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

Mike;

Do you remember 20 or 30 years back ( I think) when Layne Simpson the gun writer shot a thousand or so doves in Argentina with a .410 O/U?

Regards;
Stephen Howell

A lot of them had bands. I think they are homers!
That could get some folks upset regardless of legality.

Didn’t watch the entire video but he has to be using 3” shells.

Most underestimate the effectiveness of a 11/16 to 3/4 oz. load out of a properly choked .410.

A member here, Chuck Heald of CA, used one effectively on wild pheasants once. He regularly used the gauge on CA quail species as well.

I have no doubt that my 3/4 oz. nickel plated loads would hammer feral pigeons, within range.I use it on doves and quail, and have plans to take a limit of woodies this coming season with TSS hand loads in one of my.410s.

Look what Norman Pillot could do with a .410-bore back when the 2 1/2-inch shell only carried 3/8-ounce of shot!! From the July 1933 issue of National Sportsman --



Mr. Pillot won the International Flyer Championship in 1931.

It might be worth considering why 12ga pigeon loads are what they are. And the general level of mediocrity exhibited by the average casual shotgunner. Tiny guns may not be the go-to choice for most.

Nobody ever said there were/are, in my lifetime. But, I'll stick my neck out here and make a claim. I can kill any gamebird at 30 yards or less, with a .410, that a decent gunner can kill with a 12 at 45 yards.

You see, it's exactly as KYJon said in another thread. It's much about knowing the range, and not necessarily about the gauge.