This Educational video discusses Rabbit Hunting Shotgun Tips, and what is best .410, 20 or 12 Gauge? #RabbitGunGauge #ShotgunPattern #MichiganRabbitHunt
Back when our Michigan outdoor shows were about education and being a true sportsman, not just about kill shots. Fred didnt try to make every episode portraying himself as a big bad hunter, he just went out and had fun and made a good show whether there was success or not
Man you are so right! Your point about modern hunting shows is why I don’t watch them; it’s not that entertaining watching TV hunters rolling around in $100,000 sponsored rigs, dressed like navy seals, with quick video edits and tacky hard rock background music, while hunting on private land. Modern outdoor TV is mostly lame. Bring back the classic format!
The 410 is often considered a kids or ladies gun because of its light weight and less recoil. And those are valid thoughts. In reality the 410 was invented by skeet shooters to increase their challenge while shooting clays. From that perspective, the 410 is an expert's gun. So both viewpoints are valid. As mentioned, typical loads are 1/2 ounce or 11/16 ounce. BUT reload manuals list loads using 3/4 ounce. You won't find 3/4 ounce loads on the shelves of your local sporting goods store, but if you "roll your own" you can load up to that much. And 410 comes in 2 and one half and 3 inch shells - not 2 & 3/4. 410 patterns do best with smaller shot sizes. 9, 8, 7, and 6 are best. Anything over 6 doesn't work well - that is, until you are in the buckshot sizes. Then the 410 comes into its own again - starting with #4 buck all the way up to 000 buck. Chokes - tested many times by many people. Summation is that the effective chokes are "open" and "full". Effective from the standpoint of a controlled change of spread. While modified chokes are available, and work okay, the actual routinely measurable changes in patterns are less than the changes you get from one barrel to the next with modified chokes. Have one? Don't worry about it. Looking for measurable changes in pattern density? Open and full are the options that give you that measurable change. Shooting distance. Whatever distance you can hit at regularly with a 12 or 20, you need to reduce that distance by 10 to 15 yards when using a 410. I always considered my maximum accurate distance with a 12 to be 40 yards. I consider my maximum accurate distance with a 410 to be 30 yards. I'll add one final thought. A 410 can be thought of as an "old man's" gun. The older I get, the more often I find myself reaching for a 410 because I just don't want to carry a heavy gun into the field. 😊
When I first carried a gun hunting, probably around 9 or 10, my Dad let me use his .410 pump for rabbit hunting. Of course, like most kids, I really wanted the "adult" gun like the 16 or 12 gauge. It was some time before he let me use either on a regular basis, and I felt great to be "grown up" but I realize now that the .410 was a lot of fun. After my dad and then my mother died, we cleaned out the guns and the .410 was nowhere to be found. I think he had loaned it to an uncle years ago, but I am sure he got it back. I think he might have loaned it to one of my nephews or maybe my brother-in-law, but no one has said. My hunting is basically over, but I'd still like to know what happened to that .410 shotgun.
The thing about this show that is so refreshing is that he's trying to educate and not just sell products. Most hunting and fishing shows are about how much they can plug their sponsors products. Fred also was speaking to non-hunters and fishermen who may have tuned in out of curiosity.
He'll, I've taken plenty of rabbits, and grouse with the .410. The key, is the ammo you use. The Remington game load, and Remington Express in 2.5" are deadly on them. Another huge benefit of the .410, is that it's easy to swing in thick cover, unlike the 12, and the 20.
.410 bore shotgun with 3" #6 or #7 1/2 shot size just about perfect for small game like squirrels and rabbits within it's range limitation. When I'm going hunting and chance of flushing grouse or pheasant..I use my 12 or 20 gauge shotgun to give me added probability of hitting. One thing about the .410 bore shotshells: they are much more expensive per round than 12 gauge or 20 gauge.
Since I don't use dogs, my shots on rabbits are nowhere near 35 yards. I prefer the .410, for close up shots, and I've done extremely well with it. It also does far less damage to the meat.
I don't think my F-150 would carry all the rabbits I've taken with 410. I carried a Savage .22/410 o/u (mod 24)...still use it for rabbit...and tin cans!
