Armed Bear,
Good points.
Re: Expert's gun.
Seriously, I was raised such, and the .410 being referred to as being an "Expert's Gun was not allowed.
I mean it was said, still Mentors & Elder's instilled and passed forward a lot.
Their take, and where I get mine is - Investigate & Verify, what something is designed to do, and what it is spec'd to do.
.410 will throw the same pattern as a 12 gauge. Really!
Load both with a skeet target load of #9 and shoot a pattern board, say at 21 yds, which most folks do that shoot skeet.
Pattern will be the same - the density of pattern will not be.
Understanding pattern density, shot strings, moving targets and all - Investigate and Verify - is the key.
Informed or Educated shooter is a better term IMO.
True.
Back in the day, when lead shot was allowed for waterfowl, some special hunting places only allowed shotguns no bigger than 28 ga, and some only allowed .410.
Bing Crosby is one well known person that had such a place. He and his duck hunted with .410s, or 28 ga - depending on what he said on his place and his buds , like him, said on theirs.
Down here, folks got to saying "An expert will use # 7.5 lead shot, 1 1/4 ozs".
These folks were not informed or educated, they never investigate or verified what their full choked shotguns, they rarely shot actually did with a pattern board, and they did not practice.
Still an expert duck hunter would use 1 1/4 oz of #7.5 shot on ducks.
No. These folks could not shoot, were sky busting, and they were making more hits simply because they were deforming pellets, therefore getting a more open pattern with enough pellets for density to hit a duck.
*LOL*
I and mine were able to assist and educate some folks.
Still I and mine, have many times been back up shooters with a .410, or 28 gauge...
Or just been hunting, and let that Green head get within 25 yards or less, and fell that duck with a .410 - and my preferred load was reloads of #5 shot.
These folks come down, spending money, nice guns, fancy hunting clothes, and some dumb Southern Boy with a .410 fells a duck , and limits out, never missing.
I used whatever was handy, from H&R Topper single shots with fixed full chokes, SKB O/U with fixed skeet chokes, .410 fixed skeet choke barrel for my Citori 3 bbl set, Win 1300, Model 42, 870, Rem 1100...
Heck I don't care, gimme a gun, some shells, and like I said I preferred my reloads of #5 shot [ I like #5 period, no matter the gauge] and I can see 'em, I can fell 'em.
I had one rich feller's daughter, not real happy with daddy.
He was not being a real sportsman.
"Daddy, you are being a jerk, stop it! For $1,000 , if them two [me and a lady] can fell ducks with what they are you using, you owe me $1,000.
Ticked off a daddy, made a daughter happy as me and that lady felled our limit, and did not miss, so one shell per duck.
Daughter made her point, got daddy to listen ( had to go thru his wallet to get him to listen) still he came around, got lessons, gun to fit and all that - and old boy turned into a heck of a nice guy.
That day, changed that fella, how he treated his family, his business, and how he lived life.
He quit being a jerk, and instead a really neat dad, husband, business owner and human being.
Informed and Educated.
Investigate and Verify.