Im doing some hunting with short shot area that deer come into. Want my 12 yr old son to have a chance. He has a 410 i bought him awhile back. Anyone know if legal to use 410 slugs in Texas to take a deer? I didnt even know that had slugs for that small of shotgun until randomly seeing some at academy. This would be for a really close shot, 20-30 yards

I shot my first deer with a 410 slug. As for legality in Tx, I don’t know. I would suggest that he practice a bit for accuracy sake.

It should be okay at that range, but not much further in my opinion.

Heck if guys use 223 and 22-250 why not.

A .410 slug has about as much power as a .40 S&W pistol

I wouldn’t let my kids shoot at a deer with an open sighted .410 shotgun loaded with a slug, but that’s just me

When I was a kid my buddy shot a doe with a 410 slug. He hit her in the neck at about 40 yards. Her head was only hanging on by a small piece of meat. I was standing next to him in the back of the truck. The doe didn’t go anywhere.

A .410 rifled slug has nearly double the muzzle energy of any .40 cal S&W round. They are more than adequate for 25-30 yd shots.

Even at 25 yds Rifled slugs should be shot out of a shotgun with rifle sights. Additionally, most .410 shotguns have full chokes. Full choke barrels are not recommended for rifle slugs.

I killed my first two deer with a H&R break over 4/10 slug when I was a kid about 50 yards each

Its an 88 grain bullet theoretically at 1800 FPS for a typical load, which works out to 633 foot pounds.

So energy wise its in the same ballpark with a .357 mag. Definitely adequate to kill a deer at short range and with good shot placement, but not a lot of power to spare.

I would sure do some practice shooting to see how the slugs work through that specific gun and choke and to be sure the kid can hit well at that distance.

Here is what I found on the TPWD webpage for firearm restrictions for hunting. The way I read it, you can hunt deer with any firearm that is NOT a rimfire, so it should be legal.

(Cut and pasted from TPWD.texas.gov)

Firearms
Game animals and non-migratory game birds may be hunted with any legal firearm, EXCEPT:

Rimfire Ammunition (of any caliber) may NOT be used to hunt white-tailed deer, mule deer, desert bighorn sheep, or pronghorn.

Fully Automatic Firearms

Shotguns are the only legal firearm that may be used during spring Eastern turkey season.

Magazine Capacity (number of shells/cartridges allowed): there are no restrictions on the number of shells or cartridges a legal firearm may hold when hunting game animals or game birds (except migratory game birds).

Muzzleloader: any firearm that is loaded only through the muzzle (as opposed to breech-loading firearms). A cap and ball firearm in which the powder and ball are loaded into a cylinder is not a muzzleloader. Muzzleloader deer seasons are restricted to muzzleloading firearms only.

Suppressors (aka “silencers”): may be used to take any wildlife resource; however, all federal, state and local laws continue to apply.

Possession of Firearms by Felons: A convicted felon, regardless of where the conviction occurred, may not possess or use a firearm (as defined by Texas Penal Code, §46.01) to hunt in this state. Under Penal Code, §46.01, possession of and hunting with a muzzleloading firearm is lawful if it is an antique or curio firearm manufactured before 1899 or is a replica of an antique or curio firearm manufactured before 1899 that does not use rimfire or centerfire ammunition.

My hornady 165 grain load has a tad over 500 ft. Lbs of energy so the slug has it by a little bit.

But neither are hard hitting loads

Hornady Critical Defense 165’s produces a little over 500ft lbs. Most .40 cal S&W rounds are closer to 400 ft lbs. the 3” .410’s are almost 800 ft lbs.
Even the 2.5” are around 750 ft.lbs. At the muzzle.

So if the deer is within 10’ you should be fine

Sir,

It might piss folk off with my arrogance but I’m resident expert on this subject, its something I took on for giggles last year. I dropped 8 deer in three states and 39 Boar hogs. I take well placed shots and everything I’ve shot dropped on the spot. So, I might have arrogance, but not rednek hillbilly “ignorance with arrogance”. Trust me, I’ve got all the stupid stares and stupid know it all comments on my 410 choice.


