.410 - What are you using it for...

L

ligonierbill

New member
...and how is it working for you? My reason for asking is I am thinking about buying one. It's the only common gauge for which I don't have a "real" shotgun. I have a little Rossi kid's gun, but the modified choke barrel hardly delivers an effective pattern at 20 yards. Good for small pests, I suppose. I'm looking at a Mossberg 500, which is full choke only.
 
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I use it for pests mainly. It's also a good pickup gun for skunks amd whatever else I run across in the field at night. I keep both birdshot and buckshot in the glove box so I'm ready. I have shot a few birds when the opportunity arose but they were close range.
 
Several problems with the .410. First is the very small shot load. Sufficient for small pests but really only suitable for flying game/targets in the hands of an expert. Second is the very high cost of shells.

While I've occasionally thought about picking up a .410, I keep from doing it because I know that the 20ga does everything better and cheaper with only a little more recoil.
 
I mostly shoot a 16 - I'm old and old fashioned - but I also shoot 12, 20 and 28. Common wisdom is that the 28 gauge is about the lightest truly effective shotgun round, and I tend to agree. However, there are a lot of 410s out there. Hence my question. Cost of ammo means nothing to me, considering what I spend overall on shooting, not to mention other hunting costs.
 
I bought a used Mossberg 500 in .410 a long time back because the wood on it was more impressive than any 500 I had ever seen.
It's just a gorgeous adult sized pump shotgun in .410.
The only thing that it has ever been used for is clays and it has proved itself a challenge and an awful lot of fun, though it is a little expensive to feed.
No regrets.
 
A Mod choke at 20-25 yards is about as ideal as you can get when using a 410. Try some different ammo. WAY too many folks think it is the best for kids, but it is the worst as the success rate is abysmal. A 28 in a gun sized to the person is about as much fun with a shotgun as should be legal.
 
I wouldn't recommend one, but I have always liked using a .410 for small game, upland game, and increased challenge when breaking clays.

The only one I currently own (a pre-WWI H&R) was purchased for popping rabbits and grouse when the season is shotgun-only. (I normally prefer head shots with a rimfire, and my 12 ga and 20 ga shotguns are overkill at the ranges I take shots.)

The cost of ammunition is unpleasant. ...But I also don't shoot much. A box or two a year... maybe.
Even then... I just bought a bunch of brass cases, assorted fiber/card wads, and some slugs. With shot, plastic wads, and plastic hulls already on hand, I can start reloading for notably cheaper, once I decide to take a shot at it.
Oh, and the brass cases? It's not really an expense. I don't leave my hulls behind - not even plastic hulls. So they'll last forever. It might be added expense for some people that leave their trash all over the ground, but it isn't for me.
 
I have two of them. One is a H&R Model 98 Topper Deluxe which is a single shot break action. I use it as a snake gun and have dispatched a few using 3" shot shells. The other is a Stevens (Savage) Model 67 pump action. I acquired it at a local auction for very little money almost three years ago. It must not of been a wise buy since I have yet to even load it.
 
.410 is one of my favorite rounds/gauges/chambering/whatever you want to call it to shoot. It's fun to try to bust Clay's with it(emphasis in "try" for me) and also fun just to shoot.

I also think a PGO .410 is a fantastic home defense option.

The cost of ammo is the real problem. It's a shame we can't get affordable .410.
 
I mostly shoot a 16 - I'm old and old fashioned - but I also shoot 12, 20 and 28.
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With that being said, the question is not "what to use it for", but why not?:D
My first "all my very own" shotgun when I was a kid was a Stevens model 59 bolt action. Not really thinking about it's small payload, and using conventional thought, my dad bought it in modified choke. OK for most of our regular Sunday rabbit hunts in front of Beagles. But for my after school squirrel hunts, it just didn't have the punch in the tops of tall oaks.
Now, as a "seasoned" citizen longing for memories of my youth, I have found another Stevens to replace my long gone first shotgun. I also added a Mossberg 500 like you mentioned. Both in full choke this time. I really don't traverse the timber much any more, so I don't know how effective either is on tree rats. I will say it is quite rewarding to bust an airborne target with one though.
 
I have a Browning Citori XS Skeet model O/U in .410 ....built on 20 ga receiver ( and i have a 20ga & 28 ga too ) ....all 30" barrels and changeable Invector plus chokes..its a gun I used mostly for Skeet and Sporting clays.

I did hunt Quail with it once or twice...but I have always shot the 28ga better ..( its a mental thing for me...because I know the 28ga patterns better...so I psyche myself out with the .410...)..... The .410 is a little cruel....( when I put it in the case, it talks to me....and mostly says...." Who are you kidding, you suck / you can't shoot me...." :p

While I do shoot it pretty well in sporting clays, I have never run 100 straight with it in skeet...that 15" pattern is just cruel....:o

https://thefiringline.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=82011&d=1339792349

They are all XS skeet models in 30"...12ga at top, then 20, 28 and .410....

