Who here LOVES .410's???

zombieslayer · February 24, 2012, 09:42 PM

I've been sitting out in my barn playing my mandolin and every so often I see a rat. Maybe my music charms them, idk. But I just keep my .410 Mossberg bolt action nearby for rats and such.
This recent rat kill has reminded me of how great the .410 is for pest control. I grew up hunting with one and have always had a soft spot for them.
So who else here uses a .410 around the farm/property?
Any fond memories of growing up shooting .410's?

ltc444 · February 24, 2012, 10:58 PM

Started hunting with my grandfathers H&R .410. Took a lot of rabbits, sparrows, starlings,snakes and bottles with it.

My cousin, who still has the gun, has started his grandson on the old shotgun. If all goes well it will see another 4 generations.

kmaysob · February 24, 2012, 11:00 PM

ive never actually shot a .410. grandma has one in the closet ill shoot one day

zombieslayer · February 24, 2012, 11:03 PM

I started hunting very early with my Papa's H&R also.

olddrum1 · February 25, 2012, 01:24 AM

I have an open ended shed that gets flooded with Startlings in the spring. They make a mess of the shed if I leave them in it to long. I have a 410 that I take out to thin them with. Kinda like Farmboy trap.

Sphawley · February 25, 2012, 02:11 AM

I love my H&R .410 single shot...it's a blast for rodents and even clays here and there!! Best $80 I have spent in a long while!

PawPaw · February 25, 2012, 02:29 AM

I've got one in the attic, but my grandsons jumped immediately to the 20 gauge. My lady has a .410 pump, given to her by her father. It's her shotgun for the squirrel woods and the annual clay shoot in the back pasture. That little gun has accounted for bushels of squirrels and rabbits over the years.

GM2 · February 25, 2012, 04:31 AM

I still have the little Winchester 410-Single Barrel I hunted with when I was very young. Lots of squirrels in the pot for my grand dad who loved them with dumplings

WV_gunner · February 25, 2012, 08:11 AM

I've got 2 .410s, fun guns to shoot.

gunut · February 25, 2012, 10:19 AM

I have a winchester 42 that was my uncles...have never shot it...probably would if I hunted squirrels or rabbits, but I dont..just upland birds and waterfowl...

shoptroll · February 25, 2012, 10:21 AM

I've taken quite a few squirrels and even a ringneck with a NEF .410 and my oldest brother has taken a few turkey with a .410 Remington 1100.

Lemmon · February 25, 2012, 11:45 AM

When I was much younger my cousin Chuck would bring his granddad's single shot 2 1/2 inch 410 to hunt squirrels with. He was one year older than me and my younger brother and we followed him around in the Oaks. Our job was carrying his ammunition and dead squirrels that he had gotten. I do not remember if he ever cleaned the squirrels himself or if he gave them to someone else. That was a lot of fun and helped me enjoy hunting myself. The only 410 that I have is a Thompson Center 45/410 10inch pistol. Great for killing mice, field rats and other creatures that I feel are varmints.

Lemmon

zombieslayer · February 25, 2012, 11:53 AM

Here in the Florida lowbush the rabbits are something I grew up hunting and eating.

Glad to hear that I'm not the only one who still shoots clays with one, too. I guess the .410 to me, has such a sentimental value. I remember my great-grandfather,a real florida cracker and a true cowboy, telling me "anything there is in the lowbush you want to hunt, you can get with a four-ten". He killed everything from snakes to deer with his. It was old and had a nickle reciever with a bit of engraving scrolling but no manufacturer marks. I remember the barrel being the longest barrel anyone had ever seen on a .410.

FairWarning · February 25, 2012, 12:28 PM

My first shotgun at age 10 was a H&R single shot .410. Great squirrel and rabbit gun. I even went deer hunting with it a few times with 2.5 " slugs, although I never got a shot before moving on to Winchester single shot 20 GA as I got older. Probably a good thing, as I would have had to make one heck of a shot to drop a deer with that!

By the time I got my first 12 GA pump (still have it

), squirrel hunting seemed too easy, so I reverted back to the 20 GA for anything smaller than deer (not including fowl).

Deja vu · February 25, 2012, 06:28 PM

the first shot un I ever fired was an old SXS 410. I killed a lot of bottles and a few sparrows with it.

After that I went straight to a single shot 10ga.

I now have settled on the good old 12ga.

TurkeyOak · February 25, 2012, 07:13 PM

My first gun was a .410 SnakeCharmer. Loved it but gave it to a friend that liked it.
Im thinking about a pump .410.

rburch · February 25, 2012, 07:49 PM

Love my lil youth 410 single shot. It was my 1st gun.

Full choke so I can actually hit clays at a distance most people claim ain't possible.

I love taking it out and running through a box or two.