First, I recommend modified or full choke

Brenneke 3” Magnum slug. The biggest hog I’ve killed so far is 425lbs DRT. I cannot find the picture right now but the large hog for kicks I shot in the shoulder broadside and the slug went slam through stoping off hide. The 410 is a nightmare.

https://www.brennekeusa.com/hunting-ammunition/magnumtm/

Also, the Federal “Handgun” 3” triple aught loads are devastating.

https://www.federalpremium.com/products/...un/pd413jge-000

For bird shot, use the Remington XLR 3” and Winchester AA loads.

Don’t put much stock in the off the shelf slugs, they explode and suck bigtime but darn good for other critters. The Brenneke slugs are tuff cookies.

I’ve tested everything they make in thousands of dollars worth of 410’s and the stuff I listed is tip top and optimized. The cheap Mossberg 500 walmart special is better all the way around than most any other thing going.

Some mossbergs are drilled and tapped too. I bought this combo and stuck a 2.5x scope on it with the longer ribbed modified barrel and I use the other barrel for HD

https://www.sportsmansoutdoorsuperstore.com/products2.cfm/ID/119371





I’ve moved on to new pursuits this year but I carry a 410 more often now and I wouldn’t hesitate to use it for home defense with Triple OOO now that I know exactly what it will do.

Happy Hunting!

A 410 was my first "deer rifle" as a kid. I'd sit with a pocket full of bird shot for squirrel, and a pocket full of slugs for deer. Not the best choice, but adequate for close range. Make sure your boy can hit what he's aiming at and go have a good time!

Thats the thing about real hunters, they use what they have and make it successful.

Its a lost art

Thanks for the report 30-30!

You bet.

That’s a hell of a deer.

What was the range he was taken at?

At 50 yards thst 410 brenneke slug has about 350 ft, lbs of energy.

What have you found is the killing aspect as thst is a pretty weak load

just me, but i know full growed men that have to shave
that can't kill a deer with a rifle that will make for
a blue and green shoulder.
i know damned a-well I could kill a deer at 20 yards with a .410 slug.
a well disciplined, mature, well practiced kid should be able to also.
my first deer on my own property was killed with a $50.00 pawn shop single
barrel H&R 12 ga shotgun and a 50 cent buckshot shell.

(the key word in the whole thing being MATURE)

Fellas, I don’t have much regard for ballistics or energy levels just results. Do know you got your figures wrong, it happens when you get old. Furthermore, someone at Brenneke didn’t pay attention to details either. See below:

The 3” regular slugs fly too but man do they blow up on something solid. The Brenneke holds shape even after digging it out of a piece of stove wood.

The Brenneke 3” is listed at 1755 fps at 109gr. My chrono results are average 1800fps at 109gr. Thats almost 800lbs energy.

Because of the way that slug and the triple 000 performs, you are getting true big bore performance. I’m a 444 and 44 fanatic and I can tell you for a fact my 444 drops animals no better than this slug does at these short ranges.

That buck was 25 yards, most stuff I shoot is 5-30 yards but have DRT hogs out to 45 yards.

Every animal collapses on the spot

a 410 slug a a good size piece of lead moving at lower velocity. its a centerfire so i'd think it to be legal. i would think it no different really than any other slower moving pistol cartridges or more traditional black powder or such. especially inside of 50yds i would think it would kill just fine. I've not tested that on animals though. i do own a single shot 410 with just a full-choke barrel that i've shot some off the shelf slugs thru at targets just aiming down the barrel. i would want a proper sight of sorts to shoot at game but otherwise the load seemed capable to kill. as in most instances i would think distance and shot placement would be more critical than load performance.

Scalebuster - Was the truck on the side of the road or in the woods?

The best I can describe the other slugs is lf you were shooting a lead thimble and it really ain’t too swuft on big game animals.

This is an interesting thread.


What kind of .410 are you shooting? Any optics/rifles sights?