14" Full Choke .410 for hunting?

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RielM

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Looking at a picking up a .410 for hunting grouse. Would 14" barrel with full choke be too short and pattern too big? Other option is a 28" but I thought it would be nice to have the little one for compactness in the truck.
 
i think the choke has more affect then barrel length.
not sure if the powder will have enough chance to burn with such a short barrel.
my understanding is a longer barrel makes it easier to aim.
have you thought of using a .22?
 
stubblejumper said:
So which determines the pattern size, the choke, or the barrel length?
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The question should be will choke matter when the index finger of the hand on the forend extends past the end of the barrel and gets blown off? Will I wish I had a little less compactability at that point? ;)

Ok all joking aside in my experience choke and choke/load combination determined pattern size....but then I have never patterned barrel lengths under 26" or over 34".
 
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I think there are more questions than answers here. In my opinion/experience, barrel length/choke/shot and DISTANCE you're shooting are all factors in how a gun patterns. I can't say I've ever heard of anyone hunting with a 14", .410...can't say I even knew they existed.

My opinion? I think if you're even semi-serious about grouse hunting, I think that gun would be a pretty big handicap unless the bird was sitting motionless within about 20'-25' from you. Greater distance, on the wing? Again..guessing.. I've only had one .410, a Cooey 84. That gun comes apart into 3 pcs. in less than 10 seconds with no tools. A better choice, nice and light, robust, cheap, etc. I sold my .410 a few years ago and just this week, but another 84 in .20ga. I've yet to receive it, but in my opinion...it's the bare minimum of what I'd take hunting for grouse. I did get it as a possible "truck" gun, partly because of how quickly it comes apart for storage, but also how light the thing is.

Good luck!
 
A 14" full choke .410 will knock down a gopher at 20 yards with ease using commercial #7.5 shot hunting loads. But that's almost a "breaking point" - the power fall off and widening pattern leads to rapidly diminishing effects after that.

Never shot a grouse with .410, but generally they aren't any heartier than a gopher.

It really depends on your hunting environment. Id you're going into thick brush where the vast majority of shots are 15 yards or under, then you're probably ok. If going somewhere with a thick canopy and not as much underbrush, and you're going to want to reach further, go for a 20 gauge or 12 gauge.

Shorties are fine for brush hunting. Handy and more maneuverable. But you have to be more careful about your choice of gauge, and spend a few hundred rounds practicing and patterning l, so you know by feel exactly how far you can reach out to make a humane shot.
 
.22LRGUY said:
I think there are more questions than answers here. In my opinion/experience, barrel length/choke/shot and DISTANCE you're shooting are all factors in how a gun patterns. I can't say I've ever heard of anyone hunting with a 14", .410...can't say I even knew they existed.

My opinion? I think if you're even semi-serious about grouse hunting, I think that gun would be a pretty big handicap unless the bird was sitting motionless within about 20'-25' from you. Greater distance, on the wing? Again..guessing.. I've only had one .410, a Cooey 84. That gun comes apart into 3 pcs. in less than 10 seconds with no tools. A better choice, nice and light, robust, cheap, etc. I sold my .410 a few years ago and just this week, but another 84 in .20ga. I've yet to receive it, but in my opinion...it's the bare minimum of what I'd take hunting for grouse. I did get it as a possible "truck" gun, partly because of how quickly it comes apart for storage, but also how light the thing is.

Good luck!
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Not a very serious grouse hunter. I'll take the odd one on the road when I am on my way down from deer hunting and the opportunity presents itself. Right now I carry heavy barrelled 17 hmr that is super effective. I started looking at .410s just to simplify the kit so I could toss it behind the seat in my single cab and not worry about carrying 2 scoped rifles in cases. Corwin arms offers them at a very attractive price.
 
If your ground sluicing grouse anything will work. Balance, weight, length and caliber don't matter much for the odd opportunity at a grouse standing in the ditch at 10-20 yards.
 
.22LRGUY said:
I think there are more questions than answers here. In my opinion/experience, barrel length/choke/shot and DISTANCE you're shooting are all factors in how a gun patterns. I can't say I've ever heard of anyone hunting with a 14", .410...can't say I even knew they existed.

My opinion? I think if you're even semi-serious about grouse hunting, I think that gun would be a pretty big handicap unless the bird was sitting motionless within about 20'-25' from you. Greater distance, on the wing? Again..guessing.. I've only had one .410, a Cooey 84. That gun comes apart into 3 pcs. in less than 10 seconds with no tools. A better choice, nice and light, robust, cheap, etc. I sold my .410 a few years ago and just this week, but another 84 in .20ga. I've yet to receive it, but in my opinion...it's the bare minimum of what I'd take hunting for grouse. I did get it as a possible "truck" gun, partly because of how quickly it comes apart for storage, but also how light the thing is.

