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Kyle, a 404 page pops up if a visitors tries to access a URL on your site , however the server is unable to find that page on your site. A 301 redirect on the other hand is a technique to forward a particular URL  permanently to another page. Based on what i read in your question, you should have the 301 redirects set to your home page and not the 404 page. If you set them to a 404 page with your home page link on it then the visitor has to take an extra step to reach your home page and try to find the info they are looking for.