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Let's talk about .410

T

T-Unit

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Mainly going to focus on shotguns, but if people want to talk about revolvers and derringers as well feel free since part of the reason I want to talk about .410s involves the handguns.

So, I bought a Judge Public Defender model (all steel) two years ago and it shoots .410 fine within reasonable distances and shoots my .45 Colt reloads really well. It's a keeper and I'd like to add a .410 shotgun to go along with it, but it seems no one ever has anything good to say about .410 shotguns. I'd like to know what are .410's capable of, what are they best at doing, what are they not good at, and why should or shouldn't someone buy a .410?

I know ammo sure is expensive, enough so that I'm willing to load my own, so if ammo price isn't a factor, how much does that change things?
 
What little I've shot .410, I'd say it's fun enough to shoot, but seems like it would be a little more limited in capability. If you are just looking for something to mess around with and to have a long gun to go along with your Judge, then go for it. 12g and 20g are just more capable rounds that caught on due to versatility. You can take larger game with a .410 if you are that confident, but anything bigger than say squirrels or rabbits and I'd personally be concerned.

That said, I've run a few shells through some of the old .410 bolt guns and they are as fun as anything else.
 
I would love to get one of those old survival rifles with a .22 barrel and a .410 barrel.

I think .410 is useful in a situation like survival. More shells can be carried than 12 or 20 Guage. And you can take decent sized game with it. Pair it with .22 and I really like the survival factor
 
I’ve got a couple Dina arms .410 adapters. They actually cycle in the pump of my mossberg perfectly. Awesome for teaching the kids how to operate a pump w minimal recoil. Pretty dang accurate out to 50 yards
 
410’s are fun to shoot clays with squirrel hunt with etc.
I used my Judge with a PDX defense shell once to dispatch a opossum did a fine job from about 15’.
I have a few 410 shot guns a nice vintage Savage pump a cheap noble pump and a few H&R single shots and a Savage 22lr over 410 break open.
410’s seem to command more money in the last few years maybe gaining popularity I dunno. You definitely want to reload there is savings in reloading any of the sub gauges.
 
T-Unit said:
Mainly going to focus on shotguns, but if people want to talk about revolvers and derringers as well feel free since part of the reason I want to talk about .410s involves the handguns.

So, I bought a Judge Public Defender model (all steel) two years ago and it shoots .410 fine within reasonable distances and shoots my .45 Colt reloads really well. It's a keeper and I'd like to add a .410 shotgun to go along with it, but it seems no one ever has anything good to say about .410 shotguns. I'd like to know what are .410's capable of, what are they best at doing, what are they not good at, and why should or shouldn't someone buy a .410?

I know ammo sure is expensive, enough so that I'm willing to load my own, so if ammo price isn't a factor, how much does that change things?
Click to expand...
The only .410 that I ever fired was a single-shot stainless model called the "Snake Charmer". This was back in the very early 1980s and haven't seen one since. It was OK for small vermin and snakes at short range. This one had an open choke. It was compact, with a barely-legal 18" barrel.
 
All I know about .410 was that it was the British Army's crowd-control caliber of choice. They'd take shot-out SMLEs and bore them for .410 and issue them out to prison guards so they wouldn't kill rioting convicts, just hurt 'em a little bit.

Leads me to think they're not all that lethal as a manstopper.
 
Picton said:
All I know about .410 was that it was the British Army's crowd-control caliber of choice. They'd take shot-out SMLEs and bore them for .410 and issue them out to prison guards so they wouldn't kill rioting convicts, just hurt 'em a little bit.

Leads me to think they're not all that lethal as a manstopper.
Click to expand...
Do you happen you to know what type of shot was used?
 
It seems like a caliber suited to very specific purposes. If it were cheap and available, I’d give it a whirl. I have yet to read or watch anything positive on them, though I’ve never shot one myself. Meh?
I’d be more inclined to use an actual .410 shotgun versus .410 out of a pistol length barrel. What do you have for range with that? 6-10 yds?
 
A 410 is often suggested as a good choice for beginners but I disagree. A 410 is an expert's gun. It has a small payload and precise shot placement is critical. If you decide to get a 410 shotgun to go with your revolver, you'll be rewarded with light recoil but you might not hit much.
 
Tinkermatic said:
It seems like a caliber suited to very specific purposes. If it were cheap and available, I’d give it a whirl. I have yet to read or watch anything positive on them, though I’ve never shot one myself. Meh?
I’d be more inclined to use an actual .410 shotgun versus .410 out of a pistol length barrel. What do you have for range with that? 6-10 yds?
Click to expand...
With 4 or 7.5 shot, more like 5 yards thanks to the rifling spinning it, but with the Federal 000 buck 4 pellet stuff I'd say 10 yds, maybe 12 with the right ammo, which is key because not just any old .410 buck is going to work.

If you're gonna shoot further than 12 yards, .45 Colt is really the only option.
 
I really wanted a marlin model 410 lever action. After shooting one with 000 buck I was kind of disappointed. It did not pattern well at all. I think the pellets deform much more in that .410 stacked configuration which causes the poor patten. Maybe the flat disk pellets like the pdx rounds would have a better pattern. It patterned fine with birdshot loads but with 000 buck the pattern was wide and pellets would group together. Most shots would end up with 2 holes for 4 pellets on target. At 25 yards it was probably a 15" spread. At that point I'd just want a 45-70.
 
Picton said:
All I know about .410 was that it was the British Army's crowd-control caliber of choice. They'd take shot-out SMLEs and bore them for .410 and issue them out to prison guards so they wouldn't kill rioting convicts, just hurt 'em a little bit.

Leads me to think they're not all that lethal as a manstopper.
Click to expand...
Well....a 410 slug is above 357 magnum energy.....so there's that.
 
Bullet Bill said:
I really wanted a marlin model 410 lever action. After shooting one with 000 buck I was kind of disappointed. It did not pattern well at all. I think the pellets deform much more in that .410 stacked configuration which causes the poor patten. Maybe the flat disk pellets like the pdx rounds would have a better pattern. It patterned fine with birdshot loads but with 000 buck the pattern was wide and pellets would group together. Most shots would end up with 2 holes for 4 pellets on target. At 25 yards it was probably a 15" spread. At that point I'd just want a 45-70.
Click to expand...
Uh, different ammo patterns differently and it depends on what choke that barrel had. 25 yards, from what I've gathered is about the max distance for a .410.

I agree with the .45-70 as you can stuff three .457 balls into that case and get groups out to 50 yards, but for shot it's gonna spin it just like the Judge does making it useless past 5 yards. The issue with .45-70 and any shot or multiball ammo is none of it is going to feed in a lever action and a cheap used single shot is going for $400. Even now I could get a single shot .410 for under $150.
 
whacko said:
Well....a 410 slug is above 357 magnum energy.....so there's that.
Click to expand...
There was a documented case where a young boy used a slug-loaded .410 shotgun to kill his mother's boyfriend when he attacked her with a knife during an argument. Happened somewhere down south; Mississippi or Missouri if I remember correctly. Single round, well-aimed, did the job.
 
I always found it interesting that it's the only shotgun round designated by the bore size, its .410 bore not gauge. I don't know why .410 was designated by the caliber and not gauge as other shotgun rounds are commonly known, if .410 were a gauge it would be a 67 gauge.
 

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