I shot my first pheasant with a single shot .410 . I hunted a few years and took a few. I also crippled a few as well. Got an 870 for christmas and haven' t shot another with the .410 since. So to answer the question, I' d say yes, you can, but if you have a bigger bore, use that. I have taken pheasants with everything but a 28ga. All will work in the right situation. JMHO