For many shooters, the 410 shotgun represents a lot of fun and demands a lot of skill at the same time. Legions of shooters started out on single shot 410s or pump action shotguns and over the years it has found its way into revolvers, derringers, and even AR-pattern rifles.
In 2018 I was the editor of Tactical World Magazine. A writer pitched me a story on a manufacturer and importer who was producing an AR with a polymer lower and a 410 shotgun upper receiver. Although I’m a fan of firearms regardless of design or purpose; this magazine had a goal and I had to tell him “410 shotguns really have no place in a tactical magazine geared toward SWAT officers and the military. I’m going to have to pass on it.” He worked his pitch on another editor and all I could think was, “That really sounds like a fun gun.”
It turned out to be true. I got a chance to fire a number of ATI’s guns since then including their 410 Omni AR-15. They make good guns at an affordable price point and are always improving on what they have done before. Now, they are offering their 410 upper receiver to mount on your very own lower receiver.
What’s in the box?
ATI packed the upper soundly including a complete upper receiver, a heavy-weight buffer, two 5-round magazines, a magazine loader, a set of flip-up sights, and an extra 15-round magazine. The kit normally comes with one 5-round magazine, ATI included these for a more comprehensive review. You can order spare magazines from ATI or Gunmagwarehouse.com.
Description
The barrel is stainless steel and 18.5 inches in length. It is threaded M16 x 1 and fitted with a muzzle device. ATI sells external choke tubes that will fit this pattern. The rail and receiver have a nice matte black finish that blend well with most AR lowers and there are MLOK slots at the first third of the rail so you can add lights or lasers.
It makes for a very nice-looking upper receiver.
I popped it on one of my spare lower receivers that was taking up room in the safe. This was a Radical Firearms lower with a Magpul MOE stock and pistol grip and a Maritime style bolt catch. I replaced the stock’s buffer with the heavyweight provided by ATI and popped on the upper. I mounted the included sights but decided to up it a little by mounting a Lucid Optics M7 red dot sight.
Lucid M7
This is a well-thought-out Micro Red Dot Sight that is lightweight, tough, and looks good. It uses Lucid’s proven M5 reticle that is said to shave time getting on target by over 25% as compared to a conventional red dot. It has 11 brightness settings to provide a clear reticle sight picture in everything from ultra-bright sunlight all the way down to running with night vision. It has over 1000 hours of battery Life.
The modular mounting system allows the optic to be placed on a Picatinny rail in a low (AK) setting to an (AR) Mil Spec, Lower 1/3 Co-witness height, making it very versatile.
Initially, I wanted to go as low as possible to shoot it more like a shotgun than an AR, but found the flip-up sights getting in the way, so I used the included AR riser and mounted it a little farther forward than I would have.
Ammo
The upper is only rated for 410 shotshells that are 2.5 inches in length. I had a good variety on hand ranging from birdshot to buckshot to slugs and a few dual-purpose self-defense loads. I tend to think of 410 as a shotgun for skeet, clays, and birds. However, I do realize there are a lot of states that permit 410 slugs for deer hunting. I doubt I’d try that in the West, but part of reviewing these guns is to help you make an informed decision when buying one, so I made sure I had plenty of slugs and splurged on a few extra boxes.
It’s a bit tricky loading these magazines due to the rim on the shell. Once you get the hang of it, though, they load pretty quickly. The magazines fit pretty tight into the receiver, I rubbed a light coat of CLP on the exterior to help. They loaded into the magazine well and engaged the magazine catch just fine, but they just wouldn’t drop free. After a while, they seemed to work their way in and out just fine.
The Range
I had one issue with the ATI 410 upper. It was the first round in the first magazine failing to chamber. I chalked it up to “new gun blues.” I ejected it and the next round chambered fine. For that matter, every other round fired chambered just fine and there were zero issues afterward regardless of which magazine was used.
The Lucid M7 was more than capable and I could not believe how fast I could acquire the dot and fire with the 410. A piece of advice to many dedicated shotgun shooters would be to aim this as you would a rifle. Do not think of it as shooting a shotgun.
The ATI 410 upper with the Lucid optic is accurate enough with slugs to be used for deer hunting. However, the hunter must be aware of their limitations as well as the limitations of the short 2.5-inch 410 shotgun slug. You’re not going to shoot a deer from five feet away. Shot placement will be critical here to humanely harvest a deer. Make sure that you and the gun are up for the task.
For a complete fun gun, just plinking at targets, clays, etc. the ATI 410 upper is a winner. MSRP is $399.95
For more information see ATI.
