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Jul 28th, 2025
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 14,022 Likes: 1824
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 14,022 Likes: 1824 |
Chuck,
I'm looking at .410 use from the opposite direction. Collect most of my birds then take out the .410 to finish up. But only on Bobwhites. Maybe Woodcock. Might be fun on Rails. Chokes are too open for Doves but I could look for another .410 and set that one up for Doves. THIS .410 thing could be a problem!
Dennis I have gravitated the way of Chuck, using 410s more and more on doves/quail. When I began using one on doves several years ago I had the intent that I would only do so on opening day, when our doves consist of more non-mature birds, and are less wary which presents you with a higher number of closer shots. Then, after a couple years I decided to use it on Labor Day, as well as opening day. Last year, I got big in my britches and took one on two late season dove shoots, where the doves are bigger, tougher and warier. Still killed limits with a reasonable number of shells. However, along the way I have "acquired" a total of five 410 doubles. "This 410 thing could be a problem" .......but, what a fun problem it is! SRH
May God bless America and those who defend her.
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 13,883 Likes: 19
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 13,883 Likes: 19 |
For me, getting comfortable with the 410 was a process which took years. A little use here and there. Then gradually more use as my confidence in it grew. I would use it at the tail end of a hunt like you're doing. Eventually, I pulled it out first. If I was having a good day with it, I stuck with it. If not, I gunned up. At some point, I stopped thinking about the gun and just accept the outcome of my hunting. But the 410 can still mess with my head from time to time.
When I started hunting roosters with it, it really messed with my head. But I kept my shots close and it built my confidence. I remember blocking at the corner of a cornfield in South Dakota with a Win M42 one day. The farm owner and longtime friend came over and was commenting about my use of a 410... Something to the effect of "you're just having a little fun with that little gun ...." About then two roosters came out of the field in short succession within my range. I killed both. He was really floored and talked about that all day. I was definitely having fun with that little gun.
Last edited by Chuck H; 04/23/16 07:34 AM.
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 871 Likes: 3
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 871 Likes: 3 |
Nothing taught me restraint like a Model 42. To this day my shots fired/birds bagged is higher with .410 than with any 20, 16, or 12 I've used.
Partly results from assessment of patterns and results on various clay presentations at distances. Dennis' post is a perfect example of what we all should do - and not just with our .410s.
As Chuck says, .410s are not for all conditions (including the shooter-related). I'd never grab a .410 on a windy day.
Used a couple of "mod" 42 fields with constrictions of 0.006". I think 0.010" (assuming no forcing cone elongation) makes a better all-arounder single bbl .410. But am evidently way slower than some of you, cuz in my hands an unaltered 42 "cyl" is worthless even in early October up here.
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,724 Likes: 128
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 7,724 Likes: 128 |
Everything is relative. As a child I was trusted with a BB gun when I was 8. Learned to shoot with it and actually killed a number of squirrels some quail on the ground and other small game, including a lot of songbirds I am sorry to say. I was keenly conscious of its limitations.
At 10 I entered the firearms world with a Stevens .410 single. The first time I shot a tin can with it I realized I had all the firepower in the world in comparison with the BB gun. Naturally, as I grew older I became aware of the limitations of the .410, and longed for a bigger gun.
Now in my declining years, I have been forced to reconnect with the .410 beginnings of my shooting experience. Open heart surgery earlier this year made shooting a 12ga a bad idea due to recoil and a healing chest wound. My biggest recovery goal was to build my strength up to be able to hunt turkeys this Spring.
Gil Stacy had introduced me to his .410 tungsten super shot loads and I became convinced that they would be effective enough for use on a Gobbler. I patterned a few loads through an old Lefever Nitro Special and found they did not blow up my gun and that they placed a multitude of #9 shot exactly where I looked in a full choke pattern at 25 yards.
I've spent the Spring turkey season carrying that gun and those loads. Full circle you might say...Geo
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 13,883 Likes: 19
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 13,883 Likes: 19 |
Geo,
I'm looking forward to seeing pix of that gobbler.
Chuck
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Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 3,477 Likes: 54
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 3,477 Likes: 54 |
I started getting serious with a .410 for doves about 15 years ago, after I got my first Mod 42. Then the addiction started. Now, one of the .410s is usually my go-to for opening day, unless it's very windy. One of my minor bucket list items was a closing day limit with a 2-1/2" .410, and I did that a few years ago, so now it's all fun and games. My favorite is a Browning O/U with 30" barrels. Dove season is only a little over four months away!
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 14,022 Likes: 1824
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 14,022 Likes: 1824 |
May God bless America and those who defend her.
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 13,883 Likes: 19
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 13,883 Likes: 19 |
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