Shot size for 410 and .28gauge

[3leggedturtle]

Gonna invest in 2 bags of shot for my 410's and lonely .28 gauge. Which 2 sizes would I find most useful. Main critters here are ruffed grouse, squill, pheasants and rabbits. Or would #7 1/2 do everything I need to with these 2.

[Old Ironsights]

I prefer #6.

[Rusty]

I prefer #6.

Me too.

[Buck Elliott]

#6...

[Blaine]

The H&R single is full so I use #4. I prefer the One Lucky Pellet method.

[J35]

3 inch .410 with #6 is about as good as it gets with a .410 for small game.

Don't believe I have ever shot a 28GA.

----J

[765x53]

7 1/2 is a good all-around size for most upland birds and cotton-tails.
For squirrel, 6 is minimal 5 is ideal.

[Marlin32]

Go to Ballistic Products Inc website, they usually have #7 shot.
I use it quite a bit in all gauges, even late season, first barrel might have #7 in it.
Just a hair bigger than 7.5, but more pellets than #6.

I use it on pheasant, prairie chicken, quail, huns, chukars...

[Mike Armstrong]

7s might be a good compromise if you can get them, but I'd say 7 1/2s and 6s, as hard as you can find, copper plated even better. These small guages "scrub" pellets, even in shot cups, and they also have a tendency to distort shot by having the shot hit each other more than in wider bores and shot strings. So you naturally get a larger percentage of "fliers" just when you don't want them--the patterns are thin enough as it is.

I agree with the "big shot" theory, but only for furred game. For flyers you need more shot and a better pattern than the few 4s that can be crammed into a .410 or 28 shell.

It's really nice to use a double when shooting these smaller guages. Then you have a choice of shot size AND choke for each situation. You can load one barrel with smaller shot for the birds and the other with bigger shot for the bunnies and squirrels. Tho' I do find that just about anything will kill a cottontail. It's the tree rats that are tough to kill.

[Lefty Dude]

#6 is my preference. Anything over #7 and you get a long shot string with the smaller guages.

The best, is to check your pattern and see what the piece is throwing, and at what distance.

[Old Ironsights]

In firefighting, our goal is to put the wet stuff on the red stuff.

But when it comes to small game, it's put the Red Stuff on the Fuzzy Stuff...



Sadly, it's only a 2-1/2" gun, but it does OK.

[Chuck 100 yd]

#5 is my favorite.

[BigSky56]

I load #71/2s & 8s in 410 for fools hens and of the 3 kinds I prefer the ruffled grouse for eating. danny

[jeepnik]

#6 is good for critters that fly. I prefer #4 for rabbits and hares. So, take a look at your most likely target and decide from there.

[Model 52B]

Even the 3" .410 has a low pellet count to start with so there is merit in 7 1/2 shot on birds to extend the range to 30 yards or so before the holes in the pattern are too big. If I were using a 2 1/2" .410, I'd definitely stay with 7 1/2 shot.

On squirrels and rabbits, my preference is 5 shot in a 2 1/2" .410 or 4 shot in a 3" .410 as a balance between pellet count and penetration.

[44shooter]

I don't have much experience with the tiny gauges, but I like at least #6 for squirrels preferring 5 or 4 shot. Never had any trouble killing cottontails with 6 or 7 1/2 (but #8 cheap game loads were unimpressive on one hunt). Squirrels are much more tenacious of life than bunnies. I use 12 and 20 gauge so I don't know when patterns start to deteriorate with the smaller shotcups.

I would go #6 if I were determined to go with one all around load. Maybe 7 1/2 (rabbit, grouse) and 5 (squirrel, pheasant) for options. Maybe 4 is too big for .410, don't know.

[roundup]

My .410 has been retired some time ago as a wall hanger. In general I used #6's for pheasants and ducks. Shots usually weren't taken over about 25 yds for pheasants and over decoys for ducks. Later on it was used to shoot cripples while goose hunting. Mostly used for grouse hunting. Used mostly #7 1/2's and occasionally with #9's which years ago could be found loaded in 3" hulls.

[6pt-sika]

If it were me I'd get a bag of Magnum 8's and a second bag of Magnum 6's !

It used to be magnum grade shot was as much as $2 a bag more then chilled shot , now it's about $0.50 dealer cost . So when I buy shot I see no reason not to get magnum grade .

I bought some copper plated one time when I was grouse hunting alot . That had to be 25 years ago anyway Lawrence copper plated 7 1/2's were about $30 a 10 pound bag then !

I've shot something in the area of 50,000 rounds of 28 and 410 at skeet over the years . And I gotta say I never felt at a loss using either . Matter of fact in the latter years my 28 gauge average was always my highest and I was AA in all gauges if that tells you anything . The 28 gauge with 3/4 ounce of shot is one of the two most ballistically efficient shotgun loads with the other being the 16 gauge with an ounce of shot .

Over the years I killed a good number of dove with the 28 it also made an excellent preserve quail gun , although I gotta admit I minced a few quail using the 28 same as I would have with a 12 , 16 or 20 . But I suppose that was a product of always shooting quick and trying to get them right off the nest !

[Old Ironsights]

Something else to consider, especially when shooting bunnies.

Since they are almost always running away or barely quartering if you get the snap shot, most of the pellets won't do a heck of a lot of damage.

When I've cut up my bunnies, sometimes there isn't even a bone broken... but then I find that one pellet that rectum ...