Fell in love with the .410

relientk1988 · May 12, 2005, 11:10 PM

Went out to the local "throw your own" range a little while ago with my brand new NEF single shot .410. I bought the gun so I could have the 3 most common gauges (12,20,.410, 16 and 28 on the way!) Anyway, I was worried about not being to hit anything but I was pleasantly suprised. I was hitting better with it than my single shot 20. It was also nice to shoot a shotgun with hardly any recoil. I have seen alot of people on TFL make fun of the shotgun but it proved itself to me! Has anyone else had this same experience or does everyone think the .410 is undepowered? I like everything about it except for the price of shyells($7.00/25)

.

-Ben

thinking about a mossberg .410 pump.

kudu · May 13, 2005, 07:29 AM

The last few months I have been shooting the .410 almost exclusively for skeet. Gone through about 1100 shells since February. I shot a couple of rounds with the 28 gauge which I love dearly, and broke 24 and 25 with it, and went back to the .410. It gives me something to play with and challenges me a bit more than the bigger gauges. When I run a straight with the little gun, I know I was on the targets, especially with the full choke patterns my little double throws.

Many times the little .410 is critisized for being too small, but it's usually someone trying to use it for something that it is not designed for. It is not for everybody, and it is not an ideal gun to start a kid out on because it is more of an expert's gun. But it is fun.

Ohio Annie · May 13, 2005, 08:08 AM

It's ironic that the .410 is considered a "youth gun" in this part of the country when the opposite is true, you have to be a good marksperson to use one effectively. I have a mossberg 500 which works very well for squirrels, rabbits, etc. and I use it to dispatch 'coons in my traps. I have found for myself that I do better aiming it like a rifle rather than pointing it like a shotgun and I put those screw-on fiber optic sights on it. The only other shotgun I would like to have is a 20 O/U with different chokes for sporting clays.

Ohio Annie · May 13, 2005, 08:10 AM

I was rabbit hunting once in Deer Creek, OH wildlife area and I came out of the brush and there were two elderly gentlemen with a gray arthritic beagle looking at me. One of them peered at me and my gun and drawled disbelievingly, "Yew huunt with a foer tiin???"

I replied that I believe in giving the bunnies a running start!

MassHunter2190 · May 13, 2005, 10:06 PM

.410~ Ultimate pigeon/rat/rabbit/snake/squirrel gun, from personal experiences. I've found #4 birdshot works wonders on all of them.

relientk1988 · May 13, 2005, 11:58 PM

When my friend's dad told me he hit a squirrel 5 times with a .410 and it still didn't die. But after shooting it I love it. Anybody reload for the .410? How much do you save?

-Ben

Kyote · May 14, 2005, 08:07 AM

I have a Savage double and a Mosberg pump. Wouldn't get rid of either of them, and there have been offers. The only thing I miss is the skillet shot on quail. (Your allowed to do that on blues) Don't kill near as many as with a 12.

Had a friend up in Capitan that hunted EVERYTHING with a 410. Then as he got older he said he had to switch to a 28, reflexes were getting slow!

I do reload for about a $3-$4 dollar per box savings!

and as a bonus, the loads are "custom". 'Bout all you can find here are 7 1/2s but I have boxes of 4s and 6s.

kudu · May 14, 2005, 08:50 AM

The volume of 410's that I go through I have to reload, and with the price of shot going up it will stretch a bag a long way with 1/2oz loads. I figure that a box of 2.5" shells reloaded costs me about $2.30-$2.50 to reload. A new box of AA's or Rem STS's goes about $6.50 around here. If I want 3" shells I just go buy them as my reloader won't do them without a major adapter kit.

taralon · May 14, 2005, 09:41 AM

I've got a handy little Baikal .410 that was imported back in the 70s that I bought non-first hand at a gun shop (I can't tell you if the thing had 1 previous owner or 15). It had been shot enough to loosen up the action, but hadn't seen enough field work to mar the wood or the finish. Its a great little gun, and if the price of .410 shells wasn't so outrageous in my neck of the woods I'd use it more (I'm currently looking at using .444 Marlin brass and paper wads to reload). Its a dandy caliber for dove, quail, rabbit, squirrel and if the opportunity presents itself I've never turned down a shot at pheasant either. Out to 12 yards a moderately choked .410 is a better gun IMHO for wingshooting anything up to pheasant sized game than any other caliber in the book. They swing fast, have a narrow shot column and hit hard.

The only thing I dislike about the Baikal is that it makes me not want to carry my other guns into the field.

chris in va · May 16, 2005, 12:44 AM

Funny thing, I didn't see this post until after I posted about my first outing with a single shot 410 today.

Amazingly fun gun to shoot, and it was so easy to hit clays with at closer ranges.

Ohio Annie · May 16, 2005, 09:48 AM

"When my friend's dad told me he hit a squirrel 5 times with a .410 and it still didn't die."

sounds like he MISSED it 5 times.

relientk1988 · May 16, 2005, 12:00 PM

I wouldn't be suprised if he did miss 5 times.

May 12, 2005, 11:10 PM	#1
relientk1988 Member Join Date: February 4, 2005 Location: Medway, Ohio Posts: 40	Fell in love with the .410 Went out to the local "throw your own" range a little while ago with my brand new NEF single shot .410. I bought the gun so I could have the 3 most common gauges (12,20,.410, 16 and 28 on the way!) Anyway, I was worried about not being to hit anything but I was pleasantly suprised. I was hitting better with it than my single shot 20. It was also nice to shoot a shotgun with hardly any recoil. I have seen alot of people on TFL make fun of the shotgun but it proved itself to me! Has anyone else had this same experience or does everyone think the .410 is undepowered? I like everything about it except for the price of shyells($7.00/25) . -Ben thinking about a mossberg .410 pump.

