demoIL

Personally no I don't think it's enough.. I'm not saying it won't do it I just don't think it's enough.. Ethically either for a young hunter, he gets excited and misses just a hair it's not going to do it..

Not to mention that you should check your regs cuz in many states it's not legal..

Seif5034

Well, I normally use my 20ga. and my dad uses his 12ga. The only other shotguns I have are a 20ga with a fixed full choke (I've read that buckshot above #4 will produce erratic patterns from a full choke) or the .410 with a slug. I don't have any spare money laying around to buy a new gun because I'm engaged and the wedding although we're keeping things cheap is still a wedding and costs money

backstrap fever

i fully understand the money thing but as far as a .410 for deer it is not legal in new york as for the bow argument an arrow has a razor edge and keeps on cutting even after it stops in the deer but a soft lead slug from a small shotgun like the .410 just expands and stops not very lethal unless very close range but you need to look around the used gun shops and pawn shops the last 20 gauge i bought i paid 58 dollars for and that was a three shot repeater singles will be cheap

Mojotex

Yes ... but not on my list as a "reasonable" choice. If I were limited to shotgunning and trying to stay with as mild a redoil as I can, Iwould skip to the 20 ga., use a rifled barrel and a quality sabot slug.

gregrn43

a person can kill a deer with a 22 short if its close enough and you hit it inthe right spot, like between the eyes or something, but that doesnt make it a deer rifle. the same can be said about a .410 also.

Pro-Line

I have and shoot several .410's. They are one of the most intriguing calibers (yes...410 is a caliber, not a gauge) that I've ever run across.

With 3" AND ONLY 3" slugs, they will kill deer out to 50 yards max. I've patterned 3 of my .410's and that's the end of the line for them. Optimum shots are more like 40 yards and less.

Here lies the problem with .410's and slugs. One problem is that most have a poor sighting system on them. Many have just the single bead for sighting and that just doesn't cut the mustard when you are trying to hit a reasonably small target on a deer. Another problem is availibilty of 3" slugs. Make sure (if you decide to go the .410 route) that you (or the user of the gun) has plenty of 3" slugs before season starts and that he shoots it many, many times before trying to take a deer with it. Also, many shotguns are picky when it comes to slugs...and there really aren't that many 3" .410 slugs on the market. The 2 1/2" slugs aren't worth their weight in rat poop.

A .410 is a caliber best handled by a veteran shooter, not a novice. I've seen it frustrate the hell out of a young hunter when they just can't hit a rabbit/squirrel with one because the pattern with shot is so small...and the same will happen with slugs.

If it were me...and I was having someone else use the gun...I'd opt for something different.

millerhunter13

^ i agree with pro-line, except for the part about shot, i have shot my 410 out to probaly 40 yards with shot and the patter was excellent, but you do have to shoot 3" slugs, i reccommend remmington slugs.

reds10ss

my younger cousin used itfor a couple years and took 2 deer with his 410. that gun shot very well...i was hunting with him right next to him on the ground when he shot a nice 6pt. at about 50 yards. the deer went about 60 yds and expired.

kingofspring

Ask yourself, is a .40cal blackpowder enough for deer? .410 is basically the same thing.

kodiakhuntmaster

My father has taken several deer with a 410, and my uncle got a nice 8 pointer with the same gun back in the 70's. Neither my dad or my uncle were real keen on big game hunting though, they were mostly small game hunters. Hence, why they didn't have anything larger. Dad finally moved up to the 12 gauge when his eye sight got bad about 10 years ago.

I think the 410 will work fine, but I wouldn't start anyone out on it for deer. The first gun I ever deer hunted with was a 20 gauge.