How about .410s?

[Bill in Oregon]

The 16 gauge thread got me thinking about my other shotgun temptation: a .410 double. The Turkish-made CZ is close to affordable. I know, you need to keep ranges short thanks to the reduced load, but still, I like to fish a 3-weight fly rod sometimes, too.

[Grizz]

The 16 gauge thread got me thinking about my other shotgun temptation: a .410 double. The Turkish-made CZ is close to affordable. I know, you need to keep ranges short thanks to the reduced load, but still, I like to fish a 3-weight fly rod sometimes, too.

it's interesting because of, well, its size. I once had a 410, super light weight, snake charmer? maybe, that bruised my shoulder mercilessly.

I found that I could cook off the remainder of the 410 rounds in the Marlin 444, but the rifling created a perfect pattern of two concentric circles with nothing in the center or between. Don't know where that photo is...

It's most interesting from the perspective of shooting .41 mag in the same dia chamber, which is nearly .43 cal and nearly equal in performance to 44 mag some of the time except for the very heavy heavies.

Not much help from me, eh?

I bet the Judge afficionados will have interesting Judge-ments.

Grizz

[JB]

I've found the .410 pretty much worthless as a hunting arm, but the little .410 doubles sure are neat to play with

[gamekeeper]

I have had a .410 in my armory since I was thirteen. I still use one quite often on squirrels.
I also have a 16/.410 GaugeMate that I use occasionally in my Stevens 94.
Keep the range short, the shot small and the choke no tighter than modified and the little .410 is a real fun gun.
When I was a full time gamekeeper I carried a S/B.410 around my traps, it not only dispatched snared foxes but killed quite a few that I called in and that was with 2 1/2" shells and English #6 shot.
I mostly use 3" #7 or #6 shot now in a Cooey S/B with full choke, it would be better if I had the choke opened up, but I've got my eye on Shirley's bolt action 3 shot with modified choke.....

[86er]

I think the 410 with modern ammo is under-rated. I regularly use a 410 on quail, doves and woodcock. I use it on pheasants at my club where they are released periodically (not planted) but not truly wild. My sons shoot a 410 all the time because it is what they can handle. Brandon got a California Upland Grand Slam - all the wild game birds of CA taken in one continuous outing. He has not problem getting 8 or 9 doves out of a box of ammo (and occassionally more) and he knocks down pheasant at the club and elsewhere all the time. One thing I did on all our 410's is to tune the chokes to get realistic, effective patterns. Most come with Full choke. Brandon's gun is opened up to IC equivalent. It throws a nice, even pattern at about 22 yards. Beyond 25 yards it started getting very sparse and spotty. My own 410 double would equate to something like Cylinder bore and Skeet choke based on constriction. It is deadly under 25 yards and I will occassionally take a shot even out to 30 yds depending on the conditions. Another consideration is that lots of 410 bores pattern better with small shot. Use 8.5, 8, 7.5 or 7. Once you get to 6 the larger pellets have a tough time getting out of the muzzle without a lot of deforming and it effects the patterns greatly. Plus you just don't get that many pellets when the size gets that big. 2.5" ammo is also often more effective (as far as patterns) than 3 inch because of the wad trying to get down the barrel and through the choke with a long shot column under pressure. Win AA Skeet loads that are 2.5" and 8.5 shot are excellent.

[86er]

Brandon shot all these birds at our club during clean-up day with a 410 single shot. If he hit, between us and our dogs we recovered the birds. If he missed, the bird kept on going.

[86er]

Here a half dozen pigeons Brandon shot with his 410, seen the in background. This was a box of shells worth of effort, so there were some misses, no doubt.

[86er]

That's a 7 year old kid (at the time) with a 410 single shot and a couple of good dogs.

[Nath]

Nice Joe......another 410 fan here too.

I did not know CZ had a plant in Turkey!

N.

