doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 36 Caliber vs. .410

I've seen accounts that the 36 Cal. is the same as the .410 and other accounts that they differ. A clarification would be appreciated. Gil

A 36 gauge is .506, a 67 gauge is .410. I used to have an example of each one but had to sell them due to economic necessity.
Click on this link to see an article I wrote some years back about the two guns http://www.fourten.org.uk/36g410.html
Steve

Early on, the .410-bore/12 mm shotshells in North America were also erroniously called 36-gauge. Here is a box of Western Cartridge Co. Field shells with all three sizes --

Guys, thanks for information. Gil

Many European companies still call the .410 a 36 gauge.

It's really about a 67 gauge but no one ever accused the Europeans of getting anything right. Except, of course, British SxS shotguns.

Of the three markings; .410/12mm/36ga only the .410 is correct. The .410 is named for its bore diameter of .410". 12mm = .472" & 36ga as mentioned = .506". The actual gauge of a .410 bore is 67.49 as shown on the gauge charts which go down to the smaller sizes. Many charts stop with 50gauge @ .473" but on those which list the smaller sizes these are carried out to two decimal places on the gauge numbering & the usual three decimal places for the diameter. These sizes actually drop in .010" increments & give the calculated gauge number. 50 gauge or larger are all listed in whole numbers.

Dave, given that two of the three markings on the box are wrong, just why were the boxes ever marked like that? Was it to satisfy a market that had already mis-named the .410? Certainly Western knew better.

And, if that was the case, any idea where the improper designations originated?

SRH

12mm is the approximate size of the shells OD. All other shotshell sizes however are given by the bore dia of the gun, not the outside of the shell casing.
I have heard, but can't confirm, that 36ga was simply picked as an obvious step down from 32 gauge as the next smaller size was was not a gauge in common use for shotguns.
It is noted that both of the misnomers do tend to make the little pipsqueak appear larger than it really is.

http://m26.photobucket.com/albumview/albums/roaniecowpony/410chamber.jpg.html

Hopefully the link above works. It has the chamber dimensions that may lend some insight into the 36g question.

The 32-Gauge was also often called 14 mm --