I also started with a Stevens: .410 single, Model 94, handed down from my older brother. Oddly enough, we were a .410 family--Dad also had a .410 single--in pheasant country. But we were also pretty opportunistic hunters, and shot a lot of squirrels and rabbits with those guns.

Back in the 50's, new sxs were pretty scarce. I lusted after a 311 in .410. Once I was working in a service station and had some money, Dad found me a Savage 420 OU 20ga. Paid $65 for it, including a decent soft case. Probably a better choice than a .410 311, but those old American-made Savage OU's are about the clubbiest critters around. Even in 20ga! Eventually saw the light when I bought my first sxs, one of the Ithaca SKB's.