.410 buckshot for coyotes
 

I went to walmart and was gonna get some 20ga 00 buckshot and they were out but they had .410 and I wandered if .410 buckshot would be good for coyotes? my .410 has a fixed full choke so I didnt know if it would work very good, also would a smaller buckshot be better so there is more pellets being a smaller shell?

I wouldn't recommend it. Sounds like you ALREADY OWN a .410 shotgun, so just like the thread on the .22LR and .22WMR, so you aren't out anything to try it, but you'll be wanting something else pretty quickly.

I grew up with a .410, we had a "bone pit" on the backside of our feedlot at the house where we'd dump dead heifers and calves. About 15ft deep and 20yrds across, it was a regular coyote buffet. I'd sit in the dark between the cattle carcasses and wait. They'd come streaming over the edge down into the bowl, I'd take aim, close my eyes, and blast with the .410. Under 20yrds, even #6 birdshot would drop a coyote. I converted over to 00 buck, but when I patterned it out of 20yrds, I realized that I'd be better off shooting slugs, or better yet, shooting something else entirely.

If you're only hunting 20-40yrds, then you'll probably be ok, but again, it's not a good option, and I don't recommend you waste the time and energy. Much better served to go find proper buckshot for that 20ga of yours.

But if you insist...

Buy a couple boxes of 00 or 000 buck and pattern it, within a range where you get 2-3 pellets under the palm of your hand, it'll be fine. At the same time, however, buy a couple boxes of .410 slugs. Shoot a few groups. You'll very likely notice that you have a longer effective range with the slugs than you did with the 00 or 000 buck.

The only "smaller shot" buckshot loads I'm aware of are the Win PDX junk that has those stupid "disks" on top of 00 or BB buckshot. 100% not an appropriate coyote load, and the Federal #4 buckshot load. I haven't shot the Federal 4 buck out of a long barrel, but I have out of a Taurus Judge. These loads are "Limited Recoil" rounds, only trucking 950fps out of a long barrel, giving up a lot of energy compared to a standard load. Very weak. Plus, the same rules apply. It only has 9 pellets, but since they're #4 buck, you need 4 or 5 of them on target AT LEAST at the range you'll be hunting. I personally would not use it.

I'm not saying .410 buckshot won't kill coyotes, just that it's not really any better than .410 slugs, and DEFINITELY not better than that 20ga of yours. I'd honestly take a .22lr out over a .410 with buckshot.

ok, is shooting slugs through a full choke safe? and thanks!

***Not really a smart thing to do, as they really should be shot through a more open choke. Many moons ago my Dad ruined the last few inches of the 30" full choke barrel of a beautiful Belgium made Browning Semautomatic 12 gauge shooting slugs through it.

Not safe to shoot slugs out of a full choke. I did a bunch when I was a kid before I knew better with my .410, but that doesn't mean it was safe. Too much constriction at the muzzle.

00buckshot probably isn't safe in a full choke in a .410. Full choke restriction should be 0.035", so .410" - 0.035" = 0.375". 00buck is 0.33", only leaves 0.045" for the wad, which I'm betting isn't nearly enough. Not as bad as a slug, but not great.

Under the right conditions I could beat a grizzly bear to death with a lug wrench.
What's the point?
Is there one?

A hand full of slugs out of a 410 want hurt I have shot some.out of mine and the choke shows no signs of cleaning up. I bought gun with a mod choke in a lot of guns. The choke on it opened up to.about ic choke. I found out later that it was the lady I got the guns forms late husband deer gun. So a lot of slugs will I lean up a choke.

I'd buy ya a cookie if ya did ;)

But yeah, that's the moral of this deal: .410 isn't a proper shotty for coyotes.

But do they even make .410s with anything but a full choke?

ive shot em with a 12 gauge with 2 & 4 shot so I think you could get by with it.

Comparing the number of 2 & 4 shot in a 12 gauge with what the OP is asking about in a .410 with the few 00 pellets it has is rather ridiculous, especially with the "getting by with it" statement when we're talking about humanely killing any animal we shoot at!

topgun 3006; we're talking about humanely killing any animal we shoot at !

+1

x10.........

I'd love to know what those conditions are? ;)


"But do they even make .410s with anything but a full choke?"

