a logical way to go if you need to kill rabbits or pigeons without your neighbors being offended by the noise.

 

[Gideon]

Add a red dot to an H&R single shot .410 youth and you have the perfect squirrel gun for a young child. It's safe, easy to observe and control their ammo. Easy for them to load. Low recoil. Red dot helps the aiming and the multiple pellets is a bit easier to hit with then a .22. Teach them to use it just like a rifle and it's just good safe effective fun for squirrels. They get hits and it's effective and as a result they learn to love the sport.

Then you move them over to a .22 for a life long pastime of squirrel hunting.

PS; grew up hunting pheasnts and I wouldn't use a .410 for those!

Gideon

 

[Howaido]

I live in a suburban / rural setting. I use a single shot .410 for a raccoon / mean dog gun. It is mounted in a place that is hidden but available. I keep it loaded with a 3" #4 birdshot round for raccoons. If a mean dog has to be taken care of (on my property and threatening) I keep silver slugs in a stock round holder on the shotgun. I have confidence in the round and I think it maximizes the single round from a .410.

http://mcb-homis.com/bren/bren.htm

I would add that this would be used on a mean dog only if it were the closest gun. There are other better options in the house.

 

[rnpollard]

I just picked up...

a Rossi Combo Gun from Wally World. $117 for a youth model with a .410 barrel and a .22 barrel. I haven't shot it yet but I'm looking forward to it.

I bought a variety of shells for it; everything from birdshot to buckshot and slugs.

I hope it is a decent truck gun. The .22 barrel is tapped for a scope and I plan to try a BSA red dot on it.

I'll post an update after the range.

 

[natman]

I don't expect a six year old to master anything firearmwise except the safety aspects of shooting one. I do expect him to have fun. The six year old I mentioned in post #35 killed three birds on the wing out of 25 shots. He didn't care about his average or his form. He was having a blast hunting with his Dad. I thought 3 out of 25 was pretty good for a first Dove hunt at his age. I know a few grown men who might not do that well. If you find yourself in that group, perhaps it is the indian and not the arrow.

A nice try at a cheap insult, but I have no problem admitting that I find it harder to hit with a 410. In fact I already have, so this would be the second time.

My point, which seems to have been overlooked, is that many kids don't show the patience of the kid in this example. If they don't get some positive feedback they get frustrated. So perhaps for them it would be better to start with something easier to succeed with.

To get back to the OP's question, the 410 is great as a garden gun for shooting like a rifle where a rifle would be inappropriate. I wish I could get a rig like the one shown here in CA. It's also great for really good wingshooters who find larger gauges insufficiently challenging.

 

[nicksterdemus]

I'll risk sounding somewhat elitist by saying the combo should be 28ga/22mag.

Even Waly-World carries 28 gauge. My only apprehension in the 22mag is leaving out the short & CB that a LR chambering would offer.

I love the short hp & CB for quiet plinkin'.

You really gain no advantage in sound reduction w/.410.

My senior citizen neighbor has used one to shoot rabbits and squirrels for years.

When you're 200' next door it's loud and when you can't see for the trees it's always unexpected & loud.

Anywho, the .410 is anemic and borderline, for starters, while the shells are ridiculously priced and it has no hint of cachet even when being on one side of the vaunted 28.

It is a very light firearm that range is limited to the length of a modest three bedroom house, not counting the carport, or double wide mobile home.

If only it had been pushed to the wayside by a true 36ga.

What do I know?

I like the short & CB...

 

[whalerman]

There is an interesting article in Guns and Ammo magazine this month about the .410 for home defense. Also a smaller blurb about new .410 ammo. Not trying to convince anyone but there are some new options out there.

 

[Armored farmer]

I have 2 .410's: savage mod 24 .410/.22lr; Rem 870 .410
I bought the 870 to hunt quail because my 12 ga was brutal on the birds. Often there was little left for the dogs to retrieve. Much to my surprise, the .410 was almost as bad. I either had a miss or a mess.
We patterned the gun before and after boring the full choke out to .408...no difference.
I think the long slender shot column tends to stay long and slender.
What,s it good for?
It is truly a handicap for the experienced shooter who wants to put some "sport" into shooting. Esp with 2 1/2 " 1/2 oz loads that I reload for it.

The 28 ga is far better sub-gauge imho.
Either way...get a reloader or be prepared to pay big $$/box for factory ammo. If you shoot much at all, a nice mec will pay for itself quickly.

 

[mgregg85]

What is .410 good for???

First thing that popped into my mind was that it was probably helping Taurus make a ton of money selling those Judge pistols. I'll keep my opinion of them to myself.

 

[nicksterdemus]

Here come da judge, here come da judge.

Rumor has it that Taurus, through their Rossi division, will chamber a true 36 gauge revolver known as, The Supreme Court Justice w/limited edition in 24 gauge known as, The Chief Justice.

Also in the works is an alternating 44spl-44 gauge shotshell cylinder known as, The Scales of Justice/Blind Justice/Blind Man's Bluff or Injun Poker...

 

[Deltaboy1984]

For what our across the pond user asked it will well work well. As for my 2 cents on this side of the pond. I have used mine Super Single 410 since 1972 to kill snakes, rats, squirrels, rabbits, strays and countless other small critters. My neighbor had one he had the barrel cut and rifle sites put on it and he used it for deer. FYI he filled his tag every year that I can remember. IMO if you start with a 410 and are taught it's limits from the start you love them if not you hate them because of the shot string and lack of lead.

