I dont use shotguns much, dont actually own a 12ga currently. Have a chance to pick up a neat little 410 double with a bunch of shells( 11/16oz in birdshot sizes which must be a heavy load for 410 and some 5x 000 buck as well). Trying to think just what I need one for is all
Feel free to list any game these are good for. I'm not intending to shoot large gamebirds etc. I figured at least not a bad gun for a lady to have around for various pests.

Squirrels.

kwg

Rabbits!

Woodpecker who decided to excavate on the soffit of the cabin.

Works ok on snakes too.

I hunt doves with a 410, a lot.

they are neat little shotguns but the ammo is outrageous, even before all ammo was outrageous. nice to take for a walk for squirrel or bunnies. good to get a kid to shoot for his first shotgun but that can also be frustrating because you have to aim them pretty good and watch the range. with the right load/choke they can be turkey guns too but i've never done that. my single shot sits in the safe. i always had a hankering for a win 42 but never enough to spend the money.

that fool that's trying to sneak in and rob ,rape and pillage

snakes

As mentioned above, squirrels and rabbits. You also be surprised if you patterned that 000. Dad has one that will put all 5 pellets into 4-5" @ 40. They aren't slow either. I've seen 12 gauges that wouldn't do that.

Yep. I’ve killed several limits with a Winester Model 42 Pump in .410

Shoot TSS out of it and it becomes a 30-40 yard turkey gun. Easy to carry. No recoil to speak of. Great youth turkey gun.

snakes worst nightmare, bought a Rossi tuffy just for that use, can kill a snake 20 yards away, i used a 410 for everything up to deer

If you have a good pointing dog, and birds that hold tight (don't run) you can drop just about any upland bird out to 30yds that you can hunt in the U.S with a .410.

Quail (bobs, mearns, scaled, California, mountain)
Huns
Chukar
Grouse (sharps, ruff, blues, sage)
Pheasant

Etc..

They are just fun.

A friend occasional shoot skeet with his... and it is a real hoot to watch. He reloads .410 so there is that.

Personally, I use 3" 12 gauge for anything and everything. 2 3/4" for most things under 5 pounds.

I have a Savage four-tenner that I put in one barrel of a double when squirrel hunting. Gives me close and far in the same gun.

My grandson shot his first three wild turkey with the family .410. Shoot them in the head and they are dead.

In spite of the 410 being handed to generations of kids as a starter gun, it is actually a poor choice. The 410 is nicknamed "idiot stick" as only an idiot would handicap themselves so much. It is a very fun gun to shoot but it is geared more to someone who knows its limitations well and can work inside them. It is my favorite bore to use but also frustrating.

My 410s are mainly used on clay pigeons these days. It is lacking in pellet density for most hunting making it a special purpose/situation tool. The single shot does get a fair bit of use for pest control around the house, I shot a red squirrel out of the yard yesterday. My wife will occassionally use it to rid her gardens of a rabbit but she generally orders me to do so.

Back when the woodcock season opened on Sept 1 the 410 was my main gun due to the short range and small bird size the small shot charge did not tear birds up much. When grouse opened up a couple weeks later I would switch to a larger gun.

I also used the 410 for dog training as I didn't want too messed up bird for the dog to retrieve. The occasional cripple, especially when using pigeons, was also a great training opportunity for a young dog.

A 410 would be a fine squirrel or rabbit gun though I would prefer a 22 LR or even air gun over a shotgun. With an effective range of about 25 yards, the 410 doesn't give one much advantage over a rifle. A 410 makes a good close range dove gun if one has the opportunity. I've used mine over watering holes a few times and that can be a great time.

What I have learned is #7.5 shot is the most useful in the field. #8 shot is nice but it is difficult to find. #8.5 is my favorite target size as well as for training birds. I reload most of my own shells with the last two sizes. #9 is a bit small for most use though it is excellent when jump shooting English sparrows from nesting boxes. #6 is the largest size I would use as patterns are pretty patchy with it. I have a box of #5 shot I am using up on red squirrels, I've had to use more than one shell to bag one of the buggers as at even 20 yards there are gaps large enough to miss the squirrel. Or, put a pellet someplace non-vital.