Boncrayon · February 25, 2012, 10:12 PM

Shot my grandfather's .410 at a chicken snake that was hold up in a gofer hole. It was a break open single shot. It was the first shotgun I ever shot. I was hooked in the joys of hunting at that point...perhaps 6 or 7 in age. A 410 guage is a delightful shotgun, and you can carry a pocket-full of ammo for rabbit, squirrle and game birds.

Old Grump · February 26, 2012, 09:14 AM

Just picked up another 150 rounds of Golden Bear 4B and 40 rounds of Remington slugs for my Mossberg Model 183KE. I thought I had enough for several years but some dang fool finds that little gun to be fun to shoot and it just will not stay in the closet where it belongs.

barnetmill · February 26, 2012, 09:49 AM

The main attraction as an adult for the .410 are the handy and often simple guns built to fire it. the handiest are old savage over and unders. Even just in .22lf and .410 you are ready for a lot of things.

Down side is the cost of the shells compared to 12 gauges. But if you reload the cost should be more reasonable. Probably can get a reasonable amount of 00 buck or maybe even some 000 handloaded into a shell for close and personal encounters with larger animals.

Prof Young · March 2, 2012, 07:59 PM

410 Lovers
I didn't start hunting until I was an adult. My first purchase was a mossberg pump action 410. It's still my favorite gun. Taken lotta squirrels and rabbits with it. Not to mention the occasional crow.
Live well, be safe
Prof Young

PoorRichRichard · March 5, 2012, 02:07 PM

H&R Topper 158 in .410. Best cottontail gun I own.

markj · March 5, 2012, 05:36 PM

I am starting to. I have a dog I am training for field trials, yes I do dogs. Been using pen raised quail and a 410 double. Use a short shell and 1/2 oz load. Killed every one I have shot at. Saturday took a long shot and dropped him dead. Pup is right on them, doing well so she is running Saturday for her first time. I used to use a 22 but it is a sharp sound and not as natural as the 410. Swings great and shoots straight. I actually traded a pup last litter 3 years ago for this and a 30-30

not bad I must say.

dennis228 · March 5, 2012, 07:45 PM

My first shotgun was a Stevens Model 311 double bbl. 410 with 3 inch chambers, 26" bbl. and double triggers. Color case was very nice. What a nice gun. Dad gave it to me for Christmas when I was 14. Took many rabbits, woodcocks, crowns, and assorted vermin over the years. It was stolen from Dad's house while I was in the Army. I was broken hearted. Guess I still am a bit. Never was able to find another locally like it but I did find a nice Stevens 311 in 20 gauge. But that 410 was my first love.

bamaranger · March 6, 2012, 03:10 AM

My best memories with my Dad are rabbit hunting with beagles and .410 shotguns. We had single shots, pumps and bolts over the years and killed a lot of bunnies.

There is a Win 37, .410 at the back door by the water heater now. Its primary mission is pests, mostly snakes in warm weather. Bought the gun, which is in good shape, 20+yrs ago. Was passing thru our little town down the road,and there was this shotgun leaning against a tree in the frontyard of the guys house, with a sign...4-sale.....I kid you not.

Stopped and talked to the old boy, bib overalls, no shirt..."I gotta have $50.00 bucks for it". No problem.

February 24, 2012, 09:42 PM	#1
zombieslayer Senior Member Join Date: September 11, 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 3,198	Who here LOVES .410's??? I've been sitting out in my barn playing my mandolin and every so often I see a rat. Maybe my music charms them, idk. But I just keep my .410 Mossberg bolt action nearby for rats and such. This recent rat kill has reminded me of how great the .410 is for pest control. I grew up hunting with one and have always had a soft spot for them. So who else here uses a .410 around the farm/property? Any fond memories of growing up shooting .410's? __________________ "An angry prophet, denouncing the hypocrisies of our time"

February 24, 2012, 11:03 PM	#4
zombieslayer Senior Member Join Date: September 11, 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 3,198	I started hunting very early with my Papa's H&R also. __________________ "An angry prophet, denouncing the hypocrisies of our time"

February 25, 2012, 02:11 AM	#6
Sphawley Senior Member Join Date: June 9, 2010 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 272	I love my H&R .410 single shot...it's a blast for rodents and even clays here and there!! Best $80 I have spent in a long while! __________________ If guns kill people, then pencils misspell words, cars make people drive drunk, and spoons made Rosie O' Donnell fat!

