Wilts#Dave Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 A little bit different so thought I'd put up a photo and write a few words about the latest purchase.....been toying with the idea of buying a hushpower .410 for ages now as over the years there have been so many good opportunities either wasted or severely compromised by the noise a 12 bore makes and the proximity of a) houses and b) HORSES!! After reading various good reviews, picking one up in our local gun shop and more importantly watching Stevo's videos amongst a couple of others the decision was made that a pump action Mossberg would find its way into the cabinet at some point, and after not having any in for ages due to a problem getting hold of them the shop finally took delivery of a couple last weekend one of which had our name on it! Saturday afternoon I came home with a brand new one, and 500 magnum shells that will last for a good while. So itching to try it out on pigeons, a chance phone call from a farmer in the evening was the perfect opportunity. The field was a bean drilling, which Dad shot a fortnight before and where we hadn't seen any pigeons since.....but he said it was blue with them that afternoon so off we went to check it out. Not a bird in the sky at 10.30, and no strong flightlines appearing by 12.30 with just an odd passing pigeon. However the ones that did appear followed the same path so whilst we weren't exactly excited at the prospect we decided to check one other spot and if that was no better we'd come back and set up. We ended up back where we started by 13.00 and set up by 13.30 with the little .410 loaded ready to go. To my surprise the first pigeon was on the decoys seconds after I'd loaded and an unsteady swing resulted in a clean miss and me forgetting to pump it to reload.....really odd guns to shoot if I'm honest and took some getting used to. I've not used a .410 since I was 11 years old for a start and combining that with a muzzle heavy gun with an over sized barrel to look along and the tightest choke I've ever used, it did knock my confidence for the first half a dozen shots at least. A steady trickle of birds began flighting and we were bang on the flightline....Dad had just decided that it 'was a load of rubbish' (as I was beginning to think as well) after a few easy misses and failed pumps when another bird swung in and curled out across the decoys at around 20 yards....crack and it folded in a puff of feathers 12 bore style!!! Result, don't think I've ever been so chuffed at hitting a relatively simple pigeon since I started shooting and that gave me the confidence boost I needed. The next 2 birds folded soon after and I was away! By no means was I connecting with some of the pigeons that I'd have normally knocked down with the 12 bore but I shot several really clean killed 30 yarders and by the end of day was consistently hitting the 15-25 yard decoying birds, finally remembering that it was a .410 and not the 12 bore I'm used to! Whilst not a big bag by any means, for a first outing we were both over the moon when the final tally came in at 23 with one lost, for 56 shots. I should have had another half a dozen at least as several times I managed to end up with an empty chamber due to my incompetence resulting in a 'click' when I fired, and always the way when the easiest pigeons came in....idiot!! Honestly, the bag would have been over 50 if I'd used the 12 bore but that wasn't the point of the afternoon, and I'm sure over the coming years there will plenty more memorable days with the little .410......have never felt so satisfied with a bag of 23 and sat there with no ear plugs in causing little to no disruption was a pleasure! Thanks for reading Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 nice one and a good read cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 Welcome to the wonderful world of modesty and 410's. It will be a muzzleloader next mwahahaha. U. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stevo Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 Cracking read. And great shooting matey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yickdaz Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 don,t worry about the first time glitches I did exactly the same as you did with my mossy 20g I kept forgetting to cycle it but a few uses and you get in the swing of things, they are not easy to shoot and cart to kill ratio goes out the window compared to a normal shottie but you will get better the last good bag we had was on stubble last year after months of practice it came good and not a lot missed with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motty Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 Nice one! I was out with my .410 pump and the 12, today. I just couldn't get into the birds with the .410, so had to go back to the 12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolkngood Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 Nice read. My local RFD has got one in the rack and am sorely tempted..........just in case I get the chance to shoot it somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Good for ratty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cookoff013 Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 its not the end result, its the journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WelshMike Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Good write up and a good, memorable, days shooting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon controller Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Great read and result, Ive been tempted to go the pump 12 bore route but not too keen on buying sub cartridges as Ive been told that you do not get so much a reduction on 32gram 6s. silenced shotguns certanly do have a place in the Pigeon Shooters cabinet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salop Matt Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Keep at it, I was in a right fumble the first few times I shot my Mossy 500 Pump (none silenced), but ive got the hang of it now, sadly my safe is full with no room for a second cabinet or I would have a mossy .410 also. ATB Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2pop Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Good read. I'm sorely tempted by one of these at the moment although I may swing closer to the Baikal single for the further noise reduction since I'm one of those people mentioned with HORSES (Sorry guys ) and the field next to the stables are plagued with rabbits at the moment Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
achosenman Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Nice write up. I've just picked up a 12g Mossy from Hushpower in an effort to keep my hearing. Only been out to the pattern plate so far. Its nice to see what the tiny 410 can do in the hands of someone who can shoot. Unfortunately I need as much lead in the air as possible, so the 12g got the job. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underdog Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 I blast away around horses with anything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveyg Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 great read and pic,a really honest and informative post...well done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilts#Dave Posted April 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 Thanks for all the replies, it's good to let others know honest reviews/opinions rather than what you read in the magazines all the time! Can't fault it though really. Because of its size it's easy to forget it's only a little .410, but amazed me how effective they are when you manage to put the shot in the right place....when I had one all those years ago as a child shooting 23 pigeons over decoys seemed impossible! Be prepared to take a knock in the confidence stake though as I did find it totally different to shoot and by no means easy, really satisfying but takes some dialling in! A definite place in the cabinet as said, it's hardly going to replace the 12 bore but will definitely earn its keep I'm sure. Dad has been watching another field of late drilling with plenty of traffic that just happens to be where we get grief every time because of the noise. So I'll be finishing early today to join him....hushpower round 2?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 A good read and a very honest review. I found the 20ga Hushpower mossberg pump difficult to handle and changed it for the O/U version, just for the times I needed a quieter approach. Now I find I am using it almost all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigger got stichs Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 good shooting chap. I'v got the single shot 12g and over the years it's become my go to gun every time I go out making my over and unders and semi auto almost redundant the more you use it the better you will become it took me almost 6 months and a lot of persevering to master the hang of swinging round what felt like a length of drain pipe. the best advice is to get out and keep practicing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yickdaz Posted April 17, 2015 Report Share Posted April 17, 2015 Thanks for all the replies, it's good to let others know honest reviews/opinions rather than what you read in the magazines all the time! Can't fault it though really. Because of its size it's easy to forget it's only a little .410, but amazed me how effective they are when you manage to put the shot in the right place....when I had one all those years ago as a child shooting 23 pigeons over decoys seemed impossible! Be prepared to take a knock in the confidence stake though as I did find it totally different to shoot and by no means easy, really satisfying but takes some dialling in! A definite place in the cabinet as said, it's hardly going to replace the 12 bore but will definitely earn its keep I'm sure. Dad has been watching another field of late drilling with plenty of traffic that just happens to be where we get grief every time because of the noise. So I'll be finishing early today to join him....hushpower round 2?! they do have a place in the cabinet for the reasons you just stated, I don't often use mine but it gets you that extra 2 or 3 days a year shooting you wouldn,t get with a standard shotgun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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