.410 question

longshot38

longshot38

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What size shot do you prefer for small game, rabbits/grouse. i just picked up a .410 cooey with a half a box of number 4 shells. my local walmart has shells in number 6, is that good for this quarry?


thanks
dean
 
Depends on how you hunt. If you are wing shooting grouse and smaller birds, small shot helps patterns a lot! Nothing bigger than 7-1/2 for that purpose. If you are shooting small game on the ground, including birds like grouse, 6's will do better without too much meat damage. 4's pattern very poorly out of a .410 but some like them because they can make a kill with one or two pellets on sitting game.
 
6 and 7 1/2 is the best for your .410. I find that the 4s are a great pellet, but there just is not enough of them to cleanly kill unless you are VERY close and then the tear pattern can be dramatic!
 
My very first shotgun was a 410, and all that I ever shot out of it was #7-1/2. It proved to be quite effective, even for shooting sharptails on the wing.
 
Pretty much the only thing I try and get for my .410 is the 3" shells in 7-1/2. I like #6 in the 20 gauge, but in .410 the higher pellet count gets the nod every time.
 
Do a pattern test...I recently was wondering the same thing so I patterned my .410 (Rossi single shot, 3" chamber...MOD choke) and found that out past 10 yards Winchester #6 3" shells pattern better (tighter, having more pellets that are bigger on target is a win/win to me) then the 3" #7.5 do.

I mostly ground hunt so the 3" #6s work great for me but if I was wing shooting I wouldn't mind having a few #7.5s in my pouch...better chance at knocking the birdies out of the sky with those!!!

Also...on a side note I found that I can shoot 2 3/4" 1/5oz Winchester slugs quiet accurately with only the front bead sight at 30 yards...pretty fun!!! :)
 
I once witnessed a guy shooing skeet with a 410 and it was something to behold. He of coarse was a fine skeet shot and I believe he was shooting 3 inch ammo with #9 shot. IMO most sub gauges are better fed with smaller shot as opposed to fewer larger pellets whistling by. But I think the OP was planning to shoot small game and rabbits so maybe 4's might be the better choice as less pellets to drive hairs and such into the meat.
 
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