.410 for crows?

Do you mean for hitting them over the head?

I have never been a big fan of using the smallest possible weapon you can to kill an animal. Crows are pretty tough and wary birds that, at least around here, rarely come diving in for close shots. I don't see any point in not using a 12. Even a crow deserves to be killed as cleanly as possible, rather than catch a few pellets from a .410 to go off and die slowly.
 
A 410 will work just fine on crows as long as you remember that there is alot less shot in that little case and the patterns will thin out pretty fast. Stick with 7 1/2 shot and keep your shots inside 25yrd and you should have no trouble. I started hunting with a 410 double barrel, it didn't take me long to relise I was better off with a single shot from a larger guage. Hunt with what you have, it's better than staying home.

A 410 is a tough shotgun to shoot consistanly. Most skeet shooters will shoot nearly the same score in the 12,20,and 28 gauge competitions but their score will fall off with the 410.

AWS

You might want to pattern you 410 and see what range you will get nice even paterns that a crow will recieve multiple hits at.
 
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Do you mean for hitting them over the head?

I have never been a big fan of using the smallest possible weapon you can to kill an animal. Crows are pretty tough and wary birds that, at least around here, rarely come diving in for close shots. I don't see any point in not using a 12. Even a crow deserves to be killed as cleanly as possible, rather than catch a few pellets from a .410 to go off and die slowly.



I second that
 
Quote:
Quote:
Do you mean for hitting them over the head?

I have never been a big fan of using the smallest possible weapon you can to kill an animal. Crows are pretty tough and wary birds that, at least around here, rarely come diving in for close shots. I don't see any point in not using a 12. Even a crow deserves to be killed as cleanly as possible, rather than catch a few pellets from a .410 to go off and die slowly.



I second that




I third it.
 
Hey guys JimmyCrowKilla is a junior member, just maybe a 410 is all he has. It will kill crows very well if he keeps his shots with in the lethal range of his weapon. I put alot of rabbits, pheasants and grouse on the table with a 410 when I was a kid and they haven't gotten less powerful in the past 50 yrs. I kid shooting a 410 at 25yds is alot more humane than someone trying to kill crows at 60yds with a 12ga.

AWS
 
I do ALOT of .410 shooting. A .410 will do alot more than what most people think IF IT'S USED WITHIN IT'S LIMITS. A .410 will crows just fine out to 25yrds or so like already mentioned. 7 1/2's like mentioned is probably your best bet aswell. One thing you'll want to do is pattern your gun with both 3" and 2 1/2" shells. Even though the 3" loads start of with more shot all my .410's pattern better with the 1/2oz 2 1/2" loads once you get out past 15 yrds or so. A 3" 410 load is probably one of the worst patterning shotshells you'll find. Too much shot in too tight a bore equals poor patterns. Try some 1/2oz loads and I think you'll be surpirsd. They are cheaper, faster, hit harder and will pattern better.

Tim
 
OK CALM DOWN EVERYONEEEEEEEEEE!!! GEEZUS JUST A QUESTION!!...I am a long time hunter with .410's and have downed every type of small game, just never used one for crows...fish/get/warny, i shoot alot of clays with my O/U 410 and i do bring the crows in very close when I hunt them, have no doubt i could score well with it.
FISHFORSMALLIES:"I don't see any point in not using a 12"...the point being ive bagged deer and turkeys with a long bow, but i also use a .270 and an 835 Ultramag...and my usual crow gun is a stoeger m2000 semi!
AWS thanks for the props, just so everybody knows,im a junior member just becuz im new on the site, in the "real" world, im a 45 year old, outdoor writer, who hunts with handgun, shotgun, long/compound bow,bear, deer, turkey, waterfowl,crow, etc, aint no rookie if ya get my drift /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif...so heres some advice back atcha folks who say they dont get the birds diving right in, you need to work on something cuz we get em right on top of us consistently as do many people on here, sometimes measured in feet not yards.
Trex, love the 410,use it alot for snowshoe hare hunting, it just struck me this year that I never use it for crows, its a light, pretty little gun shoots like a dream, im def gunna whack a few crows with it this spring.when im on the range all the guys around are always saying hey let me give that a try!!
 
I never said a .410 wouldnt do the trick, but in my opinion its pure stupidity to hunt with a gun you would have to question before you take it out, when you already have proven killers.(12gauge) Thats like the 17hmr/centerfire varmint rifle debate. Yes, inside of x amount of yards a 17hmr can and will kill coyotes, but I dont know of too many hunters that use it as a goto gun. Catch My Drift?
 
I know a kid who hunts canadian geese with a .410 (no lie)
and they never need a followup. His dad taught him how to shoot, and shoot very well he does. So yes, this can be done with proper shot placement. He will be moving up to a 20 ga. this fall, but he felt more comfortable with his .410 for years.

Scott12
 
I guess my angle on this is when predator/varmint hunting it is rare to hear a guy that wants to handicap himself in some manner.

There are countless posts on this board about trying to improve a 3/4" group down to a 1/2", or which caliber will kill them DRT, or which caliber will shoot the flattest to allow for longer shots. I don't recall ever seeing a post that asked a question like "what caliber will make it most difficult for me to ever actually kill a coyote"?

