doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com hunting with. 410

I have been rabbit hunting all season with a .410 this month and with a good bit of success <for me> but I shot at a rabbit yesterday that was crossing a gravel mud road at about 40 yards or so and I was impressed at the pattern at the distance.If I hadn't been a foot behind it the hare would have been in the skillet.I'm going to have to check the pattern when it warms up.I think there is something to a tight pattern on a .410.It needs something to compensate for 1/2 oz of shot.

Monty,
I found the .410 to be surprisingly effective on pen-raised pheasants at a state run Illinois put/take hunting preserve. These weren't planted birds but rather birds that had been simply released on the 1,600 acre site. By the end of the seasons first month the hunting was very similar to opening day hunting for wild birds. I found that an open choke in the right barrel and a modified choke in the left barrel was just about a perfect combination for the little gun and with 7.5 shot was effective out to 30 yards. I also used 3" shells, though when I first started shooting .410's I had good success with 2.5" shells too.

I grew up shooting rabbits with .410 shotguns, both 3" and 2.5". I wounded way too many, but it didn't matter the dogs got'em anyhow. I'm not a .410 fan...Geo

I used an unaltered M42, nominally "full", w/measured 0.016 constriction for testing 3" shells at distance.

There is alot of variation in MVs of factory 3" shells, the RP was far and away the fastest I have tested. They also threw the tightest patterns.

I first tested Winchester 3/4 oz #7.5 at 30 yds. They avg about 1110 fps. I was disappointed in this load through mod stamped M-42s at 25 yds, and wanted to see if there was some way to make use of the shells w/a full bbl. Patterns at 30 yds were very nice and uniform. I counted only within the small bird effective circle - 20" in diameter. 58% (152) pellets were within this circle - and density was such that woodcock sized birds would not have a chance.

I then ran the Remingtons through @ 40 yds. I chose 40 yds as these throw relatively tight patterns through modified. Not bad, but the #7.5s were starting to get thin insofar as small birds are concerned. Probably a 35 yd load, and about what I expected. I didn't bother to count holes

The 40 yd patterns with #6 bowled me over. I got an avg of 87 beautifully distributed #6 pellets within a 20" circle at 40 yds. This works out to 56% in 20" at 40 yds.

Rabbit load, methinks.

Yup, 410s are dove medicine
David, Bruce and I limit ourselves to 410s on opening day.
The other rule is to use a different gun each dove day
during the year.
Mike

I find that when the challenge goes away, I resort to smaller gauges to make it more sporting.

I have missed some easy shots and I know George is right I have wounded some rabbits but 95% of our shots are behind dogs.I'm shooting a lite gun my guess 4 lb gun which is more of a handicap than the 1\2 oz.you have to be locked on the gun or it moves a foot when I pull the trigger.
Two years ago I missed 7 rabbits in a row before I finally figured out you have to be locked on the rabbit....with a 12 you just need to be near one

I have used chambermate 410 inserts on preserve birds with decent effect. Not good enough effect to make me comfortable using them on wild birds.

I found that for training a young dog a 410 with its reduced noise is a good tool.

That said I strongly believe It is imperiative I use enough gun (shot charge) on wild birds to deliver them to the hand. I do not believe I have the skill to do that consistently enough on the shots I normally get on half of my wild bird hunts.

If you are skilled enough to consistently engage wild birds with a 410 I salute you.

When I was in the service in 1966 I was lucky and was shipped to Germany. I was an MP and in the barracks we shared there was a Gun Club run by a retired Master Sargent. There were some good deals in there and I bought a .410 Remington Model 11-48, 25" ventilated barrel improved cylinder. I hunted and killed 10 lb. hares, Hungarian partridge, Cinnamon Teal and some Mallards with it.
Upon returning home, I used it a few times for native quail when I lived in New Jersey and missed out on a triple, an easy left to right shot at a cock quail. Never forget that, the picture is still there in my head.

The shells in Germany were from Belgium and there were paper with a wax on them, couldn't understand in the beginning why I could not fire the second shot until I saw the wax being scrapped off. From there out I had to scrap all the wax off. These were 3" hulls and I used 3" when I got home also.

Still have it and ever once in a while I will take it out. Paid $103 back in 1966. I shipped a Winchester 20 ga. 101 home in a take down case, paid $166.85 and still have the receipt and hang tags for it. I used that quite a bit here in the States but never in Germany.

There is a heckuva difference between what it takes to kill a rabbit and what it takes to deck a dove or quail, IMO. And my opinion is based on many hunts with the .410. For a disciplined gunner the .410 is absolutely suited to doves and quail.

SRH