There's More to Dove Hunting...

[Double Lab]

Originally Posted by Stan Hillis

I consider 37 steps a long shot for a .410, with any load. Well done!

I have been insulted, chastised and belittled for using a .410 on game birds ......... dove, quail and woodcock. I don't do it to get attention. I do it to prove a point (to myself), which is this. Density and pellet energy is what kills game birds, whatever the species. If I can, by choosing the appropriate choke, create a pattern at a maximum distance that has the same density as a larger gauge using a more open choke, what's the diff? A no. 8 lead pellet out of a .410 has exactly the same energy as a no. 8 pellet out of a 12 gauge, at the same velocity. The number of those pellets on target determines the outcome. Tighter chokes put more pellets on the target (density), IF ....... you can hit the bird with the smaller pattern.

The other side of the deal with .410s is that so many of them are super-lightweight, which changes the dynamics of handling. Shooting one enough builds muscle memory, which is remembered by the subconscious when the gun is shot at game. Some of the best shooting I've ever done with a .410 on game birds was with a Yildiz 28" barreled S X S that was gifted me by a friend. A $489 gun. The little thing has an aluminum alloy action and weighs 4 lbs. 14 oz. Don Amos spun it on his turntable many years ago, at my request, and found that it had basically the same MOI as a 12 ga. English "game gun", because of how the weight in the little Yildiz was distributed, in the butt and in the barrels, with very little in the action.

I am a bit enamored of .410 double guns. I have five. And, I love them all. Lord, help me.

I feel the exact same way Stan, only about the 28ga. To me, the perfect gun for 90% of my clay/game shooting.