I don't understand why you think this is a bad idea - 301 redirects exist for a reason. Redirecting to what the user probably wants is better than a 404 page.
That said, typically most people are going to find a site via search or clicking a link, which is why I think basically no one bothers doing this.
301 is "Moved Permanently". The content in question wasn't (necessarily) moved. If you control and know for sure that old URL was renamed to something else, then yes - 301 redirect is appropriate. But guessing and redirecting isn't that.
That said, typically most people are going to find a site via search or clicking a link, which is why I think basically no one bothers doing this.