I know that it is grossly underpowered and probably illegal in most places, but I was wondering (for the sheer sake of curiosity) if anyone has ever personally taken or seen someone take a deer with a slug from a .410 bore shotgun. Again, I am just curious and would never condone it's use on deer. Thanks in advance.

When I was twelve (which was a long time ago) one of my best friends killed a huge 13 point whitetail with a 410 slug. I'd don't remember the actual score, but it was somewhere in the 160-170 range. The deer was facing him at about 15 yards. The first shot hit it under the tongue, which dropped it in its tracks. He then ran up to it and shot it through the heart at point blank which killed it.

Probably the most unlucky deer to ever walk the planet...

Pete

2 years ago, one of my friends boys ( who was 11 at the time) killed his first deer with a single shot shotgun shooting a 410 slug. It was a 168lb doe and he hit her in the neck, just above and left of the shoulder. The deer was about 25 yards away and it dropped and died instantly. The deer fell in tall brush and went down so fast that in the second that the boy lost sight picture he thought he missed it.

And NO I don't recomend it as a deer killer. I think he got lucky that he got a shot so close. The slug was under the skin on the other side of the neck. Obviously not much energy in that round. When my kids are old enough to hunt deer I am going to set them up with a RIFLE that they can shoot very well, at least 243. JMHO

Should to be like shooting a deer up close with a 44 Spcl shouldn't it? Or maybe a .357 Mag?

Well, not a slug story but an old friend shot a bear with #6 shot from a 410, it went 20 yds and piled up, all he wanted to do was sting it and get it to leave his yard.

I know a guy who shot a dog in the chest with a .410 slug. It took another 5 or 6 shots to finally kill the dog.

quote:

Should to be like shooting a deer up close with a 44 Spcl shouldn't it? Or maybe a .357 Mag?

The "slug" is an 88 gr .39 caliber hollowbase roundnose so the BC and SD are pretty poor. About the closest match are the ballistics of a .40 roundball muzzleloading rifle. Both give up about 1/2 of their velocity and 2/3 their KE by the time they pass the 100 yard line. Next closest is probably being hit by a single 000 buckshot pellet. Not that any three can't kill deer but the 410 slug is a pretty weak reed.

My first deer was a doe taken with a .410 slug from my single shot H&R. As I remember, I was about 8 years old and was hunting with my Dad.

The doe stood up and looked at us while we were walking a hay meadow and Dad said "take it"

I knocked it down and Dad finished it off.

Probably 25-35 yards.

My sister in law that lived out of Crosby Minnesota used to use one, and killed a deer every year... off of her back deck, grazing in her yard... so you can't call it hunting... but the 410 slug was effective... range was usually within 25 to 40 yds or so...

you can do that sort of stuff when you live out in the country on 10 acres...

The 410 was legal for deer in Minnesota and not in Wisconsin... yet 22 caliber centerfires were not legal in MN but were legal in Wisconsin...
go figure... Kinda one of those Viking vs the Packers things...

This kid did. That is the deer.

What's the velocity?

I find it hard to believe that the slug is only 88 grs. I calculate a .395" roundball to weigh about 94.5 grs, so the .410 slug would be more I should think.

A .40 roundball rifle makes a decent, though perhaps not great, deer rifle at short ranges. There is an awful lot of precedence for .40s and smaller as 18-19th century deer rifles. Daniel Boone's most famous and well traveled rifle was only a .44 caliber, and he killed more than deer with it. http://members.aol.com/illinewek/faqs/boonegun.htm. So, I'd hunt deer with a .40 roundball any day. Muzzle velocity ought to be in the range of 2000 fps with a .40 cal

And shooting a dog 5-6 times in the chest is required with a .410 to kill it? I find that one a bit difficult to believe if the 'chest shots' are at all reasonably placed and the range is 50 yds or under.

I've shot a few .410 slugs but never chronied one, or weighed them. Something to do I suppose.

Brent

quote:

What's the velocity?

I find it hard to believe that the slug is only 88 grs. I calculate a .395" roundball to weigh about 94.5 grs, so the .410 slug would be more I should think.

Seems some folks have given this topic a great deal of attention...

http://home.freeuk.com/4-10/index.html is a neat little site that makes much of the diminutive cartridge. This from an article posted there written by Marshall Williams:

"The traditional .410 foster-style slug has a 1/5 ounce or 87.5 grain slug at a muzzle velocity (MV) of 1815 feet per second (fps) and developing a muzzle energy (ME) of 640 foot pounds (ft. lbs.). More recent offerings increase the weight of the slug to 1/4 ounce at a slightly reduced MV of 1755 fps for an ME of nearly 750 ft. lbs."

Chuckhawks http://www.chuckhawks.com/410bore.htm has the following entry:

"There is also a 1/5 ounce (around 86 grains) Foster type rifled slug load available for the .410 shotgun. The muzzle velocity is nominally 1830 fps. This rather anemic slug should be limited to game with a live body weight not exceeding about 25 pounds and ranges not exceeding 50 yards (at the outside)."

From http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_6_49/ai_100727291/pg_1 "The .410 slug capable or comical?"

"The Remington measured .402 inch, while the Federal was .394 inch with the Winchester at .389 inch. The RWS measured .409-inch diameter."

"The flat point and hollow point Foster slugs, with Winchester at 93 grains and Remington and Federal at 97 grains are completely outclassed by the 114-grain Brenneke."

"The Brenneke's performance is roughly comparable to a hot, light-bullet load in a .40 S&W pistol. The performance of the Foster slugs is somewhere around the .32 S&W long to .32 H&R Magnum level."

One of my best friends growing up had a mom that used a bolt action mossberg 410 and shot a deer every year. Almost always fairly close range 25-35 yards but killed a deer every year and never shot one more than twice. I don't recomend it but it surely will work.

A neighbor was cleaning barns when a nice buck tripped across the barnyard and his 410 barked once and the buck died.

It's the last thing I'd use but my Father used a 25-20 for years until it was outlawed and it took a quite a few deer. The 25-20 has roughly the same energy but was a lot more accurate.

When I was about 15 (a long time ago), I shot a small spike in Pennsylvania with a .410. I broke it's back (a lucky shot). I finished it off with a shot to the neck. I also shot a doe or two with it. It works, but it has to be at close range. I don't recommend it.