 

[logical]

I think a cheaper, more versatile and simpler option would be a Ruger 10/22 and a box of sub-sonic .22LR. I've not played with a silenced shotgun but I suspect the sub-sonic .22 out of a rifle is quieter and it's more than enough velocity for any garden pest. It's my go-to gun for back yard patrol.

 

[natman]

No question about the velocity, but the problem is too much velocity in the form of too much range. The 410 requires a lot less clear background in the role of a "garden gun".

 

[Armored farmer]

What i really want to know is, would a .410 give a humane kill on something like a large Crow or Pigeon. I've never actually shot a .410 but over here there are a lot of silenced .410's around like this one (Mossberg 500):

maybe you might think about one of those high-powered air rifles i see.

 

[postalnut25]

I got a Rossi 22/410 combo for my kids a few years ago. It was so much fun I got one for myself. Even scoped the 22 barrel. I started the kids with the 410. It was light, easy for them to hold, and simple to use. I put melons & pumpkins & the like at close ranges. It demolished the fruit and got them excited to shoot more. I've done it with four kids so far, the fifth is too little still. I think a 410 is a great way to get someone interested in shooting sports.

 

[testosterone]

What a .410 most definitively is *not* is for women, children, and beginners.

What a .410 most definitely however is an *experts* shotgun.

 

[thunder173]

I don't get it. All the experts around here agree that the lowly .410 is only a good gun for an expert. It shouldn't ever be put in the hands of a kid,... lest they be discouraged.

Man,...I sure wish somebody woulda told my dad and granddad that. I wouldn't have so many of the dang things around here. Probably could save on the number of shells I go thru with the kids and grandkids too.

I still have,...and still occassionally use,... the same old Mossberg bolt action single shot that I started shooting shotguns with over 50 years ago. I has taken a lot of small game in its days,..still does in fact,....and was the gun I shot my very first deer with,..and a lotta firsts of a lotta different critters. Glad I never knew it couldn't do all that. I mighta gotten discouraged or something.

Better to give them a short, light and handy 20 or 12 that kicks like hell I guess. Getting the crap knocked outta them probably won't dissuade them too much.

Or,...one COULD teach them how to get closer to their game,... and what the limits of the .410 are..... and then enforce its use to within those limits. They break the rules,..they lose the gun. Seems simple enuff to me. But,..hey,..what do I know....??

 

[MUSIBIKE]

#4 shot in a .410 will drop a coyote.

Cleaned out a few skunks with this load as well.

 

[plumberroy]

Or,...one COULD teach them how to get closer to their game,... and what the limits of the .410 are..... and then enforce its use to within those limits. They break the rules,..they lose the gun. Seems simple enuff to me. But,..hey,..what do I know....??

But they would have to learn game habits and habitat, movement control, Concealment they would have to learn to be hunters, instead of If I can't hit it buy a bigger gun

 

[chas08]

But they would have to learn game habits and habitat, movement control, Concealment they would have to learn to be hunters, instead of If I can't hit it buy a bigger gun

I know you're "funnin", but there are folks out there that think, that a kid left on the porch,to wait and grow, is better trained than one taken with you with a .410. I'm glad my Dad didn't feel this way. I started with a Bolt action JC Higgins 410 at six, moved up to a H&R single shot 20ga. at ten, and then mowed lawns all summer to buy my first 12ga (a Winchester model 1200 in 1968) when I was 12. The below quote scares me;

What a .410 most definitively is *not* is for women, children, and beginners.

What a .410 most definitely however is an *experts* shotgun

The .410 is BOTH when properly applied. You use the .410 to fuel the spark of intrest and move them up as needed. It's not about us as adults. It's about them as kids with a growing desire. Incidentaly, I killed my first bird on the wing (a dove) with the H&R 20ga. more than three years after my introduction to shotguns. But there were a bunch of "Limbers" before that...

 

[USAFRetired]

My dad started me out on a .410 (many moons ago) hunting dove in TN. His philosophy was "You get good with that, and A. 'you can hit anything on the wing' and B. 'Only THEN you can move up to a 28 or 20 gauge'

I got pretty good with that little double barrel, sometimes getting my limit well before the "old-timers" blazing away with their Auto-5's.

 

[thunder173]

My point exactly Plumberroy. If you're going to expect a kid, or ANY inexperienced person to hunt and take game with a .410,...or anything else for that matter,..they need to be taught the skills to do so, with the tools at hand,...be that a .410, a .22,..or a rock.

Learning to hunt must also include the ethics and manners of the hunter. I'd personally prefer to take a kid and teach them to use the .410 both effectively and ethically, and have them be confident and comfortable with the tool and their skills,..than to have someone who doesn't know or care what the limits of that tool is, and be uncomfortable with its use.

That requires US to teach, and be the mentors to kids and the inexperienced. If we are not willing to do so,...we should stand aside, keep our mouth shut, and let others take on that task.

If we're talking using a .410 for sporting clays,..that's another game, and one that I don't partake in. I'll defer to others who are better qualified to address that particular sport. But I'd suspect it still boils down to many of the same issues.

Okay,..I'm done. Think I'll go see if I can hit anything with this old .410 today. Now the experts have ME doubting it's ability. (In a pigs wahoo.......)