I prefer 3" shells for field work as more pellets is more pellets. The pattern percentage may be lower with the heavier shot charge but there tends to be more pellets in the usable pattern. 2.5" shells are mostly target and dog training with some use for pests.

The 410 is a fun shell to use but it can be frustrating. If one shoots it much, reloading is the best course to take as you will recoup your investment money quickly. Keep your empties as they tend to be I demand. Even if you don't reload, you may be able to trade/sell them to someone who does.

410 double, IMO, would be a great sxs to have simply to pass along as I don’t see many that are in good shape or available. Some shotguns you just want.

Light, handy and almost no recoil. 410's are fun. Plus not loud so un an urban setting - no one complains.

Not a 410 here but it is excellent at this kind of work.

There was a guy in a trap league we competed against. Hell of a shot. He tried a 410 one week just because he could. Did very well at the 16 yard line. When he moved back, he came back to the land of the mortals like the rest of us.

Do you have personal experience in this manner?

A good bit, if you have the ammo or can load it. I have a nifty little Henry single set up for turkeys, and laid in ammo before The Crunch. Killing headshots on turkeys with TSS and the proper choke up to 40, Brenneke slugs group well to at least 50, and 5-pellet 000 make a hand-sized pattern at 30 with the modified choke. Obviously it’s a good choice for squirrels and rabbits at sensible range, without mincing them up too badly. Not my choice for much wing-shooting; I’m not that good, and the patterns are pretty thin past 25-30 yards, so not ethical (for me) in my mind.

The Henry wears a Bushnell Lil P Prism for precise aiming with TSS. When ammo becomes more available I want to try it on the rabbit on our clays setup.

Gramma had banty chickens which ran loose all over the farm. When ever she wanted to put one in the kettle, she would pull out her little bolt action 410.

When we grew up on the farm, we hunted pheasant with the neighboring farm owner. He used an 870 in 410, and was always the first to limit out.

Doves. I started with a Savage 24, 22/410 single shot and nailed the first dove I shot at. 😊 I’ve missed a few since then. 😁

My go to grouse truck gun , ammo cost more than 12 GA tho.... back when u could buy ammo .

Dove, quail, and snakes hate my 410.

410 is an experts gauge, not a good beginners or childs gun. Great for rabbits and squirrels. Enjoyable for a good wingshot who can limit his range.
You best shop for a reloading tool, 410 ammo is way overpriced.

I'd sell the ammo and buy another house.

Squill, bunnies, dove, quail, hogs, and azzholes. Probably more if you know your gun and how to use it.

It's good on beer cans and puff ball mushrooms and the like.

I killed my first shotgun-killed bird (an English sparrow) with a .410. I was 11 years old. My buddy's grandfather used to let us run loose at that age with his Savage 24 on their farm (also his late '40's Willys Overland.)

When we were kids one of my other buddy's father always used a .410 rabbit hunting. He claimed the .410 "shot like a rifle" and you could kill rabbits further with that than anything else. Even as a kid, I read enough of the "experts" to know that wasn't true, but he sure killed a lot of rabbits.

My grandmother had an old .22/.410 that she kept by the back door. Any time at night she thought she heard prowlers outside she'd let fly a couple of rounds of .410 out across the horse pasture. (If they got in the house, she always had her H&R top break .32 S&W handy for close-quarter battle. She'd also keep us in .22 shells all summer. My brothers, cousins and I worshipped that woman.

Back in my misguided younger days, my brother and I kept a pack of running hounds and our winter leisure time activity was running coyotes and foxes. One day a guy who'd expressed an interest came with us. We didn't pay much mind to what gun he had, just told him where to go to get on a watch. He killed a red fox ahead of our dogs and, when I saw the hole in it, asked him what gun he was using. He was using a .410 with slugs. We suggested that if he were to take up this sport with us on a regular basis he might consider using a 3" 12 gauge with #4 buck which was our standard coyote running load at that time.

