.410 pigeons over barley

[Ultrastu]

Sat with my mate today in one of our permanent  hides  . Covering the standing barley to keep the pigeons off the crop as the farmer still hasn't been able to get it cut .this protection  is vital at the moment  as the birds are often hell bent on hitting it and doing damage  .

We both  had .410 mossberg pumpers   and I took my kofs ou .410 also since I've not shot it for a month or so .

Windy and wet with umbrellas up . And pigeons screaming past the hide .but a lot of birds decoyed really well .We chucked  the whole boat load  out today .

Shells . Real birds ,Magnet ,bouncers and a flapper .  And it certainly  worked pulling some birds from the heavens  down into the kill zone .  The carts of choice today were fiocchi  7.5 s   for my mate .and high pheasant  6 s  for me .

My kofs likes the small 14 grm no7 layvale and that accounted for plenty of birds . 40 birds shot between us  which is pretty good going   since last week I couldn't  hit a barn door with my mossy .but I adjusted the comb height and that got me on target today .

I finished on 3  birds with 3 carts one after another to give me a big grin and an end to a rather excellent sporting day .we even had a cheese burger in the middle at lunch time .

Looking forward  to some stubble .but looks like it could still be a couple of weeks yet .

Meanwhile  this  protection   is vital .

 

[Scully]

Great stuff! Must admit I regret considerably getting rid of my little Mossi .410 pump. 

[ditchman]

410 is a natty little calibre.....at the right range it will stone birds.....

[Bigbob]

I have always fancied a silenced 410 for the pigeons but the price puts me off nice guns though i started the kids off on them 

[Ultrastu]

The mossbergs we are using are a standard .410 with an additional  mod added to the end .not the saddlery  and gun room hushpowers that can be bought .

We find these give better power range and patterns than the full shroud versions .

 

Edited July 31, 2023 by Ultrastu

[Wilts#Dave]

2 hours ago, Ultrastu said:

The mossbergs we are using are a standard .410 with an additional  mod added to the end .not the saddlery  and gun room hushpowers that can be bought .

We find these give better power range and patterns than the full shroud versions .

 

What makes yours have more power and range than the off the shelf hushpowers, out of interest? 
Cracking little calibre the .410, I must admit I haven’t used my hushpower pump for some time but did manage to shoot just under 100 with it when I used it a lot.
I do find them awkward to shoot consistently but very effective when you’re on them, but since buying an o/u 28 bore I don’t think I’ve used it! 

[Ultrastu]

The barrel porting on the factory  version reduces the muzzle velocity of the shot  it can also affect the pattern by damaging the wad and shot inside the barrel . Comparing  a fully shrouded version to a add on mod   the  add on mod definatly  has that advantage .

The fully shrouded is quieter though for sure .

[Centrepin]

For noise, how does your KOFs compare?

My KOFs .410 is as quiet as my sons Mossberg pump plus I have the advantage of a second barrel. 

I'm using Fiocchi 3" 18g x 6s and he's on Hull Clay and Game 11g x 6s.

[marsh man]

That was a very nice bit of sport with a 4.10 , haven't used one for years and no doubt they have come a long way from the converted 303 we once had , we found a 410 a bit of fun but our 12's at the time could do the same and a lot more besides , now I am at a age where I can see the benifits of the noise and lightness levels of these great little guns but as the cartridges are as dear , if not dearer than the 28 gm Velocity cartridges I use for Pigeons I will be sticking with what I have got ....... For the time being that is as my gun is now getting heavier and heavier and heavier  

[Wilts#Dave]

7 minutes ago, marsh man said:

That was a very nice bit of sport with a 4.10 , haven't used one for years and no doubt they have come a long way from the converted 303 we once had , we found a 410 a bit of fun but our 12's at the time could do the same and a lot more besides , now I am at a age where I can see the benifits of the noise and lightness levels of these great little guns but as the cartridges are as dear , if not dearer than the 28 gm Velocity cartridges I use for Pigeons I will be sticking with what I have got ....... For the time being that is as my gun is now getting heavier and heavier and heavier  

The small bore cartridges are much more expensive sadly, no economy versions. A lighter small bore is very nice to shoot though, definitely quieter and after a busy day you barely know you’ve fired a shotgun! 

1 hour ago, Ultrastu said:

The barrel porting on the factory  version reduces the muzzle velocity of the shot  it can also affect the pattern by damaging the wad and shot inside the barrel . Comparing  a fully shrouded version to a add on mod   the  add on mod definatly  has that advantage .

