410 Gauge For Home Defense?

[KCabbage]

Dont get anything thats pistol-grip only, its much harder to aim and the recoil will still make it hard for her to get follow up shots.

Whoa, speak for yourself amigo. Just because you have trouble with pistol grip recoil, aim, and follow up shots doesn't mean you should dissuade others from it.

Mike, you're pretty sensitive about this 1/2 ounce slug issue. I never said it didn't exist. All I said was that the average load is much lighter and that I couldn't find a 1/2 ounce slug load. It's gonna' be ok

[zippyfusenet]

Interesting to see this old thread start up again. Originally I admitted to being an ignorant noob shooter. I'm no longer quite so noo, but still have plenty to learn. .410 bore, not .410 gauge, I'll try to remember that.

For the record, my wife is unusually sensitive to recoil because, not only is she very small (4'6" and about 95 lbs), she has arthritis. I'm not putting limits on her, she's the one making choices. Neither one of us is going to train seriously. We go to a local target range a few times a year for fun and practice. We're a couple of aging sheeple who have armed ourselves to deal with the deteriorating crime situation in the city where we live. We need weapons that will function reliably for our fairly low skill levels. Our goals are modest: self defense in our home and on our persons.

I've settled on a Mossberg 500 12 gauge pump with 20 inch barrel for the house, and an S&W 642 with 2 inch barrel to go in my pocket. My wife has an S&W 60 with 3 inch barrel as her bedside gun. We are comfortable with these weapons and believe we can reliably put rounds on target if need be.

Thanks for all your input.

[KCabbage]

Nicely said.
Your welcome Zippy
Take care

[predator86]

how a bout a remington 870 20 ga youth?? put a limbsaver recoil pad on there and have no worries.....

[mikenbarb]

Why in the world would anyone ever need a recoil pad on a .410? They dont kick much at all and my 10 yr. old, 55 pound(if that heavy) daughter shoots one without a problem. And its an old Mossberg bolt action that kicks like a mule in other gauges. If someone was in a HD situation, They wouldnt even feel a 10 gauge kick with all the adrenelin flowing thru them.
And im done with the 1/2 oz. slug thing. I know what I got and all that matters.

[olddrum1]

http://www.chuckhawks.com/410bore.htm

I had correspondence with a person that had an active hand in a national program for young people in the shooting sports. This advice may or may not be of use to you. They said that you should start with the largest bore available that the child could shoot. I ask about 410 bore and they said that a Beretta 390 or 391 auto in 20 gauge would have about the same recoil as a 410 bolt or pump. You would get twice the shot and pattern plus your wife and son would be able to shoot quite a bit more in that the twenty is much cheaper to shoot. If you choose to reload a 20 reloader is a lot easier to find also. But then if they are happy with the 410 bore, by all means keep using it.

[olddrum1]

Why in the world would anyone ever need a recoil pad on a .410?

She has arthritis. Very debilitating condition.

I would say I feel sorry for her but I bet she is pretty tuff stuff. About have to be. An auto might be a better choice.

[mikenbarb]

A recoil pad wouldnt help with arthritis. If anything, You would want a shorter stock, not a longer one. The less a person with arthritis has to hold their arms out, the better. The best is something thet can rest their elbows on their chest to take the weight off their arms. I know this condition very well. My Uncle has the same condition and I had to modify his 1100 to make it easier for him to hold. Its got a 12 1/2" LOP and a 24" Rem-choke barrel now. It used to be a full sized gun when he was in his prime. A .410 is an easy gun to shoot no matter what the size is and its got plenty of punch for dropping a BG in his tracks.

[dabigguns357]

A++++ mikendbarb for the response.Stopping power in a 410 is as good as a 38 or 357 so the votes are and the 410 stays.Mind you she will have back up in a snubbie 357.It may or may not drop him in his tracks but it will make him leave a few tracks.

