How strong are .410 shotguns?

ribber@shaw.ca

ribber@shaw.ca

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I was thinking about packing a single shot .410 for grouse , but wondered as it will shoot .45 Colt, What pressure level I should stay under, i.e. 14,000 psi or 20,000 psi., when I load some up.That way the gun would also for deer up close, any ideas?
 
I would never shoot anything in my .410 except the shells it is chambered for. There is a revolver on the market that is supposed to be able to shoot both. That does not mean you can do it with any of your guns.
 
Shoot the 410 slugs. Way more power than the .45, and a lot less hassle. If I got close enough to a deer, and was good enough with the gun, I would not hesitate to shoot it with a 410 slug. I have shot full size cattle with them at around 50 yards, and they went down hard.


R.
 
I have an uncle who killed a mature bull moose back in the '70s with .410 slugs. 2 in the bread basket and 1 in the head to make sure it was dead when he got up close to it. They'll do the job just fine when used within their ranges.
 
Rman said:
Shoot the 410 slugs. Way more power than the .45, and a lot less hassle. If I got close enough to a deer, and was good enough with the gun, I would not hesitate to shoot it with a 410 slug. I have shot full size cattle with them at around 50 yards, and they went down hard.


R.
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Anything will go down hard with a good head shot. As far as deer or other big game, in most provinces it is not legal to hunt big game with a .410.
 
Covey Ridge said:
Anything will go down hard with a good head shot. As far as deer or other big game, in most provinces it is not legal to hunt big game with a .410.
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These were not head shots.
Check your provincial regulations.
Hit a deer, elk, or moose, with most anything, in the right spot, and they will die. They do not wear kevlar, and are not bullet proof.

R.
 
Rman said:
These were not head shots.
Check your provincial regulations.
Hit a deer, elk, or moose, with most anything, in the right spot, and they will die. They do not wear kevlar, and are not bullet proof.

R.
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You mentioned cattle so I assumed all the ones you killed were were noggin shots. I do not know any cattle people that do it any other way. How does it happen that you have killed so many with a 410? Can not speak for all the provinces but 410 is illegal for big game in BC and Alberta. Yes elk and moose are not bullet proof and even have been killed with body shots with 22, but that does not make a 22 a good choice and neither is a smooth bore 410.
 
I have a IGA backpacker 410, that I did'nt really care about to much since it never got used......so I loaded a 45 colt in it and shot it from a vice with a string from far, just to see if it would blow up. It shot off a half dozen, no problems, so now I actually shoot it from my hands.

I don't endorse doing this, unless you take the steps that I did and shoot it form a vise with a string first, just to make sure your not going to blow your hands up.

Now I have a small backup 45 colt firing gun that I keep on my ATV in Bear Country, when I don't want to tote around a 12 gauge pump. Closest thing to carrying a handgun I guess, although its kind of stupid that we can't legally carry a handgun way the heck up North, as a side arm protection in Bear Country.

A buddy of mine up North has his license so that he can carry a handgun in the wild, because he owns a hunt camp, and does alot of bear baiting....He carries a old revolver that is chambered for 38spl, but does'nt rely on it because he also keeps a 12 gauge on the ATV he rides.

BTW, he has had his license to carry a handgun for many many years, and has never once been stopped by a conservation officer, police officer, or anyone, and have to show his license as proof that he can legally carry a handgun. It does make we wonder about how many other guys up North do the same, without being licensed, since aside from being caught red handed, shooting at something, there is no way of being caught....I'm not endorsing it, but I'm sure there is alot of guys up North, in unpopulated areas that carry a handgun, while in the bush because often, when theres laws that don't make sense, they get broken. Too bad there was'nt a law that allowed you to carry a handgun in the bush, or countryside when you were North of a certain area, similar to how in Ontario, you can't hunt with any gun over .270, unless your North of the Frech River. There should be a similar rule about handguns in the wild. If your North of the French River, and have take a simple course, to prove your not a moron, then you should be allowed to carry a handgun in the countryside. New rules like this make no sense to people living in Ottawa or Toronto, so they would never exist....We should take a few bears and stick them in the middle of a park in Toronto, and see if they change there mind. I do know about the ATC laws that allow us to carry handguns if our job requires it, like for bear baiting, bush pilot, trapper, etc....This does'nt cover the guys who hunt moose, and may scare a bear, as you walk around a bush, because the People in Ottawa are afraid of you when you are Moose hunting 14 hours up North, in the middle of a Bush.
 