If you posted that you only hunt coyotes with a .22 rimfire cus your so good at calling and shooting that you only have to take ten yard shots that all go right in the ear you would get the same answer from me. A .22 will certainly kill coyotes, I have done it myself when squirrel hunting, but when I go calling the .223 goes with me, not the 10/22. For most people the object is to be a more effecient hunter, rather than "how can I make hunting more difficult".

Do what you want, of course, but if your going to be hunting with a shotgun, why not use the most effective one? As long as your only taking short shots the .410 is just fine. You must enjoy watching the ones that are 30-40 yards away fly off a lot more than I do.

You obviously are a much better caller and pick out much better set-ups than I do to get them right into your lap. But keep in mind, I am no outdoor writer, if you get my drift.
 
If your calling them just Xfeet away, the contender pistol will work fine /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Seriously though, just this weekend I was thinning my ever increasing pigeon population using my 10" contender (which I patterned btw). To be honest at 15-20yds using 6,8 shot it really does some magical things, since it is just a short little tube. I will be reloading soon for my new o/u and gonna try 9s in it.

I could have used a 12ga, but I didnt, I could use a 12 on rabbit, squirrel gophers but I dont. I dont use my 410s to make things more difficult, which some people do for sure, I personally use them because they are nice to shoot, fun and used correctly work well, and I think most people that shoot them are in that category.

I think the 410 gets a bum rap, as an ineffective/inefficient killer, usually by those that shoot too far out or expect way too much out of it.

enjoy your .410 and post some pics of the pile of crows you get with it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif

Dave
 
getfoxy your definiteley drifting somehwere......what part dont you get?....by your definition, then everyone who decides to hunt with a longbow because its more challenging then a compound bow is "stupid" ? because they handicap themselves?

so im also stupid because i use a handgun deer hunting, when i could just use my .270?......and wth was questioning the 410?....i was questioning if anyone used it for crow hunting not the caliber itself....try to focus for a second and see if you can ..GET MY DRIFT:)
P.S.AND WATCH TRED BARTA, HE DOES IT THE HARD WAY TOO!!
 
HEY FISHFORSMALLONES, "For most people the object is to be a more effecient hunter, rather than "how can I make hunting more difficult"."

thats not true that why people hunt with bows and muzzleloaders, and oh my i fish for smallies with a flyrod, yupp just DRIFT a big ole deer hair bug right past them, course i guess it would be EASIER with a nightcrawler or powerbait worm, SOME people dont equate the easy way with being the best way!!....you boys sound a little complacent and well fed to me, maybe you should break out of your rut and challenege yourself in the field now and then and oyu wont be sitting on forums passing not v ery well thought out judgements on others...and maybe you should read some of the posts on PM about handgunning and bow hunting for predators and varmints, its pretty popular! GET MY DRIFT?...based on your previous posts id say probably not..oh well:)
 
Amen kal52!....ive found 99% of the people who badmouth the 410 dont own one and never have used one, especially hunting!!...scott12, ive taken ducks with the 410!
 
fishfosmallones, i think you finally got something right:

"You obviously are a much better caller and pick out much better set-ups than I do to get them right into your lap"
 
Here is how I look at it, and it is obviously different than you. Nothing wrong with challenging yourself. I just don't agree with doing it at the expense of the fish or game I am after. I fish for smallies with spinning gear and lures. I don't use natural bait because they are too likely to swallow the bait and then I can't release them with the same likelyhood that they will live.

I shoot crows with a twelve gauge for the same reason. I want to do what I can to not cripple more than can be avoided. If you limit your shots, then you are doing the same. The difference I guess is that you are simply so much better at hunting than I am, that I need the extra advantage the .12 offers.

Speaking of passing judgement, I do hunt with a bow during bow season and I hunt with a muzzleloader during muzzleloader season. I am not a big time hunter/outdoor writer like you are, nor am I as old/experienced as you are, but I do have twelve P&Y bucks and many turkeys with my bow. I have three coyotes this year with my bow as well, but I am almost ashamed to say that to you, as any outdoor writer type must have many more than that. I will try to get off my butt and start doing better to challenge myself though, thanks for pointing that out to me.

Now, it is unlikely that I will ever reach the status of an outdoor writer, but I will take your advice and read more posts here on PM about luring crows to within "feet, not yards" so that maybe I can graduate down to a BB gun.

And please enlighten me to all the magazines that carry your articles, so that I, fishforsmallones, mays someday become the "fishforbigones" of my little corner of the hunting world. If not, I guess I can just look for the ones with the guy hunting cape buff with a blowgun and take notes from there.

I am not a .410 hater. Great for shooting rabbits. I just think you owe it to the animals to carry "enough gun", as another famous outdoor writer once said.

Good luck with the .410 this winter and please refrain from laughing at all us dumbies/non-outdoor writer types shooting twelves.
 
JCK
I learned something here. I've seen the titles under the names and saw "new member", "seasoned member","junior member" and always thought that "junior members" were younger members. Sorry for that but my thoughts stay the same.

AWS
 
Bowhunting Predators
#52683286 - 12/10/07 02:19 PM Edit Reply Quote Quick Reply
Has anybody successfully bowhunted predators on a regular basis?

I'd like to take the next step and increase the "difficulty in predator hunting". I've taken predators with rifles, shotguns and am now thinking about using a Bow. I originally thought of using a handgun before moving onto a bow, but with optics a handgun is more deadly than a shotgun (in my opinion).
 
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