When I was in high school I put a deer down with a .410 slug, it had gotten into some barbed wire and was tangled really badly, dragging a big ball of wire and a fence post...I couldn't get very close because of how it was flailing around, about 15yrd shot, I hit it right in the boiler room and it still took a while to die...I didn't get an exit wound, and the slug wasn't in very good shape when I butchered the deer.

It WILL kill a deer if you're close enough, but so will jumping on one's back and stabbing it with a hunting knife...I don't recommend you try either.

A quick look at the numbers might change your mind too....

1/5oz slug at 1830fps is what I usually shoot for coyotes....that's an 87.5grn soft lead slug with a balistic coefficient right around .12-.14. At the muzzle, you're going to have about 629ft.lbs., which isn't terrible, but pretty low. It's about on par with a .45colt, which is typically considered marginal for deer hunting...

HOWEVER, the "bullet construction" is NOT going to help you. Most lead slugs for .410 are pretty soft, I get pretty poor performance from them on coyotes, they're just too soft.

Not to mention that getting the 1830fps is a pretty long stretch....I've chrono'ed some of the Winchester loads I've used for coyotes in the past, they claim 1830fps on the box, I was lucky to get 1450fps, averaging around 1350fps on most shots (out of 50rnds tested). The energy on these was more on par with a .38spcl or 9mm Luger round.

Most states don't allow it, and it's not a great idea, the bullet type and material sucks, their energy is low, and your accuracy isn't likely going to be very impressive...if you're going to carry a shotgun afield anyway, why carry a .410?