410/22 WMR or 410/22LR Combo

[scootrd]

I was weighing in on my essential calibers on another post a few days ago , where I cited 410/22 O/U as one of my preferred essentials. Well , this has stuck in my head for a number of days and I can't shake it. When I was young I had a Stevens 410/22LR Man I loved that Rifle. It was my first rifle. I let it go when I was in the service away from home, thinking I wouldn't miss it.  Well I was wrong. It has bothered me for 20 years off and on , and after replying to the essentials post it again is bothering me. I think I am going to pull the trigger and look around for another 410/22 O/U .

Here's my dilemma , I could look for an old Stevens or savage to replace the one I had, or I could go with a more modern version. EEA offers two combo's 410 22WMR or 410 22LR . So I am looking for suggestions .

Stevens or savage 410/22LR
or
EEA (or like) 410/22WMR

Your thoughts?

[spruce]

My personal preference would be the Savage/Stevens .22LR/.410.  It's been around forever, lots of used ones around, and if you shop you can still find a good one at a fairly decent price.
 
I had an EAA single shot shotgun for a (short) while and didn't like it very much.  Like the .410/.22 combo it has the squeeze under lever for opening.  The problem is it also cocks the hammers at the same time you open it.  On mine at least this took quite a bit of force (and was also noisy).  Combine this with the fact the opening lever is quite narrow and after shooting a half box or so at hand thrown clays it began to get a little uncomfortable on the opening hand.
 
As far as the .22LR verses .22Mag I would go with the LR in this type of gun.  It's not something I would put a scope on and within the range you're likely to be shooting with open sights the LR has ample power for small game - and is far, far cheaper to shoot!
 
Just my take on it.

[Glanceblamm]

I was weighing in on my essential calibers on another post a few days ago , where I cited 410/22 O/U as one of my preferred essentials. Well , this has stuck in my head for a number of days and I can't shake it. When I was young I had a Stevens 410/22LR Man I loved that Rifle. It was my first rifle. I let it go when I was in the service away from home, thinking I wouldn't miss it.  Well I was wrong. It has bothered me for 20 years off and on , and after replying to the essentials post it again is bothering me. I think I am going to pull the trigger and look around for another 410/22 O/U .

Here's my dilemma , I could look for an old Stevens or savage to replace the one I had, or I could go with a more modern version. EEA offers two combo's 410 22WMR or 410 22LR . So I am looking for suggestions .

Stevens or savage 410/22LR
or
EEA (or like) 410/22WMR

Your thoughts?

My thoughts are that while these are great guns, they might not fit you anymore (read the shotgun barrel) because you are not a lean youth anymore. I am not saying that you have gotten fat but rather that you have gained bulk and muscle tone that you did not have as a youth. You only have to stand beside a JH or High school kid to see the diff. The .410 may handicap you further as a lot of these combos were short to begin with or designed for the youth.
 
I do have a Savage model 24 20ga/22LR that is app 45 years old. I could use this in a pinch but it is a very tight fit for me to take wing shooting as those barrels point kinda skywards in a relaxed stance.
 
The .22LR is going to be a very good choice on your O/U

[Drilling Man]

  There's a forum for combo guns here on GBO, post over there, as some of the posters there have had both of those guns.
 
  DM