Why aren't there any heavier .410 slugs?

[SHR970]

But if you want decent range and some reasonable confidence about where the shot will land, a hollow-base slug designed to fly well out of a smoothbore will be your only option.

Think Brenneke. The wad stays attached and provides it a bulk of its stability. So again, why not go into the 150-170 gr. range? That is still light for caliber and should be reasonably accurate. You'll still need a fair amount of tail on that wad for a 2 1/2" shell which would make it a very weight forward design.

 

[MCgunner]

I am a wilderness survival skills enthusiast first and foremost, and hunting is only a "sub-activity" to me. I like taking to the woods for days or even weeks on end alone on foot, and taking all kinds of game along the way. Versatility with a single weapon is thus EXTREMELY important to someone like me, as I obviously cannot lug around several long arms simultaneously.

Well, my favorite dove gun is a 20 gauge Spartan coach gun, deadly on birds. I've shot teal with it, but have better guns for that. Thing is, though, the gun may not be as light as a Snake Charmer, but barely over 5 lbs my guess. It has interchangeable chokes. One can put a slug in the left barrel (rear trigger) choked cylinder, a shot load in the right (front trigger) choked either I/C or mod or, if you're me, I choked the gun I/C-Mod and leave it that way. Slugs shoot fine in a IC or Mod choke in the gun. I normally leave the I/C in the right, but I'd swap sides with the chokes for use as a combo gun, load the slug on the rear trigger is more intuitive for me for some reason.

I carry a couple of slugs when I'm dove hunting my place in case I see a hog while I'm hunting birds, lots of 'em there. I don't load the gun with a slug, just have 'em in a pocket just in case I hear hogs coming. But, a coach gun such as this makes a DANDY combination gun IMHO and it even fits inside my back pack broken down, often carry it that way strapped to my KLR650 when I go dove hunting. I'm too old and out of shape for much back packing anymore, so I ride Bugger, my KLR.

I realize 20 gauge ammo is a might heavier than .410 and bulkier, but it's a lot more compact than 12 gauge and a 20 gauge slug is 55 caliber or something near 'bouts, can do plenty damage at 50 yards. My gun groups foster slugs quite well. There's a little overlap in the barrel regulation, but not enough to sneeze at at 50 yards.

I had a Charter Arms AR7 once. Talk about compact and light and you can carry a 550 pack of .22 in the same space as a box of 20 gauge. No, it's not very powerful, but the gun was 1" at 25 yards accurate. In a true survival situation, killing deer would be a matter of a well placed head shot out to 50 yards. I realize the gun is illegal for hunting deer most states including Texas, but you did say "survival".

Also, a 20 gauge H&R single shot is lighter than my Spartan. I'd rather have the Spartan for actual use, though. I had a 20 gauge H&R. The Spartan is much lighter on my shoulder. Hell, my 12 gauges are lighter on my shoulder, especially my gas gun.

Just some off the wall thoughts on your conundrum. I think, though, there are better solutions than .410. JMHO. I'm a hunter, not a survivalist. I know what it takes to actually TAKE a deer, have taken dozens these last 50 years, none with shotguns, all with rifles and handguns, and a muzzle loader this year. In the future, I hope to use a compound bow and Rambo one. Just trying to put myself in your position and pontificate some possible solutions.

Have fun on the trail!

Oh, also, in a survival (only in a survival) situation if I didn't have a slug, I'd cut a shot shell. I wouldn't do that on a full choked .410, though, would almost SURELY wind up with no face or something. But, when I was young and stupid, I did it with a 16 gauge single shot 30" full choke gun and still have that gun and it's in fine mechanical shape to this day. The "old timers" during the depression used this technique cause slugs were hard to come by and not cheap.

 

[MCgunner]

Oh, BTW, in west Texas, where I've hunted a lot, I've taken a lot of rabbit with a .38 WC for camp meat from a J or a K frame revolver. I do it at night in the headlights of my truck driving out to the pasture i wanna hunt, legal for rabbits in Texas. On foot, one could use a LED headlamp for the light. The rabbits freeze in the light making for a stationary target.

There are ways to do things if you're in a survival mode. But, another option is a .38/.357 magnum handi rifle, very versatile. I have a .357 Rossi lever carbine, 1.5" groups at 50 yards with a 105 SWC at 900 fps (small game), 4" groups at 100 yards with a 165 grain Keith SWC at 1900 fps, killer deer/hog load to 100 yards.

 

[Jaymo]

Parkalese also makes a 2.5" .410 load with 4 0000 (.375") buck pellets, and a 3" load with 5 of them.
They also make a a slug load for .410 that may interest you.