.410 and grouse

powdergun

powdergun

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I've never used a .410 before. My son s at the age to begin hunting and I was thinking a .410 might be the ticket on grouse. My question for all of you with experience is what is the practical range as compared to a 12 ga or 20 ga. Will the little shottie reach out as far if carefully aimed ?
 
I've never shot a grouse any further than @50 feet, I never seem to see them until they flush and thats usually when youre almost on top of them. The .410 works just fine on bunnys and grouse out to about 80feet or so with 3inch#4 but keep in mind most .410's are full choke and shoot very tight patterns which may result in many misses for a new shooter a 20 gauge with an open choke may be a better option. Just my 2cents hope it helps.
 
.410's are expert's guns. Like bobc says, the shot pattern is small with not a lot of shot. A 20 ga pump or semi-auto would be far better.
 
I agree with bobc.
The 410 is usually full choked, and that makes hitting grouse on the wing difficult at typical grouse ranges for a newbie.
Having said that, it's a lot of fun, and the near absence of recoil is a major blessing for a kid starting out. My first shotgun was a 410 single shot, full choke and all. Nice safe gun, great for grouse, and rabbits, but not a great duck gun, as I quickly found out.
 
Sounds like my boy will be using a .410. Most of the birds will be ground pounded so wing shooting won't happen very often. My concern is that you had to be under 10 yrds but by the reports it will take them a bit further.
 
I'd go with the .410 as well. Last year I took a chicken in the bush and I would have estimated it at 80 feet at least. Perfect head shot no breast disruption.
 
20 yards easily.

But please, as soon as you can, teach your son wingshooting for birds. It'll be the greatest gift you ever give him.
 
Will do. He's just a bit young still. He'll be shooting some clays in a couple of years for sure. The one great thing about it all is that having a son starting to hunt has sure charged me up as well. I don't need to shoot another game animal again. Seeing him go at it is ten times more fun.:D
 
I learned on a .410 when it was 10 out bunny hunting. We started with pop and soup cans on the fence before heading into the field to get used to it.
 
powdergun said:
Sounds like my boy will be using a .410. Most of the birds will be ground pounded so wing shooting won't happen very often. My concern is that you had to be under 10 yrds but by the reports it will take them a bit further.
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A 410 has the same "range" as any other shotgun, problem stems from the fact there's not as many pellets to make a good hit at distance. Still they should be good to 20yds.
 
Back in the mid 1980's I used a Winchester Model 42 .410 for two years on partridge (ruffed grouse).The .410 will work on these birds but leaves a bit to be desired.After this two year use I went back to the 28 gauge which in my opinion is a much better choice for a young shooter or for use in the uplands.
 
I agree that the .410 is an experts gun. The shot pattern is too sparse to be of much use over 20 yards even with 3 inch shells. It might be a great way to introduce youngsters to a shotgun but it's not great for hunting. I've seen too many birds run away after being shot. I prefer a 20 gauge or 16 gauge myself. A 12 is getting a little bigger then needed but works too. I've even shot them with a 10 gauge and 7 1/2 shot. I've never used a 28 gauge so I can't comment on it.
 
I used 4's for everything except clays with the 410. My reasoning was that the fewer hits would be more effective if they were hard hits.
The added benefit, was that there were fewer pellets in my teeth, as the 4's went right through most of the time.
 
As some others have said, for birds on the ground the .410 is excellent as it doesn't destroy the crap out of them. I enjoy using a .410 in the mid winter for bunnies. The low recoil doesn't punish the hands and cheek as much in really cold weather.

If you are hunting heavily hunted areas where grouse are wise and flush at the first sign, get a 20. Another advantage of the 20 is that it can shoot powerfull enough slugs for deer.
 
Some years ago I had a neighbor who had been given a dbl .410 for his 6th birthday in 1904 near Trout Creek, Ontario. He told us it was the custom of the time to load a .44 pistol round in one barrel in case of deer and shot in the other for partridge. I have hunted with that gun and it was the sweetest little outside hammer, 24” Damascus barreled gun. I never tried .44 in it but it did well for partridge.
 
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