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[Clansgian AT wmconnect.com]

> Does everyone here agree with Gene that a 410 is only good for sparrows?

Bev, if you have an intruder and, God forbid, you have to resort to a 
firearm, shooting them with the 410 is just going to make them mad.  

Don't discount the 12 ga. so quickly.  Two factors will affect the recoil, at 
least two:

The mass of the gun.  The heavier the gun, the less the recoil.  A very light 
English fowling piece is like setting off a shotgun shell in your fingers.  
It is ALL recoil.  But a medium heavy pump such as a Remington or Winchester 
absorbs the recoil as inertia agaisnt its mass and so the recoil is much 
less.  
A very light 20 ga. will recoil more sharply against your shoulder than a 
heavy 12 ga. will.

The load of the shell.  You don't necessarily need 3" magnum loaded Howitzer 
rounds on the homestead.  For most purposes very light 2 3/4" target loads 
and 
game loads do fine.  You can keep some heathen heavy loaded buckshot around 
just in case.  Better kicked on you ass by the recoil than go into a 
situation 
under armed.  But the need for heavy ammuntion is somewhere between rarely 
and 
never.