Is .410 enough to take down a large animal

it will kill a bear but i would NOT suggest you cary one as protection. there are many better choices like a 45-70 guide gun or a nice short 12 gauge with buck shot or slugs. thats what i cary when i am in the tree stand.
 
kimagination92 said:
Hello everyone, I'm new to all this so this may sound stupid but is .410 enough to protect yourself from large animals such as a bear. Thank you for your time and have a great day!


Sincerely,

Luke.
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A 410 slug should kill no problem.........for bear protection id personally go abit bigger.
 
I realize you're not really experienced, but does this makes sense....the .410 slug has as much power at the muzzle as a .30-30 has at 300 yards. I think, relating to your other post, that a .22 rimfire over .410 is a dandy survival gun, but that is for reasons of ammo compactness, light weight, meat damage, etc. It's not much of a bear defence gun, but it makes noise and CAN kill a bear up close.
 
With a slug(not birdshot) it can kill a bear but the bear may kill you before it dies.But i would much rather have the 410 to shoot than a rock to throw at the bear.I'd carry a can of pepper spray to try first then the 410.
 
Absolutely not. A .410 slug that weighs 80 grains traveling at 1200 feet per second does not have the energy to go through a 2x4 at 30 feet away, less with buckshot. Previous posters who have answered yes, have never tried this and don't understand energy.


At your funeral, they will say "he was a nice guy but didn't know sh*t about guns or bears...."
 
Kilo Charlie said:
the .410 slug has as much power at the muzzle as a .30-30 has at 300 yards.
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So does this mean that if you shove your barrel up a bears a$$ , you might be able to protect yourself?




This is very false and misleading information. A 30.30 shoots a 170 grain bullet at 2300 feet per second, where a .410 shoots a 80 grain bullet at 1200 feet per second. Comparing a muzzle energy of one gun to the energy of another at 300 yards away is a pretty poor explanations to give a new guy.
 
Best to discourage the newbie than to give any hope that maybe it will work.
Maybe it will, but maybe it won't, at least not pronto.
Just my couple of pennies.
 
I have a Ranger single shot 410 that, while up north on a Moose hunt, sits on the dash of the truck for 'ditch chickens'. At a gun show a while back, I picked up a handful of shell, some of which are slug loads and some OOO buck loads. I picked them up as more of a novelty than anything. I don't know and don't hope to find out, but I doubt they'd be very effective Bear medicine.
 
300 yards? IMHO Bear defence mode kicks in a lot closer then that.

Especially using a smooth bore shotgun. :D
 
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My uncle shot a bull moose with 2 1/2 inch slugs about 30 years ago. Still has the rack. Took 3 slugs mind you and left the moose for an hour or 2 before they went and found it. So yes, a .410 will take down a large animal. Is it what i would want to be carrying? Nope, but in a pinch, i'd rather have a .410 (and slugs) than a slingshot.
 
Calum said:
300 yards? IMHO Bear defence mode micks in a lot closer then that.

Especially using a smooth bore shotgun.
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At 300 yards its it's not bear defence, it's hunting. Obviously you know that, and I don't think that's what the OP meant either. :D

Go at least 20g slug as a minimum I would think. Still got a nice chicken gun too.
 
I'd rather throw snow balls at hell.

I used one on a cow about 3 years ago and they failed to make it into the brain from the back of the head. The two in the front didn't help either. It was the one in the ear finally worked. I was not happy and wouldn't use a .410 slug on anything bigger than a coyote again.
 
To protect yourself from an animal you don't have to kill it outright, but you do have to do enough damage to convince the animal to turn away.

BC game laws make it illegal to shoot a big game animal with a shotgun smaller than 20 gauge. No one is going to be worry about legality when being attacked, but think of it as a guide to a gun's effectiveness.

You are writing from BC where we have more than one type of bear. A .410 will at best just really piss off a grizzly. 4 years ago I spoke to a young fellow who hit a grizzly twice with 12 ga. slugs while it was chewing on his leg. If the two shots hadn't been close together the second one never would have penetrated deep enough to finally stop the bear.

Black bears can be readily killed with any gun adequate for deer provided you get decent penetration from the projectile. In the fall there's close to 6 inches of fat under the hide. I doubt the .410 slug would penetrate well enough to do any discouraging damage to the bear. You would get better penetration on a skinny spring bear, but any bone or heavy muscle mass as in the front of the animal would make a discouraging wound unlikely. A hungry spring bear is likely to be harder to discourage.

Your brains and alertness are your best protection, but if you are also going to be responsible for the protection of others you need a much more effective gun.
 
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