Information About a 410 Shot Gun

A 410 shotgun is a shotgun having a nominal bore diameter of 0.410 inch. This bore diameter lies between those of .38- and .45-caliber handguns. It is the smallest caliber shotgun commercially available. It has traditionally been considered a gun for young shooters, although there are firearms writers who think they should be reserved for expert shooters.

  1. Uses

    • Expert shooters use 410s for skeet shooting. Other shooters use them for hunting squirrels and rabbits, where the use of rifles is prohibited. Young shooters sometimes use them to shoot paper plates and balloons. The light recoil of the 410 is good for introducing preteen shooters to the use of a shotgun and youth models are available.

    Actions

    • The 410 shotgun comes in the types of actions typical of all shotguns. The break-action single-barrel is the simplest type of action. This action is also used for double-barrel and over/under shotguns. There are some single-shot and repeating bolt-action shotguns. An easy-to-use and popular type is the pump-action shotgun. This shotgun reloads with a back and forth motion of the pump called “shucking.” There are also semiautomatic and automatic 410 shotguns.

    Ammunition

    • Shells for 410 shotguns are made in two lengths. The 2 1/2-inch shells contain 1/2 oz. of shot and the 3-inch length shells contain 11/16 oz. Shot sizes used for the 410 shotgun are typically No. 7 1/2, 8 and 9. The larger No. 7 shot works best for hunting and the smaller No. 9 shot for clay targets.

    Disadvantages

    • The 410 shotgun shell does not contain much shot. This means its patterns will be skimpy, and so it is a difficult gun to use when hunting birds or breaking clay pigeons. Full-choke barrels are used on 410 shotguns to make the best use of the limited amount of shot. This means the 410 shotgun has a small pattern at close range, which adds to the difficulty of using it to hit moving targets. This supports the belief that the 410 is a gun for experts.

    Cost

    • There is a wide range of prices for 410 shotguns. A 410 pump-action Mossberg shotgun could be purchased online in July 2010 for about $275. This shotgun has a 24-inch, full-choke, blued-steel, vent-rib barrel and a wood stock. The top-of-the-line Browning Citori Lightning over/under 410 shotgun has a suggested retail price in July 2010 of about $4,470. At this price, you get the finest shotgun manufacturing and images of pointers and mallards on the receiver in deep-relief engraving and 24-carat gold inlays.