doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com THE 410 PHEASANT GUN MYTH

IMHO, I think a .410 bore in the hands of an EXPERT can be a good game gun. By expert I mean not only a crack shot with a shotgun, but also an expert bird hunter who can pick his shots wisely and demand of himself to stay as close to the 25 yard line limit for use of the gun. Anyone other than an expert who uses this gun to hunt wild birds is a CLOWN in my opinion. For squirrel and rabbit though I think even a clown can get away with the .410 because the shots are much easier.

That's scarey...you setting me up for a tOrch job ?

Ed, As a boy in the U.K. I used a .410 mostly on rabbits at harvest time or later in the year when the rabbits were bolted from warrens by ferrets.In the late 1940,s rabbits were a pest in the U.K. I remember shooting 19 rabbits out of 25 shots as they bolted from a field of wheat being cut by the old fashioned binder. Some were shot close but some were at least 25 yards out[A red letter day for me,one never forgotten]. The total bag on that day from a 10 acre field was 240 approx.Most of these rabbits would have been sold through local game dealers.

240 briar hogs from a 10 acre field?

Ya'll need some coyotes over there.

SRH

I took 5 roosters with my Win 42 using 3" #6 shells on the openning weekend in SD last year. But I didn't know about this fact then. I'm always learning something.

Next season, I'm going to a larger bore. I bought this new gun that is a Beschi gun and it has .421 bores.

A beginner hunting for his first few years of wild birds, I agree he shouldn�t use a 410, but someone who has been hunting wild birds for ten plus years or more I figure has earned the right to use and knows how to use a 410.

I agree the .410 is an experts gun. That being said though, I was given a .410 Savage pump complete with vent rib for my first shotgun when I was 12 years old. I strictly used it for 4 or 5 years before I bought a 20 gauge. But boy did I ever learn to hit with it. Anything from clays (hand thrown) to grouse to teal. I still have the gun. I never hunted pheasant with it but it also did a good job of pi--ing my two brothers off when I accidently sprayed them with pellets on a grouse hunt years ago. I told them if I would have had a bigger roaster I would have aimed better!

So yer saying it took you 4 or 5 years to figure out you were no expert ?

Watch it jOe, I think he's gonna hug ya.

Call 'em anything you want, but we need more folks willing to get out and do it with any sporting arm. Hope we're not looking for a new federal clown test to get a hunting license.