410 slugs for deer?

[onthefly]

Just wondering if anyone has an opinion on shooting a 410 shotgun slug for deer. My grandpa claims to have used one many times, but I'm not so sure it has enough penetrating power.

Opinions?

[GatorBait]

I personally wouldn't do it, as it doesn't have the knock down power and tend to loose half of their velocity when hitting the 50yd mark. That said, the chance of injury a deer w/o recovery increases greatly. I would suggest going to google and search ".410 Slug Deer" and read up on some of the articles as many offer great insight on the possibilities of using a .410 for deer. GL

[Wade Joseph]

Besides they are not legal in most states anymore.

[onthefly]

I personally wouldn't consider using the .410. Anything with marginal knock down power should be avoided.

My deer gun's a Browing A-Bolt 30-06 that works like a charm.

[c&amagn]

My father took a forkhorn 2-years ago with a .410 at about 40-yards, it did knock the deer off it's feet upon impact bot did not clear the other side of the deer, he was using a Winchester Model 9410 lever action .410 with a scope on it, very acurate gun up to about 75-yards, I sighted it in myself. I would say though like any shot, the shot placement in the boiler room will take a deer down, but after seeing for myself that the slug did not go through the ohter side at that range did bother me. Luckily he did have great shot placement and the buck didn't go more than 20-yards after getting back up after the shot. My advice is if a .410 is all you have to use for deer hunting, get to know your gun very well, and keep your shots inside of 50-yards and place your shot very well.

[Powerstroke]

It was discussed not to long ago on here that the .410 has around HALF of the power or a 12ga slug. Yes a 12ga is lots bigger, but proportionally they should be comparable. Unfortunately the .410 just doesn't get enough power behind it. It is fast and can be accurate, but it may not contain enough power. Just look up the numbers.

I will admit that we hunted with .410 slugs when we were younger, but we never got he chance to shoot anything. Now that I know the ballistics of the round, I don't think its suitable for deer. Even a .22 can be lethal to a deer with the right shot placement, but using an underpowered round is unethical. Like was said earlier, its also illegal in most states now.

[irvingdog]

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My advice is if a .410 is all you have to use for deer hunting, get to know your gun very well, and keep your shots inside of 50-yards and place your shot very well.

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I could say the same thing about a .22

/but I won't

//Beware .410. The crippler!!!

[Code-Man]

I have heard a lot of people using a 410 slug. They really like it for drives. Nice light gun but in thick stuff it's really nice they brag.

[Ufatz]

We've been through this silliness before. See if you can search archives. Use enough gun.

[c&amagn]

"irvingdog" a .22-cal is not legal in the state of MN for taking deer, a .410 is and until the state chanes the regs on that it can be used like other states where it is not. A .410 is pretty much the same caliber as a .45 handgun which I belive is a legal caliber for handgun hunting in MN too, might be wrong on that or might be right. Upon taking down our deer stands this past w-end in Zone-2 which is in Rifle zone, we encounterd a nice size doe dead which had been gut shot which I'm assuming by a rifle, one agian poor shot placement by somebody who most like should have passed up the shot and let the deer go by. I have also seen and help track a huge 8-pionter over 6-miles shot by a 12ga. right above the shoulder blade and just below the spine only to have another hunter claim him down the road, sure the 12ga. knocked him off his feet, but also enabled the buck with 4 good legs and no lungs/heart damage to run off. It's all about shot placement with your choice of gun that is legal to use set by the DNR. A person could also claim with Archery that a 14-year old shooting his bow set to 40-lbs. so the kid can hold hte draw for a few minutes that the arrow at that poundage will not exit the deer, but if it were set to 50lbs. plus that it will, but if that kid did make a good shot placement at the 40lbs. in the heart/lung area that yes, that deer will eventually go down and die. I have also seen big groups of drivers only have a deer jump up and become swiss cheese too or run off with 3 slugs or bullets hitting it only to run off die else where, once again poor judgement on shot placement or they could have let the deer run off and have a different hunter get the der down the road down the trail. If a person only has a .410 to use the deer will go down if they concider the ballistics and know how far out not to shoot and they can shoot the .410 in the heart/lung region like a good ethical hunter should.

[Mr Special]

I personally wouldn't use a 410, but a few people n our hunting party uses them with good success.. Shot placement, n knowing ur good is a must.. They won't take a shot past 75yrds also..

If it's a recoil, or weight issue I'd highly reccomend a 20g.. There pretty darn light and tons of knockdown power, especially if ur using a rifled barrel n sabots..

Later

[BobT]

I started a similar thread shortly before the opener because my daughter would be using a .410 on her first hunt. She got a shot at a deer from about 25 yards and I saw no indication at that time or afterwards that she had hit the deer. No blood, no hair, nothing. Fortunately for us, he reappeared within range of my 30-06 and we were happily able to take him home. When skinning him out, we discovered that she did in fact hit him and it was a well placed shot. The slug didn't penetrate even to the opposite side of the body so I don't know if it failed to even hit him vitally since my rifle hit him in the same vicinity and did enough damage to all but remove evidence of her shot.

Next year, she'll be hunting with more gun.

Bob

[Bogsucker]

If you do actually look at the ballistics of a .410 slug you'll find that they are more powerful(kinetic energy) than a .357 mag and the brenneke 1/4 oz. is more powerful than a 240 grain .44 mag. The only problem is the slugs lack mass, as in way too light. The .410 shell can shoot 3/4 oz of shot so why do they not offer a slug heavier than 1/4 oz??? The .410 could be a very effective deer gun but the currently offered slugs are just way too light.

[irvingdog]

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"irvingdog" a .22-cal is not legal in the state of MN for taking deer, a .410 is and until the state chanes the regs on that it can be used like other states where it is not.

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I never said the .22 was legal. I said I could use one to kill a deer if well placed. Also, don't assume that everything the DNR says is safe, sane, ethical or efficient.

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A .410 is pretty much the same caliber as a .45 handgun which I belive is a legal caliber for handgun hunting in MN too, might be wrong on that or might be right.

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Not legal to use a .45 ACP in Mn.

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.410 to use the deer will go down if they concider the ballistics and know how far out not to shoot and they can shoot the .410 in the heart/lung region like a good ethical hunter should.

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And that is exactly what I said you could say about the .22.

Many, many people are given a .410 to use because of low recoil or because it's the last legal gun to use in the vault. Folks put them in the hands of kids or people with low hunting skill levels. Plus, the ammo industry hardly even makes a decent slug for a .410

Got a 20G? That's the way to go if you're in doubt.

[troutmaster]

How can you people say that shooting a deer with an arrow is any more ethical then shooting it with a .410 slug? if you hit the deer in the right spot you can kill it with a pellet gun, so yes the .410 would be just fine for deer, i took 2 big doe with a .410 when i was 12 years old, didn't get more then 10 yards and both dropped like a ton of bricks.

[c&amagn]

Troutmaster, that was my whole point, I was trying to make a comparison that pretty much no matter what you use, if you hit them in the right spot they will go down, some people dont get that I guess. I personally don't like chasing a deer all over the county only to have another hunter get them and or losing wild game period or feeding the crow population from poor shots or should have been passed up shots or shooting at anything that moves like what just happended to that 14-year old Deer Hunter from Buffalo, My condolences goes out to the family and family members.