February 25, 2012, 02:29 AM	#7
PawPaw Senior Member Join Date: December 24, 2010 Location: Central Louisiana Posts: 3,137	I've got one in the attic, but my grandsons jumped immediately to the 20 gauge. My lady has a .410 pump, given to her by her father. It's her shotgun for the squirrel woods and the annual clay shoot in the back pasture. That little gun has accounted for bushels of squirrels and rabbits over the years. __________________ Dennis Dezendorf http://pawpawshouse.blogspot.com

February 25, 2012, 11:45 AM	#12
Lemmon Senior Member Join Date: December 25, 2009 Location: Rural South Carolina Posts: 445	Chuck's Grandaddy's single shot 2 1/2 inch 410 When I was much younger my cousin Chuck would bring his granddad's single shot 2 1/2 inch 410 to hunt squirrels with. He was one year older than me and my younger brother and we followed him around in the Oaks. Our job was carrying his ammunition and dead squirrels that he had gotten. I do not remember if he ever cleaned the squirrels himself or if he gave them to someone else. That was a lot of fun and helped me enjoy hunting myself. The only 410 that I have is a Thompson Center 45/410 10inch pistol. Great for killing mice, field rats and other creatures that I feel are varmints. Lemmon

February 24, 2012, 10:58 PM	#2
ltc444 Senior Member Join Date: March 3, 2011 Location: Vernon AZ Posts: 1,195	Started hunting with my grandfathers H&R .410. Took a lot of rabbits, sparrows, starlings,snakes and bottles with it. My cousin, who still has the gun, has started his grandson on the old shotgun. If all goes well it will see another 4 generations.

February 24, 2012, 11:00 PM	#3
kmaysob Senior Member Join Date: December 9, 2011 Posts: 188	ive never actually shot a .410. grandma has one in the closet ill shoot one day

February 25, 2012, 01:24 AM	#5
olddrum1 Senior Member Join Date: March 23, 2008 Location: Mid Missouri Posts: 807	I have an open ended shed that gets flooded with Startlings in the spring. They make a mess of the shed if I leave them in it to long. I have a 410 that I take out to thin them with. Kinda like Farmboy trap.

February 25, 2012, 04:31 AM	#8
GM2 Senior Member Join Date: March 31, 2011 Location: Southeast, USA Posts: 350	I still have the little Winchester 410-Single Barrel I hunted with when I was very young. Lots of squirrels in the pot for my grand dad who loved them with dumplings

February 25, 2012, 08:11 AM	#9
WV_gunner Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2011 Location: WV Posts: 938	I've got 2 .410s, fun guns to shoot.

February 25, 2012, 10:19 AM	#10
gunut Member Join Date: March 12, 2011 Location: Sussex Wi. Posts: 37	I have a winchester 42 that was my uncles...have never shot it...probably would if I hunted squirrels or rabbits, but I dont..just upland birds and waterfowl...

February 25, 2012, 10:21 AM	#11
shoptroll Member Join Date: January 2, 2012 Location: Elizabethtown, Pa Posts: 60	I've taken quite a few squirrels and even a ringneck with a NEF .410 and my oldest brother has taken a few turkey with a .410 Remington 1100.

February 25, 2012, 11:53 AM	#13
zombieslayer Senior Member Join Date: September 11, 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 3,198	Here in the Florida lowbush the rabbits are something I grew up hunting and eating. Glad to hear that I'm not the only one who still shoots clays with one, too. I guess the .410 to me, has such a sentimental value. I remember my great-grandfather,a real florida cracker and a true cowboy, telling me "anything there is in the lowbush you want to hunt, you can get with a four-ten". He killed everything from snakes to deer with his. It was old and had a nickle reciever with a bit of engraving scrolling but no manufacturer marks. I remember the barrel being the longest barrel anyone had ever seen on a .410. __________________ "An angry prophet, denouncing the hypocrisies of our time"

February 25, 2012, 12:28 PM	#14
FairWarning Senior Member Join Date: September 9, 2008 Location: GA Posts: 1,149	My first shotgun at age 10 was a H&R single shot .410. Great squirrel and rabbit gun. I even went deer hunting with it a few times with 2.5 " slugs, although I never got a shot before moving on to Winchester single shot 20 GA as I got older. Probably a good thing, as I would have had to make one heck of a shot to drop a deer with that! By the time I got my first 12 GA pump (still have it ), squirrel hunting seemed too easy, so I reverted back to the 20 GA for anything smaller than deer (not including fowl). __________________ Mauser Werke, Schmidt-Rubin, Colt, Walther, HK, Weatherby, Sig Sauer, Browning, Ruger, Beretta, etc, etc....a few friends of mine

February 25, 2012, 06:28 PM	#15
Deja vu Senior Member Join Date: March 14, 2010 Location: Border of Idaho & Montana Posts: 2,584	the first shot un I ever fired was an old SXS 410. I killed a lot of bottles and a few sparrows with it. After that I went straight to a single shot 10ga. I now have settled on the good old 12ga. __________________ Shot placement is everything! I would rather take a round of 50BMG to the foot than a 22short to the base of the skull. all 26 of my guns are 45/70 govt, 357 mag, 22 or 12 ga... I believe in keeping it simple. Wish my wife did as well...

