.410 bore
The .410 bore, is the smallest caliber of shotgun shell commonly available. A.410 bore shotgun loaded with shot shells is well suited for small game hunting and pest control. The.410 started off in the UK as a garden gun along with the.360 and the No.3, No.2 and No.1 bore rimfires..410 shells have similar base dimensions to the.45 Colt cartridge, allowing many single-shot firearms, as well as some derringers chambered in that caliber, to fire.410 shot shells without any modifications.
Origin
Lancaster's pattern centerfire and pinfire.410 shot cartridges first appeared in Eley Brothers Ltd. flysheets in 1857. By 1874, Eleys were advertising modern centerfire.410 cartridges. It appears to have become popular around 1900, although it was recommended as "suited to the requirements of naturalists, garden guns and for such weapons as walking-stick guns", presumably for self-defense, in 1892 by W. W. Greener. The first ammunition was 2.0 inches long, compared with the modern 2.5 and sizes. Aluminum shells are available but are not reloadable, as are paper or plastic shells. Full length brass shells can be found and are reloadable. Brass shells can be made from.444 Marlin rifle cartridges, and these are reloadable..410 shotguns loaded with shot shells are well suited for small game hunting and pest control; including rabbits, squirrels, snakes, rats, birds, etc. A.410 loaded with 1/4 ounce slugs is effective against larger animals such as coyotes and deer.
While a.410 is inferior to the traditional 12-gauge shotshell for defensive use, a number of companies market defensive guns chambered in.410, such as the Mossberg 500 Home Security Model, the Smith & Wesson Governor, and the Taurus Judge revolver. Defensive ammunition such as buckshot, slugs and combination loads are common. American Derringer and Winchester market ammunition loaded with five 000 buckshot pellets in shells and three pellets in shells. Combination shells such as Winchester Supreme Elite.410 shells are loaded with three 71 grain disks and twelve BB pellets.
Survival arms
The small size of the.410 bore makes it popular for use in compact firearms carried for emergency use. These are often combination guns, with a.22 Hornet or.22 rimfire rifle barrel mounted over a.410 bore shotgun barrel.The Snake Charmer is a.410 gauge, stainless steel, single shot, break-action shotgun, with an exposed hammer, an 18 1/8 inch barrel, black molded plastic furniture and a short thumb-hole butt-stock that holds four additional 2 1/2 shotgun shells. These light weight 3 1/2 pound guns have an overall length of 28 1/8 inches and will easily fit under a car seat. They are commonly used by gardeners and farmers for pest control. It originally sold for $89.95 and was marketed as a general purpose utility shotgun perfect for "Fishing - Hunting - Camping - Back Packing - Survival - Home Defense - Truck or Jeep Gun."
The Savage Model 24 is an American made over and under combination gun manufactured by Savage Arms. The basic.22LR over.410 gauge model weighs 7 pounds, has 24-inch barrels and an overall length of 41-inches. It may also be disassembled for ease of stowage. Its predecessor was made by Stevens and sported a tenite stock and forearm. In WWII, 15,000 were ordered and issued in air crew survival kits for Army Air Force bomber crews to be used as survival arms in the event they were shot down.
The M6 Aircrew Survival Weapon was made for the US Air Force, with a.22 Hornet rifle barrel mounted over a.410 bore shotgun barrel and was first issued in the Korean War. The military also lists an aluminum.410 3" shell with a rifle primer as standard issue under the ammunition inventory name M-35. The civilian version Springfield Armory M6 Scout has a.22 rimfire or.22 Hornet over a.410 bore shotgun barrel. The original M6 Aircrew Survival Weapon had a barrel, the same length as the stock, and folds in half for storage, making a compact package. With the short barrel, this is legally classified as an any other weapon in the United States, so the M6 Scout is made with barrels for civilian sales. Special flare cartridges in.410 were issued with the USAF model.
Handguns and Shot Pistols
The fact that the.410 bore shell fits in a.45 Colt chamber has resulted in some unusual applications. While shotguns are often limited in minimum length, a firearm chambered in.45 Colt, such as the Contender pistol, is not defined as a shotgun even though it can chamber shotgun shells.The Thompson Center Arms Contender pistols are commonly encountered with a special.45 Colt-.410 bore barrel. The barrel is rifled for the.45 Colt, but has a special choke and vent rib to make it function as a shotgun. Due to the rifled barrel, the assembled firearm is considered a rifle or pistol and thus is not subject to the National Firearms Act's minimum barrel length. Nonetheless, possession of a Thompson Center Arms.45-.410 pistol barrel is illegal in California, for both dealers and individuals, and such a barrel may not legally be shipped into the state, or even taken into California for a hunting trip, by reason of it being classified as a short barreled shotgun when used with a Contender receiver.
derringer
American Derringer has long offered.45 Colt-.410 bore Derringers.
Bond Arms also offers various Derringer models which chamber both.45 Colt cartridges and.410 shotshell.
Also, Taurus, Magnum Research, and Smith & Wesson offer revolvers with extended cylinders, long enough to hold.410 shells as well. Magnum Research offers a single-action revolver in their BFR line, while the Taurus Judge is similar in price to their other double-action revolvers, with the Raging Judge model capable of chambering and firing the.454 Casull cartridge. The Smith & Wesson Governor is a double-action revolver also capable of firing.45 Colt as well as.45 ACP cartridges with the aid of moon clips. The discontinued MIL Thunder 5 is also chambered in.410-bore. Over the years, a large number of devices have been made that will convert larger-gauge shotguns to accept.410 shotgun shells.
Capacity, compared to other gauges
| Length & load | No. 000 buckshot | No. 4 buckshot |
| 2½", 410 bore | 3 or 4 pellets | 8 pellets |
| 3", 410 bore | 5 pellets | 9 pellets |
| 2¾", 12 gauge | 8 pellets | 27 pellets |
| 3", 12 gauge | 10 pellets | 41 pellets |
Most shotgun cartridges are measured in terms of shotgun gauge. Shotgun gauge is determined by the weight of a round lead ball that is sized to fit into its barrel. For example, the barrel of a 12-gauge shotgun is equal to the diameter of a 1/12-pound lead ball and a 20-gauge can fit a 1/20-pound ball. Using this method a.410 bore is equivalent to a 67-gauge.