The .410 bore (10.4 mm) is one of the smallest caliber of shotgun shell commonly available (along with the 9mm Flobert rimfire cartridge, and the less common .22 rimfire shot shell). A .410 bore shotgun loaded with shot shells is well suited for small game hunting and pest control. The .410 started off in the United Kingdom as a garden gun along with the .360 and the No. 3 bore (9 mm) rimfire, No. 2 bore (7 mm) rimfire, and No. 1 bore (6 mm) rimfire. .410 shells have similar base dimensions to the .45 Colt cartridge, allowing many single-shot firearms, as well as derringers and revolvers chambered in that caliber, to fire .410 shot shells without any modifications.
Origin
Lancaster's pattern centerfire and pinfire .410 shot cartridges first appeared in Eley Brothers Ltd. flysheets in 1857. By 1874, Eleys were advertising modern centerfire .410 cartridges. It appears to have become popular around 1900, although it was recommended as "suited to the requirements of naturalists, garden guns and for such weapons as walking-stick guns", presumably for self-defense, in 1892 by W. W. Greener. The first ammunition was 2.0 inches (50.8 mm) long, compared with the modern 2.5 (63.5 mm) and sizes. Aluminum shells are available but are not reloadable, as are paper or plastic shells. Full length brass shells can be found and are reloadable. Brass shells can be made from .444 Marlin rifle cartridges, and these are reloadable .
Shotguns in .410 loaded with shot shells are well suited for small game hunting and pest control. Such game or pests include rabbits, squirrels, snakes, rats, and birds. A .410 loaded with 1/4 ounce slugs is effective against larger animals such as coyotes and deer.
While a .410 is inferior to the traditional 12-gauge shotshell for defensive use, a number of companies market defensive guns chambered in .410, such as the Mossberg 500 Home Security Model shotgun, the Smith & Wesson Governor revolver, and the Taurus Judge revolver. Defensive ammunition such as buckshot, slugs and combination loads are common. American Derringer and Winchester market ammunition loaded with five 000 buckshot pellets in shells and three pellets in shells. Combination shells such as Winchester Supreme Elite .410 shells are loaded with three 71 grain disks and twelve BB pellets.
Survival arms
The small size of the .410 bore makes it popular for use in compact firearms carried for emergency use and are often found in over-and-under combination guns, with a .22 Hornet or .22 rimfire rifle barrel mounted above a .410 bore shotgun barrel mounted below.
The Snake Charmer is a .410 bore, stainless steel, single shot, break-action shotgun, with an exposed hammer, an barrel, black molded plastic furniture and a short thumb-hole butt-stock that holds four additional shotgun shells. These light-weight guns have an overall length of . They are commonly used by gardeners and farmers for pest control. It originally sold for $89.95 and was marketed as a general purpose utility shotgun "perfect" for "fishing - hunting - camping - back packing - survival - home defense - truck or Jeep gun".
The Savage Model 24 is an American-made, over-and-under, combination gun, manufactured by Savage Arms. The basic .22LR over .410 bore model weighs , has barrels, and an overall length of . It may also be disassembled for ease of stowage. Its predecessor was made by Stevens and sported a tenite stock and forearm. In WWII, 15,000 were ordered and issued in air crew survival kits for Army Air Force bomber crews to be used as survival arms in the event they were shot down.
The M6 aircrew survival weapon was made for the US Air Force, with a .22 Hornet rifle barrel mounted over a .410 bore shotgun barrel and was first issued in the Korean War. The military also lists an aluminum .410 shell, with a rifle primer, as standard issue under the ammunition inventory name M-35. The civilian version Springfield Armory M6 Scout has a .22 rimfire or .22 Hornet over a .410 bore shotgun barrel. The original M6 has a barrel, the same length as the stock, and folds in half for storage, making a compact package. With the short barrel, this is legally classified as an any other weapon in the United States, so the M6 Scout is made with barrels for civilian sales. Special flare cartridges in .410 were issued with the USAF model.