410 and 2.5in shot shells your experience please
- Thread starter blasted_saber
- Start date
Anecdotally, I have to agree. I had the occasion to shoot a number of grouse last fall with short barrelled .410's and with a 2.5" #8 you had to be within 25 yards or closer. I happened upon a handful of old 3" Western paper #4's part way through the season and was utterly amazed at how they fell over stone dead at 35 yards.
I'll have to hit the patterning board one of these days and see what's going on.
- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
Many years back I had a Winchester single shot 410. Full choke. There is no question the 3" were better by my recollection, but I used what I could find in the stores, and that was mostly 2.5". Sticking to 6's for shot, ruffed grouse gave me no issues. I hunted the fringes of bush lots farm fields and fence rows, on foot.
It is amazing how some hunters think a heavy payload is better without spending some time on the patterning board . Years past when we shot bluebills out of sneak boats on the big water the go to load was a 12 gauge 2 3/4 inch 1 1/8 oz of hard #4 shot with a max load of Red Dot and a full choke . Most times less is best for good patterns , more so in the sub gauge guns.
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canadian hunter312
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Brant County
I recall reading an article last year about how the shells with TSS #9's have turned the .410 into a legitimate 35-40 yard turkey gun. Apparently the tiny shot is dense enough to be equivalent to lead 6's or 7's and with it being so small you can pack a lot of shot into the small shells for dense patterns. 40 yard patterns are impressive, but the cost of shells is a bit much at roughly $10 per shot.
This thread brought back many memories of using a 410 for squirrel, rabbit, grouse and blackbirds as a young teen....along with the tons of misses I experienced due to poor patterns. However, I do believe all that time with the 410 made me a much better shot on moving game.
I'm with you here. 28ga for me also and have shot a ton of 410 over the years like some years would reload 5000
The humbler I call it. Always showed me what a poor shot I really was
I agree there are better options for hunting but the 410 is a lot of fun does well on Woodcock with a pointing dog. I own three doubles a autoloader and two pumps use them all the time. They take some practice to be good with the secret is don't try to make them into something that they are not.
blasted_saber
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- A blue part of Ontario
Because Ive got one in my cabinet. And not a 28g. That said, most of my bird hunting is with a 20g these. The 410 is my pest eliminator for the most part, although on occasion knocks a bird over.
I use the 410 2.5" for small game and crows. Works well.
I picked up a stevens 301 turkey 410 with the extended turkey choke. It defys past experiences as even #2 lead patterns well to 40 yards. #6 copper plated shot produces nice even 18" patterns at 40 yards. Those are 1/2 oz reloads
I picked up a stevens 301 turkey 410 with the extended turkey choke. It defys past experiences as even #2 lead patterns well to 40 yards. #6 copper plated shot produces nice even 18" patterns at 40 yards. Those are 1/2 oz reloads
And the 20 gauge is "superior" to the 28 gauge, just as the 12 gauge is "superior" to the 20 gauge... that kind of reasoning does not hold up to close scrutiny. The same argument would dictate that a .375 H&H is superior to the .30/06 and the .458 WM is superior to the .375 H&H... but nobody would suggest that the .458 WM is the way to go for deer.
Really, the question is; "Is the cartridge choice sufficient for the task at hand?"
In expert hands, the .410 probably is sufficient for wing-shooting woodcock and grouse, and perhaps larger birds like pheasant and sharptail... I am definitely not that expert and I think very few are. I have done a fair amount of wing-shooting with 28 gauge guns, with decent results, but pretty much stick with 20 gauge for the bulk of my wing-shooting, until late season and wild flushes call for heavier 12 gauge loads.
Ground swatting is a whole different conversation... where in most cases, a .410 is equally good to a 12 gauge, or even 10 gauge for that matter... and in terms of retaining edible meat is actually the better choice, at least for those who can't manage a single pellet head shot 99% of the time.
jlovie
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I've been looking for one of those for a while now, glad to hear you like it.
We've had tremendous success with 2.5" #5 and #6 shot. With less lead shot at the bird, less meat and feather damage, for consumption and mounting. I don't use the 410 when hunting Ruff and Spruce Grouse, I use the sling shot with steel ball-bearings. Enclosed photo's are birds that my son killed and had mounted.
https://imgur.com/a/oZESDcG
I use my 410 single shot for rabbits and grouse but limit myself to stationary shots as I don't practice enough to confidently take a rapidly moving target. At any reasonable range it has always worked perfectly with 2.5 inch shells.
I prefer my sxs 410 but i do truly enjoy playing with the lil stevens. I mounted a red dot on it and shoot skeet with it. Just singles. Started as a joke but then i screwed up my elbow and it was the only shotgun i could hold and i refused to give up skeet.
Its almost cheating using it for squirrels
Somewhere on cgn i had posted patterns it shot with various loads out to 40 or 50 yards
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Brutus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I myself consider a small payload of birdshot much much safer than launching a 37-40 grain rimfire bullet skyward into a tree. God knows where that bullet might go with close nieghbours.
