Hey guys I have never seriously hunted a .410, but I'm going to hunt the Salvinelli .410 I posted about. I'm not positive what chokes it has but appears to be M/IC by the measurements. It'll primarily be a grouse gun, so I'm thinking 5 or 6 shot, does that sound right? It's a 3" gun with 26" barrels and a non-selective single trigger.

I'm wondering if there's a brand/configuration that's usually a solid performer, as well as any to avoid. I'll pattern them to confirm. I was offered some steel 6 shot but don't have any experience with steel. Don't want to shoot any steel if it'll damage the gun. Figured someone would know where to start...

I would go with 7 1/2 or 8. You want to get the pellet count up in a .410. At grouse ranges you should have plenty of pellets and energy out of a 3" .410 for grouse.
I use 8's in my 20 early season and go to 6's late season after the leaves drop.
In my 20 I like to use AA sporting (I buy them by the case for Sporting clays) but any good clays load (AA,STS,Gun Club or Top Gun) will work.
The premium clays loads have harder shot than the cheap "promo" loads. You don't need a premium copper plated hunting load for grouse.

Thanks, that's a good start. Any thoughts on using steel?

No clue on the steel , but if it doesn't have to be used to be legal I wouldn't . I like 7 1/2s in a 16 ga 870.

I like 8 shot for mountain grouse, not sure on which .410 loads though.

It does not take many pellets to bring down grouse.

I wouldn't waste a chance at putting dinner on the table by using it in a sub guage gun. If you are in a area that requires steel break out the 12.

This is an eye opener. Sounds like I need to stick with smaller shot. Anxious to shoot this shotgun.

Grouse are not hard to kill, just hard to hit.
If you can shatter a clay pigeon at 35 yards you can kill a grouse with the same shot size. You want a big full pattern.
My BIL uses his 12 gauge with 1 1\4 oz pheasant loads. He blows them away. Not much left to eat.

I concur on the recommendation to use small shot. I love using my .410's for forest grouse, and even for prairie birds on occasion, but nothing bigger than #6 shot is worth using in my guns, patterns get very patchy real quick in most .410 guns when shooting any larger sizes.

While you are patterning you might want to try Winchester AA Sporting 8's and Remington STS Sporting 8's I have played with a couple ,410's that patterned better with these than with 3" shells. 25 yards is about the max for clean kills with a .410 and these loads are deadly on doves and quail at the distance.

Side benefit these loads are much cheaper than 3" hunting loads.

Michael

Fireball, are you shooting blues or ruffed grouse? I've shot a lot (well, keep in mind that they aren't easy if you wingshoot them....)of ruffs, and a few blues. Ruffs tend to be closer to the gun when they flush and you'll want a bigger pattern at close range, so I'd say 7 1/2 or 8 lead shot, and a 3" shell to get the most shot a .410 can handle.

Blues tend to flush high and far and with a .410 I'd use 6s. And I hope you are one hell of a wingshot--they aren't easy even with a 12, as you probably know.

Some "experts" say a .410 shouldn't be used for wingshooting at all. I've seen some ACTUAL experts kill just about all upland birds except turkeys with a .410. But they were real experts--expert wingshots, careful gun choice, and with specifically developed handloads were based on a lot of experience and knowledge with shotguns in general and .410s in particular. (I stick to cottontails, quail, and clays with MY .410s....).

Beautiful gun; have fun!

(P.S. If you don't get detailed answers on the use of steel in that Salvinelli, I'd suggest you ask over on the "Double Shotguns" forum of the www.doublegunshot.com/BBS site. California is mandating steel shot for upland in a couple of years and I suspect there is a lot of experimentation going on among the .410 crowd!).

Mesa,
Funny thing I used to chase blues all over the mountains when bowhunting, but since I've switched to shotgun I can't buy a blue. Ruff is the normal victim. I'm not worried about the ruff, I normally get close when I'm picking berries and whatnot.

If I ever get within range of a blue I'll probably just throw the gun at them out of sheer surprise.

I hunt everything else with a 28 gauge SxS and 6 shot. Pheasant occasionally, chukar, quail, grouse. Deadly.

Thanks for the link Mesa, I'll go check that out!

Link no worky.

A couple years ago, out of boredom my buddies and I made up a contest while hunkered down in one of our goose pits. We challenged each other to kill at least one goose that season with each of the common gauges- 10 through .410. We all pulled it off by the end of the season, then a wise guy showed up with a 14 gauge muzzle loader and broke the tie.

It wasn't the stunt you might think it was with the .410. We gun over decoys, are blessed with tons of geese, and can pick and choose our shots. Let a honker come in low and slow, wait until it's 20 yards away, and aim for the head. Bingo, the .410 with a load of #6 Bismuth puts them down.

I PM'd Fireball2 about his need for .410 ammo, and am the guy with the steel. I stumbled upon a gun store that was closing and bought 40 boxes of 410, 30 of 16ga and 40 of 28ga.

The 16 and 28 were Fiocchi golden pheasant, which I know work well, but I had the same trepidation about the Federal steel loads in .410

I set my notions aside and just started using it. It broke clay and quail just like lead. I think a big part of this is that with a .410 in hand I don't feel comfortable taking long shots, so I don't. I never really gave it a chance to fail keeping my shots inside 20 yards or so.

I wish I had found a screaming deal on the same loads in lead, but I'm pretty pleased at the way it has played out so far.

I'd shoot them in a flash if I thought the gun would handle them w/o damage. I'm pretty protective of the little girl. I just have zero experience with steel shot.

I hear you. No sense is possibly damaging a gun like that!

I had two boxes of Italian 410 3" shells with 7 shot...not 7 1/2.

It was by far the best choice for upland shooting in a 410, IMO.

I wish I could find some now.