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The nominal bore of a .410 shotgun is.410 inch. Which iswhy it is properly called the .410 bore instead of the .410 gauge. InEurope it is sometimes called the 12mm, which is an inaccuratedesignation as a .410 bore has an actual diameter of approximately10.4mm by metric measure. If the .410 had been named in the traditionalfashion, by the number of lead balls .41 inch in diameter needed tomake one pound, it would be about a 67-68 gauge. Many years ago it wasalso called the 36 gauge, and I have seen a picture of an old box ofRemington shells marked "(36 GA.) .410-2 1/2 IN. (12 MM)." However, the"36 Gauge" designation was very inaccurate, as a true 36 gauge gunwould actually have a .506 inch bore diameter.

.410's are generally the lightest weight shotguns andkick the least. Recoil energy generally runs about 7 to 10 ft. lbs.,depending on the load, in a 5.5 pound gun.

Unfortunately, .410's are also the hardest guns withwhich to kill birds or break clay pigeons. This is because thediminutive .410 shells contain less shot and consequently the patternsare thin. Most .410 guns have full choke barrels in order toconcentrate the available shot, which makes for small patterns at theclose ranges where .410's are most effective. The relatively small,thin patterns make the .410 the least effective of the standard gauges.I have owned a couple of .410 shotguns and, although it is oftenthought of as a beginner's gun or a youth gun, I tend to think of the.410 as an expert's gun.

However, for the person of small stature or anyone verysensitive to recoil, the .410 may be a good choice as long as shotswill be within about 25 yards and the birds small. It is a good gun fora youth to learn with, and probably about all the gun a pre-teen canhandle. Some .410's are available in lightweight Youth Models, withreduced length stocks for smaller shooters.

The most common type of .410 shotgun is the simplebreak-action, single barrel, such as those from Harrington &Richardson and New England Arms. Another type of .410 sometimesencountered is the bolt action, in either single shot or repeatingmodels. There are also a few .410 pump guns, including popular modelslike the Mossberg 500 and Remington 870. Excellent but expensive .410double-barreled guns are available from Browning, Charles Daly,Weatherby, and others.

.410 shells are widely distributed and are notparticularly expensive (although they generally cost more thanpromotional 12 and 20 gauge shells). They are available in 2 1/2 inchlength containing 1/2 ounce of shot, and 3 inch length with 11/16 ounceof shot. The high brass 3 inch shell used to contain 3/4 ounce of shot,but was reduced to 11/16 ounce a few years ago. I don't know the reasonfor this.

.410 bore guns are probably at their best with shot insizes 7 1/2, 8, and 9. I used to like #7 1/2 for most huntingapplications and #9 for shooting clay targets. #6 and larger shot makesfor very skimpy patterns with a .410 bore gun because there simply arenot enough of them in the maximum 11/16 ounce load. If you consider 225pellets (the number of #6 shot in 1 ounce) necessary for adequatepatterns, the limitations of the small charges of shot in .410 shellsquickly becomes obvious.

The typical .410 bore 2 1/2 inch target shell, usedprimarily for small bore skeet shooting, contains 1/2 ounce of #9 shot.There are approximately 292 pellets in these loads. This is also a goodload for informal shooting at clay targets thrown from a hand trap, andfor teaching beginners the fundamentals of wing shooting.

The 2 1/2 inch game loads carry 1/2 ounce of shot insizes 4, 6, and 7 1/2. With #7 1/2 shot this amounts to about 175pellets per shell. This makes for pretty thin patterns, and I can seeno point to the larger shot sizes in 2 1/2 inch shells.

The 3 inch "maximum" .410 load now carries 11/16 ounceof #4, 6, or 7 1/2 shot. With #7 1/2 shot this amounts to about 241pellets, which is more like it. The same load contains only about 155#6 pellets or 93 #4 pellets, which makes for patterns so thin thathitting anything at normal hunting ranges is mostly a matter of luck,at least at my skill level. The thin patterns resulting from the largershot sizes in .410 shells are poor killers, but frequently wound game.

There is also a 1/5 ounce (around 86 grains) Foster typerifled slug load available for the .410 shotgun. The muzzle velocity isnominally 1830 fps. This rather anemic slug should be limited to gamewith a live body weight not exceeding about 25 pounds and ranges notexceeding 50 yards (at the outside).

.410 buckshot loads are usually not offered, as the caseis too small to hold a reasonable number of such large pellets.However, in 2002 Winchester introduced a 2 1/2 inch shell loaded with 3pellets of '000' buck (Q1483). I have a correspondent who has some ofthese in his possession, and they are offered for sale in boxes of 25.

The .410 shotgun, although reasonably popular, remainssomething of an enigma. It is either a beginner's gun or an expert'sgun, but is seldom seen in the hands of average shooters and hunters.