Limitations of the .410 ?

nutmik

nutmik

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Hi Folks,
I just picked up a Savage .22/.410 combo gun figuring it would be a good one to strap to the quad, a quad gun if you will.
I've got no experience at all with .410 and am wondering what it's limitations are ?
eg. In a pinch could it be used against a bear ? or would it just make him mad if he found out ?
It's only a single shot ( one each .22/.410) so I know it's not a "defense " gun, but like I said, no experience with .410 at all so any input on best uses down to preffered ammo brand/size would be appreciated.
Thanks, Mike
 
The little slugs come out fast ... +/- 1830 fps at the muzzle with +/- 650 ft/lbs energy, but the little 1/5 oz slug falls off pretty fast even at 50 yds to a little over 1/2 the energy at the muzzle. I certainly wouldn't want to stand in front of one, but have heard stories about a few unsavory types who use them to poach deer in bird season. Maybe as about 2/3 as effective as the old 44-40 albeit with a much lighter projectile. Definitely not "bear medicine". For small game and birds, the 410 is about at it's effective limits at 25 yards. Pretty sparse patterns even with 3" loads.
 
the .410 is a good small game cartridge but if you know its limitations a .410 slug will take a deer

for bear its better then nothing but id don't think id count on it
 
Thanks guys ! Just what I'm looking for !
Looks like it'll be a great close-range, small game gun, but I'll rely on something else for larger animals
Appreciate all the replies
 
Worth noting.
My recently acquired Stevens .22/410 had a little mishap. The extractor had some play in it ( rotational play as in clockwise / counter-clockwise) and one of the kids slipped in a 22 lr (snuck by the extractor) and closed the action purposefully.
The extractor crushed the rim on the 22 lr and blew the back off of the case.
Thank god for proper PPE but a spooky situation none-the-less.
To the OP, begging your pardon on the thread hi-jack.
If it saves it from happening again it was worth the effort.
BTW a replacement screw for the extractor is on it's way.
As far as 410's capabilities...well it's been benched since then, so I'm curious myself.
 
.410's are good for birds and squirrels, etc, but I wouldn't try it on a bear. Having said that, a record polar bear was shot by an Eskimo woman years ago using a .22
 
Winchester PDX 1 410 rounds pack a mean punch. I have a borto Hiker 410 that's what I would load into it for bears. its small very light weight and packs a punch people are surprised how much power it really has. Now for a bear that is charging me I would want a belt fed machine gun in 50 bmg. Now that's not realistic but it should be able to get the job done just fine.
 
haha49 said:
Winchester PDX 1 410 rounds pack a mean punch. I have a borto Hiker 410 that's what I would load into it for bears. its small very light weight and packs a punch people are surprised how much power it really has. Now for a bear that is charging me I would want a belt fed machine gun in 50 bmg. Now that's not realistic but it should be able to get the job done just fine.
Click to expand...

Your a brave man.. :)
 
Jack O'Connor was never a man to mince words - he always spoke pretty directly, and here's what he said about the .410:

"The .410 is a kid's gun, a woman's gun, a pot gun for the farm and camping trip.....and NOT a man's gun." (his emphasis).

and

"The worthless little .410 slug should never be used on anything larger than rabbits.....It is not accurate enough for small game or powerful enough for deer. Why it is made at all, I'll never know."

(From 'The Shotgun Book', 1965 edition).
 
Magellann said:
Obviously he didn't care for them.
Click to expand...


Ya think??? ;)

I also remember, many years ago, reading in one of his pieces in Outdoor Life magazine where he said '...some people think you can kill deer with a .410. Well, i guess theoretically you could, but, you could also kill one with a croquet mallet if you got close enough and hit him hard enough.'

I didn't agree with all of Jack's views, but he was always a really fun read. :)
 
Just shot my Savage 42 with some 3 inch buckshots and 2.5 inch 1/5 ounce slugs, quite accurate to 30 metres with my installed holografic sight, a good thing is that both barrels are very well aligned as the shot bird 7.5 and the 22lr were zero with the same set up, great work Savage, will become fast of my favorite little rig... JP.
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haha49 said:
Winchester PDX 1 410 rounds pack a mean punch. I have a borto Hiker 410 that's what I would load into it for bears. its small very light weight and packs a punch people are surprised how much power it really has. Now for a bear that is charging me I would want a belt fed machine gun in 50 bmg. Now that's not realistic but it should be able to get the job done just fine.
Click to expand...

Where are you getting PDX 1 shells?
 
.410 is good for shooting chickens but not much else. My little single shot is the most-used hunting gun I own and I've been handloading it for over 30 years. Having that said, Its fun to fart around with slugs and buckshot at the range but they really are quite useless and have almost no penetration, range, or energy. A .410 is the perfect small game gun, but it is inadequate for anything else.
 
Yesterday I was shooting clays with a .410 Wingmaster and a Rossi lever also in .410, and was hitting about half the time. I've had good success at same with a Circuit Judge blasting those little shot shells.

More practice and I could definitely get good at it, but I just switch up for fun.

Eric_911 said:
Where are you getting PDX 1 shells?
Click to expand...

Site sponsor SFRC (The Ammo Source) up top has had them in and out of stock for a while, and currently they are very much in.

They're not cheap, and I wouldn't be packing them in bear country unless for some crazy reason I couldn't take a 12ga.
 
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