To the best of my recollection, the first time I came across a firearm described as a 'utility gun' was the Trailblazer Lifecard when it launched in 2017. I've thought about what makes a particular model a utility gun several times over the years. I have yet to find a generally accepted definition of this category in general use around the shooting-sports community, so I'll give it a go.
I would say that a utility gun sacrifices some features or functions while emphasizing others in order to make it handier or more readily accessible when needed. Like a Swiss Army knife, it can fill a variety of rolls without necessarily excelling at any one of them like a dedicated tool. In other words, a utility gun is enough to get the job done but not necessarily the most powerful or farthest-reaching option. Utilitarian trade-offs can include the use of sub-caliber ammunition, a shorter barrel, reduced ammunition capacity and/or a simplified action type. These design choices in turn make the gun lighter, more compact, reduce levels of felt recoil or make the gun less expensive.
With this utility gun definition in hand, one of the first cartridge options that comes to mind is the humble .410-bore. This shell often gets short shrift when compared to the power and payload of the ubiquitous 12-gauge or the more mild-mannered 20-gauge. But it's difficult to argue utilitarian flexibility of this slim shot shell. Commonly available in 2.5-inch and 3-inch lengths, .410-bore ammunition is available filled with lead birdshot, buckshot, rifled slugs and mixed payloads intended for self defense. In some cases, these guns are configured to safely chamber and fire .45 Colt revolver cartridges as well. Here are four recently released .410-bore utility guns I’ve worked with that are worthy of consideration.
Rossi Single-Shot SS Poly Tuffy .410 Shotgun
If there is an 'original' .410 Bore utility gun it would have to be the compact-size, break-action single-barrel shotgun. Manufactured by a variety of companies over the years, these svelte one-shots have been enjoyed by generations of youthful and seasoned outdoor enthusiasts. Their hinged actions make them ruggedly reliable and simple to operate. Ideally suited for use as a camp gun, trunk gun or for just walking the property, a handy single-shot .410 can be put to work as a training gun for new shotgun shooters, for harvesting small game and dispatching pests.
Recently I had the opportunity to test drive the latest generation of the 18.5-inch barrel Rossi USA Tuffy .410 single shot which sports a useful set of up-to-date features. The first thing I noticed is how light it is—just 2-pounds 14.5-ounces. This weight reduction was made possible due to a judicious use of polymer throughout, including the receiver. Twisting out the front sling-swivel stud allows the fore-end to be removed so the gun can be divided for even more compact storage.
All too often with polymer-stocked utility and survival guns, it seems like the potential usefulness of hollow shoulder stocks goes to waste (they should at least have a storage compartment, right?). But the Tuffy’s thumbhole stock has been modified with left and right-side shell holders to secure up to eight rounds of 2.5- or 3-inch shells. The Tuffy is available with Black, Gray, OD Green or Tan polymer stocks with a suggested retail price of $187.99. See the #SundayGunday video for the Tuffy by following this link, or read the range test write-up here.
Rossi Brawler Single-Shot .45 Colt/.410-Bore Pistol
In years past, Rossi has offered factory configured pistols based on their break-action long guns. Using the same hinged receivers as their rimfire and .410-bore models, these pistols have sported revolver grips in place of a shoulder stock. They provided the simplicity and affordable prices that folks like in single-shot long guns, but in a much more compact package. However, these Rossi single-shot pistols have not been available for a while now.
In 2023, the company revived their single-shot .45 Colt/.410 Bore pistol with a new name: The Brawler. They also gave the platform a much needed face lift and feature update inspired by improvements made to the Tuffy shotguns. It also has a slab-side, 9-inch rifled barrel, a factory-installed rail for red-dot optics and a hand-filling, recoil-absorbing rubber grip borrowed from the Taurus Raging Hunter revolver series.