I have a .410 barrel (2 1/2" chamber) for my Savage 99 in .303 Savage. I took the 99 on a Quebec caribou expedition several years back, killed some caribou with the .303 barrel and, after tagging out, spent a good deal of my time wandering/exploring with the .410 barrel on the 99 and collected a goodly number of spruce grouse for the table.

I know it's fashionable to say the .410 isn't a good beginner gun, but I respectfully disagree. You need to teach beginners to limit their distance with any shotgun. Where do we draw some arbitrary limit? You also need to teach them to shoot. It's a lot easier to teach them to shoot with a gun that's not beating them up. My favorite bird gun is a 1620 Merkel. Yes, it fits me, but when I use the 20 gauge barrels to shoot sporting clays or 5 stand with it will have me starting to flinch at much over 50 shots. To say the .410, because of its limited range, is not a beginner's gun, sort of implies that maybe a 3" 12 gauge would be better. Beginners should be shooting under supervision.

That's about all my experience with .410's.

Gettin' better at your shotgun game.

I once did Trap doubles with a .410 it was a tough game, got a 34 on it. was a fun round.

I have found it very efficient at very close range for hogs and dogs. It's amazing what that small amount of bird shot can do bouncing around inside a brain cavity. Never have had an exit wound.

What woodmaster and prairie dog shooter said. Fun little guns, lots of us grew up shooting them for over-simplified reasons not good reasons; utilitarian niche and expert niche, in short. Nothing “wrong” with them, but… it depends.

Have 3-4 of them, so not knocking them.

Halibut!

I reload 444 Marlin cases to shoot out of a 45 colt/ .410 Bond Derringer. I tone them down a bit usually around 13-15 grains of H-110 depending on what size shot/ buckshot that’s the flavor of the day.

My dad bought me a Mossberg 500 in 410 years ago and I have taken it dove hunting one time. I don’t remember how many I put in the bag that day but I do remember it was more than anyone else.

After reading most of this thread, I'm guessing that the first 100 or so squirrels, that I toted out of the woods, died of fright. Dont reckon it had anything to do with the 410 shooting 3" #6's. Add to that the first 25 or so ducks and a handful or two of quail. And dont even think of counting my first deer, I guess he just fell over dead for the hell of it. The 2 1/2" 410 slug that went thru his lungs at about 50 yds, had nothing to do with it.

Naw, 410 aint good for anything. (where's the sarcastic thingy)

I use a Marlin 1895 .410 for homestead chores and home defense. I keep a modified choke in it and shoot #6. I get lots of snakes and skunks with us and our neighbors all having chickens. The .410 shotshells are probably the hardest to find ammo right now. The gun holds 5 rounds if IRC. Whenever I find shells again, I might load them progressively, shell 1-3 #6 and the last 2 shots 000

I bought a single barrel 410 years ago, every time I went into wallyworld I would grab a box of shells. I heard about using 444 Marlin brass, and saw some once fired for sale and grabbed them. Haven't loaded any yet, but I have them.

I have an old Winchester 37 with a choke so tight, it shoots more like a rifle than a shotgun. That was my first gun as a kid and I made shots with that thing that I had no idea how long they were because I didn’t have a basis for comparison. That gun was a squirrel killing Jessie.

You can dove and quail hunt if you are worth a cshit. I used a 12 gauge. Dog trainer friend didn’t hardly miss with one, but he shot every day. He couldn’t hear worth a damn either.

I shot my first buck with a .410 slug 52 years ago.

I shot 3 dandy rooster pheasants one Dec morning using 3" # 6 shot.

Now days I carry a Bond Arms Snake Slayer derringer in .410, stuffed with 2 Hornady Critical Defense shells. I mostly tote it when traveling in down town Minneapolis. With all the muggings and car jacking that has been going on, it's just a matter of time before a "He Ape" sticks it's head in the window at a stop light wanting my truck. I will report back if the video is any good.

WS

+1 and it's a ton of fun.

Shoot doves and hike after quail & chukars, with a lighter less bulky hunting vest.

please do dont mind watching a "He Ape" getting wacked. Popped one back in February with a non lethal Byrna kinetic ball to the neck, didn't kill him but I bet he sure wish I did the way he rolled around on the gound..

