28GA vs .410

Good video. I wish he would have shown the 11/16oz 410 pattern board next to the 3/4oz 28 pattern board. It almost makes me want to get a 3/4 oz charge bar for my MEC 410 reloader.

We carried 410 and 28 ga guns to Argentina dove shooting on one trip. It was a friendly competition and was interesting especially on the last day, I drug out my 30 inch 20ga barrels. The 410 left a lot of moving bird after they were shot and some flew out about 100 yards before they dropped. The 28 about half that number and the 20 killed the birds convincingly. The 410 requires really good accuracy and pin point shot placement. Our shells for the 410 had 98 pellets, one of our guys sacrificed a Fiocci shell to count them. The low count of pellets makes the 410 tough to learn wing shooting on, for a youth.

Video didn't list the chokes in each gun. Or did i miss it?

Video guy should shoot skeet with both. The 410 can be a humbling experience.

When reloading the 410, use magnum shot. With 1/2 oz in weight, the mag shot will provide a few more pellets. Adjust the charge bar.

I recall jumping mourning doves as they came to roost over a flat area next to our salt licks up in the pasture. I was using a single shot .410 (Maybe a Stevens? the brand escapes me now) and my Grandfather was using his Model 12 16 ga. I recall one time hitting two with one .410 shot; one dropped and lay still but when I went to pick up the second bird, which was on the ground but still fluttering, it flew out of my grasp and disappeared out of sight.
After that I went to his old Lefever 16 ga SxS exclusively.

The old .410 just doesn't throw enough of a pattern, even with my 1100 sporting the 25" Full barrel it's tough to hit clays as they fly. The 28, to me anyway, is much easier to hit flying clays with compared to a .410...and the 20, 16 and 12 make is progressively easier still. I will start my son off on the .410 1100 just to get used to swinging while tracking a target, recoil recovery, etc., but for actually shooting at clays or doves/quail I'll start him with a 28 then bump up to a 20 as soon as he's ready.

Stay safe.

Riomouse911 said:

I will start my son off on the .410 1100 just to get used to swinging while tracking a target, recoil recovery, etc.,

Click to expand...

My dad started me with the 28 ga. side by side that he grew up with. The range officer at the time parked me directly behind the trap house to give me a bit more time to hit the target. Later, I graduated to skeet. (I admire folks who are good at trap, it just does not light my fire.)

I shot a .410 at skeet for the first time when I was competing in all gauges. Even for a "not so novice" skeet shooter, .410 bore is a humbling experience. I believe it would be very frustrating for a novice shooter.

The above examples are why I started my kids on a 20 gauge and why I don’t understand people starting kids with a .410. If I were wealthy a 28 gauge would have been great but I’m not and don’t reload shotshells.

Yes you have to aim/lead more precisely with a 410 compared to bigger shotguns. I grew up using a 410 since it was all we had. I still use a 410 for all my small game hunting. I do reload so cost of ammo in not a concern. I have thought about getting a 28.

243winxb said:

Video didn't list the chokes in each gun. Or did i miss it?

Click to expand...

He said it just before he started patterning. Full choke in both.

My Mossberg 500 .410 bore pump has a full choke barrel on it. It seems to make it difficult to hit targets. I've considered seeing if I can get it machined for interchangeable chokes.

I like a pump for a critter gun on the farm.

My Browning Cynergy over/under has screw in chokes. At least at skeet, the Browning is a bit easier to hit targets than with the full choke Mossberg.

I've never understood the humbling saying with the 410 in skeet. Been shooting it for 30+ years and my scores are no difference between 12 and 410...for some reason 20 gives me fits, but 410 has never been the one.

As an instructor at Boy Scout camp we were teaching 12 to 14 year old boys ( I have also taught girls and they listen better) to shoot trap.
We always used a 12 gauge with 1 1/8 oz loads. It helps with the hit rate.
As far as recoil goes 75 lb 12 year olds have no problem with the recoil IF you teach them the correct way to hold a shotgun and the correct stance. On the other hand I had adult leaders who had a serious problem with recoil and got big nasty bruises because they did not listen when we taught the boys how to hold the gun properly.

GE-Mini-Gun said:

I've never understood the humbling saying with the 410 in skeet. Been shooting it for 30+ years and my scores are no difference between 12 and 410...for some reason 20 gives me fits, but 410 has never been the one.

Click to expand...

You are the obvious exception to the rule.

Back when I was behind the gun counter I attempted to explain to every parent buying their kid a .410 that a 20 gauge was the better choice.

The 67 gauge is an experts shotgun.

Texas10mm said:

Back when I was behind the gun counter I attempted to explain to every parent buying their kid a .410 that a 20 gauge was the better choice.

The 67 gauge is an experts shotgun.

Click to expand...

Yep. Been there. Some listened and some didn’t.

An old single shot 410 is all I had when growing up. You learn pretty quick how to use it within its limitations if you want meat in the freezer. I still use a 410 for all my small game hunting. It's all in what you are use to using and learning to use.

GE-Mini-Gun said:

I've never understood the humbling saying with the 410 in skeet. Been shooting it for 30+ years and my scores are no difference between 12 and 410...for some reason 20 gives me fits, but 410 has never been the one.

Click to expand...

Just look at the NSSA classification averages. You'll see the difference between .410 bore and the larger gauges.

https://www.nssa-nsca.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/AVGS110107.pdf

Glad that you shoot .410 bore well. Most, including me, do not come any where near similar scores between .410 and with the larger gauges.

I'll admit, in the early 1990's, my 20 gauge averages at skeet are better than my 12 gauge averages but this is with 12 ga, 1-1/8 oz ammunition vs 20 ga, 7/8 oz ammunition.

With the availability of 1 oz and 7/8 oz 12 gauge loads these days, my averages may not be as different from my 20 gauge averages.

I’ve always viewed the .410 as a foraging gun. Something one would use for more carefully aimed shots at stationary game as opposed to a wing shooter.

why not just use a .22? I’m personally more comfortable from a safety standpoint knocking a game bird or squirrel off a tree limb with a shotgun than with a .22.

I grew up using a 410 for pretty much all my hunting to include quail and dove. You learn to shoot well or go home empty handed and less to eat. I have no problem using any size shotgun for hunting. I just happen to prefer the 410 and am not above giving a 28 gauge a try.

From personnel experience...

My first experience with .410 bore was shooting 4 gauge tournaments at skeet. This was with .410-2-1/2" shells with 1/2 oz load. Not a lot of pellets in each shell.

I did well enough with the .410 and the other gauges to win Class D 4 gauge HOA in the early 1990's GA state tournament.

I bought a Mossberg 500 .410 for critter control on our horse farm when we moved to Tennessee. I've had mixed success using my 2-1/2" shells with the full choke Mossberg barrel.

I'd probably would have had more success with 11/16 oz 3" shells around the farm.

We have problems with birds picking at our house looking for bugs. I've decided to keep my Winchester 20 ga Model 12 available to deal with these pests. I've had better success with the 20 ga. this year versus the Mossberg .410.

In today's climate, there is not enough opportunity to learn to shoot the diminutive .410 bore well versus larger bores.

The 3" 11/16oz shells are definitely more useful for hunting. The 24" full choke on the Mossberg 500 has allowed me to get quail that others with12's and 20's have missed. I still would like to try a 28 just for fun.

I started my son off at age 11 dove hunting... I wrote a letter to American Hunter about it that was published... Anyway, he started with his BB gun until he proved he knew gun safety, then a single shot 20 with a 410 insert. He got a youth 870 and since then we put on a full size barrel and stock.

The 410 was okay to 10 yards honestly. But it got him shooting