Investarm .410 - November 22, 2000

For many people their only gun has been a 410, usually just to keep rabbits away from the lettuces and perhaps an odd rat in the garden that needs attention. I think that most shooters that live in the country would probably have a 410 in their armoury for just such an occasion, as well as anything else that they may own.

In most instances these would normally be a single barrelled gun; probably a Belgian folding 410, of which there are still many around. Though unfortunately many were never cleaned and now after many years of use are now very much the worse for wear. This is largely due to the fact that relatively speaking, they were always cheap guns and also it is only in recent years that 410 cleaning kits have become more available. And as most people usually keep a 410 purely as a tool for the job of vermin control, so the tendency is not to bother and look after them too well as might be the case if resale value were important.

But of course as with any calibre, it is always nice and often essential- particularly for a shooter of my limited ability- to have two shots. If only just to permit the coup de grace. So although not quite as common there are a few double barrelled 410's around though these are usually still of the Belgian folding variety with exposed hammers. And as 410's are often used to give young shooters the essential training in safety and gun handling that all of us need to master at the start of our shooting careers; hammers on guns can just complicate things a little.

One of the problems for manufacturers making 410's is to make them cheap enough so that people will buy them, yet obviously they still need to be cost effective in production, and the cheapest form of 410 for many years was the hammer variety.

For value for money mass production we often as not look to Italy as the main gunmakers in the world. Some years ago now Investarm started to produce a 410 double barrel at very much the value for money end of the market. Not only was the gun double barrelled , but OU to boot.

OU guns have certainly become the popular type of gun over the last twenty years, so to have a cheaper style 410 has certainly proved to be a winner.

I first became aware of the Investarm about 10 years ago now, and although here we are talking about a 410 they are also made in 20 and 12 bore.

As is suggested by the price these guns are very basic, though they work on the same principle of most well known guns such as the Browning or the Miroku, with the hammers being powered by coil springs; with the hammers themselves pivoting from the bottom and the sears at the top of the action pivoting downwards.

Where the Investarm is a very different gun from the more conventional type, is in the way that it re-cocks after firing. With most gun the hammers are cocked by the opening action of the gun. Usually there will be a cocking lever that is pushed back by a cam in the forend. This cocking lever will either drive a couple of cocking dogs or directly bear onto the hammers and push them back, so compressing the mainsprings as they do so, until the hammer reaches full cock and is held back by the sear.

With the Investarm, because it is a folding gun. In other words when opened, the barrels can fold all the way down to virtually touch the stock. There is no way for there to be a forend driven cocking lever, so the way in which it cocks is by the top lever. And it is quite noticeable that the Investarms top lever will push much further across than a conventional gun; almost to the three o'clock position if looked down on.
There are perhaps a couple of snags with this. Firstly because as well as opening the gun, the shooter is pushing back the full weight of the mainsprings- if both have been fired- this can make the top lever harder to push across. The second is to make sure that the top lever is pushed as far as it will go, because if not then the hammers may not be fully cocked and consequently they will not fire. The lever has to be pushed to almost the ninety degree position and at that point it will remain across until the gun is closed when it will be released and will then come across to lock the gun closed.

The fact that the gun is folding and the barrels drop down to hit you on the knees is also a little inconvenient for some, but I have fitted a lock to stop this happening for some.

On the plus side there are a couple of very nice features about this gun. One is the single trigger which only fires under to over, but that really is not a problem on a gun of this type, particularly when the chokes probably the same on each barrel.

The action is finished with a plain silver finish, and some stripes milled on each side.
The barrels have no side ribs fitted as this is certainly a cheaper way of manufacture, and are fitted with a thin rib, file cut to reduce glare, and finished with a brass fore sight. Chambers are a useful 3" magnum so any 410 cartridge may be used. Length is 28".

Stock and forend are made of beech, which looks and is cheap, but that is one of the main objectives of this gun. Having said that, the forend is a schnabel shape, which adds to the overall look. Stock length is 14 ¼ ", and finished with a thin plastic butt plate. The length is short enough for most youngsters, yet long enough for the rest of us considering that it is probably a gun that will not be used a great deal.
There are no major problems that these guns suffer with. There are a couple of screws in the trigger that can work loose and foul the second barrel pick up. And the rod that pushes the selector block back when opening the gun, can come loose in its screw hole fixing. But in both cases these can be secured with loctite and will give no more trouble. I have also known one or two to double discharge on occasion, but this is cured by increasing the sear engagement.

Overall an excellent value for money starter gun or one just for vermin control.
There is little to compete with them at this price, and you can expect to pay about£80 to £130 for one depending on condition. Investarm 410's are now available new with an engraved action and non-folding for £225.

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