That little single shot .410 (was it your .410 Zac?) brought back memories of my first shot gun my Dad gave me on my 13th birthday. It was a Winchester model 37A youth .410 with the "GOLD" trigger and all that fancy stuff lol... You know how far we've come since the 1970's right! Well I took that same little .410 Winchester with 2 empty shells a 2 1/2" & 3" in my gun case and rode the school bus to school then when I got there I put my .410 in the school office then went to my first an second hour classes as on other days then at my 3rd hour class I went to the office and carried my .410 back to class and on cassed my little .410 and did an oral report on my amazing first shot gun then when done with my oral report I carried my cased .410 back to the office. Then after school i picked up my cased .410 from the office and again rode the school bus home. Try even drawing a picture of a gun a bullet or talk about guns or carry a pocket knife to school or on the school bus or if your old enough have something like that in your own locked car in the school parking lot "You Will" get expelled from school for the rest of the year maybe longer. Boy have times changed... At a time when we were Boy's it was a right of passage to get your first pocket knife then with that pocket knife make your own sling shot and home made bow n arrows then be given your first BB gun then as you provided you were responsible enough you would be blessed with your first 22 rifle or first shot gun. It was always a privilege to earn all them as did my older brother's so did I just like many other boys did years ago... Sorry I got off topic like I always do lol... Fred took that Hunting Show and made it into a Family Fun Hunting Show that no other show before or after has been able to do since his passing.That's my opinion and it's to bad nobody has come close so far...
No it wasn't mine. I never owned a .410. Frankly I don't think I have even shot very many times with one. My starter was a Single Shot .20 that you had to manually load, click and bring the hammer back. My father was given to him by my Grandfather and of course it has been passed along to my son, long ago. My hopes he will teach my Grandson with it and one day pass it along to him. Possibly one of the best Shotguns, in my opinion for anyone that is just learning. I was not allowed to turn off the safety until I learned more. Once I became more familiar and learned how to clean, respect and all of that important things. Having just one shot forces you to make sure that when you shoot, you will hit your target. To this day I will take any Pump over a Semi as it also forces me to re-aim after each shot. I personally don't shoot as well will a semi. For the record on a good Day I am a very good shot!
Zachary Trost ; I agree with you on that Zac. I bought all four of my children eather One shooters H&R or NEF's 20 gauges. (Of course in time they became the same company till being desolved by Freedom Group. That was a sad day because they had a great little gun company) Those One shooters as my daughter's called them are tack diver's best little guns to start young one's with great for safety and like you said Zac makes them aim better knowing they have only one chance at the Deer. I still use my Son's 20 gauge H&R with a Bushnell circle X scope for Deer Hunting and the God Lord has blessed me with many deer with that 20 gauge. My Son shot his first Deer on his first season with that 20 gauge it was a seven point Buck, I was a proud Daddy. All my daughter's shot there first Deer on there first Deer season also with youth 20 gauge shot guns. One eight point another seven point and as before I was again a proud Daddy. When my oldest daughter shot her first Buck (a six point) it went down hard then got up and ran across the road on to another property and went down in sight of the road but the Land owner was a "Anti Hunter" and would not let us go an get the dead Buck so we called the DNR and they would not come out to help us because they said the Land owner had the right to say no to them as well as to us. My daughter was very broken up about losing that first Buck. We have been blessed with many Deer over the year's my family of six have used all our Deer tags up only a few Deer season in a row but the other Deer seasons have been just as good if not better because we where hunting together as a family and having fun enjoying God's wonderful outdoors together and that as your Dad use to say is what hunting is all about and I agree wholeheartedly... God is Great...
Yeah nowadays everyone’s so paranoid I’m in grade 10 and my grandpa told me stories of how him his classmates and teachers would all bring there .22s and have shooting contests at lunch and it was completely normal nowadays you even mention the word gun and everybody freaks out
Really nice video. Very practical, and to the point. I'm tired of seeing video's where the demonstrator goes all high-tech. Thanks for you doing this video, keeping it real is where it's at.
