I personally never have really understood the 410 craz, unless its just to say you did it with a 410 (which is fine). 20 gauge achieves the same purpose going to a subgauge for me. You cut weight in carrying it and unlike the 410 your not limited to a single shot (obviously not all 410 are single shots but thats what most get)
If you carry around a 12 gauge and want to go to a sub gauge to really reduce weight and some recoil then just go to a 20 gauge, again just my opinion. Yes shells are more expensive but they are easier to find and have much better efficiency.
Although I sometimes hunt with a .410, I generally agree with this. Mine (which is a pump gun) weighs roughly the same as my 20, any my 20 (O/U) is actually shorter. But my wife's dad gave me the gun (his old rabbit gun) when my son was born. It's a full size gun (High Standard Flite King K4111) with a 26" barrel. But since I hand load, I couldn't help but tinker with it. Turns out, it's a real sweet shooter with the right load. (Most recent patterns below).
Shortly after I got it, I found a wood butt stock for it on ebay for less than $40. I snagged that and cut it down to a 10.5" length of pull and fabricated a butt pad. I cut the length off in three equal sections. When my kids outgrow the shortest length, I'll screw on the next section and extend it. Should be able to do that until they grow into the full size stock or switch to a 20.
Honestly, some of the smaller framed youth models that are now available (Mossberg Super Bantam, Stevens 301, Rossi, etc.) would be better kid guns. Even with the shortened stock, the 26" barrel makes mine a little hard for a small kid to balance/aim with. But the nostalgia of this gun has kept me from switching. We have a little monopod to support the weight, and that works fine for turkeys or any stationary target.
I think I've killed 3 turkeys with it, and my wife used it to kill her first last year. And my son will try to add another notch to it this weekend. Overall, the reduced recoil of a .410 is big for smaller kids, even compared to a reduced-recoil 20 ga load. But when I hunt with it, it's just for chits&giggles. It doesn't reduce weight or length vs. my main gun.
