Is .410 enough to take down a large animal

[manbearpig]

a factory .410 slug barely achieves 10" of penetration on ballistic gelatin (before you get all excited, a BB fired from an air rifle penetrates nearly 4"), and has roughly the same muzzle energy as a 9mm 115gr bullet from a 4.5" handgun barrel (~640 ft-lbs).

in comparison, the 12 gauge Brenneke slug that people who have actually shot bears are recommending consistently gets >25" of penetration in ballistic gelatin and packs ~3000 ft-lbs of muzzle energy.

look at this photo and ask yourself, would you want the equivalent of a single shot 9mm pistol to stop a large animal?

 

[two-dogs]

a factory .410 slug barely achieves 10" of penetration on ballistic gelatin (before you get all excited, a BB fired from an air rifle penetrates nearly 4"), and has roughly the same muzzle energy as a 9mm 115gr bullet from a 4.5" handgun barrel (~640 ft-lbs).

in comparison, the 12 gauge Brenneke slug that people who have actually shot bears are recommending consistently gets >25" of penetration in ballistic gelatin and packs ~3000 ft-lbs of muzzle energy.

look at this photo and ask yourself, would you want the equivalent of a single shot 9mm pistol to stop a large animal?

Yikes!!! Even dead, it has to be muzzled! 12 gauge Brenneke slugs.

 

[kimmer82]

if 410 doesnt work. lift your hands up and scream @ a bear.
it'll run away but if it doesnt then better carry a knife to poke ur self to quick death.
And i knew a person that shot a garbage bear with 22lr @ 40 yard range and it dropped very fast. but then also shot down a bear and saw lil 22lr bullet jammed in its skull. so id like to carry cheap 12guage pump with slugs lol

 

[davemccarthy707]

.450 Marlin

[youtube]UZIIV0AO9E4[/youtube]

 

[Vin4570]

I've shot a lot of bears but I'm not too experienced with .410 guns at all. Last bear I shot was with a .41 mag with factory loads. This was not by choice. As I recall, it took 2 hits before it turned and about 3 more before it stopped. It was a very big bear. I don't think a .410 would have been able to turn this bear before it was on top of me.

 

[entrail]

Only as a last resort in my book.

Some of the comment are funny as hell though.......... lmfao!!!!!!

 

[albertaguide]

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...."

i agree completely. when i was 12-13 i had to put down an injured steer, my only firearm @ the time was a single shot 410, frist shot from 15ft literally bounced off the skull and the second from 3ft knocked it down but seconds later it was up again. then dad showed up wit the 30-30 170gr FN that worked. traumatizing and cruel i agree but i lived and learned, the steer didn't