410 load choice opinion

[sixty7chevy]

Will be hunting in a new location this year, up around Comanche, Texas area. Know a few people from the area and after hearing about the abundance of rattlers I've decided to carry my little 410 (youth w/ 18" barrel) on my back while sitting in brush with bow or levergun. I know birdshot is best for snakes but I'm wondering what's the best compromise if I also want to carry some buckshot/self defense loads if a stubborn butt pig/coyote/bobcat decides to get too close. Its a single shot and I have a shell holder on the butt, I'll just carry both loads. So what's the best load for both applications?

 

[SHR970]

Find which slug groups best and use that.

Any shell in #7 1/2, 8, or 9 will make short work of a buzztail.

 

[plumberroy]

Federal 410 handgun #4buck has shot real good for me in several 410's all 4 pellets inside 6 inches @ 20 yards in most shotguns I have tried
Roy

 

[sixty7chevy]

Wish I could afford to test a variety but I think ill try some slugs and #4 buck and see what I like best, thanks guys.

 

[BADUNAME37]

We don't have rattlers here and I have never lived in a place where there are rattlers.

With that being said, I would think any size shot from about 4 to 8 would work out to, say 15' to 20' or so. A larger pellet than size 4 and there is a reduction in the number of pellets--especially in the .410 cartridge--which may be self-defeating! With every gun, there is a certain "point of diminished-return!" Especially so with the extremely small capacity of the .410 shell! I have some buckshot and each of the cartridges has three pellets lined up in a row, that is it!

For the other critters you mentioned, you, more than likely, need a quality slug. If shooting slugs, I would buy a number of quality cartridges (that you can bet your life on) and shoot twenty or so to get a feel for how accurate you can expect the slugs to be at certain distances you feel you may need to shoot and just how to hold to achieve the desired point of impact!

 

[Justin Holder]

Winchester Super-X 3" 3/4oz. #6 shot is my choice for a "heavy" .410 load.

 

[Maple_City_Woodsman]

There is no point in using buchshot in a .410 other than 000. Even with No.4 buck, you still cant get two pellets side by side, so you end up with a single stack of pellets anyway. May as well use the bigger pellet, because you don't loose any capacity.

Winchester loads a 5 pellet 000 buckshot load for 3" .410 bore. It is excellent, and patterns very tightly out of most guns.

 

[Bud Tugly]

For snakes up close any birdshot shell with #6 to #9 shot with blow them to bits. For bigger critters I agree with the 000 shot in a 3" shell. Winchester and Federal both sell shells with 5 of those pellete and it is a formidable load at close range.

Some folks sneer at the little .410 but it can be deadly on small game out to 25 yards or so with the right load.

 

[Gordon]

The Winchester PDX1 load has 3 discs and 12 pellets of #4 plated shot and is touted to do exactly what you want. However I'd trust the Winchester Super X 3" 3/4 oz of #4 shot to have a better pattern for the snakes. It will blow them apart up to about 30 feet! Any critter under 50 pounds getting that load of #4 up to about 50 feet or maybe a little better is gonna be pretty dead. A human under 10 feet or so of that 3/4 oz of #4 is gonna be hurting for certain and down and out IMHO. #4 birdshot penetrates 10-12" of ballistic gelatin for you nay sayers.

 

[barnetmill]

A shovel or stout walking stick will do in a rattler, but of course any birdshot load will do most snakes quite readily. The only exception where a shotgun is called for is really big snakes like an 8 foot rattler that you do not want to be too close to or some of the bigger pythons that are now crawling around some places in florida and georgia. Another snake that I would want a shotgun for are the spitting cobras and to the best of my knowledge these do not live as imports in USA.

 

[Jeff F]

6 or 71/2 shot loads for the snakes will kill em dead. I just use a stick most of the time.

 

[sixty7chevy]

Thanks for all the comments guys. And to the couple that suggested sticks/shovels... those tools are great for around the house, however out in the brush, with rattlers, ill take the 410