I’m a fan of the Mossberg Shockwave. A giant fan. It’s one of the enjoyable weapons I’ve ever owned. With that in thoughts, the whole thing of my Shockwave expertise has been in 12 gauge. Mossberg has launched 20-gauge and .410 fashions, however they fell outdoors of my consideration. That was till I noticed and dealt with a Shockwave .410 in actual life and realized how small and helpful it might really be.
Actually, selecting it up will change most individuals’s minds a couple of .410 Shockwave. It weighs a mere 4.24 kilos. We already know that it’s pretty brief, however at that weight, it turns into downright helpful. The little .410 bore isn’t a giant cartridge, so the gun’s general measurement is svelte. It’s like a wand that shoots bullets. Harry Potter and the pump motion.
Like each Shockwave, this factor isn’t technically a shotgun. It’s a firearm. Thus, it may well have a 14-inch barrel and never run afoul of the ATF… until it drops beneath 26 inches general. At 26.37 inches, it rides the road and gives a PGO (pistol grip solely) pump-action firearm. If the size drops beneath 26 inches, it’s thought-about an AOW.
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Mossberg has made numerous 500s in .410, however this can be a .410 590. This implies it has the 590 journal tube and barrel design. This was the primary time a 590 .410 existed so far as I’m conscious. The gun makes use of a .410 variant of the Raptor grip to provide it a passable general size and supply a really ergonomic grip choice.
The Shockwave .410 sometimes holds 5 rounds of two.5-inch ammo within the tube (5+1 complete), or 4 rounds of 3-inch shells. With 12 gauges, I persist with 2.75-inch rounds for many functions outdoors of searching. Nevertheless, if I fielded the little .410, I’ll take the additional lead the 3-inch shell presents. The gun makes use of an ambidextrous tang security and incorporates a strap-equipped pump design.
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The gun comes with a fundamental bead sight, however like all 590s, it’s drilled and tapped for including optics. A pink dot looks like a wonderful addition to the little gun. With that stated, there isn’t far more. It’s a plain, gentle, and easy little pump-action gun.
Why the Shockwave .410?
I feel the Shockwave is the proper choice for a defensive .410. It’s gentle and helpful, with minimal recoil. The “massive boy” Shockwave throws loads of lead and might be managed with follow and muscle. The .410 variant will also be used defensively and presents little or no recoil, so that you want quite a bit much less coaching and muscle.
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If you need a particularly small weapon that fires shotgun shells, the Shockwave .410 is usually a nice choice. Whereas the .410 doesn’t supply the ballistic equivalence of a 12 or 20 gauge, the 3-inch 00 and 000 buck hundreds can get you greater than midway there.

Usually, if you happen to have been eager about the .410 for house protection, I’d advise you to look perhaps at an AR-15. Comparable recoil, wonderful effectiveness, less complicated to make use of, and so they can usually be shorter than any shotgun. After we get to one thing as small because the .410, we’re lowering our payload a good bit, growing our price of ammo, and never getting the identical effectiveness as a 12 or 20 gauge.
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Nevertheless, with regards to the Shockwave design, we get the benefit of it being small and fairly light-weight. It’s extremely maneuverable and simple to steer from goal to focus on and is appropriate for almost all of shooters. In a Shockwave platform, the .410 positive factors a big benefit as a consequence of its small measurement and excessive maneuverability.
To the Vary With the Shockwave .410
Even when loaded with a 3-inch shell of 000 buckshot, the Shockwave .410 is quaint. Recoil is minimal, and it’s tremendous simple to shoot quickly. Two pictures in lower than a second are unbelievably simple to do. Drop the shell size to 2.5 inches, and it will get even simpler.
The gun’s recoil, even with only a pistol grip, is simple to deal with. I robotically revert to a push/pull approach to scale back recoil with a shotgun, however I don’t truly need to. I can simply maintain it tight and never have any issues controlling the gun.
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The bead sight is a Mossberg particular. They connect it on to the barrel, which is ok, however it sits so low that some could discover it troublesome to amass with out a inventory. It will probably additionally create POI/POA points the place the gun seems to shoot excessive. There are alternative dots to appropriate this, however a pink dot mount would even be a superb go-to since it’s 2026.

The slight unfold of a 12-gauge at across-the-house distances can cowl a large number of marksmanship sins, however that begins to vanish as we scale back the payload per shell. We would like these pellets to hit the vitals, so a pink dot or correct peak bead might be helpful.
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The Shockwave .410 handles properly. The ergonomics of the security with the Raptor grip are simply excellent. The pump has a little bit of grit and slop, however it’s easy and lightweight to make use of general. The gun cycles each shell I put by way of it, together with a few of these European hundreds that are typically tight in American chambers.
Going .410
The Shockwave .410 is a blast to shoot. It’s tremendous helpful and would most likely be one of the best defensive .410. Its small measurement and low recoil assist give it an edge on this planet of .410 defensive shotguns. This measurement is ideal for the little 67 gauge.

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Past defensive use, this is sort of a trendy backyard gun. A load of birdshot will dispatch snakes and small beasts with minimal recoil and noise. The buckshot hundreds can dispatch coyotes and extra. For a survival gun, it’s powerful to go incorrect with the .410 because of what number of rounds you may carry with absolute ease.
The Shockwave .410 can do quite a bit, however if you happen to’re like me, it would simply be one of the enjoyable weapons within the protected.
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