I own three 410,s great old fuggers gun less felt recoil than 12/20 ga..

Me too. It's my go to. 410's are underrated because most people never owned a good one. Turkey hunting with 410's is all the rage.

August 19, right shoulder replacement surgery.
No more Rem 870 12 gauge for turkeys! 😜

Enter a friend, stage left:
Received a Mossberg .410 bolt gun w/choke tubes via LGS/UPS!

Read story about Federal .410 turkey ammo!
Tungsten #9's!
SIX BUCKS A POP!
Two 5 round boxes cost me $60+ shipping/taxes!
....AND.... I can't find ANY 3" .410 ammo, shot size be damned!
Unless I die first, I WILL kill a turkey with that .410!!!!!

Hey man! Cant you read? 410's aint good for nothing but snakes and experts.

Hope you get a turkey.

My father put supper on the table with a 410 many nights.

Running a mounted cornpicker, clutch, shoot above the pheasant's head, few pellets on the supper plate,

I have a single shot 410 that belonged to my grandfather, made by Essex. My father, myself and three brothers, and my son all learned to hunt with it. It's my sit-by-the-back-door-pest-shooting gun. But, the fact is that for hunting, the 20 gauge is way better, and doesn't have any more recoil is that is the concern. I'd never part with it, but I have far better choices to do some serious hunting with than a 410.

If you are really interested in reloading 410 check out these folks. They make a nice little kit to reload with-

https://www.thexringusa.com/

I have actually make my own reloading kit for 410 using PVC pipe, a socket, wooden dowel and washers. I had all the stuff laying around my shop. There are a few YouTube videos on how to make your own kit.

Lol. Nice shootin.

If I'd hit the He Ape in the neck with any of what I lug around, he wouldn't have been rolling anywhere, except into a hole. lol

I have taken a truck load of grouse with a .410.

My grandfather had a Winchester 37 he had purchased for keeping pests out of his Urban garden. When he realized that it was took loud, it ended up with me when I was old enough. When I started hunting squirrels with it I could cock it but couldn’t unclock if a shot wasn’t made. Fortunately I had a mentor who took care of that chore. Over the years I killed many limits of central Kentucky fox squirrels with mostly #5 shot, the load for that game.
Years later, I watched an old gentleman in South Carolina walk into a pointed covey of quail and kill five with five shots with a well used Winchester model 42. The rest of the day he worked his pointers for my buddy and me and never fired another shot.
In the late 80s early 90s a colleague and I hunted doves Him with a .410 OU, me with a 28 gauge. We would usually limit out with the same number of shells.
I keep a Savage 42 22/.410 in the corner with a TruGlo sight for whatever.
This year I’ll be hunting Turkey with a long barrel Turkish SS set up for TSS # 9.
The .410 is pretty darn useful IMHOP.

Super X # 7.5 out of skeet choke,about 15 yards..

I broke my teeth on my grandmas winchester single shot bolt action 410 in 2 1/2 only shells. That gun has killed a ton of critters and she gave it to me in 1985. Still have it today.

didn't want to kill him, always wanted to shoot something with the byrna

2.5"s pattern a lot better than 3" shells.
I shoot a lot of 410 (when Democrats aren't in the Whitehouse), both at game and clays. I'll never shoot 3".

Oh what do you know?

My 2 cents: Skip the .410 and get a 28 gauge instead. It has all of the advantges of the .410 and none of the disadvantages. And you can get 1.0 ounce factory loads. For that matter, any kid 12 years old can shoot a 20 gauge with 7/8 ounce or more of shot.

Carpenter bees!

You can do anything you want with a .410 but doesnt mean you will get it done thou. First high powered gun was a .410 that was my grandmas. An old single stevens. Shot my first pheasant with it at 12 years old. fun gun.

Would .410 slugs kill a deer?

Thanks oldman03!
It won't be because I didn't try! LOL!

After the .410, then comes the Rem "Sportsman" 16 gauge I rescued from a pawn shop for next to nothing. It shoots great on the shoulder. It was choked IC. It's been to Briley and now sports three choke tubes! 😃

How's the thunder chicken hunting in your area?

