410 worth it?

**RevA** · 27-05-2019, 12:08

Hi,

I have an option on a 410 shotgun, breakaction single barrel at a very nice price, but I'm not sure it is worth it as I see ammo is a bit pricey and not really sure what one would use it for.
Anyone have one of these, if so what do you use it for? Other than making sure the safe isn't empty.

**Skaaphaas** · 27-05-2019, 12:27

It’s worth it if they pay you to take it. Then you take the money and donate the gun to someone else.

**RevA** · 27-05-2019, 12:33

Originally Posted by Skaaphaas

It’s worth it if they pay you to take it. Then you take the money and donate the gun to someone else.

So a pretty useless caliber shotgun?

**Toxxyc** · 27-05-2019, 12:35

From what I've seen, people literally give them away. Ammo is scarce and expensive compared to 12GA and you can't do nearly as much with it as you can with a 12GA. Yes, the option for lighter loads are there, but with modern 12GA ammo you can shoot VERY enjoyable loads from your regular 12GA as well, so that kinda negates the .410.

I wouldn't want to own one, not over a 12GA.

**Adoons** · 27-05-2019, 13:02

.410 is not really good for much more than plinking (but expensive) for that and maybe a Mynah or something like that. The .410 was also made as a "snake pistol" at some stage. Break neck, single barrel, about 8-10 inches barrel. But to keep a gun for snakes is not making sense??? In the USA there are a few guys using .410 with slugs for close range hunting, but where to get that in RSA and will the rifle withstand it I cannot say?

I will not go through the licensing pain for one.

**BBCT** · 27-05-2019, 14:31

They're quite fun to have but they're not really all that practical here in SA. When I was growing up, they were quite plentiful & popular as a boy's first shotgun but times have changed. Overseas there are clay pigeon shooting events that are restricted to .410's but not here in SA.

I shot a few guineafowl with various .410's in my youth so I can attest that they are quite capable of killing birds & other small animals but they can only do so at shorter ranges than eg 12Ga because the shot pattern very quickly becomes quite loose. In those days we didn't worry too much about wounded birds, which wouldn't be acceptable these days. In recent years I've shot a few pigeons with them when I wanted to do something a bit different and it killed them cleanly.

I let my kids use a .410 to shoot at potatoes hanging from a wire (they explode quite pleasingly!) and last year my son finished off a wounded Egyptian Goose with a .410 at a range of about 10 metres.

I haven't needed to buy ammo for years because there seems to be quite a bit of old ammunition stored in cupboards that people have been willing to give away, but this can't be relied on. If you need to buy, it will be more expensive than 12Ga and difficult to get and you can just about guarantee that when you try to buy some, the shot size you want won't be available anywhere in the country.

Nowadays I would only go through the process of licencing if it's a particularly interesting gun.

**Sweet** · 27-05-2019, 16:34

Great to get juniors into shotgunning, and a whole bucket of fun on doves in a sunflower field....just saying.

Our hunting association does an annual "sub calibre" sporting clays event. One of the buys has a tiny little .410 and says that he has hunted spurwing with it. I may not want to do this, and the ethics feel a bit thin for my tastes, but it does go to show that these little blasters can still hold their own. I would personally only consider it if it is a double...a single barrel is a little limiting.

**KK20** · 27-05-2019, 17:09

Originally Posted by RevA

Hi,

I have an option on a 410 shotgun, breakaction single barrel at a very nice price, but I'm not sure it is worth it as I see ammo is a bit pricey and not really sure what one would use it for.
Anyone have one of these, if so what do you use it for? Other than making sure the safe isn't empty.

What make?