Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Where the heck is all the .410? Ammo?

They are not making anyand don't hold your breath. I was at the DSC convention last week and spoke with the folks from Hornady and Federal. Same bullshit excuse; "oh we're running 24/7 but the demand is so high." yeah they are running 24/7 but only making all they new stylish calibers they new crowd just has to have. No plans on making a LOT of the older calibers or if they do, they will be in limited runs. Don't hold your breath for primers either...

Solved the problem by buying a little CZ 28 ga double.

Good time to get into the 28 if you want a small gauge gun. Lots of 28 ammo on the shelves right now.

There is your answer. They are not making it because they don't want to make it.

i have been lucky i have got plenty 410 ammo and seem to get more if needed. i use my 410 O/U on red squirrels plenty . matter fact one of the guys on 24 campfire needed a bunch of 410 cases so i basically gave him those 410 cases just for the shipping price .

Mule Deer;
Good morning to you both, I hope you all are getting a bit of warmer weather like we're enjoying at present and that you're both well.

Your thoughts mirror those of a longtime hunting partner and friend who discovered 28 gauge shotguns a decade or so back. He rarely shoots a .410 anymore and mentioned to me a couple times that if he'd have tried one earlier, other than collecting there'd be no reason to own one.

We used to see a lot of single shot shotguns in .410 up here and the odd bolt action too, so there'd always be .410 shells in most hardware and gun stores.

Somewhere along the way the .410 shells haven't crossed the medicine line in a couple years or not so we've seen.

On a BC hunting and shooting forum I'm on, there's a bit of a province wide search for a couple members and while the odd box shows up, it's proverbial hen's teeth for now.

All the best to you and Eileen this week.

Dwayne

Since the guys I shoot with know I have one, I get occasional mercy donations of odds and ends from them. Another guy has a very pristine Savage SxS and shoots it pretty well. It’s choked F&F and he gets some way out there when the stars align.

I shoot a MOD tube for clays and seem to do better than I did with a FULL. My turkey tube is from Henry and is so marked, but it came in a Briley storage tube. The best load I’ve found is the Apex Ninja 9.5, but they’re always coming up with new ideas (and improved prices). The Federal TSS 9 is okay, but not quite as good. I’ve actually put killing patterns on a turkey target at 50 yards, but my limit is 40. I’d like to whack something with one of those Brennekes someday too. They cut a neat hole in the paper and you can see the rifling marks.

Some of the Walmarts in Amarillo have it and you can order it online. $16 a box is about what I see it for. I always keep a few boxes on hand but you can shoot 12 and 20 a lot cheaper

Hi Dwayne,

Good morning to you too! Hope all is well up north. We got some much-needed snow last week, but it's melting now that the Deep Freeze moved on. It hasn't even gotten below freezing the last two nights!

Thanks for the .410 news up there. I've had several .410s over the years, and had all the stuff to handload for 'em as well--partly because .410 ammo was always harder to find, even here in Montana. So a couple years ago I sold all the ammo and my MEC .410 press, which freed up room for more 28-gauge ammo, both handloads and factory....

How'd your hunting season go? Eileen got a buck and doe pronghorn, and I got a cow elk, so the "savings account" freezer is pretty much full.

Best,
John

Mule Deer;
Good afternoon John, thanks for the reply, much appreciated.

For whatever reason, we'll see the very odd older 16 gauge up here or sometimes a newer one in a European combination gun with say a 6.5x57R on the top barrel, but I don't recall seeing them or the 28 gauge out west here ever.

Now that doesn't mean I don't think they're useful, but perhaps the 12, 20 and .410 filled enough niches or were "close enough"?

Congratulations to you and Eileen on the full freezer! Very cool and might I say gratifying to have a full freezer.

We used to say if we had a load of hay in the shelter, a couple deer in the freezer and a good woodpile, we'd be okay for the winter. It's still a wee bit that way but without the hay and adding a bit of our garden produce into the mix.

The hunting season was another tough one up here as our ungulate populations are down and predator populations are up.

Early in the "any buck" season for mulies I took a first rack 2 point, but honestly didn't see another legal buck for the next two months, despite getting out a few days a week for the whole 3 month season we have.

The whitetail population here continues to be in severe decline and while we did see some cow moose and one bull that was too big, legal bulls eluded us this fall. I'm sure you've experienced this too, but when I went up to check out "my" elk spot a few days before season, I found they'd just logged it, so while it'll be okay again in a couple years, they'd gone to parts unknown or at least I never found where they'd gone.

This winter has been much milder so hopefully that will help some of the deer do a little better. We've had a little over a foot of snow here, with more up top, but it all came in early January so it'll make for a shorter winter for the critters.

A couple of us have been trying to thin the predators a bit, but honestly we're not going to shoot our way out of the current wolf and coyote issues we've got. There are some folks trapping locally and they are catching, so perhaps between that and the odd one that us hunters take it'll help the deer, moose and elk.

It's good to get out and up onto the mountain however and even though we didn't fill any freezers, we've got a taste to share with family.

Thanks again and all the best.

Dwayne