[guntotin_fool]

A recoil pad for a defensive use gun that she is going to hopefully never have to shoot is something i don;t think I would worry about. Again, if she's out shooting clays or bunnies with it, and shooting regularly, thats fine, but that once in a lifetime shooting of a BG in the house, she will never feel that shot.

my wife is under 100 pounds and has no trouble with a 12 gauge. she prefers a 20 or a 28 for hunting only because its lighter, but she shoots a 12 at clays just fine. Giving a 9 year old a gun for home defense is a bit of a push. I would rather give them a hidey hole with a cell phone at that age. I would be afraid of them blasting the paper boy when they heard monsters in night. . .

[mikenbarb]

Who is giving their 9 yr. old a HD gun????

[dabigguns357]

I think he was refering to me but I as all of us know that the only way a 9 year old should be holding any type of weapon is either on the range or in the back country shooting at what ever they are told to shoot at from a more mature adult.Bye the way my 9 year old knows exactly what to do in case the bad guys comes calling.

[familywgn]

We have a .410 here for HD, because its the only shotgun we have. My wife has a choice between the .410 and a S&W 686. She hasn't shot the revolver yet, but she say the .410 is not too bad. Its loaded away from the kids and ready with 5 3" shells of #4 and the last with '000'.

Much better than nothing

[olddrum1]

Actually would cutting the stock off be counter productive in that there is less drop meaning the recoil is now coming back in a straighter line giving more felt recoil along with the fact that RA/OA is a diease of the joint and shortening the stock causes the joints be bent at an even more acute angle causing more pain? What is meant by resting your elbows on your chest? I am having a hard time understanding how a person gets their elbows on their chest.

[mellow_c]

Nice to see you're happy with your decision zippyfusenet.

But I still have to add my 2 cents.

It's widely accepted that the 20 gauge shot gun is one of if not the best all around Home defense gun. Especially a high capacity pump shot gun. It doesn't lose much effectiveness when compared to the 12 gauge, but the recoil is noticeably less, and the guns them selves are much lighter and easier to swing and point, than the heavier 12 gauge.

410 for home defense is just silly to me, unless it's all you have, or your really a very small person.

[guntotin_fool]

Olddrum, usually straight recoil is the easiest to manage, if you want an example try shooting an old LC smith with big drop stock to a modern double like citori or a beretta. much less felt kick .

[mikenbarb]

Im glad to see how many members here own a .410 bore. You dont realize it till you read a post like this. And just to think of how many people put them down and make them out to be a gun just for an expert shooter. I LOVE MY .410!

[dabigguns357]

I think this post is heatin up like a summer day in south Alabama.A 410 is better than nothin and a 20g is better than a 410 and a 12g is better than a 20g and a 10g is better than a 12g,But if no one likes shooting the 10g,12g or 20g but loves to shoot the 410,then why would you make them shoot anything else.I do have a 12g loaded with rifled slugs for me and me alone but i will not subject my family to such abuse from it.My family knows what they like and i for one stand proudly behind them(literally).How many of you ever tried a veggie that you didn't like then your parents made you eat it anyway,it's the same with shooting.You gotta keep em coming to the table somehow.

[oneounceload]

You got it right dabigguns357, of course if a shotgun is too much, there's always a M4 carbine with a can that could be used...

[mikenbarb]

+1 for dabig!

[dabigguns357]

1+++ not just for me but every one who can admitt that they own,shoot and love their 410 along with their families. Feels like a mopehead bike kinda small but when you get hit by it still hurts.




brush,floss flush and shoot the bad guy.

[mellow_c]

I take back what I said... 410 is not silly for home defense. That statement is silly, it's like saying that a .22 is silly for home defense. Sure it wont cause the same amount of destruction as other larger calibers, but it's still very deadly.

a 410 would be a great home defense gun. But I still think that a 20 gauge is the best compromise, provided the person shooting has enough experience and confidence to handle it.

All that aside, my mom has my Grandpas old single shot 410. Thats the first gun I ever used to shoot clays with. I love it, it's alot of fun, done quite a bit of shooting with it. But 410 shells cost MORE than 20 and 12 gauge. and unless your hooked on the 410 Judge by Taurus for home defense. I'd go with a 20 or 12 gauge pump.

this could go on forever......

[olddrum1]

And some people do not have the ability to comprehend what they have read if they have read it at all!