Shortening a .410 barrel

[mel b3]

Hiya guys.

I'm about to start a .410 project . I want to shorten the barrel and add a moderator.

I'm fully aware of legal implications,  but , has anyone got any experience of using a .410 with the choke removed ?.

The gun will be used for a specific job . It's to shoot corvids around a maize clamp . Realistically most birds will be within 20 yards .

Has anyone got any experience that they'd be willing to share ?.

Thanks for looking 👍.

[WalkedUp]

I shortened the barrel on my boy’s 410. Was very straightforward. Removed all choke. Haven't patterned it but at 10 yards the tin can was more holes than can. Looked a very tight pattern. I used a hacksaw, and scribed around the barrel to keep it square. Filed the end then wet and dry. I’m very happy with the result. 

The crossers I hit on Saturday with it, 100% straight, were dusted. Probably 30-35 yards. 

[Ultrastu]

Mate had a baikal. 410 single shot .that didnt  pattern too well .it was OK but could have been more even and tighter. 

I think it was supposed  to be a full choke but when compared to my .410 it wasn't as tight (mine patterns very well ) so he chopped it down bit by bit eventually having removed all the constriction and then some .it shot terribly and wouldn't pattern at all (if I remember right ) .

He then scrapped the gun .

Moral of the story .410s need a proper  full  choke to be much use on quarry especially crows .

[ditchman]

when me and me mate did a bit of poaching...we took the bead sight off got a piece off 1/2" copper tube drilled loads of holes in it...filled a colmans mustard tin with coarse wire wool pushed the tube thro the tin..soldered it in postion...then tapped it with a wooden mallet onto the barrel......jobs a gooden...

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, depending how much you cut off the barrel Mel even with true cylinder you should get a decent pattern at 20 yards using 5 shot, another way to get a straight cut is sit the barrel in some angle iron and use the end to align the blade as you saw through, grind the burrs off with a dremel if you have one then polish off

[mel b3]

Thankyou very much for the information gents , that's just the sort of info that I was looking for 👍.

Ditchman. I don't have a mustard tin and wire wool  do you think that I could get away with using a pringles tube filled with spaghetti ?.

[London Best]

8 hours ago, Ultrastu said:

.410s need a proper  full  choke to be much use on quarry especially crows .

8 hours ago, Ultrastu said:

B.S.

Mine work very well with just .004” choke. 
Never use anything bigger than 7’s through a .410 and the pattern is fine.

[JohnfromUK]

It has always been my understanding that guns with true cylinder were more subject to pattern variation with different cartridges, as any 'control' over the pattern is mainly from the cartridge construction and operation (e.g. pressure).  That may be either a good or bad thing .........

[Walker570]

Well as y'all know I predominantly shoot 410 across the board and purchased what looked like a real nice little side by side   HUGLU  avoid avoid it was rubbish but I needed a shoeter barelled 410 for shooting tree rats in the live catch cages so hacked it down to 24 1/2 ibches and it is now handy to carry in my Landy.  It does the jobe at 10 to 15 yrds.  NOW I have always shot full and full for pheasant and partridge along with pigeons but Richrad Gray shoots more open chokes and seems to rop some impressive birds and on a couple of occacsions I have put in a half choke for my second barrel when driven birds will be closer for a second shot AND shock and awe if I do my job things fall out of the sky.      As Ultrastu says crows have a will to live and need hitting hard so a tight pattern would be preferable but of course that is all down to range because believe it or not,  I have met one or two shooters who think the pattern they get at 35yrds is the same at 15/20yrds.  It will be around 15 to 18 inches diameter at that distance if a 30 inch circle at 35, hence my choice of an open choke for the second driven shot. Try and kill the first out front.   

[Stonepark]

9 hours ago, mel b3 said:

Hiya guys.

I'm about to start a .410 project . I want to shorten the barrel and add a moderator.

I'm fully aware of legal implications,  but , has anyone got any experience of using a .410 with the choke removed ?.

The gun will be used for a specific job . It's to shoot corvids around a maize clamp . Realistically most birds will be within 20 yards .

Has anyone got any experience that they'd be willing to share ?.

Thanks for looking 👍.

Instead of cutting down the barrel, why not port (drill at 45 to 60 degrees so holes are pointing backwards) the barrel before the choke and use a 60\40 moderator where 60% of the mod sits over the barrel and 40% sits out front.

 

That's the approach most commercial 410's take.

Edited May 26, 2022 by Stonepark

[TIGHTCHOKE]

2 hours ago, mel b3 said:

Thankyou very much for the information gents , that's just the sort of info that I was looking for 👍.

Ditchman. I don't have a mustard tin and wire wool  do you think that I could get away with using a pringles tube filled with spaghetti ?.

Biggest problem with wire wool is rust.

Spaghetti is far less likely to rust!  