That's a good question, they've been making .410s and .410 slugs for a long time. Not sure I've ever seen anything other than a full. I know I've shot more than a few through my old single shot. And also through an old Savage 12 gauge goose gun. Neither gun is worse the wear for it, but maybe I just got lucky.

==============
As for the original point, add me to the list of people who don't think it would do the job humanely.

Not sure if this is some personal debate, but certainly they make screw in chokes for 410 bore shotguns - Just to be clear................

No debate; just pondering the question. After further research, seems like full is by far the most common, but not exclusive.

There are 4 00 pellets in a 2 1/2 inch 410 shell and 5 in a 3 inshell. That from a pip squeak shell at what range? 30,40, 50 yards? It is really a bad idea.

You really can't make this kind of statement about the 410 - the power/energy/momentum/Taylor KO factor is there, and its effectiveness at killing coyotes WHEN IT CONNECTS is well proven.

If a guy can connect with it, then shooting a coyote with 00 buck is about the same as shooting it 5 times with a 22WMR. The energy is there, and based on shot size, the Taylor KO factor is actually BETTER for the 410 buckshot than for the 22WMR by about 2x. A factor of 3x+ for the 22lr. I don't think many coyotes are going to argue with 5 hits from a 22wmr, so it's foolish to say that the 410 buckshot is UNDER POWERED.

The reality is that for any range beyond about 30yrds, those 5 pellets just aren't going to be hitting anything relevant. At 50yrds when the spread is the size of a trashcan lid and 3 out of 5 pellets miss and one hits it in the haunches and the other sticks in the shoulder, well, that dog's gonna run, without question.

At short ranges where your pattern could slip through a coffee can, then that's one dead dog.

It's not like the .410 is pumping shot out there so slow that you can see it in flight. 1200-1300fps with 55 or 70grns (00 and 000 respectively) will put a damper on whatever it finds. You just can't be certain that even ONE pellet will hit where you want in a shotgun, once your spread gets too big.

Actually I can make that statement, a rifle is an entirely different animal, if you know the gun and where it shoots you can put a small bullet in the area you want it to go. With a 410 and a few pellets, you are doing a hail Mary every time you pull the trigger hoping a pellet will hit someplace vital and ten hope the animal doesn't run off and die. I qualified 3 times a year with a 12 gage and 00 buckshot and after 30 yards even the 9 pellets in a 12 ga 2 3/4 inches spread out so that many are not in a kill zone, I also was a police firearms instructor for a conservation agency and I know the limits of buckshot. Using a 410 with buckshot for the kinds of distances most coyotes are killed at would be ill advised at best. I will not say what it would be at worst. We should all strive to kill an animal as quickly as possible, we should not use something that is essentially shoot and hope and under normal circumstances coyotes will not be within a distance where anyone would have any right to have confidence of a quick kill. I don't care if it is only a coyote. Better to stay home than make do and have as many or more woumdings than kills. Feel free to disagree if you want, this is more about doing the right thing than about ballistics. Ruark said "use enough gun" I am an enthusiastic believer in that thought process.

"Say what you mean, or mean what you say"....

I whole heartedly agree with your SECOND post that connecting with the 410, or any buckshot, is what really limits the range, which is exactly what I posted in my response. Your FIRST post, however, didn't say that. It said that the 410 is a "pip squeak," implying that it's underpowered for the job, which just isn't the case. We hear it said all the time, "a 22 in the eye is better than a 45 in the wall" (or in the arm, or in the leg, or wherever the "miss" happens to land), which really is what we're both saying. If you're shooting at ranges where the buckshot is patterned tightly enough that you know it's on target, then it'll do the job.

It's just not very far out there before it won't be patterned tightly enough anymore.

But that's not what a term like "pip squeak" is used for. The 410 has the power, just not the accuracy. I have no qualms with anybody calling out buckshot from any shotshell gauge as being range limited by its pattern - as that's a VERY REAL PROBLEM. But an underpowered pip squeak, it aint.

Having killed double, maybe triple digit numbers of coyotes at single digit ranges, including double digit number of coyotes with a 410 and 00 buckshot, I can vouch for the effectiveness, and I can attest to the limitations.

Hail mary, without a doubt, pip squeak, not so much...

potato, potahto,:D.