Covey Ridge said:
You mentioned cattle so I assumed all the ones you killed were were noggin shots. I do not know any cattle people that do it any other way. How does it happen thjat you have killed so many with a 410? Can not speak for all the provinces but 410 is illegal for big game in BC and Alberta. Yes they are not bullet proof and even have been killed with body shots with 22, but that does not make a 22 a good choice and neither is a smooth bore 410.
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When you buy cattle on the hoof, you have to kill them before you get them to the freezer, as farmers can't sell you a dead cow. They (cows, not farmers) will let you get close, but not that close. A stranger with a gun gets them (both cows and farmers) a little agitated. I think they (perhaps the cows and farmers together?) may have watched some after school specials about stranger danger, or something.
More to the point, it was done as a saftey measure, as I didn't want bullets flying through the cattle and keep going. As it happend, the 410 slugs all exited, but I'm sure they didn't go very far. Also, you would be very suprised as to how accurate a smooth bore 410 can be. I mean, you won't win any benchrest matches with it, but it's plenty accurate to dump game at ranges that make sense, where legal, of course.

R.
 
blueflash said:
It does make we wonder about how many other guys up North do the same, without being licensed, since aside from being caught red handed, shooting at something, there is no way of being caught....I'm not endorsing it, but I'm sure there is alot of guys up North, in unpopulated areas that carry a handgun, while in the bush because often, when theres laws that don't make sense, they get broken.
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There is a pretty good "Don't ask, don't tell" policy in certain areas across the North. Some farther south than one would think.
The law is the law, and it should not be broken, just because it doesn't make sense. Mostly.

R.
 
I know guys who fish remote rivers up north routinely pack a handgun.Not legal but they keep it out of sight in a backpack.Come to think of, it if I was in a situation with a bear the last thing on my mind would be if packing a hand gun was legal or not
 
Rman said:
When you buy cattle on the hoof, you have to kill them before you get them to the freezer, as farmers can't sell you a dead cow. They (cows, not farmers) will let you get close, but not that close. A stranger with a gun gets them (both cows and farmers) a little agitated. I think they (perhaps the cows and farmers together?) may have watched some after school specials about stranger danger, or something.
More to the point, it was done as a saftey measure, as I didn't want bullets flying through the cattle and keep going. As it happend, the 410 slugs all exited, but I'm sure they didn't go very far.

R.
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So the cows are not letting you get closer than 50 yards and your weapn of choice is a 410? Where do you place the shot so the animal goes down hard?I live in ranch country and I do not know a single rancher that will let one field shoot his cows. There may be some out there that do. I know that most ranchers would not even take the slightest chance of a wounded animal on their property. I know that a farmer can not sell you a dead cow. It will not pass vet inspection, but neither will your kill either unless you just happen to bring a vet with you. I know there are some that buy live animals for slauighter but most take them to a licenced facility. Animals killed on the rancher's property are often killed in enclosed close quarters near a fork lift.
 
Covey, I can't seem to help you get to where you want to go?
What would you recomend shooting a cow with? A .338 Win Mag, or perhaps a .375 H&H?
I also can't help you if you don't know where to place a shot in order to kill an animal, as it seems you have little, to no, interest in learning. Do you even hunt?
I did not say I couldn't get closer than 50 yards, I said I have shot them at around 50 yards.
I did not say I was shooting cows in the fields, in fact I did not specify any location at all.
You say you live in ranch country, yet have no clue has to how you would get cattle direct from a farm, to your freezer, without the use of vet? Nice!
Please offer up all of your first hand experience in not only shooting 410 slugs, but actually killing animals with them? Thanks!
R.
 
Rman,
I do know where to place a shot and I do know where to place a shot so they go down hard. I am simply asking you where you placed the shots on those 50 yard cattle that would cause them to go down hard. You did say that the cattle would not let you get close. You said that they were not head shots. I am more than a bit curious why you chose a 410. It would be about the last thing I would choose for a 50 yard moo shot.
 
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