Iwas impressed with russian "remington" spr .410/.22 used by complete nepophytes on"the alaska experiment" tv show. They kept themselves in groundsquirrels/ ptarmigan for the pot. Any hunters out there have any real life experience with the .410 as a backpackable small game getter?( I hear the small shot charge makes it only for"experts ") perhaps that refers to wing shooting?? I'vealways believed the.22 rules, but i can see where the margin of error provided by the shot charge, may make the difference from a cold hungry hand.. I like the springfield m6: http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/v-shrake/m6.html
The underestimate the .410, it has it's uses. It is my mother's favorite firearm. There is no telling how many varmints that slither, crawl, and fly that she has killed with her single shot .410 I didn't have a .410 growing up, I had a 20 gauge that I used. I have however used my mother's .410 and my friends' .410 while growing up. We killed all kinds of small game with it. I would much rather have a 12 or a 20 gauge for birds, compared to a 12 or 20 the .410 pattern is a lot smaller depending upon the choke used but in a pinch the .410 is a nice gun to have. It works well on squirrels, rabbits, birds that are close, and of course snakes. It will do a job on predators too, if you are close enough.
I grew up with a .410/.22 combo and took a lot of small game. You have to know the limitations of the rounds used and know when and when you cannot shoot. My gun was great for squirrel and rabbit, if a rabbit or squirrel was sitting, I took it with the .22 to save money, but on the run, the .410 did well. The .410 makes you aim moreso than you would with a 12 or 20, so when you move to those guages, you don't miss. Try trap shooting with a .410, you actually have to aim more. I wish I still had the gun. Know where it is, but my ex-step sister won't cough it up.
410 was my first real gun. I took a lot of birds and rabbits with it, plus a few squirrels but mostly I used a 22 for them. I think the 410/22 combo is totally valid as a small game getter.
I have a M6 (.22/.410) in my BOB along with a 1911 and a wrist-rocket. The barrels are wrapped in para-cord and one of the shell-holders has been bored out enough to hold a water-proof match case with hooks, lines, matches. There is also a small sheath knife and compass screwed to the stock. I carry slugs and shot and have taken animals as large as hogs and many birds, rabbits, squirrels with both rifle and shotgun.
i built a 410 slug gun that was like lazer ..its taken a few deer with in the right rage about 50 to 75 yards .. it shot dead on at 50 yards evry time with the cheap remmy slugs
I have a Mossberg 500 in a .410, tried shooting trap with it a while back and as Sniper-66 stated above, it requires you to aim. The downside to the .410 is that the ammo can be more expensive than some brands of 20 & 12 gauge ammo, and it is not suited well for reloading because all brands that I have bought have a heavy roll crimp instead of your more common star crimps.
In the South, it was a matter of pride only to use a double-barreled .410 for quail, if hunting over dogs; especially if on horse-back.
