Just wondering everyones opinion useing .410 slugs for deer.

I am not a fan of the 410 slug for deer ,not enough energy.
But I have seen 2 deer put down with 1 shot each from 25 and 35 yds.
Both deer were shot by my neibors kid with sand bags and red dot . Dad was in the blind .
I would sujest a broadside shot only. Less that 50 yds !
If at all posible I would sujest a 20 gau as min.

I just posted this to get every ones opinion about the .410. In my opinion its not enough gun. I use the trusty 12 ga. My 1st deer I killed was with a 20 ga.

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?

Go for it... pick your shots, and like everyone else mentioned... try and keep your range within 50yrds.

Can you use a 20 guage on Turkey?

Tom

Yes ,Remington has several 20 gau turkey guns ,and there are 20 gau turkey loads.
A 20 gau just dosn't have the range of a 12 gau

410 is not legal here in oklahoma.

As a kid, a .410 brought down my first deer, a 6 point. The deer was running across a field about a 100 yards away when I opened up with my single shot Savage. I got off a couple of rounds and probably was shooting about 5 feet high because at the time I knew little about ballistics.

The buck stopped running and since my dad was on the other side of a hill close to me, he came over the hill to investigate what the heck I was doing. He got off both barrels of his 16 gauge side by side and missed. The deer saw him and ran away from him and towards me.

The buck was running with his head down and directly at me. I shot again at 20 yards with the .410 and this time I connected. The slug hit the deer in the middle of the neck and the impact from the slug literally flipped the deer over on its back and it landed dead on the spot.

To this day I think the deer would have ran me over if I didn't shoot it first. So yes, a .410 certainly will kill a deer. But if you are looking for a smaller gauge shotgun, I would think a 20 gauge would be a better choice.

check your regulations, I don't think it was legal in Iowa