My first shotgun was a borrowed .410, hunting one evening by our farm in SW Michigan in the 60s I somehow managed to get snow in the barrel, didnt know it, fired the gun and to my horror the barrel was split at the end. The next morning my dad had hacksawed the split part off, mounted a new bead and I was ready to hunt again but being more careful. That was definitely a close-range gun. I killed a few pheasants, qual, rabbits squirrels and ducks before I transitioned to a 65 Browning Auto 5 which I still have.
My best rabbit gun is my 12-gauge pump shotgun with the adjustable choke set at improved cylinder, and 2 3/4" shells loaded with 1 1/8 oz #7 1/2 shot. (Winchester AA trap loads were my favorite). Working with my dog, most every rabbit we flushed I bagged. Based on that I prefer a shotgun carrying a decent shot load that yields a wide but dense pattern out to 30 yards or so. A .410 bore shotgun bored full choke has a small tight diameter pattern at close range (often resulting in clean misses on a running rabbit) yet by 30 yards the pattern is too thin often resulting in crippling. Where a .410 bore shotgun shines for me is squirrel hunting: my .410 bore over/under shotgun, choked modified and improved modified and loaded with 3" #7 1/2 shot shells; is deadly on squirrels out to 25 yards or so. Then again, most squirrel shots are stationary targets not running and zig-zagging like a rabbit. By the way that single-shot .410 shotgun reminds me of the Harrington & Richardson .410 bore single-shot shotgun I had many years ago. Always liked those just simple durable guns.
410 not tougher to shoot to rabbit with, think longest shot I’ve taken a rabbit was probably close to 40 yards on a running rabbit. I was skeptical about taking the shot but did it because there was the rabbit was about 15 yards from cover. I hit him hind quarter and walked over to give him a fling to finish him as most hunters do using any gun. I’ll admit I love 20 over all but in my day I used 410 in a heartbeat because it’s a fun gun. If I had access to a 28 I think it would be the sweet spot
Growing up my entire family used 410's, uncle's cousins, everyone and we took every type of small game including grouse, pheasants and a few ducks my uncle even got a few geese. We even deer hunted with them. I never even held a 12 or 20 gauge until I was 18 when I bought a 12 gauge because steel shot became mandatory for ducks but then I bought a 28 gauge and never used anything else for small game
@@GunGuy258 If you can find them I would strongly recommend using a rifled slug as it will be more like firing a rifle instead of buckshot. Buckshot in a .410 I would not recommend because you get a very limited amount of pellets in each shell. If you a take a shotgun deer hunting I would stay within no more than 30 yards for the best muzzle velocity
My shot gun shoot bullets I have a 9 mm adapter and a 22 lr adapter for mine but must say my 20 nef pardner s the most versatile gun I own . Awesome video
Personally I use a 20ga and I was givin a bunch of 3in pheasant loads a couple of years ago I don't have pheasant s where I live in VA but I will say through briars thickets 6 shot at 1 1/4oz works wonders with a modified and full out of my side by side
The moral of the story is it depends on how dense a forest, or how open field you'll be hunting in. Making pudding out of a rabbit at 10yds with a 12 gauge isn't any more productive than missing with a 410 at 40yds. Like I was just in a forest and spotted a couple hairs at about 10yds, and wouldn't have seen one beyond 20yds in a million years, I like the 20gauge personally though, because you can get 3" heavy field load, down to 2 3/4" light target loads. Plus with interchangeable chokes, you can further adjust the shot pattern. But don't discount the little 410 in heavy brush. To me 12s are best for birds, and especially ducks/geese, but to each his own.
Agreed and obviously the 12 gives you more shot and bang than a 20 or a 410, but as you said I think different situations merit different firepower. To me the biggest thing is knowing your gun and how it shoots.
@@Michigan-Outdoors It is to bad that more modern load were not developed for the 16 gauge through the years like all other shot guns. In its day I felt the 16 gauge was the best all around shotgun. I still own 2 16 gauges.
