What does .410 do well?

When I grew up in Central Washington, it seemed like every farm/ranch house had two guns , one .22, usually a bolt action, and a .410 either single shot or bolt gun.
.410s where used as a varmint gun. They did really well on skunks, and racoons.
As near as I could tell that was about the only use most of them got.
Box of 25 shells lasted a few years, if you ran low on ammo, the local gas station would sell loose rounds.
 
Imagine you grow up and dad get's you a 410 for your first gun. Don't have anything else. you shoot squirrels, rabbits and game birds with it. Ten years later some well meaning sport decide's to give you a lesson in wing shooting with his fancy 12ga. You go along and you wipe his eye pretty bad. The thing the well meaning sport doesn't get is that you and the 410 are one! The 410 is all you know and your pretty dang good with it! You learn to shoot with what you have!
 
get a 28 ga and also get a reloader, I got two 28 ga shotguns and a mec 9000G in 28 ga. now a box of shells cost around 4.00 and I get to pick the shot size I want and speed.
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+1 - I found 8.5s to be a nice compromise on pellets for birds targets and small game.
 
Well, if you're being tackled by a lawman in the alley, your new waitress friend can use your single shot .410 to get you out of there.

Also, a full choked single shot .410 is nearly perfect for snakes, squirrels and rabbit.

I agree with not starting youth off on a .410; they will get frustrated if shooting at clays.

A gas operated 20 ga is the way to go for that.
 
Well, if you're being tackled by a lawman in the alley, your new waitress friend can use your single shot .410 to get you out of there.
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Gotta love girls named Sherry.:D

Love my 410's too. Its a lot better than the internet guys would have you believe. I don't use mine for flying game but small sitting game is easily killed if you watch the range and you don't fill up your meal with a bunch of shot.

I load three .395 round balls in a 2.5" shell at over 1100fps and I wouldn't have any problem using this load on a deer at 30 yards or under. The 410 is one of the best emergency guns (I don't like SHTF) you can get. Easy on a bag of shot and will keep you fed if you respect it strengths and limitations.
 
ratshooter said:
Gotta love girls named Sherry.:D

Love my 410's too. Its a lot better than the internet guys would have you believe. I don't use mine for flying game but small sitting game is easily killed if you watch the range and you don't fill up your meal with a bunch of shot.

I load three .395 round balls in a 2.5" shell at over 1100fps and I wouldn't have any problem using this load on a deer at 30 yards or under. The 410 is one of the best emergency guns (I don't like SHTF) you can get. Easy on a bag of shot and will keep you fed if you respect it strengths and limitations.
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Most .410 shotguns come with 3 inch chambers tho and those hold 5 pellets of 000 Buck. What do you think 5 pellets of 000 Buck is capable of out in the field? Do you think the extra two pellets make much difference or is just a waste of lead?
 
Most .410 shotguns come with 3 inch chambers tho and those hold 5 pellets of 000 Buck. What do you think 5 pellets of 000 Buck is capable of out in the field? Do you think the extra two pellets make much difference or is just a waste of lead?
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I don't know about the 5 ball loads. I have some but haven't tested them on anything. The 3 ball load I load has three 93gr balls and thats the same weight as a 380 load. So I have the equivalent of three 380 bullets going over 1100fps which is faster than any 380 load so should make an effective deer killer in an emergency if needed. And 5 of the 60gr balls weigh 300grs total. My 3 ball load weighs 279grs so they are both close. I just like the heavier ball weight of the .395 ball.

Three aught buck weighs 60grs. My 395 diameter balls are 50% more in weight. Is that enough to make a real difference? I have no idea but I know the load I am using blows big holes in 2x6 lumber and all three group right together at 20 yards. I wish I knew someone who owned one of those goofy Taurus Judge pistols so we could try them in it.

Anyway its just another way to load the 410 shotgun. After I bought my first box of 410s I made my own loading outfit. Its not fast like a Mec but I have around 250-300 rounds loaded now so am in good shape. And I bought 500 primed hulls off GB for about $40 IIRC so I have a lifetime supply for guns I really like shooting. I have three of them. My favorites are the New England break open guns. I will buy any of those I find for a hundred bucks or less.
 
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I only own one firearm in .410 Bore.

The Taurus Judge Magnum. That being said, it's extremely fun to shoot, makes for a heck of a nightstand gun, truck gun, or woods gun.

So in my biased, unilateral opinion, the true strength of .410 Bore lies in the fact that its dimensional similarities allow it to be fired from combination .45LC/.410 Bore handguns, giving it a unique niche as a cartridge with tons of utility.

I only wish that there were more combination .45LC/.454/.410 Bore firearms, namely a Lever Action Rifle, as that could make for a heck of a hunting/wilderness defense firearm.
 
So in my biased, unilateral opinion, the true strength of .410 Bore lies in the fact that its dimensional similarities allow it to be fired from combination .45LC/.410 Bore handguns, giving it a unique niche as a cartridge with tons of utility.

I only wish that there were more combination .45LC/.454/.410 Bore firearms, namely a Lever Action Rifle, as that could make for a heck of a hunting/wilderness defense firearm.
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I need to point out that there are no .45LC/.410 Bores, they are all .45 caliber barrels. They are .45 Colt guns that allow the firing of .410 shotshells.

They don't have a great reputation for accuracy with .45 Colt ammo, generally, because of the extra long jump the .45 bullet has to make to reach the rifling, which is further away from the bullet in guns made to take .410 shells as well. Some guns apparently do well enough, some don't. At pistol ranges its not usually a huge factor, but it could be, every gun is different.

