.410 Infatuation at work

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Hotrodcorvette1976

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As the title states, working in law enforcement my guys have been on a .410 shotgun kick lately. I have one and it hasn't seen the light of day in 15 years. I kinda chuckle at these guys to be honest. Buying up bulk munitions of .410 over 12 and 20 gauge loadings and for what? Now, dont get me wrong I wouldn't volunteer to be on the receiving end of one but, i just dont see the infatuation with them. I understand lower recoil, and easier for a youth or a woman to handle. I also understand that for the cost of 12 and 20 gauge stuff, there's nothing a 12 and 20
can't do better than a .410 with proper loadings. Friendly discussion, change my mind guys. How is the .410 "Fetish" in your area or is it just my department?
 
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I like shooting the 410, I have a couple of Model 42's to do that, one a pre-War Skeet gun.
It's just something different to shoot at times but I have plenty of 12 and a couple of 20's to do the same.

They can be a novelty because of their petite size. The shells as well with their 1/2oz load in the 2 1/2" shells which I reload. They are a challenge to get the same scores as with a 12 for me.
Another good reason not to keep score. Just enjoy shooting, getting out and having some fun.

Sometimes I think the light weight of the gun is more of an obstacle than the light payload as I don't load the 12's with a whole lot more shot than the 410's.
My 12's get 3/4oz, so there really shouldn't be much difference.
A mind game maybe,,,'It's ONLY a 410'.

I shoot the 410 for a few weeks at our Duffer skeet shoots , then usually switch back to a 12.
Quite a few of the shooters have and use a 410 or 28ga now.
Not a fetish for me that's for sure, but just something different for a change.
I certainly would not be shooting it much if I didn't reload for them.
Factory shells are crazy expensive.

The 410's get loaded on a single station MEC. That however is a drag after loading the 12's on a progressive MEC.

As for use as a self defence weapon,,only if nothing else was available to me.
But some people may find them attractive for it's light weight and generally smaller overall size in frame/receiver.
The pellets reach the same vel as the BigBoy gauges, around 1200fps. There's just less of them no matter if you load bird shot or buckshot.
 
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I am probably in your camp. I think the only thing .410s are really good for is shooting skeet, and maybe sporting clays on some ranges where the targets are close-in. They're fun to shoot, but if hunting small game with one, the shots shouldn't go much past 25 yards, IMO. I don't keep one handy for home defense. :o
 
I keep a 410 single shot handy for yard and garden pest control. I guess I really am getting old, but it works better for me than a 22. I live in the country and don't have any close neighbors, but I still feel safer shooting uphill or at a target up a tree. Better safe than sorry.
 
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A 410 can be more of a challenge for a better shooter.
Also with the advent of things like TSS shot they can even be a viable turkey gun.

I noticed you skipped right by 16 gauge 😉
 
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I have a little .410 over-under. I use it mainly for jack rabbits and shooting pigeons out of the barn. That's about it. Pretty sure I wouldn't want to use it for law enforcement. But, that being said, it sure is a heckuva lot of fun to shoot!:)

Also...and maybe this is just in my area...but I haven't been able to find .410 ammo anywhere. And, in the off chance that I do, it ain't cheap!
 
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I have an old Stoeger .410 side x side, originally purchased for small vermin control.

When it came time to introduce my very young son to "real" guns, as opposed to BB / Pellet guns, it was a good choice.

It was a little after Halloween, and I had a Jack O' Lantern that was turning soft from age. After a basic introduction and safety lecture to my boy, I had him fire the shotgun at the pumpkin. We were really close, so it basically just punched one decent sized hole in it. My son was very impressed, and said "Gee it's so powerful". I didn't argue.

Then, we moved back a bit, and he fired again at the pumpkin. With the larger spread of shot, the thing basically blew apart / disintegrated. Not much left to look at. WOW!

I asked him, "So what do you think? Would you want to get shot?" Obviously he "got religion" on firearms that day, and has been a careful shooter and gun guy ever since.

Just a simple true story for you guys. That .410 holds a special place in my heart.

Best wishes,

Roger AKA Mr. Wonderful
 
OP, I like squirrel hunting with a Stevens single shot my uncle gave me when I was about 10 or 12. I also like doing the same with my Thompson Encore with 410/45 shotgun barrel. I even have a holster and belt for it. As for practicality?????? Well as a fellow Buffalonian I see even the bad guy on Reed street Saturday chose a 12 gauge. GO BILLS.
 
Around these parts, 410 shotguns of any make or action type always bring a premium at the auctions. They're collected, not used much.
TBH though, I can't wrap my noggin around the new lever action 410s being made by Henry, Rossi, Marlin, even Winchester. I guess there is a use for them in certain places.

John
 
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Fellas,
Everyone brings up some solid points and i really appreciate the respect we all have for one another here. Try having a conversation on one of those "modern plastic semi auto" forums and guys would be losing it.
I have my own quirk too, Im a 10mm guy. They all bust on me for it. I clearly get both sides of it.
 
.410s are fun, but honestly they're an experts gun. Probably no worse idea than starting a kid out with one, which was common when I was a kid. And yeah, it happened to me lol.

My shotgunning surprise is that around here 28 gauge ammo is everywhere, even WalMart and probably outnumbers 20 gauge availability by a good bit. I've always heard and knew it was a good round, (no experience with it)but just didn't expect to see the resurgence and surpassing the 20.
 
My great grandson is 9 and he shoots a .410 but only at stationary targets. When he gets a little bigger I'll load a 12 ga. with 3/4 oz. of shot at about 950-1000 fps at moving targets.
On a skeet field the .410 is an experts gun. I've been known to run a 100 with a 12ga. and 28ga. but using a .410 depresses me. Larry
 
I like .410, good things come in small packages...

attachment.php
 
What a Bore

All I know is a 410 bore 2-1/2"L with 1/2 oz.
#6 shot (218 grains of 112 pellets) at 1245
fps does a number on raccoons, skunks,
and squirrels.

I also like the 410 because it's a lot safer
around the farm buildings, I don't have to
worry about ricochets.
 

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tops said:
My great grandson is 9 and he shoots a .410 but only at stationary targets. When he gets a little bigger I'll load a 12 ga. with 3/4 oz. of shot at about 950-1000 fps at moving targets.
On a skeet field the .410 is an experts gun. I've been known to run a 100 with a 12ga. and 28ga. but using a .410 depresses me. Larry
Click to expand...

Larry, when you're shooting skeet with a .410 you think about all the money you're saving by only using 1/2-ounce of shot! :D That helps you with the depression stuff.

I've been shooting skeet a lot of years now with a great group of friends. None of us champion shooters, but we mostly hold our own. We all pretty much agree our misses are more a factor of the jerk on the trigger than the gauge of the gun. And yes, we're all getting older and don't shoot nearly as many 25s as we used to. :o
 
Year's ago my buddy's father died and he left him a .410 bolt Stevens. He didn't shoot so he gave it to me.

I bought a box of shells and gave it a try. Since I don't and won't own a firearm if I can't reload for it, I searched high and low for a Lee whackamole in .410. Finally found it on Ebay.

I loaded up a couple boxes and tried them out as well. All was good.

The ammo is till in my ammo locker and the shotgun is still in my safe. Haven't found the need. Waiting for a grandson.
 
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