February 25, 2012, 07:13 PM	#16
TurkeyOak Member Join Date: February 9, 2011 Location: North Georgia Posts: 53	My first gun was a .410 SnakeCharmer. Loved it but gave it to a friend that liked it. Im thinking about a pump .410.

February 25, 2012, 07:49 PM	#17
rburch Senior Member Join Date: July 15, 2007 Location: Blacksburg VA Posts: 750	Love my lil youth 410 single shot. It was my 1st gun. Full choke so I can actually hit clays at a distance most people claim ain't possible. I love taking it out and running through a box or two. __________________ I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

February 25, 2012, 10:12 PM	#18
Boncrayon Senior Member Join Date: March 24, 2008 Posts: 920	Who here LOVES .410's??? Shot my grandfather's .410 at a chicken snake that was hold up in a gofer hole. It was a break open single shot. It was the first shotgun I ever shot. I was hooked in the joys of hunting at that point...perhaps 6 or 7 in age. A 410 guage is a delightful shotgun, and you can carry a pocket-full of ammo for rabbit, squirrle and game birds.

February 26, 2012, 09:14 AM	#19
Old Grump Member in memoriam Join Date: April 9, 2009 Location: Blue River Wisconsin, in Posts: 3,144	Just picked up another 150 rounds of Golden Bear 4B and 40 rounds of Remington slugs for my Mossberg Model 183KE. I thought I had enough for several years but some dang fool finds that little gun to be fun to shoot and it just will not stay in the closet where it belongs. __________________ Good intentions will always be pleaded for any assumption of power. The Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern will, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters. --Daniel Webster--

February 26, 2012, 09:49 AM	#20
barnetmill Senior Member Join Date: January 25, 2005 Posts: 121	The main attraction as an adult for the .410 are the handy and often simple guns built to fire it. the handiest are old savage over and unders. Even just in .22lf and .410 you are ready for a lot of things. Down side is the cost of the shells compared to 12 gauges. But if you reload the cost should be more reasonable. Probably can get a reasonable amount of 00 buck or maybe even some 000 handloaded into a shell for close and personal encounters with larger animals.

March 2, 2012, 07:59 PM	#21
Prof Young Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2007 Location: Illinois - down state Posts: 2,404	Yes, love my 410 410 Lovers I didn't start hunting until I was an adult. My first purchase was a mossberg pump action 410. It's still my favorite gun. Taken lotta squirrels and rabbits with it. Not to mention the occasional crow. Live well, be safe Prof Young

March 5, 2012, 02:07 PM	#22
PoorRichRichard Senior Member Join Date: April 13, 2011 Location: San Berdoo Posts: 269	H&R Topper 158 in .410. Best cottontail gun I own.

March 5, 2012, 05:36 PM	#23
markj Senior Member Join Date: October 27, 2005 Location: Crescent Iowa Posts: 2,971	I am starting to. I have a dog I am training for field trials, yes I do dogs. Been using pen raised quail and a 410 double. Use a short shell and 1/2 oz load. Killed every one I have shot at. Saturday took a long shot and dropped him dead. Pup is right on them, doing well so she is running Saturday for her first time. I used to use a 22 but it is a sharp sound and not as natural as the 410. Swings great and shoots straight. I actually traded a pup last litter 3 years ago for this and a 30-30 not bad I must say.

March 5, 2012, 07:45 PM	#24
dennis228 Member Join Date: July 30, 2008 Posts: 49	My first shotgun was a Stevens Model 311 double bbl. 410 with 3 inch chambers, 26" bbl. and double triggers. Color case was very nice. What a nice gun. Dad gave it to me for Christmas when I was 14. Took many rabbits, woodcocks, crowns, and assorted vermin over the years. It was stolen from Dad's house while I was in the Army. I was broken hearted. Guess I still am a bit. Never was able to find another locally like it but I did find a nice Stevens 311 in 20 gauge. But that 410 was my first love.

March 6, 2012, 03:10 AM	#25
bamaranger Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2009 Location: North Alabama Posts: 8,308	you bet My best memories with my Dad are rabbit hunting with beagles and .410 shotguns. We had single shots, pumps and bolts over the years and killed a lot of bunnies. There is a Win 37, .410 at the back door by the water heater now. Its primary mission is pests, mostly snakes in warm weather. Bought the gun, which is in good shape, 20+yrs ago. Was passing thru our little town down the road,and there was this shotgun leaning against a tree in the frontyard of the guys house, with a sign...4-sale.....I kid you not. Stopped and talked to the old boy, bib overalls, no shirt..."I gotta have $50.00 bucks for it". No problem.