410 FOR BIGGAME

[Dom]

I know they are plenty powerful enough to hunt biggame.My question is why it's not legal to use them in NY state?I hunt in a shotgun only county and they are a shot gun so why can they not be used for biggame.Also these 410's are very accurate we also cannot use the 28 guages what the heck.

[josephmrtn]

cause of the stupid lawmakers down in albany

[Pygmy]

A .410 slug is underpowered for big game.. Sure, it will kill a deer at close range with perfect shot placement, but so will a .22 rimfire, and that hardly makes the .22 a good deer round.

[Elmo]

How accurate are 410 slugs? Honest question I'm asking.

[Pygmy]

How accurate are 410 slugs? Honest question I'm asking.

Probably they are as accurate as 12 or 20 gauge slugs, all other things equal.

However, there are no rifled .410 bore shotguns made, so , like any other smoothbore, accuracy would depend on the individual gun... MOST .410s ( nearly all) that I have handled are full choke due to thier limited shot loads, and full choke guns do not tend to be as accurate with slugs as more open choked guns.

[Dom]

A .410 slug is underpowered for big game.. Sure, it will kill a deer at close range with perfect shot placement, but so will a .22 rimfire, and that hardly makes the .22 a good deer round.

I dont know about them being underpowered out to a 100yrds should be no prob.The led/bullet is much larger than some rifle bullets,the 243 has a much smaller bullet and that exepted as a deer/biggame gun/rifle.sure a lot smaller than the 410.

[ants]

I have heard of old timers putting .44 mag/.44 spl rounds in single shot 410 guns to shoot deer. Sounds nuts to me, but I guess they use to do it.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I have heard of old timers putting .44 mag/.44 spl rounds in single shot 410 guns to shoot deer. Sounds nuts to me, but I guess they use to do it.

I think it is 41 spec. and 41 mag. The bore of a .410 is 41 caliber. I have also heard of them being used to propell arrows buy cutting the shell off just above the wad base and sticking an arrow fletching first down the bore, but it isn't something I want to try either...lol i always carried 5 410 slugs with me when small game hunting years ago and they did shoot well out of it but I woulnd't imagine using it for deer.

[Pygmy]

I dont know about them being underpowered out to a 100yrds should be no prob.The led/bullet is much larger than some rifle bullets,the 243 has a much smaller bullet and that exepted as a deer/biggame gun/rifle.sure a lot smaller than the 410.

The .410 shoots a 95 grain slug at 1700- 1800 FPS muzzle velocity.

The .243 shoots a 100 grain bullet at 2800-2900 FPS muzzle velocity. No contest.

Some folks consider the .243 marginal/minimum for deer sized game.

As far as the .410 being illegal, it is true that there are some LEGAL calibers that are less powerful, such as many pistol and revolver calibers. Perhaps it should be legal. However it IS legal in many states and you don't see a whole bunch of people going out and buying a .410 to hunt deer with.

There are far too many better choices.

The point I am trying to make is that , although the .410 will kill deer at fairly short range with good shot placement, there are many , many chamberings that are more suitable for the task, including 20 and 12 gauge shotguns.

[Mr VJP]

The .410 doesn't have enough energy to be a reliable deer gun past 50 yards. Penetration isn't reliable on deer at most deer hunting ranges. Though it would be suitable for a young hunter due to the low recoil, if the shot will be 50 yards or less. Finding a rifled barrel for the average .410 is impossible, outside of a custom barrel. The accuracy of a .410 slug fired from a cylinder bored smoothbore barrel can be quite good.

In general, it is only a valid deer gun if it shoots slugs accurately and is used at 50 yards or less.

[NYBuckHunter27]

You owe it to the deer to use a 12 or 20 gauge, there's reduced loads if you cant handle the recoil.

[Dom]

You owe it to the deer to use a 12 or 20 gauge, there's reduced loads if you cant handle the recoil.

I neve mentioned any thing about recoil,I hunt mostly with 16 guage I do own several 12's and 20 guages recoil has nothing to do with any part of my question.

[josephmrtn]

i'd say they are great for young beginner hunters who shouldnt be attempting super far shots anyhow...

[skully]

I would not trust a 410 at all. Shot has to be perfect and at short range.

[Paula]

not sure if this is going to say anything about my shooting, i use a 410 for squirrels, i have hit them at close range and they don't go down every time. I have hit some and they die instantly. shot placement.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

not sure if this is going to say anything about my shooting, i use a 410 for squirrels, i have hit them at close range and they don't go down every time. I have hit some and they die instantly. shot placement.

I carry one for small game once in a while. I have knocked feathers off pheasants and had them fly away a few times as well. It does do a very nice job on squirrels and cotton tails though.

[Paula]

I have only ever lost 1 squirrel with a 410, it was bad and i waited for a while for that thing to come back out because i did not want it to suffer long. I hope this will be my weekend for a rabbit, or i should say Chesters.

[Dom]

Yes shot placement is indeed the most important.I use mine all the time for small game and enjoy using it.I was just currious as to why we cant use them in NY thats all.

[Pygmy]

Dom, ol' buddy, if it were ME making the rules, I'd let you use your .410 for deer..

Back in the late 30s when the southern zone had it's first deer seasons, somebody

probably arbitrarily decided that we shouldn't use buckshot and that the 20 gauge was the smallest shotgun gauge to be used for deer and bear.

Since then , there has been no good reason to change the regs.

If it were legal, I'd have no problem with you using your .410 for deer as long as you know it's limitations.

I have owned several .410s ( down to one right now) and have shot lots of bunnies, squirrels and a few grouse and woodcock with them.

[Early]

Every deer I ever shot with a bow could just as easily have been killed with a .410. I own six .410's; love to hunt rabbits and hares with them. Not my first choice for deer (if legal), but if a .410 was all I had...I'd tackle deer with it!

[13BVET]

Every deer I ever shot with a bow could just as easily have been killed with a .410. I own six .410's; love to hunt rabbits and hares with them. Not my first choice for deer (if legal), but if a .410 was all I had...I'd tackle deer with it!

I agree. Most shots on deer here are not outside of 50 yards anyway.

[phade]

I own quite a few guns, but the one that I always seem to enjoy the most taking out and shooting or hunting with, is the single shot .410. Don't know why...it just is. I'd say it's worthy of being legal, but using it within its performance range goes without saying - the same goes for any firearm, really.

[jjb4900]

I can't see how it's not comparable to some of the handguns that guy's carry when deer hunting.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I can't see how it's not comparable to some of the handguns that guy's carry when deer hunting.

I think it really should be the same thing. It has the evergy of some handguns that are legal.

[16. ga hunter]

i think it is some what due to sub gauges being misunderstood. a 410 at true shotgun deer hunting ranges is adequate to take a whitetail. i am talking before all of these rifled barrels sabot slugs ect. the ranges our grandfathers would have been shooting deer at with plain barreled beaded shotguns out to 50 yrds. a 410 can easily take a deer at that range. but you would run the problem of people trying to push its limits. plus its ability to shoot pistol cartridges ect. this misunderstanding becomes very apparent when wing shooting though with people blaming a sub gauges power for lost birds.when in actuality they are more than likely pushing a lighter load at the same velocity causing a much smaller margin of error. therefore making most perceive to a larger gauge knocking birds down better or harder ect. which would only be true with sub par shooting. if the lead is truly put where it needs to be the sub gauge shotgun will kill just as well as the 12ga.