Pennsylvania Game News - May 2023 - 63

The shot intended for hunting, for
example, is now a real competitor to
the larger gauges.
Three-inch .410 ammunition loaded
with tungsten-based loads in 9 and 9½
from Federal, Remington, Apex and
others are 50% denser and heavier than
lead loads. That makes them effective
out to 40 yards.
Federal's TSS .410 ammunition
boasts 295 tungsten pellets in a 13/16ounce
load, a total higher than the 270
contained in a 1¾-ounce, 12-gauge load
of size 4 lead shot.
The new extended tighter choke
tubes are also helping tighten those
patterns for lethal head shots.
Then there are the .410s being made
now specifically for turkey hunting.
Mossberg's 500 Turkey pump and
SA-410 Turkey semiauto, Remington's
870, Tristar's Viper Bronze Turkey
G2, Stevens' 301 Turkey single-shot,
Browning's BPS pump, and Rossi's
affordable Tuffy single-shot with a
26-inch barrel in an olive drab configuration
are examples.
Those turkey-specific shotguns often
come not with the standard front bead
sight, but instead a more visible front
sight like those from HIVIZ or TruGlo.
Many also feature a Weaver/Picatinny
rail for mounting an adjustable rear
sight.
And make no mistake, a .410 paired
with a short, low-powered/variable
scope is indeed effective. Electronic
red dot sights such as the Vortex Viper,
Bushnell TRS25 and the Aimpoint
micro, just to name a few, go well with
these shotguns, too.
Likewise popular are holographic
sights like the Burris FastFire, SightMAY
2023
mark Wolverine FSR and Trijicon LED.
All can be adjusted so that you can be
sure of centering that shot pattern where
you want it.
You don't have to be a turkey hunter
to enjoy shooting a .410, though.
They're fun to shoot, available in a variety
of actions and relatively affordable.
You can pick up some models new for
only a couple hundred dollars (though
of course you can also spend thousands
for high-grade doubles, too).
Ammunition - the store-bought
kind - is where the .410 is a little
more costly than other shotguns. The
cost of a factory box of .410 shells is
usually higher than that for a box of
12- or 20-gauge shells, only because the
latter are produced and sold in greater
volume. Turkey TSS loads are more
expensive yet.
But if you're a handloader, the .410
is the most economical to load. A
25-pound bag of 7½ shot yields about
800 half-ounce rounds or 700 ¾-ounce
ones.
The .410 offers one last bit of fun.
There are pistols chambered for it, ones
that also shoot .45 ACP and .45 Long
Colt. The Taurus Judge is one example,
the Smith & Wesson Governor,
Magnum Research BFR single action
revolver and Thompson Contender
single-shot are others.
Federal, Winchester, Hornady and
others make .410 self-defense loads for
these guns, loaded with 000 buckshot,
BBs and slugs, for close-range situations.
So,
if you have ever been interested
in owning a lightweight, small framed,
light-recoiling shotgun or pistol shooting
shotgun loads, there are plenty of
.410s to pick from. No matter who you
claim you bought it for.
63
Pennsylvania Game News - May 2023

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