I just bought my 7 year old a single shot .410.

What is the effective range for game like squirrel?

With a slug, what is the effective range for deer?

I’d say within 25 yards for squirrel.

We can use anything smaller than 20 gauge for deer.

I find it depends on the length of the barrel and the choke of course.Got a single shot rossi that will take down partridge at 40-45 yards consistently.
I have a chiappa double badger with a short barrel and a good tight choke,good for 30 yards maybe 35.

I don't think the slug would have much punch after 50 yards.I'm guessing on that as I never killed anything with a 410 slug.
A 20ga slug has plenty of momentum at 60 and would easily take down a deer.

100 grain slug at 1800 fps ought to be lethal to 25 yards or so. see if he can hit a pop can at that distance. if he can, he can hit the heart at that range. draw a circle on a piece of cardboard about the size of a fifty cent piece. what ever distance you can get 3 #6 pellets into the circle is your squirrel range. 410's kick. kid is liable to start flinching. might want to let him squirrel hunt with a 22 cricket or something.

Make sure it can throw a slug accurately...we had a russian made single shot that couldnt hit a deer with a slug if you had it jammed against the deer.

You need to pattern the gun to know what it will do. A 3" shell in .410 has 11/16 oz. of shot. I would start with #7-1/2 size shot. That is the smallest shot size I would recommend for squirrels. The smaller shot will give you a higher pellet count in the pattern. This is important because the shot charge is so small. A squirrels vitals are not that big and the higher shot count will fill the pattern to make sure kills. It's your job to find the maximum distance you can confidently make sure kills and only shoot inside that range.
When the squirrel is much closer, you can hold off just a little to keep from filling the meat full of shot. This takes a little practice to know how far off to hold. The idea is to rake the squirrel with an edge of the pattern.
When they are really close and profiled, you can just aim at the end of the nose.
Good luck to you and your son. Sitting together squirrel hunting is a completely controllable type of hunting and is a great way to start a youngster out.

Of course we are going to pattern the gun. At his age a 20 gauge is just too heavy to hold steady.

I'm not sure if we would try it for deer. He has been shooting a crossbow from a rest very well, but he cannot shoot it freehand.

Just wanted to hear some others experience as we start to try it out on our own.

He is real excited. I'm not sure he'll even feel the kick when we are hunting.

pattern will give you its range. a 410 shoots pellets the same velocity as a 12 or 20 or 16 or 28 gauge. just not as many. they are known for holes in the pattern also. may need to try more than one brand of ammo.

.410 is a great choice for a first shotgun. I love shooting .410. Never had opportunity to shoot deer with one but if its accurate they should be just fine! What gun did you get him and what choke in it? 3" or only 2 1/2"?

It will kill a coyote stone dead at 25 yards when making a head shot.

I killed one once at about 20 yards on the dead run with a 3" - 7 1/2 shot. Rolled him pretty hard.

Tacticool Cricket Precision









If Dad has a Yeti, his boy should have a CPR.

I hunt with a .410 all the time. I kill squirrels to 35 yards with 3" #6. It doesnt shoot slugs well at all, but it put all 4 buckshot pellets in a 6 inch circle at 30 yards. Id deer hunt with buckshot if my state would let me, but it is slug only with a .410. Of course that is my gun, not yours.

I got a Rossi 3" Modified Choke at Dunham's for $115.

At that price if he only uses it the next few years it was still worth it.

I'm a little surprised at the cost of shells. Why are they almost twice the cost of 20 and 12 ga.?

Crickets are for 5 year olds, his kid is already 7.



Of course you start them out a 2 1/2 with the air rifle.

That CPR is cool but I didn't consult with the wife before this purchase. At $115 she just smiled and shook her head.

perhaps he's too young to pull a trigger on a caliber large enough for deer.

take him along, let him experience the hunt with you.

also, check the regs...not sure if it's legal for deer in PA

That's why he is using the crossbow. Shooting from his rest (Caldwell Field Pod) he is super accurate to 50 yards. We are probably sticking to that for a while yet. I was just curious if anyone used .410 for deer. There is vigorous debate on the subject online. It is legal here in PA but not in some other states.

You will need to patter it to find out. My 870 will keep a tight enough pattern for turkeys out to 25 yards (35-40 for tree rats). My father in law has a H&R and with won't hit much at 25 yards. I shot some slugs out of mine and they were more than accurate enough to kill a deer at 30 yards. Not sure if it is legal in pa tho.

If you would like to see how impressive the 410 can be try some tss loads. Patterns well past 40 yards that will kill a turkey.

The TSS Tungsten Super Shot loads are impressive.

So is the price at about $5 per shot.