Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters "Allure" of the .410

I once had the owner of my LGS tell me "I'll take a .410 in trade every chance I get. 410's and 243's are always a quick sale". The 243 makes sense for a number of reasons but considering what we use shotguns for I've always wondered what makes the 410 so popular? And yes I've owned one or two before and have found them to be a decent squirrel gun. And they're fun if not humbling on Clays. But it always seemed to me the 28 gauge should've been the popular one and the 410 should've faded out.

A lot of mystique with this 410. A pretty rare lever gun from the past:

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/831056259

And yes, sniffing a paper shotgun shell after firing is a joy that should cost a lot more than it does

Mystique: "Mystery combined with reverence and mystical power."

One can point perfectly with a .410 and still miss. Mystique? I don't think so....

I agree on the 28 gauge, always shot them pretty good on the skeet field. I’ve heard the skeet shooters call the .410 the “idiot stick”.

I alwayss thought the 410 was for those that couldn't hit a squirrel or sitting grouse with a 22.

The 28 gauge is better for wing shooting IMO.

I use a .410 O/U for upland hunting and love it's light weight. If one goes to "Ballistic Products.com" and pays his dues for reloading this shotshell, he finds that it's a fairly adequate upland hunting tool. Use the right wads, the right powder and you'll be surprised how well it keeps up to the 28 Ga I like #7 shot to keep the pellet count up and find that it kills pheasants quite nicely. It also works well for younger shooters learning the "ropes".....but make no mistake about it.....it's not a Kids gun....it's a serious hunting tool.. If you get one, get a good one.....

Well, I disagree on the Kids part. Last thing I would do is give a Kidd a .410 and expect them to hit much. A .410 is something to be used by accomplished shooters that know how to shoot.

I have one of those Marlins, it used to be my grandfather's.

He was initially given it to protect the truck farm they were hired to work during the Depression. They were given a place to live and a small portion of the crop as pay. When it was eventually foreclosed on, my grandfather was given the gun in lieu of crops. He was able to get a job right away so did not need to sell the gun. The gun ended up with one of my uncles before my grandfather died so it wasn't one of them stolen after his death. I ended up with it upon my uncle's death a year ago.

The 410's popularity is based in large part on nostalgia. Many of my generation and older started out with a 410 and the "idiot stick" bring back fond memories as the mind tends to forget all the bad. I suspect future generations will not see the 410 in the same light and its desirability will fall off.

I have three 410s, the Iver Johnson single shot that I started out with; a standard Browning Citori that I bought in the early 1980s; and the Marlin I inherited. The first still sees some use shooting pests in the yard, the Citori is mostly a target gun now that the woodcock season opens after grouse become legal game. It gets occasional use on doves and will often use it for dog training when I'm the gunner and bobwhites are being used.

The Marlin is a safe queen. It sits in the Buffalo Bill museum as a research subject. I don't know if it is on display or in a back room but I do know it going there opened room for another gun! I've sent a few guns there, it kept me from having to buy another safe which my wife would have quickly noticed.

I accept the technical reasons why the 410 is a poorer choice for most applications. For many of us there is an attachment component that is not logical, but potent. I have a young boy connection to the 410. Other than a .22, it was the first gun I hunted with. An H&R single-shot was my first bird and big game gun (deer). I can say it was an exceptionally poor choice for deer. I suppose the 410 slug is about on par in power with a 110 grain 38 special. At a young age, I knocked a deer over with a 410 slug at 50 or so yards. I recall my Dad was shocked I hit it. We thought I had it as we saw it go down and didn't see it get back up. When we went over there, there was a pool of blood and blood trail. We followed it a good ways but eventually the blood trail stopped. I was darn disappointed. The following season, I was sitting in the deerstand with a .303 British.

I have many pleasant memories of carrying the H&R 410 hunting grouse all day through the deep woods. The first shotgun I bought with my own money was a Winchester M1200 12 gauge slide action. My memories of carrying that through the woods all day are not as pleasant. I did find it a heck of a lot better on ducks. For grouse, I ultimately found the 20 gauge Remington M17 to be the best compromise. More powerful than the 410 and the Remington was a quick and light-handing fast repeater. Many times, the fact that it had a magazine tube filled with shells came in very handy.

Seems like that should read "mistake of the .410" ? I've had a few. They are good for rabbits where it's really thick and you don't want to put too much shot in them. Other than that, can't dependably and decisively kill a squirrel out of the top of a tall hickory when you're standing right underneath. Perhaps with that new tungsten super shot they would work decently.

Word is TTS changes their capabilities significantly.

So what do the gun writers think of the .410?

My .410 is a little Savage 220 I bought because it got in my way in the LGS. Nicely redone years ago, by its appearance. I've yet to shoot it, but my grandson did use it to miss a squirrel.

Might take it for a walk this Winter and hope for a rabbit.

OK, a couple of you take exception with the word "mystique". Perhaps I should call it the "allure of the 410"?

The allure of the .410 mainly exists in competition skeet. Other than that it has a very limited following.

I don't know about that. So many guys I talk to have them.

Nostalgiafan,

I owned and hunted with several .410's over the decades, but gave up on them after finding the 28-gauge was far more effective on any kind of gamebirs from doves on up, without having to resort to expensive, extra-heavy shot.

Started out with a single shot H&R .410 as my first “bird gun”
Killed a bunch of doves, quail, and ducks with it as a kid. Probably made me a better hunter.
And I’ve killed a lot of doves and quail and several pheasant with my old Winchester Model 42 in .410.

I do prefer a 28 ga over a .410 nowadays but it’s still a lot of fun to hunt with.

The H&R Topper in .410 was the foundation of shooting education for both my brother and myself. Gun is still in the family, near about 65 years old at this point and still in good functioning state. It's primary target these days is iguanas and it hasn't lost an argument yet. And ya, I've killed pigs with it. And doves, quail, ducks, bunnies and squill. A bunch of them.

Outside of the Skeet fields it is good for snakes. If you are going to hunt Birds with it, keep it inside 20 yards max, and one should have a better than good retriever.