A nice touch with the Brawler is that the optics rail is grooved and fitted with a serrated, square-notch rear sight paired with a polymer blade sight up front. This allows the pistol to be put to work right out of the box while making the gun optics-ready without the need for any additional components or modifications.
An all-steel Rossi single-shot pistol I worked with years ago tipped the scale at 5-pounds. The Brawler weighs in at significantly lighter 2-pounds 4.7-ounces which makes it more pleasant to handle and transport in the field. It proved to be a hoot to shoot, with or without a red-dot optic, at a suggested retail price of $257.99. See a more thorough range evaluation here.
Taurus Home Defender .45 Colt/.410-Bore Revolver
The utility of the Taurus Judge revolver has been called into question ever since its initial launch in 2006. This is due in no small part to Federal regulations which group smooth-bore handguns with short-barrel shotguns, machine guns and sound suppressors. In order to sell a revolver over the counter, without the hassle of NFA paper work, it must have a rifled bore and be chambered for a typical handgun cartridge. If the cylinder and frame of a rifled-barrel .45 Colt just happen to be long enough to chamber and fire .410 Bore shot shells as well, then a .45 Colt/.410 revolver still qualifies as a handgun rather than being classified as a short-barrel shotgun.
Over the years Taurus has sold truckloads of Judge revolvers in various configurations with barrels between 2 to 6.5-inches in length. For 2023, the company gave this gun a new twist. Intended to compete with non-NFA “firearms” like the Mossberg Shockwave, the Judge Home Defender is fitted with a 13-inch barrel, a set of cylinder gap shields, a 5-shot cylinder sized for 3-inch .410-bore shells and a factory-installed optics rail in place of a set of iron sights.
So where does this revolver fit into the .410 utility gun category? The extended 13-inch barrel’s rifling causes shot loads to spin, just like the 6.5-inch or shorter barrels. Birdshot and buckshot loads still open up quickly which limits useful shot patterns to distances of around 5 to 10 yards. However, the long barrel, paired with a red-dot optic, successfully tighten up the .45 Colt group sizes. A 6.5-inch Judge I tested in the past printed 5-shot groups around 3 to 3.5 inches at 15-yards. The Home Defender punched out a 1.06-inch group at the same distance. This means the Home Defender has a much longer reach with .45 Colt than previous models. For a more detailed walk through of this $757.99 hybrid revolver’s performance, click here.
KelTec KSG410 Pump-Action Shotgun
KelTec's KSG410 is one of the more unusual .410 bores released in recent years. This pump-action shotgun was developed in answer to customer requests for a softer-shooting version of this company's signature KSG 12-gauge platform. Just like the larger-gauge versions, it has dual magazine tubes which allow the KSG410 to be loaded with up to 14+1 rounds of 2.5-inch or 10+1 rounds of 3-inch shells. It also makes it possible to stoke the KSG with two different types of ammunition at the same time. Fill one tube with 2.5-inch birdshot loads for pest control. Flipping the three-position magazine selector lever will feed from the other tube which can be loaded with something more potent like 3-inch slugs or 5-pellet buckshot rounds.
Like other KSG models, the KSG410 is intended primarily for use as a defensive shotgun. But it can be tucked into the utility-gun category for a few good reasons. The extensive use of polymer throughout its construction shaves the KSG410's weight down to 5-pounds 1-ounce, unloaded. The bull-pup configuration gives it an overall length of just 26.1-inches with an 18.5-barrel. However, the company opted for a fixed-cylinder-bore choke, or no choke at all. This sets the KSG410 squarely in the utility category with lead birdshot patterns of 10 to 12 inches at 7-yards. Buckshot patterns were just under 2-inches at the same distance.
This model ships with a fiber-optic front sight mounted into a tall polymer carry handle. The company also offers an aluminum Picatinny-rail kit to replace the carry handle for those who prefer to use a micro-red-dot optic. The KSG410 has suggested retail prices starting at $495 for black polymer furniture; a full review of this pump-action is available here.