Brenneke slugs at 50 yards, Skeet tube (note the little rifling marks)





Federal TSS #9 at 40 yards with the Henry Turkey tube. Henry’s .410 tubes are made by Briley, come in a Briley tube. The Apex 9.5s do a bit better in my gun.

I killed 9 doves with 15 shots.with a.410 on my first dove hunt with a gun at 9 years old. A new haven bolt action 410 with a screw on full choke.

I carry a Rem 870 in .410 on my side by side while moose hunting. Don't know how many spruce hens and ruffed grouse I've taken with it. Great little shotgun for what I need. Had it done in black-t several years ago so worrying about rust is not an issue.

Simple answer, yes.

Mine wasn't a long shot, about 40 yards. The deer traveled about 100 yards before he dumped over.

Not by any means a good deer gun but when you are 12 and poor, it worked.

WS

Shells will be expense - get a 20 Gauge if you want a light gun.

It’s still a cool double to have, but it’s not really a cost effective meat gun.

114lb Halibut

I have a H&R single shot .410 and it's one and only job is as a truck gun for sluicing forest grouse.... AKA fool hens.... it is perfect for that job

I shot my first deer with a .410 with a slug with a Stevens single shot when I was 10 years old.

I was an early teen, and rode to a clay shoot with a friend. We had not intended to go there, but were driving past and his Dad was shooting, so we stopped. I didn't have a shotgun along, plus very little experience shooting one at moving objects. My friend did have a 12 gauge in his trunk.

The Dad insisted I shoot, and loaned me his fancy over and under 12 gauge. Then he pulled an old .410 from his trunk to shoot with us. He busted 24 out of 25 with that .410
I hit about 15 with his 12 gauge.

That taught me, it is more the man behind the gun, than the gun itself! .410's have their limits, but a good man can kill stuff with one.

It's not that complicated. A 410 has half the shot load of a low brass 12ga. A tight choked 410 will put as much shot on target as an open choked 12ga.

If you can hit the target

First Pheasant I ever killed was with one when I was a kid.

Yes they do

It’s pretty economical to load. I’ve shot a ton of 410 loads skeet shooting.

What can you do with a 410?

Be humbled. I bought my first 410 at 60. A Beretta 686 SP1. Sweet little gun. Shot a round of skeet today. Shot an 11. At least I made double digits. Barely. Usually shoot 20-23 with 12, 20 and 28 gauge. Sometimes when the planets are aligned correctly I shoot a 25.

I had to shoot the splatter plate to make sure the gun was shooting where I was looking. It was. Apparently when the targets are in the air I don’t look in the right place. There’s an awful lot of room around those silly birds.

I have several 410 shotguns, load all my shells mostly 1/2 oz 7 1/2. They work fine up to game farm pheasants. Keep a small frame H&R loaded in 444 brass with #4 for raccoon

To be honest, I've never hunted them. We didn't have them when I was growing up. Now, we see them on the roads, once in a while, and I've got several friends that hunt them and they say there are plenty. Mostly in the creek bottoms.

I wanted a .410 "just because" and to keep pests out of the yard.

Ended up getting Browning BPS. FUN little gun!

Virgil B.

Agreed. I would not let my sons shoot a shotgun until they could handle light 20 gauge loads. They are both excellent wing shooters. My oldest limited on his first dove hunt at age 12.

Uhhmmm...... unless you can get a teacup sized pattern at 40 yards, I wouldn't expect a .410 to perform at 40 yards!
Do I KNOW that?
No.
Just color me skeptical.

Look, I have been mocked and laughed at because my usual turkey "ammo" is (12 ga) high velocity #8's.
I haven't had one walk away from a swarm of 8's to the noggin yet! So, I have no problem with the #9 TSS shot, I'm just skeptical of 40 yard shots with a .410.....even with #9 TSS shot.

https://www.charlieelk.com/2017/06/16/beyond-the-patterning-board-x-rays-of-shot-turkey-headnecks/

My Son has a .410 barrels for his Sporting Clays shotgun.

You can shoot 44 mag ammo in a H&R .410.

