[BARLF]

I am the wife. LOL

My hubby of 61 years died four years ago and the reason I need a gun.

Weight,easy to load,least recoil is what I want. Hoping I never need it.

I live in a rural farming area, never any trouble around here,but that could change. Close neighbors, but not close enough if someone is trying to break into my bedroom in the middle of the night.)

I will check out the 410 and appreciate the info.

[AnAmericanMother]

Before I went as far down as .410, I would try out a 20 ga. and a 28 ga.

I'm a 5'6", 160 pound middle-aged lady. A 12 is a bit much for a lot of shooting, although I can do it, it really beats my shoulder up when I'm shooting heavy loads in a T-shirt.

I shoot both 20 and 28 ga. and have no trouble with either one. My daughter, who is a little skinny 22 year old, used my 20 ga. to shoot her first Cowboy Action match and did very well. She did not complain about the recoil, it did bruise her a little because she did not tuck the butt well into her shoulder on the first couple of shots (she figured it out pretty quick though).

The problem with .410 is that you just can't put as much lead out there. Because fewer pellets will fit into a load, the pattern tends to be both small and thin. And it's a big drop from 28 down to .410 - for that reason it's generally considered an expert's gun for wingshooting or sporting clays.

If you simply can't tolerate 20 or even 28, you might be better off with a short barrel lever action rifle than a .410. If you went that route, I would get a Win '92 in .44 or .357, both large pistol magnum calibers. It will not kick AT ALL and you can put an awful lot of lead out there in a hurry if you get some practice in.

[AnAmericanMother]

Forgot to add that you can shoot the '92 accurately from the hip. Just place your left hand index finger alongside the fore-end of the stock and point it at your target.

That will get you style points.

[MHGinTN]

Wal Mart sells the Rossi youth single shot .410 with an extra .22 long rifle barrel for plinking. If there are no children around to worry about, put a butt sock on the shotgun butt and put four .410 slugs and five .410 #4 shot rounds in the sleeve slots. Have someone put a picatinny rail on the foregrip, to which you attach a vertical foregrip for holding the gun as you reload. Attach a laser to the barrel just ahead of the foregrip, and practice using the sighting systems while shooting bird shot loads. If there are grandkids or great grandkids to worry about, place an industrial strength felt side of velcro on the butt stock and cut the loop strip from the butt sock and attach the hook side of the velcro tot he loop patch ... you can keep the gun separate fromt he ammo but bring it to battery very quickly. The vertical foregrip and laser are important additions, but easy to add on. I make them up for sale at gunshows. Using a folding veertical foregrip now.

[MHGinTN]

If you have kids coming and going, a good alternative to the Rossi youth model is a good Taurus OSS DS in .45 caliber. You can load the magazines and keep them separate fromt he gun, and the gun stored with slide back so that all you need do is pop the mag in and drop the slide, then pull the trigger twelve times and reload. The frame takes a nioce under frame laser, too. The spring on a Taurus is easier to replace than a grandchild, and leaving the slide back is not as bad on the spring as many think ... you would have to leave it that way for more than a year to change the tension on it in any appreciable way. And ordering replacement springs is easy and cheap, by comparison.

[OneWingedShark]

Here’s a video of a .410 slug [fired from a Taurus Judge] impacting a watermelon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmyWoZ22lZY&feature=fvw

And here’s one [rather a long wait for the firing] of a .410 slug being used for deer-hunting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AooOtDcH1K8&feature=related

[Brilliant]

This is the one I've got. Mossberg 500 pump action HS410 (HS stands for Home Security). The barrel is designed to spread out the shot as it exits the barrel, so that you don't need perfect aim. If I recall correctly, it spreads it to an 8 inch diameter pattern at about 10 feet. It has very little recoil, but I would say you're going to need some practice, particularly in loading it. Some gun ranges will let you shoot a 410 bore on their range. Call around and see if yours will, and also if they can help you learn to shoot it. It would be a good idea to try out a few guns before buying. The local gun range can probably help there, but will probably steer you toward pistols, which is generally what they make their money on. A shotgun is probably your best choice for home security. Costs about $500 (if memory serves), and you have to special order it. They won't let you return it if you don't like it.