Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting .410 interesting!

In the lastest issue of a New Hampshire wildlife monthly hunting and fishing publication they had posted pictures submitted of the early youth hunting weekend here in NH. One of the lucky youngsters is proudly displaying his first NH deer taken. He used a .410 with slugs! I understand he is young and probably recoil sensitive, but I have never heard of a .410 being used to take deer. It is fascinating to me..never thought about it! I understand a well placed shot with smaller loads is the key, but this is interesting! Anyone have any info. or stories on the .410 being used to take deer?

shot my first deer with grandpa's "soap box" single shot .410-wish I still had the gun but my dad had to sell it in some tough times...

Dave

.410's with slugs around Indiana is considered legal for deer, I have heard of more deer lost than deer killed because of its lack of killing power.
I wouldnt use myself and consider 50yds pushing it.

It has been done. I have a friend who killed his first with one. I bought some on a whim one time. Shot them from my 7 year olds Spartin 410. Accurate enough at bow ranges anyway. Probably more deadly than an arrow. He now has a 223 for deer but prefers my Ruger 44 mag carbine.

What do people use those lever guns in 410 for???

Probably not a real effective deer slayer but I love a 410 for the neat factor. There is also a buck shot load for them I believe.

.....One man's opinion........This is a question that I've seen come up several times on our forum...... The 410 slug weighs in at 1/5 of an ounce, that makes the projectile about the same weight as a 380 auto slug! With a velocity just a step up from the 380 pocket pistol it should be clear to humane hunters of such revered game as the whitetail deer, that this is NOT an appropriate choice to hunt deer with. Whether or not it is legal in your state,(and it is NOT in many, or most states) humane considerations for our quarry ought to preclude it's use.It has long been a measure among ballistically knowledgeable people that a humane minimum energy level for deer should be a thousand foot pounds of energy. The little 410 doesn't come close, and would be best used on game in the raccoon size category, or to dispatch trapped animals along a trap line run.

Not a chance.An arrow with a sharp broadhead shot from even a light bow will outpenetrate a 410 slug in almost any circumstance.And in most cases, the animal will bleed out much quicker with the arrow.

Will a 410 kill deer?Sure,but I'd be much more confident of a clean kill with my bow.And like Tom said, I've heard of a lot of deer not recovered when shot with 410's.

A .22 lr with kill deer over and over, so I am sure a .410 is plenty as long as you limit distance and have a good shoot.

My daughter has taken a couple deer with her 410 using 3 inch slugs in her NEF. They did not travel far at all. They were within 50 yards.

It is a pipsqueak for sure. I can't imagine the accuracy is anything to rave about, so surgical shot placement might be a little iffy. Recently a feller on another forum was bragging about hitting a Cool Whip bowl at 50 yards with his .410 slugs. Not much of an accuracy standard to brag about IMHO. Missouri legalized the .410 at the same time they authorized .22 center fires several years back. Personally, I'd much prefer a .223 with a good stout bullet to a .410 shotgun slug.

I guess we'd better quit using 41 magnums, 44 magnums, etc on deer, too. They're about the same size slug, and at about the same velocities.

while the bore diameter is roughly the same, the approx 80 gr .410 foster type slug cannot hold a candle to a stoutly constructed 200-300 gr handgun bullet.....

Absolutely correct! The 41 and 44 mag cartridges are not only more than three times heavier, but carry a proportionately greater energy as well. No real comparison between them. The 410 slug carries less energy at the muzzle than those pistol cartridges have out at 100 yards! .....So far as a 22rf killing deer, yeah the deer will likely die with a vital zone hit, but be assured (with less than a brain or spine hit) it will be in some far flung thicket likely far from the eyes of the cruel 'hunter' who'd so foolishly choose such a feeble round. The deer certainly deserve better!.....It never ceases to amaze me that we have 'hunters' who'd recommend such in-humane choices. A hunter ought to have enough respect for the animals whose lives he takes to choose chamberings that assure a rapid humane end to thier lives.For medium size game neither the 410 slug, or the 22rf measure up.

My first rifle was going to be a .410 slug, because my dad only had one rifle, and we couldn't afford to buy another. My uncle found out and quickly loaned me a .303brit.

Most of my family shot their first deer with a .410 slug.

It works, but wouldn't be my first choice.

In Ne .410 slugs are not legal for taking deer, shotgun slugs 20 guage or larger are required when using a shotgun to hunt deer.

Can't use them legally in WI either. But you can in MN where I grew up.

.410 is legal in kentucky

Then again, in my old Lyman 44th editiion Reloading Handbook it lists a slug from a Lyman mould at 238 grains. It goes on to give velocities of 1300+ to 1500+ fps from a 3" case. That's where I was coming from. It's on page 176 for those of you who have it.
If you shoot a Remington 1/5oz slug at a deer that's alot different; and the only way I'd use that on a deer is if it was charging me.

....Shotgun slugs loaded in the 410 (67ga.) shot shells are Foster style slugs which are hollow based projectiles the mass of lead weight being carried across the slugs rounded fore section. This design allows for a rudimentary means of stabilizing the projectiles flight where no rifling exists in the barrel to impart stability of flight. It works like sand in the toe of a sock, when flung at velocity the heavier fore section somewhat stabilizes the flight. A .41 caliber projectile made in the Foster style is but a fraction of the weight of a 41 caliber Lyman bullet mold for casting pistol bullets, which being solid castings will make the 234 grain weight, a bit more or less, depending on bullet length, that you've mentioned from the Lyman #44 reloading manual. My Lyman reloading manual number 47 doesn't have any shotgun slug molds listed at all. The #47 came out in 1991, your #44 is an earlier version I don't have. I can tell you that the velocities you've mentioned (1300-1500fps)with a 234 grain projectile would require breech pressures that would be questionable as to thier safety in a shotgun. Those velocities are high for even a much stronger hunting handgun. Perhaps you've confused ballistics meant to apply to pistol cartridge application, or perhaps it is a misprint.The 1500fps velocity mentioned is 60fps shy of the advertised velocity of 3" factory Foster slug loads at 1560fps, (remember those slugs are less than 90 grains in weight!).

....Be that as it may,I know of NO manufacturer in the world today who loads a 410 slug of a weight anywhere near 234 grain weight. Still it would be unfair to the little 410 slug loads to not note that they do carry a comparable energy level to a 357 magnum handgun load with the 158 grain bullet, at least to 40-50 yds. The shotgun slug drops energy fast after that because of it's poor ballistic coefficient. Many consider the 357 pistol suitable for deer hunting, I don't count myself in that camp, to me it is marginal (and illegal in some states).

....I think the 1000 ft.lb. minimum is a fair and balanced assessment, accounting for respect for our game animals/ risk of lost game/ and humane compassion for our quarry.

...Ultimately these questions are personal judgement choices. I put forth my position not with the idea that only MY opinion is valid, but because of a deep respect and appreciation for a noble game animal I've been blessed to pursue for more than 50 years now.

I put forth my opinion based on what I found when I looked it up in the aforementioned manual...and you're right, it's not in the newer ones.
It gives practically identical velocities for the same weight slug out of a 2 1/2" case, also. Nowhere that I see does it mention chamber pressures, only that they tested these loads in a Remington 11-48 with a 26" bbl.
This book was copyrighted in 1967, and I HAVE found that some of the rifle load combos are rather stiff, when compared to todays manuals...and that may indeed be the case here with these .410 loads. I don't accept responsibility for the accuracy of the loading manual, I'm just repeating what it says. I wish some of my other manuals had slug reloading info, but they don't, so there's nothing to compare this info to.