[Rimfireboy]

18 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Biggest problem with wire wool is rust.

Spaghetti is far less likely to rust!  

......and not to forget tomato sauce 😁

[Old farrier]

16 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Biggest problem with wire wool is rust.

Spaghetti is far less likely to rust!  

Spaghetti hoops is the way to go 😊

just a pain getting them to line up 

probably best to use a alignment implement

im sure you will have something hanging about 😊

[ditchman]

1 hour ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Biggest problem with wire wool is rust.

Spaghetti is far less likely to rust!  

 

41 minutes ago, Rimfireboy said:

......and not to forget tomato sauce 😁

 

36 minutes ago, Old farrier said:

Spaghetti hoops is the way to go 😊

just a pain getting them to line up 

probably best to use a alignment implement

im sure you will have something hanging about 😊

bunch of drongos...you think im joking dont you ?

[TIGHTCHOKE]

48 minutes ago, ditchman said:

bunch of drongos...you think im joking dont you ?

No, some of us know you!  

[bunny_blaster]

I’ve always found full choke just blows the pattern with a 410. I now use 1/4 and 1/2 and it kills fine if I do my bit

[Walker570]

24 minutes ago, bunny_blaster said:

I’ve always found full choke just blows the pattern with a 410. I now use 1/4 and 1/2 and it kills fine if I do my bit

This just shows how important checking a 410 out on a plate is, because my 19g reloads  3 inch  put a perfect pattern at 35yrds with full choke tubes in my 30 inch barrel Yildiz.    They will all vary. Measure accurately 35yrds, piece of ply and some old wall paper pin on it will suffice.  A 36 by 36 inch sheet is adequate and I look and calculate how effective in a 30 inch circle at that range and also what penetration there is on the ply as penetration is just as, if not more important than pattern.

[Ratlegs]

17 hours ago, ditchman said:

when me and me mate did a bit of poaching...we took the bead sight off got a piece off 1/2" copper tube drilled loads of holes in it...filled a colmans mustard tin with coarse wire wool pushed the tube thro the tin..soldered it in postion...then tapped it with a wooden mallet onto the barrel......jobs a gooden...

Hi ditchman  reading this I thought of my uncle he told me about the Colmans mustard tin he did the same thing during the war Thanks for reminding me

[Old farrier]

7 hours ago, ditchman said:

 

 

bunch of drongos...you think im joking dont you ?

Naa i made a few back in the day using screw on oil filters screw cut the barrel and drilled a hole in the end of the filter 

il was best to use a new one though 🙄

[old man]

Good luck bud, they are tough intelligent birds that soon learn, let us know how or goes.

[mel b3]

Thank you all very much for the info guys . I'll read it all over again a few times before I decide how to proceed with my little project 👍.

[Ultrastu]

Out of interest  Mel 

What gun is it and how does it shoot now .and which cartridge  are you using /prefer 

I presume you want to cut the barrel to add a moderator  on the end so it's not too long .thing is you  attach the hushpower mods on,  pushed a fair amount down the barrel to keep it shorter .and they still reduce the sound .but effectiveness is reduced the further back you fit it obviously. So a compromise is generally reached .

Don't forget a shorter barrel will generally be noise than a long one . So chopping the barrel will make it noiser .then add a mod to quieten it back down again .you may be more effective just pushing the mod down the barrel and retaining the choke .

 

[Rimfireboy]

On 26/05/2022 at 09:08, ditchman said:

 

 

bunch of drongos...you think im joking dont you ?

Not at all, just ‘avin a larf 😉

[wymberley]

9 minutes ago, Rimfireboy said:

Not at all, just ‘avin a larf 😉

the clue was Colmans - where else would you easily find such a tin?

[mel b3]

15 hours ago, Ultrastu said:

Out of interest  Mel 

What gun is it and how does it shoot now .and which cartridge  are you using /prefer 

I presume you want to cut the barrel to add a moderator  on the end so it's not too long .thing is you  attach the hushpower mods on,  pushed a fair amount down the barrel to keep it shorter .and they still reduce the sound .but effectiveness is reduced the further back you fit it obviously. So a compromise is generally reached .

Don't forget a shorter barrel will generally be noise than a long one . So chopping the barrel will make it noiser .then add a mod to quieten it back down again .you may be more effective just pushing the mod down the barrel and retaining the choke .

 

It's just an old cheap foreign gun , that in all honesty , I haven’t even fired yet . I bought it a few months ago , with the idea of shortening it , and fitting a mod . 

I've already got a silenced Baikal. 410 , and it's a brilliant piece of kit . I bought it in brand new condition ( having fired 10 shots) for £140 , it came with a slab of subs , sling , barrel cover , and cartridge holder .  I'm probably better off just waiting for another bargain to come along to be honest .

Edited to add.

I'm starting to think that making my own moderator might be a good option.

Edited May 27, 2022 by mel b3