I wouldn't use a 12 gauge for rabbit hunting unless you are shooting rabbits just to keep them out of your garden or something like that. I have shot many rabbits with a 12 gauge in my backyard and it tears them up. I mean, i guess you could use a 12 gauge for rabbits, but i would be atleast 20 or 25 yards away. If you want to get meat off a rabbit, like what i like to do, i would recommend a 410 shotgun. A 20 gauge would be also good, but not at close range like 15 yards away or somethinf like that. With a 410 it doesn't ruin the meat or anything, even at close range. The 410 is the perfect gun to use for rabbits and squirrels. So i recommended getting a 410 if you are thinking about getting a rabbit gun.
@@billythekid2281 i believe i use heavy load with 6 shot. These shells are really powerful and are good if you are sort of far away. I have killed rabbits 30 to 40 yards with the 6 shot heavy loads and they drop instantly. Rabbits are easy to kill
In quite a few areas rabbits have some diseases and carry bacteria bad for humans, I mean you could eat them if you cook them good enough but most don’t in those areas. I do have to agree though, on any animal I like to eat I try to use a smaller caliber so there is less damage
I’ve taken plenty of rabbits with a 12 gauge. Although it’s not my go-to for rabbits due to its weight. I have a Ithaca model 37 w/improved cylinder choke & #8 shot from 5-7 yards in thick brush. Doesn’t blow them up. Lol
No mention of the 16 gauge? After starting with a .410, a 16 gauge was the shotgun I used most frequently hunting. J.C Higgins Model 20 16 gauge was a great shotgun for rabbits and squirrels.
Nice i shoot 2 3/4 bbshot with a double barrel 12 gauge. It has 30 inch barrels and is full / full choke. I also have a 410 backpacker with a 12 inch barrel and 3 inch chambers. I dont know the choke on it. I love double barrel shotguns that have hidden hammers. Im going to go pattern the 12g. After.
I really like this video, it is very to the point and interesting. Mr. Trost, I like that 20 gauge single shot with no exposed hammer, I have always thought that was the best gun for a youngster because it's break open (which I love) and it doesn't have exposed hammer that can be difficult for smaller hands to cock, and even more importantly, un-cock. I couldn't find one for my kids so I got a little Turkish over/under and loaded it with one shell. Thank you for sharing.
How many people's first rabbit was taken with a single shot .410? Mine was. My father later bought me a rem 1100 lt 20 special, but he killed many more with his double barrel .410.
Took my first rabbit with one (pink mist) shot from a Daisy Powerline 880 pellet rifle chambered in .177 cal, with a Daisy Wadcutter 7.5 grain pellet from 30 yards.
Hi! I just bought a 20 gauge Stevens 320 security. Small game is opening up, and I was thinking about trying it out for squirrel. What would be the best shell for this? Bird shot? I’ve only ever used a .22 for small game.
you have a short barrel and and no choke. your pattern is going to spread like crazy. I would go with #6 or 7 shot and stick with 25 yards. beyond that you likely will have too thin a pattern. if you can pattern your shotgun on paper like they did in the video to find out your maximum distance.
Do you have a link to the video you mentioned about what to take rabbit hunting I have found this video very helpful and would love to watch the other one I haven’t been able to find it
And don't forget that there are two less common gauges that are still out there, the 28 and the 16 gauge. I inherited a 16 gauge about 18 years ago, and killed a heck of a lot of grouse with it. Never owned a 28 gauge, but I do know where there are some and can get ammo for it.
Well I think when this segment was produced it was taking into account the most Popular/Available Gauges, while the 28 is also a great tool the finding of ammo is not that easy.
A real comparison would be to also test a 12 ga. light weight single shot shot gun like you did with the 20 ga. and .410 bore which were single shotties and the recoil with a single shot 12 ga. would have been more noticeable as well as the felt recoil because you were using a heavier double barreled 12 ga. shotgun instead so not really a true and accurate test comparison because you cheated on the firearm likeness with all not being SINGLE SHOT light weight shot guns but still a good video !!!
Very true and there are always many different variables you could and should take into account, such as chokes, Mag-Na-Porting, Pads, and as you pointed out weights , Etc. Thanks for your input.
@@Michigan-Outdoors Sometimes in early season I use the 28 gauge Zachary. Once the snow arrives it gets cleaned & put away. Then the fine 20 becomes my field king.