May 13, 2005, 07:29 AM	#2
kudu Senior Member Join Date: May 18, 2004 Location: Northern Indiana Posts: 273	The last few months I have been shooting the .410 almost exclusively for skeet. Gone through about 1100 shells since February. I shot a couple of rounds with the 28 gauge which I love dearly, and broke 24 and 25 with it, and went back to the .410. It gives me something to play with and challenges me a bit more than the bigger gauges. When I run a straight with the little gun, I know I was on the targets, especially with the full choke patterns my little double throws. Many times the little .410 is critisized for being too small, but it's usually someone trying to use it for something that it is not designed for. It is not for everybody, and it is not an ideal gun to start a kid out on because it is more of an expert's gun. But it is fun. __________________ "a shootin' we will go"

May 13, 2005, 08:08 AM	#3
Ohio Annie Senior Member Join Date: August 10, 2004 Location: Ohio Posts: 351	It's ironic that the .410 is considered a "youth gun" in this part of the country when the opposite is true, you have to be a good marksperson to use one effectively. I have a mossberg 500 which works very well for squirrels, rabbits, etc. and I use it to dispatch 'coons in my traps. I have found for myself that I do better aiming it like a rifle rather than pointing it like a shotgun and I put those screw-on fiber optic sights on it. The only other shotgun I would like to have is a 20 O/U with different chokes for sporting clays. __________________ Annie @8-) Maker of fine GSR since 1998

May 13, 2005, 11:58 PM	#6
relientk1988 Member Join Date: February 4, 2005 Location: Medway, Ohio Posts: 40	I got worried... When my friend's dad told me he hit a squirrel 5 times with a .410 and it still didn't die. But after shooting it I love it. Anybody reload for the .410? How much do you save? -Ben

May 14, 2005, 08:07 AM	#7
Kyote Senior Member Join Date: December 31, 2004 Location: New Mexico Posts: 183	I have a Savage double and a Mosberg pump. Wouldn't get rid of either of them, and there have been offers. The only thing I miss is the skillet shot on quail. (Your allowed to do that on blues) Don't kill near as many as with a 12. Had a friend up in Capitan that hunted EVERYTHING with a 410. Then as he got older he said he had to switch to a 28, reflexes were getting slow! I do reload for about a $3-$4 dollar per box savings! and as a bonus, the loads are "custom". 'Bout all you can find here are 7 1/2s but I have boxes of 4s and 6s. __________________ An armed society is a polite society.

May 13, 2005, 08:10 AM	#4
Ohio Annie Senior Member Join Date: August 10, 2004 Location: Ohio Posts: 351	A .410 story I was rabbit hunting once in Deer Creek, OH wildlife area and I came out of the brush and there were two elderly gentlemen with a gray arthritic beagle looking at me. One of them peered at me and my gun and drawled disbelievingly, "Yew huunt with a foer tiin???" I replied that I believe in giving the bunnies a running start! __________________ Annie @8-) Maker of fine GSR since 1998

May 13, 2005, 10:06 PM	#5
MassHunter2190 Member Join Date: March 16, 2005 Posts: 82	.410~ Ultimate pigeon/rat/rabbit/snake/squirrel gun, from personal experiences. I've found #4 birdshot works wonders on all of them.

May 14, 2005, 08:50 AM	#8
kudu Senior Member Join Date: May 18, 2004 Location: Northern Indiana Posts: 273	The volume of 410's that I go through I have to reload, and with the price of shot going up it will stretch a bag a long way with 1/2oz loads. I figure that a box of 2.5" shells reloaded costs me about $2.30-$2.50 to reload. A new box of AA's or Rem STS's goes about $6.50 around here. If I want 3" shells I just go buy them as my reloader won't do them without a major adapter kit. __________________ "a shootin' we will go"

May 14, 2005, 09:41 AM	#9
taralon Member Join Date: October 21, 2004 Posts: 88	I've got a handy little Baikal .410 that was imported back in the 70s that I bought non-first hand at a gun shop (I can't tell you if the thing had 1 previous owner or 15). It had been shot enough to loosen up the action, but hadn't seen enough field work to mar the wood or the finish. Its a great little gun, and if the price of .410 shells wasn't so outrageous in my neck of the woods I'd use it more (I'm currently looking at using .444 Marlin brass and paper wads to reload). Its a dandy caliber for dove, quail, rabbit, squirrel and if the opportunity presents itself I've never turned down a shot at pheasant either. Out to 12 yards a moderately choked .410 is a better gun IMHO for wingshooting anything up to pheasant sized game than any other caliber in the book. They swing fast, have a narrow shot column and hit hard. The only thing I dislike about the Baikal is that it makes me not want to carry my other guns into the field.

May 16, 2005, 12:44 AM	#10
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 13,806	Funny thing, I didn't see this post until after I posted about my first outing with a single shot 410 today. Amazingly fun gun to shoot, and it was so easy to hit clays with at closer ranges.

May 16, 2005, 09:48 AM	#11
Ohio Annie Senior Member Join Date: August 10, 2004 Location: Ohio Posts: 351	"When my friend's dad told me he hit a squirrel 5 times with a .410 and it still didn't die." sounds like he MISSED it 5 times. __________________ Annie @8-) Maker of fine GSR since 1998

May 16, 2005, 12:00 PM	#12
relientk1988 Member Join Date: February 4, 2005 Location: Medway, Ohio Posts: 40	he probably did... I wouldn't be suprised if he did miss 5 times.