If you don't hunt birds, is a .410 completely pointless?

Lots of skeet shooters use the 410 on a regular basis, in fact it is essential if one wants to compete in the four classes!
As far as hunting goes, I know lots of fellas who keep one around the farm or trapline for " incidentals".
Cat
 
iron cat said:
Lots of skeet shooters use the 410 on a regular basis, in fact it is essential if one wants to compete in the four classes!
As far as hunting goes, I know lots of fellas who keep one around the farm or trapline for " incidentals".
Cat
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When I was a kid, it was great for blowing grackles, starlings and crows out of the spruce trees around the house. Last one I owned was a cheap little Boito SXS. I used it for skeet and it shot very well after I got a gunsmith to ream the bores; very light and fast. Great little squirrel gun in the bush too.
 
CanuckShooter said:
410 for $0.65 per round would be alright.

My point was that the utility relative to the price of .410 as a range-only calibre seems pretty low in comparison to other calibres in the same price range. Even compared to much cheaper calibres it's low.

I try to have some rationale behind gun purchases to limit what I buy, but... sometimes, a particular gun or calibre just has that intangible quality that makes it a must have. If I can listen to people tell me why they think it's a dumb idea, and I still want it, it's justifiable. Lol
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For years I never bought any handguns because they just range toys. I have friends with amazing collections so I'd be able to shoot guns I could t normally afford just by buying the ammo and meeting them at the club. It wasn't untill I started introducing more and more ppl to shooting that I realized I should buy my own. I'm not going to hand a friend's gun to a new shooter. My first was a norico 1911 9mm. I'd bet 95% of the ammo put thru it is from other ppl. Costly for me but in a weird way it brings me joy to share the experience with others. Shooting paper over and over again with a 45acp or 44mag gets expensive quick. Even 9mm does when the girls can dump the mags quicker than I can reload them
End of the day the experience justifies the expense and that's who I look at all my guns.
Do I need 25 12ga shotguns? No. Do I want more? Yes. We're all sick in our own ways. I vote to buy the gun and try it. You can always sell it after
 
I own five 410's. They are all used for grouse shooting. I'm in the north, so the grouse sit tight until you shoot them. I have had seasons where I preferred the 20, or the 28, or .22 or 16. However, I like to walk long distances, and the 410 tends to be very light. My latest getup is the Rossi Tuffy Turkey 410 with a red dot on it. It's got a 26 inch barrel and a super tight choke, you can really reach out with it. First time I've used a red dot on birds, it's a whole lot of fun. And it weighs in around 3.5 pounds.
 
I enjoy shooting skeet and sporting clays once in a while with a .410, and even take them on a ruffed grouse hunt every now and again with my pointing dog. Reloading is the only way I'd shoot one these days with the price of factory ammo.

Mine include a Winchester Model 42 pump, 26" barrel full choke, vent rib...Simmons gun with nice wood and finish, making a beautiful, slender pump gun. My favorite out of the herd, especially for sporting clays with 1/2 oz of 8.5 shot.

Also have a CZ Bobwhite SxS Gen 1 with twin triggers, extractors, English grip, 26" IC&M barrel that is extremely thin and light. I shoot it reasonably well at skeet. Have hunted and shot it a fair bit over the nearly 20 years I've owned it, without a single bit of trouble.

Another .410's is a Fausti O/U with 28" barrels, single trigger, ejectors and choke tubes. Nice shotgun on a 20 ga frame that has some size to it.

Last one is a Remington 1100 Sporting Clays model that has a ribbed 27" barrel with choke tubes and fabulous wood. It is muzzle heavy weighs 7#10oz and built on a 20 ga sized 1100 action. I should shoot it better than I do at skeet! Never gave it a fair shake though. Maybe this year, although shooting it with snow on the ground and finding all your empty cases is a bit of a challenge.
 
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My fathers Mossberg 183 CD 4.10 was the first shotgun I ever fired and I shot my first ruffed grouse fifty years ago with my Grandmothers Iver Johnson Champion 4.10. I don't think I've shot another 5 birds at best with one since and today I own both my father's and my grandmothers 4.10's along with 4 boxes of shotshells and 5 boxes of slugs. I don't have need of a 4.10 for the hunting or types of shooting I pursue so I highly doubt either will ever see another round through them in my lifetime but I guess never say never?
 
Mother bought me a Cooey deluxe 410 brand new for $32.00 when I was 12. Shot well over 200 wild pheasants with it on some fruit/grape farms in southern Ontario. Handloads, can’t remember the powder but used a combination of crumpled up tin foil and toilet paper for a wad and then topped up with #6 shot to whatever level gave me a decent crimp. All shots under 20 yards.
Now I have a few more 410’s , little Browning O /Unders and Browning made Winchester 42’s.
My 28g’s get used the most now, then the 20g’s, occasionally the 12’s and as for the 10g recently acquired I give my head a shake and say why?? The quick 2 answers are… because why not and the second is because I’m an unrepentant CGN’er.
 
I have a wingmaster, and a citori .410 and shoot sporting clays with them, I find them quite deadly out to 35 yards. Also my favourite guns for the skeet field, as anything bigger is boring.
 
CanuckShooter said:
I'm considering grabbing a Mossberg .410 just to have one. More of a novelty than anything really. I don't hunt birds, so it would just be a fun gun to blast away with at the range, and something to let newbies or recoil sensitive people shoot. Buckshot and slugs are pretty neat in a .410.

The downsides are that the absolute cheapest .410 ammo is about $1 per round on sale which is exactly twice as expensive as 12 gauge, and it sucks for shooting clays unless you're really skilled. Plus, Mini-Shells (through a Mossberg with the adapter) seem to recoil about the same, and are the same price.

It's one of the last guns on my "To Buy" list, but now I'm wondering if it's just kind of a dumb, frivolous impulse purchase. I refuse to buy anymore guns chambered in .223 due to the ammo being around $0.65 per round, yet .410 which offers way less utility in comparison still interests me. Kind of odd.

Anyway, what do you guys think? Maybe you bought a .410 and ended up regretting it since it just sits in the safe, or maybe you bought one and are glad you did because it's a hoot. Is .410 a one trick pony?

Thanks
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Pretty expensive for target shooting, unless you're looking for a more challenging gun for clays etc. Good for rabbits though, and for kids to learn with. If it were me, I'd spend that money on ammo for something I already have, or gas, or groceries, etc. (lol. my 410 hasn't left the safe in years for this very reason).
 
If you want one, or even think that you might want one, that's a perfectly valid reason to get one. You can always sell it if you change your mind; there will always be someone else wondering "Gee, should I get a .410?" :)

I've had a bunch over the years, but never kept them. For awhile, I liked adaptors for shooting .410 in 12-gauges; still have a couple, never use them but they might be brought out when shooting with kids. Nowadays, any use I might find for a .410 is met by using low-brass 12's filled with #8 or #9 shot. I shoot them through a turkey choke, and they take care of pest birds around the feeders or ground squirrels in the yard with very little "overspray". :)
 
Thanks for all the replies. I ended up grabbing the 410 I was looking at when it went on sale for early black Friday. Couldn't pass it up for the price.

It was a Mossberg 590, 6 shot with 18.5" barrel. Kind of a rarity finding a tactical 410. I really like it. Small, short, and very light.
 
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