Careful there jimmy that means you only have two bets! lol After i made my last post I remembered that an old freind of my dads was about seventy years old and he swore buy his .410. He liked it because of how flat it shot and it would no break his old bones. He is long gone now but he shot deer every year.

I think at bow ranges a .410 would work fine, probably even extend your range a bit. There are PLENTY of deer that go down to the .410 to say it doesn't work.

Yes a broad head works by slicing tissue, vanes and arteries (if you use a sharp head). And it causes more more blood loss because a sharp cut bleeds more and the blood does not coagulate as quick.

However the deer dies from the same thing with either weapon. It dies from lack of oxygen to the brain. Either by bleeding out or by choking to death. Both take a fair amount of time.

A .410 does not have near the energy to kill a deer on the spot like a high powered rifle. Then again neither do most 20, 12 and muzzleloaders if you put it in the lungs. I have hunted with all of them and the deer still run before they die if shot in the lungs.

I have gutted deer shot by .410's, believe me they do plenty of damage to the lungs. Just like a bow though, you need to be very criticle of shot placement.

However I do feel the bow has an advantage. If you get a clean pass thru with a bow it doesn't seem to spook the deer as much. Sometimes they remain more calm and will not travel as far before they fall over. The arrow just sort of zipps thru them. They run a little bit and stop trying to figure out what happened. If you don't get a pass thru or shoot them with a lower powered gun there is enough shock that it freaks them out and they sometimes run for everything they have until they fall over. I have seen deer run 100 to 400 yards with a good shot. They are just that quick and have that much stamina.

I will also agree I get better blood trails with a bow than a gun in most cases. I feel it has to do with the trauma of the wound caused by a gun. And if you hit the heart usually the blood trail sucks. It's hard to pump blood every where if the pump doesn't work anymore.

Paul

For me, the answer to this is it depends on who is using the .410 and how they are using it. First, the .410 slugger is legal here in Arkansas. I won't use it for deer because I have other guns. My boy, however, who is just now 9 years old and weighs in at a whopping 78 pounds cannot handle and shoot my rifles and shotguns. I could have bought him a youth model rifle, but I wanted his first gun to be an "all around" weapon he can use to hunt several different types of game. The .410 is perfect for a youngster learning how to hunt. My boy is well-practiced and deadly with his .410 at 30-40 yards. He hunts with me onlyand will not be taking questionable shots or shots beyond that distance. As he grows, we'll retire the .410 and save it for my first grandson and my songet some of my guns (so I can get new ones!).

Stupid ?, I'm new and don't know how to start a tread can anyone help?

Go to the forum topic of your choice, say Deer Hunting (this one). At the top left hand side above the threads are two buttons just like the one you used post this question. Except they will say New Post and New Poll. Click on the one that says New Post and then make your thread. Don't forget to add a topic. I don't think it will post it if you don't. It's sort of idiot proof in that area.

Good luck.

Sorry, everyone has it wrong. For one, energy does not kill. Bullets and arrows and knifes kill the same way, (blood loss.) arrows cut arteries and bullets crush them.

I'm sure a .410 would kill them just as fast as an arrow. Don't forget you can shoot though light brush with the .410 and not with an arrow. If I had a choice it would be the .410. If you are going to hunt with a gun I'd take something a little more powerful.


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Good point...

Actually energy will kill if you have enough of it and a bullet that will transfer it properly. This is why high powered rifles kill so effectively. They have enough hydrostatic shock to dissrupt the nervous system and drop a deer where it stands.

Some shotguns and muzzle loaders will do it as well with a shoulder or neck shot.

A .410 or other low powered firearm will not do that, nor will a bow. This is why shot placement is so much more important with these weapons.

Paul

No offense Spiffy but shooting a slow moving lightweight bullet like a 410 slug through "light brush" is NOT A GOOD IDEA, especially when shot placement is so important.