Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire what can you do with a 410

I have several 410 shotguns, load all my shells mostly 1/2 oz 7 1/2. They work fine up to game farm pheasants. Keep a small frame H&R loaded in 444 brass with #4 for raccoon

To be honest, I've never hunted them. We didn't have them when I was growing up. Now, we see them on the roads, once in a while, and I've got several friends that hunt them and they say there are plenty. Mostly in the creek bottoms.

I wanted a .410 "just because" and to keep pests out of the yard.

Ended up getting Browning BPS. FUN little gun!

Virgil B.

Agreed. I would not let my sons shoot a shotgun until they could handle light 20 gauge loads. They are both excellent wing shooters. My oldest limited on his first dove hunt at age 12.

Uhhmmm...... unless you can get a teacup sized pattern at 40 yards, I wouldn't expect a .410 to perform at 40 yards!
Do I KNOW that?
No.
Just color me skeptical.

Look, I have been mocked and laughed at because my usual turkey "ammo" is (12 ga) high velocity #8's.
I haven't had one walk away from a swarm of 8's to the noggin yet! So, I have no problem with the #9 TSS shot, I'm just skeptical of 40 yard shots with a .410.....even with #9 TSS shot.

https://www.charlieelk.com/2017/06/16/beyond-the-patterning-board-x-rays-of-shot-turkey-headnecks/

My Son has a .410 barrels for his Sporting Clays shotgun.

You can shoot 44 mag ammo in a H&R .410.

I shot my first pheasants with a .410.

I read far enough. This list is pretty complete. I've shot plenty of everything but Huns with a 410 and include ducks over deeks.

As far as wildazz Huns, anti-aircraft flack is almost enough. Ours are that wild.

"What can you do with a 410?"

Sherry drove the pickup through the alley on the side
Where a lawman tackled Sonny and was reading him his rights
She stepped into the alley with a single shot .410
The road goes on forever and the party never ends
They left the lawman lyin' and they made their getaway

Small pests in settled areas. Think of local farms with starling and pigeon problems. Offer to help them out. Your only problem is finding ammunition. Fun abounds

Guys, unless I missed it, no one is touting the .410 as a good general-purpose gun, a gun for beginners, or an all-around turkey slayer. It’s a specialty gun, a utility piece for certain uses, and a sporting choice when used with discretion within its capabilities. The pattern board doesn’t lie, in either direction, and it’s easy to see what’s possible and what’s best avoided. Based on patterns, I think 30 yards is a good, practical limit for flying birds, and with TSS, 40 on turkeys. Due to the small size of the pattern, some sort of sights seem like a good idea for ensuring the fairy dust goes where it’s needed on the gobblers. Personally, I wouldn’t choose one for Fall turkeys, but would definitely carry a couple of turkey loads if I were out for squirrels etc and the season was open, provided I’d tested them first with the Full or Modified tubes I’d typically be using for other game.

When we were squirrel hunting as kids and had our single shot 20 gauges (wishing they were 12 ga autos) my dad used an old Stevens 410 single shot. You can guess who always came back to the truck with the most game.

But why do that? You can shoot slugs out of a shotgun and they will be more accurate.

Haven't seen 410 shot ammo in forever, slugs even longer than that. 44 Mag, I can get.

My neighbor bought a single shot .410 to scare turkeys out of his yard.

They were making a heck of a mess, crapping all over his yard.

He shot one at 30 yards with a load of #9 shot, to scare it, and scared it to death!

Light shot out of a .410 WILL kill a turkey at 30 yards.

Virgil B.

The only .410 I own is a very small O/U labeled Abercrombie and Fitch, when that company was a safari outfitter and not a trash store for teenagers. The gun was made by Zoli in Italy.

The stock is short, the barrels are about 24 inches, all the screw slots line up with the long axis of the gun, and the receiver is color case hardened. Fixed chokes IC and Modified. The only things I don't like is it has two triggers and extractors, not ejectors. But the overall quality of the checkering exceeds a Browning Superposed. I shoot Skeet with it.

When thinning the herd, I tried to sell it for $1,000. No takers. I think I'll keep it, at least until I shoot up the AA factory loads I have.

I've never hunted with it. My go-to gun for upland hunting is a 28 gauge Browning O/U.

Carrying slugs when it isn't deer season is illegal in some states.

My little 410 patterns better with the TSS shot than my 12ga does with lead at 40 yards. They are pricey though.

I have been a proponent of #8's and #9's for turkeys since I started hunting them about 2000.

I refuse to pay exorbitant prices for turkey specific ammo when plane Jane, 1250fps, #8's will do the job just fine.
The target on a turkey is the head and neck. Three and a half inch #4's IS NOT necessary.....unless you try to body shoot a turkey!

My favorite, and most effective, duck ammo was a Remington "Hi-Brass" #9's.