On the .410

Over at the Gun Nut, we're talking about the .410 shotgun. It's one that lots of folks started on. Personally, I consider it an expert's shotgun for wing shooting because of the tiny shot charge. For just a very little more recoil, one can step up to the 20 gauge and have a shot charge that is reasonable for most winged game. My grandfather hunted everything with a 20 gauge shotgun, including ducks and geese. For many years I hunted everything with a 20 gauge and it's likely to be the gauge I pick up for upland work.

Still, a .410 has a place in the battery and I have two of them in my cabinet. The first is a .410 pump that belongs to my wife. Her father bought it for her when she was a child so that she could squirrel hunt with him. A .410 is a fine gauge for the squirrel woods. I prefer a shotgun early in the season when the leaves are still on the trees. Later in the season I will carry a .22 rifle, but October in Louisiana shows plenty of foliage.

The other .410 I own is a little H&R Topper shotgun that I bought several years ago. I use it to teach the basics of firearms to the grandkids. Not so much the wing-shooting side, but the very basic shooting tasks. A .410 will shred a beverage can, it will pop a balloon. It has very little recoil and is a good first gun for introduction to shooting. It is a simple, basic firearm with which to teach. As they get older they step up to a real shotgun.

A .410 also makes a good knocking-around firearm for off-season woods traipsing. Primarily as a snake gun. I don't like to go into the woods unarmed and if I'm not hunting, I'll usually carry something that fires shot. I'm generally opposed to being snake-bit. I'm not one of those guys who kills every snake he sees, and I'm generally careful while wandering about, but I've managed to to have some close calls with snakes in my life and I'd just as soon have a little leverage when it comes to dealing with them. A .410 shotgun is perfect for that task.

No, I wouldn't duck hunt with one, but I think a .410 is perfect for a variety of small tasks.