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How many of you started with a .410?

The other thread got me wondering if all the less than positive comments about the .410 were based on experiences of those that had started with a .410 and found it a discouraging experience.

For those of you that started with one, did you find the experience with the .410 gratifying or disappointing?

Did it deter you from advancing your shooting or draw you into it further?

Please share your experiences.

With aches and pains all over from home immprovement, regards
Chuck

I started with a .410 single Stevens youth model. It was such a vast improvement over a one-pump Daisy BB gun that I thought it was great. It was light enough for a small kid to carry, deadly on squirrels and rabbits, and after I learned to "shoot flying" with it, I killed doves, quail and even ducks. For me, it was the right gun at the right time...Geo

I started with a Sevens bolt action, clip fed, 410. I remember that the shells jammed when being fed into the chamber about half the time. My first season yielded a red fox [yes, I broke two of it's legs], some cottontails, one jackrabbit, and a mink. The mink sold for $15 which was more money than I had ever handled at one time. I still have the gun, but I guess I have a few one would consider better than the Stevens.

I was probably 12 years old when I first got to fire a shotgun. My Uncle had a .410 (I could not tell you what it was) and my Dad had an Ithaca 12ga. pump. After a couple of shots out of the .410 my brother and I wanted to shoot the 12. We were not very good with either gun but we thought it more mocho to be able to shoot the 12. We were told that the .410 was for experts but we might not be able to handle the "men's gun". It was important to show that you were a man, or atleast we thought so. Then my Dad aquired his father's 20ga. Beretta Silver Snipe which we both loved to shoot because it was lighter and smaller. We actually shot it OK because it was easier to handle. And since we had already shown that we were manly enough to shoot the 12 it then became more important to hit something so the Beretta became the gun of choice. I still don't own a .410 of my own.

Bill G.

I started with a Crosman sliding barrel bb gun. Then a Benjamin pump, then a Crosman pumper. I still remember when Boy's Life had a maturity checklist you could show your parents that showed you were ready for a Daisy.
In MI, you need to be 12, and have had Hunter Ed to hunt small game, so, the boys are bigger when firearms enter the picture.
I think starting a kid on a .410 teaches them to aim their shotgun. Not swing it.
I started all of my girls on a 20 ga Mossberg 500 Youth model with a sorbothane pad. The Mossy pump allowed single loading, and has cast which made it fit far better than the Remmies or Brownings. The 20ga youth autos are very heavy, and persnickety about loads. The H&R type 28's and 20's used at our gun club swing poorly, and are so light they pound the smaller kids.
And of course, a majority of women are cross dominant.
Starting kids in a duck blind is an excellent way to manage the transition from classroom to field in all matters safety.

I've been there when kids have had accidental discharges. I never like it, and avoid hunting with Dad's that want to bring armed 10 year olds. I often think it's Dad's wishful thinking that put's custom 243's or doubles in the hands of such young children.

I started with the same gun as Daryl. It definitely wasn't made for rapid fire! Notable accomplishments was jack rabbits two days in a row. My Mom threatend to take it away from me if I brought home another one!

I started with a J C Higgins bolt action 16 gauge, my dad's favorite gauge, when I was 13 years old. We lived on a decent sized piece of land, and I could hunt 40 acres or so with it. I loved the gun, and when I reached 16 I got a new in the box Browning Sweet 16. I kept that gun 45 years. The 16 gauge is still my favorite. Oh, that's the last gun anyone bought for me other than me.

Same here, I started at 14 with the Savage .22/.410 over and under. I generally used the .22 and only the .410 if I could
catch 3 or 4 dove sitting on a fence. I traded it off as quick as I could save my lawn mowing money for a Mossberg 16ga bolt action with the miraculous polychoke.

Started at age 11 with a Mossberg 183 BA. I had $11.00 in the bank and it cost $21.00 so I had to work 2 more Saturdays to get enough money to buy it. Killed my first Pheasant with it and a few Dove. My sons learned with it and it is still in our family.

My first gun to shoot was a low wall Winchester, made in 1887, chambered .22 Long. The first gun I owned was a Stevens .22 S,L,LR Model 15 bolt action single shot, with which I squirrel hunted & tried to find sitting rabbits, though was not overly successful at this. The first shotgun I shot was an H&R #3 lightweight single in 28ga. After that for a few yrs I hunted with a borrowed Stevens 94 20ga single. The first shotgun I actually personally owned I bought at about age 15 a J Stevens 325 12ga double. That old J Stevens was my ruination, from that day to this I have never shot another shotgun, whether mine or anothers, which I liked as well as a SxS, not even as well as that old Stevens, though it was a long way from being considered the "Cream of the Crop". With it's "Cigar Box", straight back frame, with cocking rod action, I always referred to it as my "Poor Boy" 21.
I have never owned a .410, though have shot a few. I still have absolutely no desire to do so. I realy have no desire for a 28 unless I could find one of those little 4lb #3 H&R's like that first one I shot. It would be great to carry on off season walks, just in case you were atacked by a "Rabid Rat" or something but didn't really expect to shoot anything. It weighed not much more than a hefty walking cane. I always felt if one were going to carry something which weighed even close to 6lbs it amy as well be a "Shotgun".
My Dad was not a hunter, but we lived on a farm & he bought me that .22 at a quite young age. He did instil into me safe handling & we had a neighbor boy who was a few yrs older than me, who was very responsible. Dad allowed me to take that .22 out with him or by myself to our woodlot after squirrel. I do not recall my exact age when firing that first shotgun; older than 9 but no more than 12. It belonged to an Uncle, Mom's Sister's Husband, who carried me rabit hunting one Thanksgiving. I fired it three times, first at an old pan hanging on a fence post, then went afield & killed two rabbits, was on top of the world,even though the first one he found sitting & allowed me to "Aim at it's nose". The next one he told me had to be running. I had nearly stepped on it & it took off full tilt across an open area, whereupon I managed to bring that little gun up, cock the hammer, swing & pull the trigger, & it tumbled end over end for about three flips. To this day I have no idea how I pulled off a shot like that. I can tell you for a fact though, success of ones first shot (the sitting one don't really count) instills enthusiasm.
I have no idea what type of load I shot that day, but even with a wt of only 4lbs 2oz (I weighed it in later years), I felt no "Kick". This was of course not under circumstances of continued use.