Big Game / Little Gun

[461]

Anybody taken game with a .410? Anybody taken a deer with .410 slugs? No, I'm not advocating it at all just wondering if anybody has seen it. I reload .410 for my little Springfield Armory M6 and was wondering today why the .410 is in so many guns built as "Survival Weapons". I personally would think the 20ga. would be of more use for game getting.

I like the .410 for small game and am a big fan of it for plinking as long as I'm loading it and not buying it. My kids have actually used the M6 for trap shooting and my son broke 9 birds with it. Any other .410 fans out there?

 

[WhiteKnight]

wondering today why the .410 is in so many guns built as "Survival Weapons". I personally would think the 20ga. would be of more use for game getting.

Size of shells

(read "m9 over 1911" and "m16 over m14")

 

[huntsman]

The thing you have to remember in a survival situation your not worried about rules of fair chase or hunting as in sport, the object is to kill for food and while you want to dispatch you critter as quickly as possible other things may be more important.

The .410 will have less report than a 20 and weight of shells and gun would be less, but I think the 20 would offer a better choice in personal defense.

As a survival tool the .410 would have some advantanges, I think it would be of more use than a .22.

I've used an old .410 SXS to hunt bunnies with beagles, but never tried slugs or shot birds with it.

 

[kudu]

Unfortunately Indiana added the .410 to it's list of approved deer hunting shotguns. I have heard of several people losing wounded deer because of this, but then again I have heard of lots of peole losing wounded deer with their 12gauges.

As for power with .410 slugs, it's about like a hot .38+P or a low end .357 mag. Just marginal for our sometimes 200#+ whitetail deer around here. Since Iniana doesn't allow rifles to hunt deer with, I guess we will take what we can get.

 

[Gordon]

I am dove and Quail hunting this season for the first time with my .410 Citori It seems to like 7 1/2 shot in Winchester max loads and if I AIM it just right the clay birds or game crumples to less than 40 yds shots! My son has an M-6 in .22hornet and .410 over in Hawaai . The .22hornet actually kills neck/head shot deer /pigs pretty well under 50 yds. He keeps 000 buckshot 3 pellets in the .410 barrel for SD . I carry 5 of those 000 loads in my shell belt because my dove hunting is in the back country and I think a couple of those in my Citori would discourage mountain lion or human vermin! I draw the line on .410 at pheasant (or grouse as I'm not that good!) where I move to a 20 gauge. Migratory game birds require steel so I shoot a 12ga 3" Rem 1100 or my 10ga BPS, same for Turkey with lead shot! But 100 degree hunts on close quail and doves the .410 seems sweet!

 

[crawfish]

YEP. I use a Ruger Red Label 28g with a set of .410 barrel inserts for birds, rabbits, and squirrel. I have a friend who uses the .410 even for ducks. He knows the limitations of the .410 and never tries to extend them. BTY in the web site and in their printed material for the Tree Lounge tree stand there is a picture of an 11-12 year old boy who killed the #3 whitetail in his state (I think IL). He was using the Tree Lounge of course but the write up also says he used a .410 with slugs to kill that deer one shot.