I was jus wondering whether you would take a 20 gauge or a .410 squirrel hunting? I think the 20 guage is a bit to strong but does the .410 have the distance you need for squirrel hunting? (And which .410 would you chose? Remington 870 Express or Mosseberg model 500?)

i would go with the 20 because the 410 doesn`t have as much shot as the and the 20 will go though more of the limbs then the 410 will unless you reload then you can make the 410 go though there better

The .410 will travel just as far as the 20 ga. and at the same velocities. It just uses lest powder because there is less shot. Unless it is a straight clear shot, I wouldn' t pull the trigger on the .410. Also, go with the 870. I made the mistake of the mossberg. Will an okay gun, there is so much more available for the 870.

I started off hunting with a 410,a pickup truck wouldn' t hold all the squirrels I took with it when I was a kid.
the little 410 is a great little gun,you just have to take a good clean shot.

My dad would give me 10 shells and he would except 10 squirrels when I came back., LOL.
No kidding,it will take a squirrel just as far as a 20 ga.just less shot in the shell.

I agree with tree climber and outdoorsman, I' m assuming oldup got burned by a .410 once, or hasn' t used one much, or hasn' t used one in 3" much (or is a poor shot[:-]). As long as you do your part, i.e. don' t miss, a 3" chamber .410 will rip a squirrel out of the trees, just don' t use the same light shot as you would for larger bores, I use 6 shot, occasionally I use winchesters 5#' s, but since they cost an arm and a leg to blow on squirrels, they usually get reserved for coyotes. Neither the 20ga or the .410 really excell this time of year, since the leaves and new green branches are in full swing, and trees are pretty dense, but the 20ga won' t give a noticeable increase in performance, leaves block lots of shot just as easily as a little. I' ve used .410 in 3" chambers for all my life, and have yet to have a squirrel argue about getting hit, I don' t know how many free Mepps lures I' ve gotten over the years, but at one point I had a full ' bassin box' of free Mepps lures (check out their website, they buy squirrel tails, either for cash or for credit towards lures), like I said, it takes about 10-15tails per lure, and I usually get two or three lures a year, due ONLY to hunting with a .410, so I guess the proof is in the pudding.

if you are a good shot and you have a .410 than you will be fine- i' ve taken countless squirrels and they never stood a chance against my trusty .410[:-]
-hotgunner

I have .410 and it shoots every bit as far as a 20 gauge and
is very accurate.Ive hunted with one for 4 or 5 years.It has
never failed on me.