410 or 20

I personally would go for a 20. A .410 needs a fair bit of skill to be effective, and your hunting choices are limited. IMHO
 
At $300-500 you are scraping the bottom of the barrel for a small gauge side by side, even used. As in most things, you will get what you pay for. I think the best of the current crop of Turkish small bore side by sides start at about$1000 new and go up from there, this would be a place to start.
 
I think at under $500.00 for a 20 gauge or .410 double barrel, a very nice condition Stevens 311 might be the way to go. They have a proven track record over the years. Real nice ones are out there for under $500.00 in those gauges. Of course if you are looking for screw in chokes then the 311 is not an option. Pretty much nothing decent will be with screw in chokes at that price except maybe a used Stoeger or Boito .
 
Check your local Canadian Tire . I have seen a few Mossberg Silver s or Trustars but they about $ 650 - 750 . Also seen Norinco doubles in there
 
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410 or 20 ga

years ago i was in my local gun shop ..i asked about a 410 for my son,,,,glen the owner and friend replied ........what do you have against your son......i got a nice 20 ga with 22 on top i rest my case good luck
 
410's are great if you already own a 28 and a 20 and a 16 and a 12.
Love my little Huglu over/under 410 but it's not in that price range.
 
I knew a guy hunting ruffed grouse with a 410 and he was very good (thick brush), for me 20ga is a lot better for everything. As was said before the shells are way cheaper and more available then 410.. Budget should be increasd as well.
 
coyoteshooter said:
years ago i was in my local gun shop ..i asked about a 410 for my son,,,,glen the owner and friend replied ........what do you have against your son......i got a nice 20 ga with 22 on top i rest my case good luck
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I was told the same thing, when looking for my daughter's first shotgun. Ended up with a 20 gauge SX3. Great little gun.
 
have been using a .32 CVA muzzleloader with a .22 Lr case for a powder measure- about 7 gr of black powder- on grouse and rabbit, but if that shot is just a little below the head or neck, that little round ball just tears the thing apart, especially grouse. don`t normally shoot at them on the wing, that just wastes a shot for me.
I think I`ll look at the 20 ga. found several in single, and don`t mind that. I just really like SxS shotguns.
thanks for all the input, and will still keep an eye out for a SxS
 
OP you probably need to double your budget. You wont find a new gun at that price, and even used guns will be hard to find and likely in rough shape. $1000 will get you plenty of options, but $500 leaves very little options.

As for caliber/gauge, 20ga puts a lot more lead downrange and costs less. It is also suitable for waterfowl and larger small game (even big game with slugs or buck shot), whereas the 410 is comparatively limited in what you can ethically take.

If you are buying the gun for a specific purpose (say, you specifically want a woodcock gun), then a 410 might be the right choice, but chances are the 20ga is the right option IMO.
 
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