I used a .410 years ago and let me tell you NEVER again! To be fair i know a few have done it..anyways that day there wasn't really any around in numbers...9 miles to the north of me there was a few hundred or more but so it goes!
Quite a number of years ago I took a friend of mine on a week long hunt and he used a 28 gauge. He was from Mississippi; I met him for the first time in a goose pit in Argentina.
The most note worthy hunt that I remember off hand was 460 odd crows on an afternoon flyway shoot. We had two other shoots in the low to mid 300 range on that hunt.
Boyd Robeson sometimes used a 28 gauge model 12 Winchester pump on crows. He had a pair of 20 gauges ( model 12's) that he used with me almost all the time. About the biggest shoot he had using the 28 gauge was 165 crows if my memory serves me right.
Boyd and I had some small shoots using just 410 bore shotguns. We both shot Winchester model 42's with anything from 7 1/2's to 9's. About the best the two of us ever did was in the 125 to 140 range using the little poppers. Boyd shot the 3 inch shells with the 3/4 ounce load of 7 1/2's and I shot 2 1/2 inch shells with hand loads in 8's & 9's. We both used full choke guns.
In past years I've shot pheasants, quail and a few waterfowl with the 410.
Jerry Byroad from Maryland shot a little over 500 crows by himself using a 410 model 42 Winchester pump back in the early 1980's. This also happened to be Jerry's largest shoot by himself. He used the 3 inch 410 shells in 7 1/2's that day. Jerry is the only guy I have ever heard of to shoot that many with a 410, what a record to put it mildly. Jerry was related to the famous Fiercob brothers of Maryland who just used 410's on crows for years back in the 1950's and 60's. Several crow shooting articles were written about the two brothers in those days. They were the very first ones to use face masks on crows!
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To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
Started my son off with a Mossberg 500 410 bore a couple of years back. He has shown fine hand eye coordination with this small bore as the first 6 rounds fired at crows netted 5 kills. Wanted to get him into a "real" shotgun but he seemed recoil shy. Included below a couple photos of my boy with his first crow which I took to the taxidermist and a nice summer shot. Further, this shotgun has only been fed on a diet of 2 1\2 inch shells and 8 1/2 shot.
Ted
-- Edited by M12Shooter on Wednesday 25th of March 2015 03:15:22 PM
Matt, that reminds me of a hunt I had with my father while hunting woodchucks in Up State New York. I was 15 years old and was hurrying to get a shot at this woodchuck and blew not one but two holes in the hood of my dads car! The 6x24 power scope was raised about an inch or better off the barrel with those scope mounts. I could see the woodchuck just fine but did not take into account that the muzzle of the .243 was almost flush with the hood! I fired the first shot and the woodchuck just stood there like nothing happened. I cranked in another round and the same thing happened. Then my dad goes bonkers and says you shot my car! The 75 grain bullets opened up that hood like a canoe. It took many years for me to live that one down!
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To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
Every one has there own favorite angle in which to shoot crows at that precise moment. As long as the bird is in range for the 410 (30 yards or under) I really don't have a favorite angle. If they are anywhere from 90 degrees horizontal to 90 degrees vertical at or under 30 yards it's a good shot so I take it, weather or not I hit it is a different story!
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To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
I once dropped a crow at 27 yards on a hard crossing shot with that 10 inch TC Contender .410, in front of a witness. The most unlucky crow in east Texas that morning. I also have taken number of crows with my old Winchester 9410 lever action shotgun as well as many with my Model 42. Not the best shell for crows as most have learned.
As for the 28 gauge, I dropped a few crows one afternoon with an SKB 585 that I had in an estate liquidation I was conducting. Part of my liquidation service is to take some crows with any interesting shotguns in the lot! Those 28 gauge crows, completed my common American shotgun gauge "slam" - .410 bore, 28 gauge, 20 gauge, 16 gauge, 12 gauge and 10 gauge have all been used to take crows over my less than illustrious decrowing career.