[Blaine]

I've had a couple different .410 H&Rs....I use #4, 3" and at 40 yds, they put enough BBs into a pop can to do away with any small game. I've never used the slugs, but at 1/4oz, and over 1700fps it would be as good as some generally approved handgun calibre deerslayers.....

[barbarossa]

I have a Winchester 9410 traditional with chokes it is by far one of my favorite bunny guns.

[Les Staley]

I love the 410 for ground sluicing North Idaho grouse ..like head shooting mini turkeys..don't like paying $13 to $15 per box of ammo, so bought a little hand loader ( like a Lee loader) and it works pretty well..brings cost down to around $4 to $5 per box.. I have a Remington 870 in 410..came with an extra barrel, both full..May look into having one honed out to mod or IC.. Any suggestions as to where?

[PaperPatch]

I bought this J. Stevens Arms in .410 when I was in the 8th grade.

I find it works best for me when the targets are on the ground. I was never a good wing-shot with it.

[Blaine]

I bought this J.C. Higgins in .410 when I was in the 8th grade.

I find it works best for me when the targets are on the ground. I was never a good wing-shot with it.

That's a real jewel

[PaperPatch]

Oops....had to correct myself. It is a J. Stevens Arms product; not J C Higgins.

First comes the grey hair....

[rangerider7]

I have two 410s right now. A enhanced light Remington 1100 and a 1948 Model 42 Winchester. They are great on dove and quail and just plain fun to shoot. RR7

P.S. My first gun was a Stevens 410 bolt action with a clip instead of tubular magazine. It looked just like that one. It sure brings back memories.

[Bill in Oregon]

Well, my first gun was the Iver Johnson .410 my granddad used to kill cats hunting his songbirds.
I briefly owned an 1100 in .410 but didn't care for the CHA-CHING action. The CZ currently made by Huglu in Turkey comes with fixed IC/M chokes and three-inch chambers. Street price is mid-$800s.
Thanks for sharing your experiences guys. Joe, you must be mighty proud of your little wing-shooter! That's good advice too about getting the chokes fully dialed in. I am thinking a three-incher full of No. 9 shot and properly tuned chokes would make a heck of a snipe gun.

[Nath]

I love the 410 for ground sluicing North Idaho grouse ..like head shooting mini turkeys..don't like paying $13 to $15 per box of ammo, so bought a little hand loader ( like a Lee loader) and it works pretty well..brings cost down to around $4 to $5 per box.. I have a Remington 870 in 410..came with an extra barrel, both full..May look into having one honed out to mod or IC.. Any suggestions as to where?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Expanding-Adj ... 20d6daad57

N.

[msmith1228]

I probably shot more game with a 410 single when I was a kid back in the sixties than I have with anything else since.

[Mescalero]

I once heard an arguement between two intoxicated country boys where one claimed a .410 had no power and offered to stand across the room and allow the other to shoot him.
Luckily one of the guys in attendance had hunted a lot with .410 when he was a kid, and he managed to convince the loudmouth it would indeed kill him.

[J35]

My hunting experiences are pretty small with a .410 pump.

I killed a greyfox clean at 35 paces off my front deck with a Rem 3" 6 shot.

I shot two crow's out of the top of a popular tree with one shot 25-30yrds REM 3" 6 shot.

My main reason for a .410 was to Handload brass shell's just for grins and pattern them on my property during the 7 years I was home bound taking care of my father , Handloading the .410 and 45acp shotshells helped maintain my sanity during that time, I think ...


-------------J

[Marvin S]

Go for it. I have the little CZ 410 Bobwhite and a old Iver Johnsonn single. I use them mostly for wabbit's

[Old Savage]

A friend of mine j bred for a while with an 1100 .410 and seemed to do quite well with it on birds.

[Bill in Oregon]

Was just looking around at reviews, and it seems the $469 Yildiz double from Academy gets better ratings than the Huglu/CZ. Unfortunately, Academy has no stores in the West and they appear to be the sole Yildiz importer.