The fully shrouded is quieter though for sure .

That’s interesting, hadn’t realised that! 

1 hour ago, Centrepin said:

For noise, how does your KOFs compare?

My KOFs .410 is as quiet as my sons Mossberg pump plus I have the advantage of a second barrel. 

I'm using Fiocchi 3" 18g x 6s and he's on Hull Clay and Game 11g x 6s.

There’s no way an o/u .410 firing heavier shells is as quiet as the hushpower…..much nicer to shoot though, I must say I don’t love the way the mossberg’s handle!
The noise does depend a lot on terrain as well to be fair. 

[Ultrastu]

I shoot magnum carts out of the mossy and even with these it's quiet .

For the kofs . If I use magnum 3 inch carts I need ear defenders  .but I've found that if I use layvale 14 grm no7 I can get away with out ears  and they still kill pretty well having plenty of pellets (170 ) to do the job out to 30 yds . Obviously  these 14 grm 2.5 inch carts are very quiet in the mossy and kill like they do in the kofs .

Handling of the kofs is better  but I was swapping between them yesterday and found I could shoot well irrespective  of which I used .

It's very nice to shoot the ou.without ears and get the job done with such a lovely little gun that's lightening fast and accurate .

[marsh man]

11 minutes ago, Wilts#Dave said:

The small bore cartridges are much more expensive sadly, no economy versions. A lighter small bore is very nice to shoot though, definitely quieter and after a busy day you barely know you’ve fired a shotgun! 

 

Might be all in the head but with a 410 I would feel it wasn't up to the job when I am shooting on the out skirts of my patten but like all guns they have there limitations .

The last ( small ) bore gun I used was my guvenors 16 bore Woodward side by side , this was a lovely gun and was left to him from his grandmother , it miss fired now and again and he asked me to try it out before I took it to the gunsmiths  , I used a box of shells over some rape stubble we had at the time and it handled exactly like a 12 , then when you fired it you very little , if any recoil and was killing Pigeons over decoys as good as any 12 bore would had done , that was my one and only time I used it and I believe it is kept for the younger members of his family to use .

[Wilts#Dave]

8 minutes ago, marsh man said:

Might be all in the head but with a 410 I would feel it wasn't up to the job when I am shooting on the out skirts of my patten but like all guns they have there limitations .

The last ( small ) bore gun I used was my guvenors 16 bore Woodward side by side , this was a lovely gun and was left to him from his grandmother , it miss fired now and again and he asked me to try it out before I took it to the gunsmiths  , I used a box of shells over some rape stubble we had at the time and it handled exactly like a 12 , then when you fired it you very little , if any recoil and was killing Pigeons over decoys as good as any 12 bore would had done , that was my one and only time I used it and I believe it is kept for the younger members of his family to use .

I know what you mean there, takes some getting used to not having the louder bang and recoil but once you get used to them it’s amazing how well they kill and how quick they are to whip up in the hide!
My 28g astounds me how it drops them, and cleanly too. I’m not saying I’d take it on real high flighting pigeons or pheasants but out to 35/40 yards it really does kill as well as the 12 if you’re shooting straight! Lighter to carry as well (and the cartridges). 

[Old Boggy]

21 hours ago, marsh man said:

Might be all in the head but with a 410 I would feel it wasn't up to the job when I am shooting on the out skirts of my patten but like all guns they have there limitations .

The last ( small ) bore gun I used was my guvenors 16 bore Woodward side by side , this was a lovely gun and was left to him from his grandmother , it miss fired now and again and he asked me to try it out before I took it to the gunsmiths  , I used a box of shells over some rape stubble we had at the time and it handled exactly like a 12 , then when you fired it you very little , if any recoil and was killing Pigeons over decoys as good as any 12 bore would had done , that was my one and only time I used it and I believe it is kept for the younger members of his family to use .

There you go John. They don’t call them Sweet Sixteens for nothing.

Handles like a 20, shoots like a 12. What’s not to like.

I’ve been shooting 16 bores for the last 50 years and have never felt ‘undergunned’.

OB

[enfieldspares]

6 hours ago, Old Boggy said:

 

Handles like a 20, shoots like a 12. What’s not to like.

 

OTOH some might say they weigh like a 12 but only have the hitting power of a 20! LOL!

And I writing this as the past owner of a true pair of 16 bore sidelock single trigger self opener side by sides and the present owner of a 16 bore Browning Auto 5, a French boxlock side by side self opener and two AYA Cosmos 16 bore single barrel guns.