doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com .410 for quail

WOW-what a fun site Thanks for the link!

Every time I hear a .410 mentioned it reminds me of the time this black man at work asked me some questions about shot guns. He liked to rabbit hunt and he had a 12 but was looking for a 20 gauge....I asked him why ?
He claimed the 20 would kill farther and better than the 12 then went on to explain why...he said the 20 shot tighter because the barrel was smaller.
I asked him why he didn't get a .410 ?
Said he didn't like a fOe-ten because it just shot so dang tite that it tow his rabbits up too bad.

There was no convincing him different just like there will be no convincing you that the .410 is not much more than a toy.
Breaking clay targets is one thing but using a gun that will cripple more game than you kill with it shouldn't have to be against the law. People should know better.
L.F.

I've been using .410's on pen-raised burds for years and found that the key to success with .410's is open chokes, smaller shot and keeping my shots within 25 yards.
- The chokes I recomend are skeet/mod, modified being the .410 equvalent of full.
- For pheasants I use #7.5 shot, out to 25 yards the pheasanst don't seem to know the difference from #6 shot. I imagine for qail out to 25 yards #8 or even #9 shot would be fine.
- I've used both 2.5 and 3" shells, one of the .410's drawbacks makes it extremely effective at close range. Because the shot gets all scuffed up going down the barrel it disperses faster down range. Comparing an open choked .410 and an open choked 12 gauge, at 25 yards the .410 is going to give you a bigger pattern, when you couple that with pattern-filling small shot you have a very effective close range gun.
Try reading "Because It's There! Climbing the North Face of the .410" by Tim Woodhouse.
Steve
BTW I have a .410 Nitro Special for sale on the Double Guns For Sale section of this website.

I guess I don't know any better! I've used a .410 to take BW Quail and Doves for many, many years and have done so quite successfully with very little cripple loss. Much less loss than with larger gauges.
I know it's limitations, and use it responsibly.
It's a bit disturbing that you think it's a toy!

"Much less loss than with larger gauges."
Don: do you mean at the same yardage or that you pick your shots appropriate to the gauge?

After 25 years of hunting Gambels for about 95% of my bird hunting, I would make the following observation. First, they are a lot tougher than Bob White's, even with a good dog most will not be shot off point, and if they are not dead in the air they will very often be unrecovered. My favorite load is 3/4oz of 7 shot. It provides full penetration, patterns well from a 20ga and I seldom lose a bird hit with the 7s. Seven and 1/2 shot is almost as good. Eights and smaller produce too many cripples/lost birds. I would think a 410 which patterns 7 1/2s well, choked reasonable tight would work okay with 11/16 oz of shot if the shooter can put the pattern on target. But 5/8oz loads I think too likely to be a crippling load. Pattern work would be the determining factor.

Well Homeless, some of us just don't know any better I guess, and in my experience grouse and woodcock don't either. I have killed somewhere in the hundreds of woodcock and likely 30+ grouse with a 1/2oz of #9 and have had pretty much no crippled bird losses. Now I will say both birds don't go far when put down but half of the birds brought to hand shot with 20s and 16s still need a little dispatch. I have used four tenner tubes out of a 20 extensivly and a mod. 42 alot and a Hercules side by alot and found no real difference in performance. What started me on the .410 was early season woodcock when most shots because of the cover are so close that i figured could shoot a little quicker with 1/2oz of 9s and still have a edible bird and along the way found out grouse didn't know the difference either. Never hunted Gambrels yet but have shot some blues with a 16 and will agree with Jerry that those little buggers will run and hide in holes or wherever that makes recovery a real effort if they arent killed in the air but dont really think if you center them they will know if it was a 1/2 oz of 9s or 7/8oz of 7s that that just did them in. I say go for it if you feel confident in you're shooting with the gun you plan on using, say you can break 22+ at skeet with it pretty regularly I think you will figure it out for yourself.

Very interesting differences of personal experience from long time hunters, but that's what makes this fun. Congrats to all however for keeping things polite and helpful, as opposed to the skunk squirtin' match this would quickly become over on SS BB.

I just mean that larger gauges are used more often and likely do cripple more birds per numbers of shots made than the .410. I don't think the .410, if used responsibly, is not more inherant to crippling than large gauges are.

When I hunt pen-raised pheasant with my .410 NS choked F/M I do miss more often, but when I hit the burd he's usually dead when he hits the ground. I also have a .410 hammer gun that has no chokes at all. I seldom ever miss with the gun, but I do drop more cripples. However, my golden retriever quickly brings them to hand for a quick dispatch. That said, I suppose it's a good idea to have a dog when you take your .410 out hunting (unless you're a better shot then me, which I'm sure 75% of the folks reading this are).
Steve