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Need .410 Recommendation

2K views 12 replies 11 participants last post by  Fast Cloud 
#1 ·
I have a friend who lives in the country. His wife has had several close encounters of the "critter" kind. He is not gun-savvy (by his own admission). He asked my opinion about buying her a .22 rifle to deal with future critter incursions. I cautioned him about bullet carry (they do have neighbors) and suggested a .410 as an alternative. She would probably have a better chance of hitting her target and less of a chance of hitting, well, a "non-target".

I welcome any comments on my recommendation as well as specific model choices.
 
#2 ·
I think I would go with at least a 20 gauge, if not a 12 gauge. .410 is just too small for my liking. With 12 or 20 gauge you can get a wide selection of loads for many different purposes. They would just be a lot more versatile.
 
#7 ·
I'd look for a good 20 ga. youth model. A .410 is a false sense of security - what if the noise doesn't do it (the shot probably won't)? A 20 will end the conversation with reduced recoil and predictable results. You can add a recoil pad and pick the right ammo to go with it.

Plan B
 
#8 ·
.410

The Mossberg .410 HD is a neat and handy little gun. The wife uses it as her preferred HD long arm. There are a lot of them around my area used. For somebody not dedicated enough for a pump though, how about one of the H&R single shots? Can't get much simpler than that and they sell for less than $90 around here used.
 
#10 ·
The Mossberg .410 HD is a neat and handy little gun. The wife uses it as her preferred HD long arm. There are a lot of them around my area used. For somebody not dedicated enough for a pump though, how about one of the H&R single shots? Can't get much simpler than that and they sell for less than $90 around here used.
+1 with Superhouse. A Mossberg .410 pump or a single shot is good for critter control around the homestead. Just keep several different shot sizes for the critter at hand. The recoil of the .410 will be a lot less on your friends wifes' shoulder than a 12 ga.
 
#9 ·
I have a old Stevens .22 - 410 that I think a lot of as a critter gun. Over under with .22LR upper and .410 down below.

Later on Savage (who bought out Stevens) also made this gun in same 22/410 configuration later on as the Model 24 and made it also in .22 and 22mag over 20 gauge, 30-30 over 12 guage and some other various configurations. Including the 24C model with ammo storage in the butt stock.

This is a great choice for versatile critter gun plus for a survival or camp meat gun.

These were the precursors to survival models and used as such early on.
 
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