Unfortunatelly, to meet this demand, 
the ammunition maker committed the 
crime of making various - lengthed 
shells, and then the unlucky barrel 
borer, in trying to adapt his barrel to 
these various lengths, and still more 
variable loads, has produced guns that 
handle all the loads for any given 
gauge fairly well, but with a boring 
that is best for none. ‘Each gun-maker 
has attempted to accomplish this 
“handle all loads” result with his own 
boring, which varies from the boring 
of all the others. Thus a vicious cycle 
has resulted between the gun and 
ammunition makers; each is trying to 
adapt his output to the variables of the 
other and neither can succeed perfectly. 
HORT cases in long chambers are 
notoriously an abomination. The 
U. S. Cartridge Company has gotten 
around this difficulty in the .410 by their 
clever device of the 2-in. all-brass case, 
which, on account of its very thin walls 
and low base, enables them net only to 
use full 2%4-in. paper case charges, but 
to use greatly oversized wads which 
prevent gas leakage in the chamber 
ahead of the case, before the load gets 
into the barrel. This enables them to 
get good results in both 2-in. and 2%- 
in. chambered guns. On account of the 
variations in barrel boring, as noted 
above, these cartridges do not give best 
results in all guns, but they do very 
well in every gun, and when well adapt- 
ed to the boring of the gun, results are 
truly remarkable. 
A gun specially bored for this brass 
cartridge would be a powerful little 
weapon, but it would not use paper car- 
tridges at all well, because the bore 
would be something like .448 instead of 
something like .410, as at present. 
VEN more so than the .32-gauge, 
the difficulty in using the .410 is 
in being able to hit game with its nar- 
row pattern. We have always found 
that long barrels and front and rear 
ivory bead sights help us to hit well 
with small-gauge very close-shooting 
guns. With this in mind, we are hav- 
ing an American concern send us out a 
30-in. barreled .410 bore gun made to 
our special requirements, and we shall 
be much disappointed if we do not get 
better patterns and hit game better 
with these long barrels than we can 
with a 26-in. barreled gun. We hoped 
this gun would arrive in time to report 
its shooting here, but since it has not, 
we shall report it later, should it prove 
of interest. 
We think the long barrels will be an 
improvement on the gun in every re- 
spect, without being a detriment in any 
way; as, for:example, are long barrels 
on a 12-gauge, by making it too heavy. 
For those who like short barrels, little 
530 
objection can be offered to them in this 
tiny gun, because by the old barrel 
borer’s rule of .45 times the diameter 
of the barrel, the length would be only 
18.45 inches; and aside from improved 
alignment, little benefit can be expected 
from long barrels. 
N ordering your gun, have it cham- 
bered for and tested with 2%-in. 
paper cases of the kind you wish to 
shoot. Further, have it regulated for 
No. 8 and No. 6 chilled shot, specifying 
the make of cartridge you expect to 
use. Do not worry about No. 9s, since 
they will always be shot well enough 
by a gun that shoots No. 8s well. With 
these instructions, if you have a real 
gun-maker, you will get a sure enough 
gun. 
There is little doubt that for quail 
shooting in thick brush, or at 25 yards 
and under ranges, the right barrel 
might be bored improved cylinder with 
excellent results, but we do not approve 
of anything but full choke boring for 
these tiny guns. By opening up the 
pattern, you lessen both its deadliness 
and sportiness, and detract greatly 
from the real charm of the gun. Fur- 
ther, look at the patterns of the modified 
choke (right) barrel of the gun re- 
ferred to and you will see that the 
patterns are not as regular as the 
full choke patterns; and what you can’t 
see, is that they also have a bad crip- 
pling fringe. 
Always use chilled shot in these small 
guns. Chilled shot is superior to soft 
shot in all guns for-any kind of shoot- 
ing, but in the very small gauges it is 
absolutely necessary to get satisfactory 
results in the field. Chilled shot has at 
least 10 per cent. superiority of pattern 
over soft shot, and more than that in 
a full-choked gun. Further, chilled 
shot will kill game better than soft 
shot, provided sufficiently large pellets 
be used, and it will not tear your game 
to shreds and stuff it with lead, as soft 
shot does. 
By ordering your gun, follow the in- 
structions—should they appeal to 
you—for ordering a 382-gauge given 
under the study of that gun. What is 
said there fits the .410 equally as well, 
except the weight of a .410 should not 
exceed 5 pounds with any length bar- 
rels. The .410 is especially adapted to 
field work where game is plentiful, or 
where it can be shot within the extreme 
range of 35 yards, and better where it 
can be shot within 30 and 32 yards. 
With these limitations, there are no 
other “ifs” nor “ands” about this de- 
lightful little gun. : 
Do not be afraid of the .410. Within 
its limitations, any good shot can use 
it well. The writer is no unusual shot 
and what he has done you can do. If 
you are worried about that reduced bag 
limit, or are tired of killing nearly 
every shot, get a dainty little .410- 
gauge, for which you can carry enough 
cartridges, if you like, to serve you a 
week, along with several different sizes 
of shot to meet the exigencies of your 
hunt, and still hardly know you are 
carrying any weight of either gun or 
ammunition. 
\\ (Aes this equipment, you will get 
joy out of the limited bag that 
has never been surpassed in any big 
bag, and help to conserve game; you 
will feel your old ambition, to become 
a better shot, return as you never 
thought possible, and you will become 
a better shot and a better sportsman— 
nothing more could be asked of any gun 
and any ammunition. 
Notes on 410 Bore Ammunition 
This gauge is richly supplied with 
ammunition by all the great cartridge 
factories. Shells are supplied in two 
lengths—2” and 214”. The 2” shells 
are made in both paper and all brass, 
while the 2%” length is supplied in 
paper cases only. Cartridges for this 
gauge, like the 32 gauge, belong to the 
faith worshippers’ society, in that the 
only specification known about any 
load is the size of shot. The quantity 
and kind of powder and quantity of 
shot is not known. There are four 
standard loads put out by all the load- 
ing companies. The shot sizes are 
4-6-7%-10 chilled and perhaps soft 
shot also, when desired. By cutting 
open and weighing a number of shot 
charges, from as many different car- 
tridges, the quantity was found to be 
about 3 ounce in all the 2%” car- 
tridges and the 2” U. 8. All Brass car- 
tridges. The 2” paper case cartridges 
seem to contain about ws oz. lighter 
shot charges. 
The 2%” cartridge made this gauge 
shotgun. It is a powerful cartridge 
and gives close to standard 12 gauge 
velocities. “It will kill a rabbit at 
40 yards” is a common statement seen 
in English advertisements in regard 
to this shell and gun, and this shell 
and a good gun will do this very thing. 
This is an astounding statement for 
so tiny a gun, but it is true neverthe- 
less. 
In looking at the shot sizes for this 
gun, we are led to wonder why the big 
No. 4 shot? The answer is: public 
demand. This is the single barrel rab- 
bit shooter’s load. Why the demand, 
we do not know, because No. 6 will. 
kill rabbits farther and better than. 
No. 4, since the pattern is so much 
better and the pellets have plenty of 
velocity and weight to kill said rabbit 
to 40 yards. Be that as it may, the 
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