So, I've been shopping around for the past 6 months or so for a new sub-gauge. I believe I've decided on the type of gun (Arrieta SxS from Orvis), but not the bore/gauge. I've got 16 and 20 gauge shotguns, and I want something with more challenge. This brought me to the 28 GA and .410 bore. The 28 is often referred to as the aficionado's choice, and the .410 as the expert's gun. I assume the .410 gets this nickname/reputation because it is harder to hit your mark with it, but I'd like to know the details as to why this is.
My hang-up is this: the pattern from a .410 full choke (for instance) is the same size (diameter) as the pattern on a 28 gauge or any other gauge with a full choke (excluding outliers), right? If that's the case, shouldn't it be just as hard to hit something with any gauge as with the .410, given the same choke? Now, I'm not talking about 45 yards away or something, let's stick within the typical effective range of a .410, which seems to be generally agreed on to be 20 yards, 25 yards MAX, so we don't have to think about the .410 pattern expanding at a greater rate. Past that, it seems the .410 loses too much effectiveness due to gaps between shot.
Which brings me to density. So, if I'm correct in my assumption that the patterns are the same out to the same distance (before the .410 pattern starts expanding at an unusually fast rate), then the only difference is the density, right? If that's the case, and the .410 has less shot, and greater shot deformation, leaving bigger gaps between shot, then it would seem that what makes the .410 harder to hit with are the gaps. In other words, all else being equal, you could hit with a 28 and miss the exact same shot with the .410 even though you're dead on because the clay just happens to pass through one of the gaps in the pattern. That seems like just luck to me. So, is it luck that makes the .410 an expert's gun?
I'm assuming I've gotten something wrong, here. I find it hard to believe so many knowledgeable people would call the .410 an expert's gun, implying the need for greater skill than possessed by your average shooter, when the real difference is luck or lack of luck. Is the .410 really just as effective, within 25 yards or so, as the various gauges, it just requires you to be a better shot than you would have to with a 28, etc., or could you be dead on and not break the clay owing to bad luck? I'm hoping this post will help me get one step closer to deciding which of these two to get first.
(Let's assume the world of clays, here, by the way, as opposed to birds.)
Thanks for any and all input, guys. Sorry for the long post. Hope all's well.
My hang-up is this: the pattern from a .410 full choke (for instance) is the same size (diameter) as the pattern on a 28 gauge or any other gauge with a full choke (excluding outliers), right? If that's the case, shouldn't it be just as hard to hit something with any gauge as with the .410, given the same choke? Now, I'm not talking about 45 yards away or something, let's stick within the typical effective range of a .410, which seems to be generally agreed on to be 20 yards, 25 yards MAX, so we don't have to think about the .410 pattern expanding at a greater rate. Past that, it seems the .410 loses too much effectiveness due to gaps between shot.
Which brings me to density. So, if I'm correct in my assumption that the patterns are the same out to the same distance (before the .410 pattern starts expanding at an unusually fast rate), then the only difference is the density, right? If that's the case, and the .410 has less shot, and greater shot deformation, leaving bigger gaps between shot, then it would seem that what makes the .410 harder to hit with are the gaps. In other words, all else being equal, you could hit with a 28 and miss the exact same shot with the .410 even though you're dead on because the clay just happens to pass through one of the gaps in the pattern. That seems like just luck to me. So, is it luck that makes the .410 an expert's gun?
I'm assuming I've gotten something wrong, here. I find it hard to believe so many knowledgeable people would call the .410 an expert's gun, implying the need for greater skill than possessed by your average shooter, when the real difference is luck or lack of luck. Is the .410 really just as effective, within 25 yards or so, as the various gauges, it just requires you to be a better shot than you would have to with a 28, etc., or could you be dead on and not break the clay owing to bad luck? I'm hoping this post will help me get one step closer to deciding which of these two to get first.
(Let's assume the world of clays, here, by the way, as opposed to birds.)
Thanks for any and all input, guys. Sorry for the long post. Hope all's well.