[Old Ironsights]

i have a 410 snake charmer as a truck gun, a 410 Rossi levergun and shoot 410s out of mt damascus 16 ga using guagemate chamber liners...

.410 I DO reload... (with an original Lee Loader whack-a-mole set...)...

[Les Staley]

Nath, thanks for picking up on my question..how much money is that in American Obamadollars?..I'll be money ahead to pay someone to do the job..I know my limitations..would end up with a 20 ga choke on a 410 barrel.... Thanks again..Les

[Pete44ru]

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My latest .410 - a Remington 11-48 autoloader, 25" bbl, MOD choke.




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[airedaleman]

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My latest .410 - a Remington 11-48 autoloader, 25" bbl, MOD choke.




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Pete, does that gun have a tang safety, or am I seeing things?

(Handsome little gun, by the way.)

[Pete44ru]

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It surely does - apparently a custom installation by an unknown (real) gunsmith.


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[airedaleman]

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It surely does - apparently a custom installation by an unknown (real) gunsmith.




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Thanks, Pete. Classy work by a genuine 'smith..

[piller]

The pellets coming out of a .410 are still around 1150 fps. That is plenty lethal. What the .410 truly gives up is shot volume. If you hit with a .410 within 25 yards, dead is still dead. My Dad has a Stevens SxS .410 that he inherited, and that little gun accounted for quite a few wild ringnecks around the Beaver to Turpin area of the Cimmarron strip.

[765x53]

The pellets coming out of a .410 are still around 1150 fps. That is plenty lethal. What the .410 truly gives up is shot volume. If you hit with a .410 within 25 yards, dead is still dead. My Dad has a Stevens SxS .410 that he inherited, and that little gun accounted for quite a few wild ringnecks around the Beaver to Turpin area of the Cimmarron strip.

+1
All shotguns can throw shot the same distance at similar velocity.
Payload, pattern density and uniformity are the gauge to gauge variables.

[Lastmohecken]

The 16 gauge thread got me thinking about my other shotgun temptation: a .410 double. The Turkish-made CZ is close to affordable. I know, you need to keep ranges short thanks to the reduced load, but still, I like to fish a 3-weight fly rod sometimes, too.

The 410 is popular, but I never found it all that great, but at close range it will do if you shoot straight. However, If you are considering the CZ, why not get the 28ga. It's a lot more gun and not much bigger in the CZ then the 410. Shells are really no problem to get, as the bigger sporting goods places carry them and you can order on line by the case also, and they are about the same price as the 410 shells. I had one of the 28's in the CZ for a while, and I shot Pheasant and Chukar with it. The little CZ was fast as lightening on the rise, and I figure it gained me 3 to 5 yards on the rise, making it a great jump shooting gun.

The 28 kills a lot closer to the 20ga then the 410 but the recoil is very mild.

[Bill in Oregon]

Last, I can't dispute your logic re the 28 vs. the .410. There is just something about that tiny frame and those bright red cigarette-sized shotshells that weaves some sort of spell upon me that I can't quite 'splain.

[SargeMarlin]

I run with one of the Marlin .410's that they made a few years back and have had good success with it. I've shot some quail, squirrels and two wild roosters with mine, usually 2.5" 7 1/2's. I'm more limited by my lack of time to take it out and hunt with it. Also, in my neck of the woods, there very few rooster pheasants around anymore. Farming practices dictate that they will probably not make a comeback here either; no fence rows, weeds with seeds all year (crop rows that you can see the entire length of the field), and waterways and areas formerly set aside are farmed for $6/bushel corn or $14/ bushel beans.

I will say that it is a ton of fun to outshoot some dude who laughs at me when I step onto the skeet field with it. The doubles can be tough to catch up to, but the little Marlin is up to task if I do my job.

SM

[Old Time Hunter]

Before I had Bobby Hoyt sleeve my original (cartouche is 1880) Trapdoor carbine, I would shoot .410's out of it all the time. Heck even got a turkey with it using Russian 00 ammo.