The main reason you don't see something like a .45Colt/.410 lever gun, besides the long bullet jump issue is simply the length of the shells.

Revolvers (and single shots) don't care, but magazine fed repeating actions have a lot of problems feeding when the rounds are over an inch different in length, and different body diameters.

With a maximum loaded length of 1.6" and a body diameter larger than the 2.5" and 3" .410 shells, you run into all kinds of complex problems trying to make a lever, pump, or even a bolt gun feed both interchangeably.

A bolt action seems like it would be the easiest, provided you designed it to use different magazines for the difference caliber shells. The magazine feed lips that keep a .410 shell in the right position for feeding are not right for the .45 Colt, and vice versa.

Action LENGTH plays a part too. Even if you're using tube feed, and the cartridge stops and lifer will work for both .45 and .410, the action length needed for the .41o means that .45 Colt round has to travel an inch and half "loose' before it even gets to the chamber.

Even though the .410 and .45 Colt RIMS are close enough to function interchangeably, the differences in case body diameter and length complicate the feeding mechanism to the point where no one is doing it, if it even can be done.

I think someone (Taurus??) does, or did make a long gun shooting .45 Colt/.410, by essentially fitting a stock and long barrel on their revolver. You won't find any lever guns in .45/.410 combination, but you might find one of those...
 
"What does a 410 do that 12 or 20 wont do?"

a 410 wont kick the shoulder off you and get a flinch developed.

Anyone looking at a 28 these days. Few makers are doing a 20 gauge. Ammo available at reasonable price (about 10-11 bucks/box).
 
Its smaller pattern may be more challenging for wing shooting than a 12 gauge.
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.410 patterns are thinner - 1/2 oz of shot compared to 1 1/8 oz of shot -not necessarily smaller.
A pattern from a .410 is not smaller than the pattern from a 12 gauge. Unless you are using some special wad, shot from the same type of choke shot, patterns tend to open at the same rate regardless of gauge.
 
About all I carry is either my 28ga or 410 SxS. I shoot pigeons in practice with they and they work fine. I'm pretty sure if we had any game birds around here they would work fine on them too. Carried my 410 down to the river couple days ago, used to be a lot of pheasant's, Huns and Quail down there. 3in 410 with 11/16oz of 6's on birds coming off point's just isn't all that tuff to bring down!
 
darkgael said:
.410 patterns are thinner - 1/2 oz of shot compared to 1 1/8 oz of shot -not necessarily smaller.
A pattern from a .410 is not smaller than the pattern from a 12 gauge. Unless you are using some special wad, shot from the same type of choke shot, patterns tend to open at the same rate regardless of gauge.
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That thinner pattern will be so full of holes at any distance that it's quite possible for a bird to fly away from a shot that would be a hit with the more than twice as much shot thrown by a 12 ga. In order to get enough pattern density for a sure hit, 410s tend to use tighter chokes for a given distance than a 12 ga. Which makes the pattern smaller and harder to hit with.

It's possible to get clean kills with a 410, if the distances are short and/or you're a really good shot.
 
I always have the urge for a 28ga. Still don't own one.
The .410:
That thinner pattern will be so full of holes at any distance that it's quite possible for a bird to fly away from a shot that would be a hit with the more than twice as much shot thrown by a 12 ga.(
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Very true. I have seen this at the Trap range. Some shots that I know were good ones ...dead on the clay...and the clay flew on.
 
Part of the problem is that the Mod/ Full chokes used on the 410 go back to the card wad days. I had my FAIR opened up to Skeet 1 & Skeet 2 (Fixed) and it does what I expect out to 25 -30 yards. The 410 was NEVER a 40 yard gun but too many people (makers included) tried to make them one.
 
Some shots that I know were good ones ...dead on the clay...and the clay flew on.
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If they clay flew on untouched, then clearly they weren't good shots. :D :rolleyes:

I shot more than a bit of backyard trap in my school days (avg 100rnds a week)
which might not seem like a lot, but to a cash starved teen in the late 60s it was a lot.

Had a foot trap (Trius trap if I remember right), so it wasn't as random as a hand thrower. had a bolt action .410 and a Winchester Model 12 12ga. If you were 'on target" the .410 always broke the clay birds. Usually 2-3 large pieces. Full choke, no doubt.

Same degree of on target with the 12 (also full choke) turned the birds into powder. Very cool to see. The .410 broke them, the 12ga smoked 'em!

I did see my brother shoot the center out of a clay pigeon with the .410, without breaking the outer ring. Blind luck, and we both knew it.

The only real "problem" with the .410 is that it is a shotgun, and people think that because of that it should do everything other shotguns do, and do it as well, and that is simply not the case.

Want to wingshoot birds out to 40yds? The .410 is a poor choice. A really good shooter can do it, but that same shooter will have better results with a bigger bore shotgun.

Want to eradicate pests at shorter ranges, where the 12ga is simply just TOO much gun? .410 is your ticket there.
 
Some shots that I know were good ones ...dead on the clay...and the clay flew on.
If they clay flew on untouched, then clearly they weren't good shots.
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Maybe so. I am not a great shot but I am not referring to backyard trap or hand thrown clays. Those clays I hit regularly. Using a foot operated Trius, the clays are 15-20 yards away when i shoot and pretty much always in the same spot. I don’t miss many.
I bring the gun to the trap range occasionally- just to try my hand there with the smaller gun. Shooting from the 16 yard line, by the time i get to the bird it is over 30 yards away. I know where the gun shoots and how it patterns. Lots of big holes past 30 yards.
Maybe if I were faster on the bird....?
 
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