The .410

By: Paul Giambrone, III

Now that we are officially in the off season and the 2011 skeet season is in the books, I can bring up a very controversial subject—the .410. In my travels, I find shooters that either love it or hate it. Most of them, the latter. So what makes some shooters love the .410? Well for starters, if they have confidence in the .410, they generally have confidence in their other guns. This does make some sense because if they can break targets with a smaller pattern, they should be able to break targets with a larger pattern. These shooters also do not let the “idea” of the .410 get in their heads… they shoot it just like they would any other gauge. The key is to just shoot skeet, not the .410. Shooters that think about shooting the .410 rather than focusing on their skeet game will cause them to miss targets because they are distracted. Their mind is preoccupied with shooting the .410 rather than simply focusing on the next target… The shooters that shoot skeet across the board and not individual gauges are the ones who will shoot to the best of their ability, especially in the .410.

There are very FEW shooters and I stress the word FEW have complete confidence in the .410. I know some of you think you love the .410, but when the dust settles, very few love it. I find that the majority of the shooters that think they “love” shooting the .410 generally still “measure” or “double-check” their leads (looking at the gun instead of keeping their hard focus on the target) rather than trusting what they see. Hey, it happens to the best of us, but what you don’t realize is how badly this affects the rest of your game. For starters, if you “bead check” or “measure” for your leads, you are taking your attention off of the target, which should be your ultimate goal (getting a good look at the target). So, the .410 causes more shooters, in general, to “measure” and if this is all you practice or practice the .410 a good bit, you are sub-consciously training yourself to “measure” more often, which will lead to you “measure” in the other gauges as well. This is very bad for your shooting and will cause you to miss unnecessary targets because you are basically training your sub-conscious mind to “measure” so much in practice, it is going to carry over to the other gauges. Yes, I know that I just said the same thing two times, but I am trying to get this type of shooter to understand how bad it is to shoot .410 all of the time! My advice on practicing with the .410 is basically shoot it as little as possible, but enough to keep your confidence up. Personally, I practice the .410 the least. I generally shoot mostly 20 and 28 gauge, when I actually have the time to practice. I want to shoot the larger guns to reinforce the correct habits (such as looking at the target instead of measuring) that way these habits carry over to my .410.

In addition to shooting the correct amount of practice with the .410, you should have the correct equipment setup with your .410. One of the most common questions I hear is “what chokes do you use in the .410?” Well, what works for me, works for me. I do not recommend shooters to shoot as tight of a choke as I do…what I do recommend is for you to shoot a choke that you have CONFIDENCE in. If that means it is a cylinder choke and you have a wide open pattern, go for it! If you prefer to have a tighter choke and get some smoke, I am all for it as well. The key is to have a pattern that is consistent with the rest of your gauges (meaning you want all of the gauges shooting in the same spot). Also, you want to be sure you have a tight enough pattern where you do not leave holes that are big enough for a target to slip through. The main factor is to have a choke that you have confidence in, but I also want to make another point about your .410 patterns. In general, going from a 20 gauge to a .410 makes shooters think they have a much smaller pattern. On average, at 20 yards a 20 gauge might be able to produce a pattern that is around 4” larger in diameter than the .410, give or take an inch or two. When shooters miss with a .410, it is not by 4-6 inches; it is generally by a couple of feet which probably resulted from a “bead check.” So my argument is that most of the time when we miss with the .410 it is not the result of equipment failure, but human error like measuring and taking our eyes off the target.

To close, I do have a couple of different techniques that I personally use when I shoot the .410. For starters, I try to be even more RELAXED when shooting the .410 than the bigger guns. I want to be completely relaxed so I make smooth, consistent moves, and so I can feel the recoil of the .410. When you are relaxed and feel the recoil, this may give you the feeling that you are shooter a larger gauge! I know for me, this has worked really well. When I am totally relaxed, I feel like I am shooting a larger gauge which will boost my confidence right away. Also, I try to stand slightly more upright when I shoot the .410 to help with the recoil point as well. When you stand slightly more upright, you will feel more of the recoil giving me the sense that I am shooting a larger gauge than the .410. Overall, I recommend that you shoot the .410 in practice just enough to keep your confidence up. Practicing too much with the .410 can do far more harm than good. Also, find a set of chokes that you are comfortable with and STICK WITH THEM!

If you have any questions or comments, please email me directly at info@gsclinics.com and visit breakmoretargets.com for more information! Please check the website for upcoming tournaments and clinics in your area… Next scheduled clinic will be in Stockton, CA November 12-14 at the Stockton Gun Club. Then the next stop will be in Houston, TX December 13-16 at Greater Houston Gun Club. To kick off the 2012 season, GSC will be moving to the Dallas area! Please call for lesson availability today! Also, the Trail Trap and Skeet club in Miami, FL will host the first clinic of the 2012 season January 18-22. Please email or call me or the local organizer directly for more information about these clinics.

Tip of the month: Remember, there are more gauges to put your focus on besides the .410. Michael Jordon didn’t just practice three-pointers; he practiced every shot that he could possibly think of in all situations. So in your quest to master the game of skeet, remember that we have multiple gauges to shoot. Practice the ones that give you the most confidence…carry that confidence over to the .410 and watch the results.