I shot my first pheasants with a .410.

I read far enough. This list is pretty complete. I've shot plenty of everything but Huns with a 410 and include ducks over deeks.

As far as wildazz Huns, anti-aircraft flack is almost enough. Ours are that wild.

"What can you do with a 410?"

Sherry drove the pickup through the alley on the side
Where a lawman tackled Sonny and was reading him his rights
She stepped into the alley with a single shot .410
The road goes on forever and the party never ends
They left the lawman lyin' and they made their getaway

Small pests in settled areas. Think of local farms with starling and pigeon problems. Offer to help them out. Your only problem is finding ammunition. Fun abounds

Guys, unless I missed it, no one is touting the .410 as a good general-purpose gun, a gun for beginners, or an all-around turkey slayer. It’s a specialty gun, a utility piece for certain uses, and a sporting choice when used with discretion within its capabilities. The pattern board doesn’t lie, in either direction, and it’s easy to see what’s possible and what’s best avoided. Based on patterns, I think 30 yards is a good, practical limit for flying birds, and with TSS, 40 on turkeys. Due to the small size of the pattern, some sort of sights seem like a good idea for ensuring the fairy dust goes where it’s needed on the gobblers. Personally, I wouldn’t choose one for Fall turkeys, but would definitely carry a couple of turkey loads if I were out for squirrels etc and the season was open, provided I’d tested them first with the Full or Modified tubes I’d typically be using for other game.

When we were squirrel hunting as kids and had our single shot 20 gauges (wishing they were 12 ga autos) my dad used an old Stevens 410 single shot. You can guess who always came back to the truck with the most game.

But why do that? You can shoot slugs out of a shotgun and they will be more accurate.

Haven't seen 410 shot ammo in forever, slugs even longer than that. 44 Mag, I can get.

My neighbor bought a single shot .410 to scare turkeys out of his yard.

They were making a heck of a mess, crapping all over his yard.

He shot one at 30 yards with a load of #9 shot, to scare it, and scared it to death!

Light shot out of a .410 WILL kill a turkey at 30 yards.

Virgil B.

The only .410 I own is a very small O/U labeled Abercrombie and Fitch, when that company was a safari outfitter and not a trash store for teenagers. The gun was made by Zoli in Italy.

The stock is short, the barrels are about 24 inches, all the screw slots line up with the long axis of the gun, and the receiver is color case hardened. Fixed chokes IC and Modified. The only things I don't like is it has two triggers and extractors, not ejectors. But the overall quality of the checkering exceeds a Browning Superposed. I shoot Skeet with it.

When thinning the herd, I tried to sell it for $1,000. No takers. I think I'll keep it, at least until I shoot up the AA factory loads I have.

I've never hunted with it. My go-to gun for upland hunting is a 28 gauge Browning O/U.

Carrying slugs when it isn't deer season is illegal in some states.

My little 410 patterns better with the TSS shot than my 12ga does with lead at 40 yards. They are pricey though.

I have been a proponent of #8's and #9's for turkeys since I started hunting them about 2000.

I refuse to pay exorbitant prices for turkey specific ammo when plane Jane, 1250fps, #8's will do the job just fine.
The target on a turkey is the head and neck. Three and a half inch #4's IS NOT necessary.....unless you try to body shoot a turkey!

My favorite, and most effective, duck ammo was a Remington "Hi-Brass" #9's.

I had a buddy used to kill sharks like that. very handy one handed and cheap enough you dont care about knocking it about or saltwater

I think I’d really like your 410. If you are still open to selling, send me some pic’s if you would. I also remember when A&F was a destination store for high-end guns, and those A&F labeled Zoli’s.

According a a Deputy Sheriff friend of mine a 410 worked very well in a murder he investigated.

My single shot h and r ...break it open insert a Easton aluminum arrow then a wad of paper and a 3inch empty shot capsule...close it up spin on a thunder head 125gr 3 blade ....DRT

The first time I shot a 410 was with a friend that had one. He told me to take a shot at some Sharptail Grouse in a stubble field. I killed two of them with one shot.
I think it was even in bird season!