Best .410 load for home defense.

D

dasmi

New member
Yes, I know .410 isn't a good choice for HD, and a single shot is even worse, but a friend of mine living out in the sticks has a problem with illegals breaking into her home. She was given a .410 single shot Stevens, that she wants me to teach her how to use. So, until I convince her to get a 12 ga pump, whats the best load for this gun?
 
Ooh a single huh?

Teach her that she only gets one shot. SLUG.

IMHO, you really cant argue with a .410 caliber hunk of lead... placed properly.

... Or sell it and get a single 12 ga. ;)
 
Ya know I read some thing just yesterday about the .410 being not bad for home D. But they wern't talking single shot of course. Any how they were using #4 shot and out of the barrel they were saying that it has about 500 + foot pounds of energy. Which is like a .357 energy levels. I was surprised to read this but hey look into it. Also Mossberg makes a .410 pump for home D so there may be something to it.
Then again nothing wrong with a good 12 guage to be sure. Your lady friend might find a 20 gauge more to her tastes though.
 
Back in the late '60's I saw a Texan that recieved a load of 4's or 6's in his upper thigh. It convinced me not to mess with other people's women in The Great State of Texas.........Essex
 
I might trade it in and get a good used pump or auto for her, possibly 20 guage if she has a problem with the recoil of a 12. I wouldn't want to argue with a 410, but I would prefer a little more clout if I had to shoot. Hopefully she is really in the mindset of being able to shoot if necessary otherwise someone could turn the gun on her if he got it away from her.. nothing like some distance between her and the BG. The only problem, a BG can close that distance real quick, so the decission time to shoot or not shoot is very small. Hopefully she will never have to make the choice.. Be sure you ring the bell, knock and that she knows it is you at the door before entering :D
 
My preffered home defense load is double ought buck .... I think a 410 holds three to five double ought buck. I dont have any homes that are real close to me.

a slug has the possibilty of overpentration....even double ought buck in a bigger gage has this possibility.. in a .410 it probably wouldnt be a danger :confused:

In a bigger gage if houses are close you may want to use # 1 buck shot...

most home defense situations will probably happen at 7 yards or less..... and if the distance is a little more than 7 yards gives the pattern a little time to open up

double ought buck is .36 caliber I beleive and at close range 3-5 of these is going to leave a mark..hehe

the reason a shotgun is a deadly weapon is superior hit probability...a slug to me defeats this purpose.
 
Years ago, a deputy told about a call to a farm house. One of several over a few weeks-prowler, harrassment, etc. Got to the farmhouse and woman said the problem was ata mobile home out in the field. 14 yr old girl at home alone, prowler, etc: "be careful, she's fired out the door several times!". Deputy hollered several times identifying himself, finally eased the door open to see a shaking little girl holding a .410 on him. Got her calmed down and safed the weapon. She had in fact fired several rounds into the brush. Months later they'd still had no more prowler calls to those residences.
I wouldn't want to catch a load of 8's from a .410!!

Stay safe.
Bob
 
I have a .410 for HD loaded with 3-inch #4 shells. 3-inch #6 would be fine too. Check with a pumpkin what it will do at 15 feet distance, the amount of spread, etc. and practice on those punkins! Draw mean faces on them. :eek:
 
I agree with not using slugs. It does reduce the chance of a hit. I would go for either #1 birdhsot or a 34 buck.

One idea- practice rapid reloading. With one shot you need to be able to relaod extremly quickly. For example, when you drop a load of sheels in your pocket, shake the pocket. so the weight of the lead puts the primer end upwards. If you can, try holding spare rounds between your fingers, like cigars, and try that as a way of reloading quickly. Practice firing from your off shoulder, and in poor lighting. All that stuff helps, but most importantly give syou confidence in yourself and the weapon. A .410 is not ideal for slef defence, but will kill a man and is a lot better than throwing rocks.
 
i would not bet my life on a .410, this weekend i shot a sick turkey in my yard with it. A center mass hit from maybe 10 feet did not even break the skin, my second head shot broker her neck... anyway after that i would never even think of trying to save my life with that round but that is just me
 
A .410 didn't break the skin from 10 feet? Was the shell defective?

The .410 isn't underpowered, it just has less shot. The shot it does have is moving at 1200-1300 fps. Pretty much the same speed as shot from the larger guages.
 
Thats why I would use slugs for .410. Shot may splash unclothed pumpkins pretty good but put a bunch of feathers or clothes (or walls) in front of em and suddenly your undergunned. If you do hit em, you want it to count.
 
Me I love the .410 for home defense even the single shot used one for years for the home.You take a .410 3" shell no. 4 shot at close range in the home you are going down.A slug there is a good chance of a miss a good shot shell can clear a lot of area.That little .410 will hit you just as hard as the 12ga at close range just not as many BBs.As far as that .410 not breaking the skin of a turkey from 10 feet there had to be something wrong with those shells.For me all the shotguns made for HD is mostly :barf:
 
a good shot shell can clear a lot of area.
Click to expand...

How much distance? If a 12 only spreads around 2" at 10 or 15 ft, then how much is a 410 going to spread and with less payload too. Even a 3" spread at inside the house distance wont make the difference between a hit or miss like if you had shot a slug. Plus with shot, the pellets are lighter and lose energy quicker. She had better still aim it even if she uses shot.

To each his own.
 
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