Good luck!
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Several years back I cannot recall the brand there was a single shot 410 on the market made with a 9" barrel. I know a fellow member on here who has one and has had it since new for many years. My "blow your finger off" comment stems from the fact the forend is so short that if you extend your arm and hand in a normal hold position your fingers are out past the muzzle!! It's really a gun you need to be very aware of how you hold it or you could lose a digit or two!! It's very uncomfortable to hold and shoot imo with your forward arm and hand tucked in tight so as not to extend your fingers beyond the muzzle. Not my cup of tea!!
 
I have a 14" .410 i need to try a few different mixes and distance on paper to see what works best. It's a nice light compact backpack gun and have taken a grouse at about 10yrds with #7.5 in fairly heavy bush.
 
Well, your pattern in theory would be the same with a 14" barrel as with a 28" barrel minus 14". See, as long as the powder is burned up and the shot hits max velocity that is it, the rest is the choke. Personally I think 14" barrels are just stupid as wing shooting will be seriously hampered. Those little beasts are a wee bit nasty and usually made by Turkish importers and their key benefits is their price and not their usefulness.
 
the spank said:
Several years back I cannot recall the brand there was a single shot 410 on the market made with a 9" barrel. I know a fellow member on here who has one and has had it since new for many years. My "blow your finger off" comment stems from the fact the forend is so short that if you extend your arm and hand in a normal hold position your fingers are out past the muzzle!! It's really a gun you need to be very aware of how you hold it or you could lose a digit or two!! It's very uncomfortable to hold and shoot imo with your forward arm and hand tucked in tight so as not to extend your fingers beyond the muzzle. Not my cup of tea!!
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I think you're talking about the Boito backpacker guns. They were really short and had a wacky forend, kind of a quarter circle shape.

They're still around. Canadian Tire usally carries them. Not much of a fan, myself.

You'd be surprised the difference an extra 5 inches of barrel makes. Thr forend on a 14" break action is the same size as on a full length shotgun, with about 4" of clearance past the forend to the muzzle.

The biggrst drawback is the lack of sight radius. And the lack of a smooth "swing" for hitting game in flight or on the move.

I'm not going to try and convert anyone. It all comes down yo where and how you hunt, and the game you're trying to harvest. I have shorties I prefer for some things, and 26" and 28" guns for others, and all kinds of length in between.

A 14" .410 will harvest grouse at 15 yards, maybe 20 on the ourside. Whether or not that works for you, is a question of what you feel comfortable with.
 
You'll be fine with a short barrel. Some practice is needed for on the wing shooting due to the sight plane. It seems like a normal 8" lead will be about 3' even though it's the same lead. It just looks longer
I use 12" savage 410ers for grouse and small game. I loose about 100 fps no matter what barrel length I put them in.
I have used a 14" 12 ga and other than the muzzle blast there's no real world difference in killing game
The lighter loads burn all the powder in 12-14". The choke does the rest. The angle of the forcing cone can also play apart in patterning. Cheaper guns seem to have short forcing cones
I wouldn't hesitate to use a short barreled scatter gun but my last few grouse were shot with a 300wm or a just right carbine in 9mm because it's what I had
 
it will work fine for what you want to do with it. Just do yourself a favor and put out a big paper target at 20 yards with a circle in the middle of it, and aim for that. Check the pattern. Some of these shorty shotguns will shoot really high. You may need to aim at the grouses feet to get a head shot.

Bottom line is that it will sluice a grouse just fine, just figure out where to aim.
 
Distance and foliage between you and intended target should be your biggest concern.
I use a 18.5 inch barrel on the M6 on hares up here in NE Alberta with thick cover. This 410 is full choked.
I don't see any big difference on ground game between it and the 26 inch barrels of my 20 gauge with plain 7.5 shot at the distances I encounter.
 
Buddy of mine had a backpacker. He absolutely loved it, everybody else who ever shot it hated it. He used to carry it stuck in his rubber boot while on his quad when we were up moose hunting (unloaded of course). The strange thing with his was the further the target he was shooting at, the lower you had to aim! I know what I just said makes no sense what so ever, but it's true. He was very good with it, I seen him get grouse out to 35-40 yds with it but anyone else I ever seen shoot it, including myself couldn't hit anything with it. I don't know anyone else with one so can't say they were all like his, but this one was the strangest shooting gun I had ever seen.
 
Gatehouse said:
it will work fine for what you want to do with it. Check the pattern. Some of these shorty shotguns will shoot really high. You may need to aim at the grouses feet to get a head shot.
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Quite right, two local fellows brought me there guns for a taller front sight installation. They both really like them now.

As to pattern,,, my gun (a 12 gauge in the photo) shoots the same size pattern with either barrel when the short barrel has the full choke installed. I expect that the 410 would be the same.

 
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