410 and 2.5in shot shells your experience please

I have a nice little Baikal 410 S x S and all I use is 2-1/2" shells. Does an excellent job on skunks and had my first chance at a racoon this past summer. Works very well around my farm house. This shotgun will be passed on to my daughter when I'm gone.
 
Fantastic, and that's out of several different 410 shotguns from mossberg youth, El faisan sxs full full, mossberg silver reserve o/u full mod, and an old cil single full. All kill the grouse up north just fine even a few on the wing. #6 lead handloads for all. Down muskoka area here I need my 28/20/ or 12 depending on the foliage, time of season, and how tight they're sitting but those are 99% wing shots, good luck finding a sitter.
 
blasted_saber said:
What are your experiences using 2.5" 410 shells on game?

Aside from squirrel protection I'm struggling to see the point of them
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I have THREE SxS .410 shotguns . Stevens 311 , Iver Johnson Hercules & a Lefever Nitro Special.
The last TWO have 2 1/2" chambers. These shells are all the power you need while hunting in the
bush , were shots are usually within 25 yds. Too many people think that "Max Power" in any cal.
is the only way to go. Not always the case.
 
madtrapper143 said:
I use 2 1/2" cartridges about 90% of the time. Kills ruffed grouse just fine in my hunting situations. (wilderness grouse not wild) I also have used 3" cartridges but found that the patterns are terrible compared to the 2 1/2" with the same shot size. In reality the .410 is a 25 to stretching 30 yard gun. Both work.

Darryl
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Agree 100%
 
blasted_saber said:
Lots to think about in here. I'll have to really pattern my 410 and compare.

I've got a bunch of 2.5in stuff sitting around that I've never really used on birds. I've reserved it for pest control to this point
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Not every one has developed the skill to shoot a 410 properly either :) Have never used a 3" on clays or hunting and have shot thousands of them over the years in 2.5 and have like a dozen 410 guns
If I am on they work just fine in both cases
Cheers
 
This afternoon I looked outside into the backyard. Up in a maple tree was a crow @ about 25 yds +.
I grabbed the garden gun ( Mossberg .410 ) and loaded with 2 1/2" # 9 shot. One shot & I blew
it out of the tree ,,,,,,,,,, DEAD ,,,,, as the shot was fired. Landed on ground & never moved.
The 2 1/2" shell made it very dead very soon !!!! Why use a 3" shell ?
 
the old Reptile near the house cops a .410 down under......... known as a "snake gun" , the myth or legend comes from australia, where in most farm houses there would be a 410 behind a door in easy reach for the woman of the house, incase of a snake........


apart from snakes................... i used to shoot a tonne of birds an even then it was a 30 yard grabber...

i tried to pop a fox with #7 once, whistled an popped up 30 m away........... that fox is still out there no doubt.
 
Most of the people I know who shoot a .410 make a mistake and use shot that is too large to pattern decently from such a small bore. .410 guns just can't pattern well with shot bigger than 7-1/2. I like .410's but as a wingshooter's gun they must be shot quick and close. They are an expert's gun really. For most people .410's are better used as a close range, stationary game gun.

I do sometimes use 6's for very close range birds or bunnies, but for game the size a .410 is actually well suited to, 8's or 9's pattern much better. With the smallest shot sizes the 2-1/2" shell is actually a reasonable choice. With #4 shot, patterns are thin and erratic with any shell length, so some figure that with a 3" shell a dozen extra pellets scattered among all those gaping holes, one or two might just scratch down a bird that would otherwise not be hit at all.

What actually happens with 3" shells is more pellets at the base of the shot column get squished in the first few milliseconds after firing, and a bigger proportion of out of round pellets then fly off on a curved trajectory and the pattern opens up. So some less skilled shooters connect with a "near miss" shot, hitting with the fringe of the already thin pattern. When I read the threads on guns for shooting grouse, it seems that many, many people choose 3" #4's because they "damage less meat". Yup, but that's because if they hit at all, they hit with one or two pellets. One or two might do it, but wounding percentage is high, and that because of a mismatch of gun and load.
 
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A couple of years ago, all I could find was 2.5 shells. Using them in my old Cooey, I suddenly realized they were patterning way better. I had bought my wife a new Mossberg pump in .410, so i patterned it with 2.5 and 3. 2.5 was much better, so that's all we use.
 
Remington made a sporting clays load #8.5 in 2 1/2 length excellent 30 yard patterns with a imp mod choke. I scored a few flats before supplies ran out .
 
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There is nothing more important than patterning your gun when shooting a 410 and real cool if you have one with choke tubes what you can achieve with different reloads
Cheers
 
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I started grouse hunting with my .410 over/under choked at MOD (top) and IMP CYL (bottom) did not take long to put FULL in the top and MOD in the bottom. The more open chokes made the pattern too thin. As I stated earlier #8 shot works well.

Darryl
 
I learned to shoot with a 410 and 2.5" with 6 shot. Grouse and rabbits in the bush were easy but learning to wing-shoot was frustrating, especially chasing big roosters on the Milk River Ridge. It was a tough start, but it made me a really good shooter.
 
The replies in this thread are pretty surprising, I've actually found the opposite of most of you guys. I patterned 3 different brands of 2 1/2" and 3" and found the 3" better every time. Not far better mind you but enough for me to stick with the 3". Good to know others have had success with the 2 1/2" though.
 
I have used .410's off and on for 50 years... mostly with 2.5" #7 1/2 shells. Hundreds of grouse and hares have been taken... a full choked gun will knock down birds at 40 yards... we have done so many times, but most shots are 15-20 yards.
 
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posted this before 410 will work just fine if you pick your shots.
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