I do reload for the .410 ( and 28, 20 & 12 )....so shell cost is no big deal / mine is a 2 1/2" chamber...if I just wanted a field gun, I would buy the Browning BPS ( pump ) in the Hunter model in a 26" barrel and Invector plus chokes / BPS is my favorite pump...bottom ejection, smooth action, safety on tang on top easy to get to with gloves, very solid guns.
 
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.410

At present, my only use of the .410 is as a pest gun around our place. A Winchester 37 resides along the side door to dispatch snakes, rats, pigeons, or other vermin as necessary. But....

I have a lot of history with the .410 as a rabbit gun back in my youth. Both my Dad and I used .410's , along with his beagles, to kill a LOT of bunnies. Our guns were full choked, one was a Win 37, later a Mossberg bolt, then a Savage bolt (both of those cheap bolt shotguns "broke", we hunted and shot a lot) and finally a Savage 67 pump, and a High Standard pump. As an adult, I went and bought a Remington Express 870/.410, and still have it, but I do not run any beagles at present.....but I do not intend to sell the little shotgun.

For rabbits, I think without question, the best shell is the 3" version with
#7-1/2 shot. As most all know, the .410 has a small payload. This handicap is increased when folks shoot heavier shot, and by this I mean ANY shot larger than # 7-1/2. And often, when you find shells at Wally World or other large venues, what is most common is #6, or heaven forbid, #4. Such larger pellets lend to very thin, crippling patterns at all but the shortest ranges. But #7-1/2 from most FULL choke guns, shot will throw killing patterns for rabbits out to 25-30 yds. Most of our bunny shooting was way inside that, and the .410 so loaded worked just fine, like in .....ideal or perfect.

Too, though .410 shells are expensive, comparatively, you can carry twice as many afield at an equal weight. That can matter on a good bunny patch with lots of shooting, far from the truck. Also, even at short ranges, inside 20 yds, the .410 will not hamburger a rabbit like the bigger gauges will.

I'll add, that shot smaller than #7-1/2 may be too small for use on rabbits and squirrels. I have a quantity of the 2.5" shells with #8 shot, but have never used them on critters. I suspect the small pellets may run out of energy quickly and will not punch through hide and muscle of fur targets (as opposed to feathered targets) at all but really close range.

Finally, all my .410 shooting at game has been for cottontails in front of dogs. Shots were close, usually at bunnies moving very slowly, sometimes even stopping, in front of a patient dog or two. I have no experience on wingshooting with the .410, other than a few unlucky quail, and a couple of pheasants that got up close while rabbit hunting.
 
Checked out the Mossy 500 at Cabelas, nice gun. They only had a youth model in stock, however. I may look at the new Henry single barrel if I can find one. Meanwhile I bought some 3" 11/16 oz shells to try in the Rossi.
 
Using 3" shells with 4X Buck shot it makes a fine rabbit gun. Used my .410 Stevens SxS for rabbits for nearly 5o years. It's my favorite.
 
Using 3" shells with 4X Buck shot it makes a fine rabbit
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4X? Buck shot?
If you mean 4/0 (0000) thats 5, 35 caliber balls in one shot. Not much rabbit left!
If it is #4 Buckshot there are 21 .24 diameter shot per ounce. So you are shooting something like 9 or 10 balls bigger than a 22 at once. Still bunny burger I would think.
 
I own one of those guns. Works fine. It's a Mossberg.

It's my first shotgun. I wanted to start small, being recoil sensitive. Found that to be OK.

Shot selection for your use of course. With the full choke, I used .410 handgun which is equal to #4 buck (9 pellets). I've learned from youtube, that more pellets can do more damage that larger pellets, to a point. With that in mind #4 bird has 21-27 pellets, which is the same number of pellets in 12ga #4 buck. AND full choke gives you a tighter pattern where more pellets penetrate.

What do I use it for. Learning to have a better understanding of how barrels and shot size can work together to produce premium results. What ever you choose to shoot at.

A .410 can have just as much damage made as a 12ga, depending on barrel and shot variables.
 
when Walmart closed out the Remington pump 870 expresses in .410-28 ga,s, I bought them for 169.00-179.00 and kept a .410 and a 28ga. I use the .410 for biere patches and standing corn fields where shots are very close . I like the 28 ga for field small game hunting and have killed rabbits dead at 38 yards with Winchester one once # 6 loads out of a modified choke. eastbank.
 
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