Do not underestimate the power of these small shotguns.
Wonder if all the shot was still in the wad at that distance.
The moral of the story is do not underestimate the power of a 410 with 7 1/2 bird shot. This guy was smart enough (or simply had no other choice) to fire at close range keeping the shot closely knit enough to do proper damage.
I am a firm believer in using bird shot for self defense simply because it spreads out more with distance. For my magazine fed 12 ga I alternate between #4 Pheasant (about 1500 fps) with double aught (about 1325 fps). Range testing with the #4 shows I can hit anything at 50 yards by just pointing and shooting. The pellets will penetrate plywood about an 1/8 inch at 50 yards. The 00 Buck will pass through 1/2” plywood at 50 yards.
I would feel very comfortable going up against a bear or other intruder with this weapon.
My phone floods with ads when I visit Ammoland. Did a concentrated discharge go straight up the bear’s snout or through her eye socket? I agree that any firearm can be a deadly firearm. Actors and crew have been killed with blanks when mishandling prop guns.
I’ve never heard the part about a bear’s eyes being either red or green.
With an unloaded, bolt action, single shot 410, I stopped a robbery by 4 black guys one night, but I don’t think a theatrical bluff threat would impress a bear the same way it impressed them.
At the distance the shot was fired, the shot was a near solid mass when it struck the bear. I have no doubt that it would penetrate a bears skull at that range. I used to know an old farmer here who killed his domestic hogs with a .410 with bird shot. From a couple of feet away, the little .410 worked fine, every time. Certainly wouldn’t be my first choice to stop a bear though....
Wow, bu5 any gun if it hits just right will be deadly or deter. A friend killed a large black bear with a .22- hit it just right- that friend also hid out in the barn one night to try to catch e their that was stealing grain. Lo and behold, a black bear went walking 8nto the barn, poked its head around the stall wall, and got a slap in the face by the friend. The bear took off like a rocket it was so startled.
Anyway, a 410 seems a bit weak, but yeah, if it hits the face, even if it doesn’t kill, it will certainly drive off a bear- it’s gotta be wicked painful, plus blinding
I hadda grin at the description of the guy. Longjohns. Hat w/earflaps. I never saw the movie but it made me think of a picture I saw of Randy Quaid in a movie, “Cousin Eddy.”
Got my first gun when I was 10 or 12.
It was a 410 pump.
My dad told me it would be good for rabbits and squirrels.
Still got it.
I had a favorite .410 but James has a good one! I loved mine. Never taken anything larger than a pheasant. If mine downed a huge bear it would set in a place of prominence in my home.
Awesome story.
James Beeman. Surprised he wasn’t carrying a pellet rifle.
This happened in 2003.
Taken out by .410 with birdshot. If there’s a Grizzly Hall of Shame that bear is in it.
When I lived in Alaska I would sportfish for halibut. When these flatfish get up around 50 pounds they can wreak havoc on the deck of a small boat so it is common practice to shoot them in the head, I used a ,410 “snakecharmer” that was a cheap stainless single shot which made it inherently safe in the tight confines of a boat. Of course they were still in the water when I dispatched them. One day I got the shells mixed up and used a slug instead of #7.5 shot. I probably would not have noticed except just after I gaffed the fish it flipped and I pulled the trigger as the muzzle was on the nose instead of between the eyes and the whole head peeled back like a banana. That was amusing and it taught me to leave the slugs on shore 🤪