My first firearm was a Mossberg bolt action .410. It had a variable choke, but I always left it in the full position. I was 8 years old when it was given to me.
My dad and uncle both had 12ga pumps, and I always wanted the ..410 in a pump action. Last year (47 years later) I got one, The Mossberg 500.
As I was headed to a friend's house for vacation last November, I decided we should have a competition with it, trap shooting.
So three of us got together to do just that. We all figured it would be tough, given the reduced shot number in the shell (we purposely limited ourselves to 2 1/2" shells) and the fact the gun was fixed full choke.
Imagine our surprise when we all hit nearly every clay thrown! The gun, being light, was swift to get up and on point, and the recoil was negligible.
Later that day we used it for shooting real pigeons on the wing, and it was just as effective on them.
I've read and seen a lot of comments on how the .410 is an "experts" gun, or worse, to some a toy. Our experience proved otherwise.
The only real complaint about it is the cost of ammo. Outrageous!
My dad and uncle both had 12ga pumps, and I always wanted the ..410 in a pump action. Last year (47 years later) I got one, The Mossberg 500.
As I was headed to a friend's house for vacation last November, I decided we should have a competition with it, trap shooting.
So three of us got together to do just that. We all figured it would be tough, given the reduced shot number in the shell (we purposely limited ourselves to 2 1/2" shells) and the fact the gun was fixed full choke.
Imagine our surprise when we all hit nearly every clay thrown! The gun, being light, was swift to get up and on point, and the recoil was negligible.
Later that day we used it for shooting real pigeons on the wing, and it was just as effective on them.
I've read and seen a lot of comments on how the .410 is an "experts" gun, or worse, to some a toy. Our experience proved otherwise.
The only real complaint about it is the cost of ammo. Outrageous!
