The majority of folks would agree a 10mm round out of a G20 or G40 is sufficient for bear protection. That being said, how would a 410 slug from an 18” barrel compare? According to my research, they are comparable. Am I wrong?
410 slug vs 10mm
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Royles
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.410 is weak as far as slugs. 10 mm wins
Here's a pretty good assessment of .410 slugs.
.410 Slugs: What’s The Use?
As a shotshell primarily useful for hunting, what are the largest animals and longest ranges that .410 slugs can effectively be used for?
gundigest.com
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Absolutely. the .410 slugs only weigh about 100 grains and have the sectional density of a roundball. a far better defensive load for the .410 is 3 inch magnum loaded with five 36 caliber (000 Buck) weighing a little over 53 grains each for a total payload of over 270 grains
Those loads compare much more favorably to a 10mm handgun ballistically and are far superior to a .410 slug for either hunting deer sized game or self defense against feral humanoid predatory ricidivists
The projectile does the Work .
Even when the numbers are comparable, if the projectile fails to perform its function you're not gonna get similar performance.
I don't know what BHN a typical .410 slug would be listed as, 8 maybe? 5? A jacketed 10mm or a Hardcast bullet will win that contest with a BHN somewhere between 15 and 22. 10mm is spin stabilized to hopefully keep it on track to the vitals. The .410 Foster type slug out of a smooth bore will fly towards the target like a badminton shuttlecock and I'm less confident where it would end up in the target.
Finally, let's just use some numbers as a basis for comparison.
![Image]()
These are listed as 1/4 oz (~109 grain) at 1775 fps, 781 fpe and ~193 PF. Well that sounds impressive on the surface.
Let's compare that to a generic 180 grain 10mm non-expanding hardcast at 1200 fps, 576 fpe and 216 PF (Obviously, there are hotter rounds).
Looking closer we see the 10mm Hardcast has a sectional density of ~0.161 while the .410 slug has a sectional density of ~ 0.09236 and it's softer. Heck, I would actually expect some expansion at these velocities considering the lead might be relatively soft and this will affect its penetration potential (think bone).
For varmint control, I have used .410 slugs but I wouldn't want to rely on it for something dangerous. I'll stick with the 10mm.
Because the projectile does the Work.
"Is there such a thing as a hard cast 1/2 ounce (219gr) 410 slug?"
I've never heard of one, maybe somewhere, I don't know.
Even when the numbers are comparable, if the projectile fails to perform its function you're not gonna get similar performance.
I don't know what BHN a typical .410 slug would be listed as, 8 maybe? 5? A jacketed 10mm or a Hardcast bullet will win that contest with a BHN somewhere between 15 and 22. 10mm is spin stabilized to hopefully keep it on track to the vitals. The .410 Foster type slug out of a smooth bore will fly towards the target like a badminton shuttlecock and I'm less confident where it would end up in the target.
Finally, let's just use some numbers as a basis for comparison.
These are listed as 1/4 oz (~109 grain) at 1775 fps, 781 fpe and ~193 PF. Well that sounds impressive on the surface.
Let's compare that to a generic 180 grain 10mm non-expanding hardcast at 1200 fps, 576 fpe and 216 PF (Obviously, there are hotter rounds).
Looking closer we see the 10mm Hardcast has a sectional density of ~0.161 while the .410 slug has a sectional density of ~ 0.09236 and it's softer. Heck, I would actually expect some expansion at these velocities considering the lead might be relatively soft and this will affect its penetration potential (think bone).
For varmint control, I have used .410 slugs but I wouldn't want to rely on it for something dangerous. I'll stick with the 10mm.
Because the projectile does the Work.
"Is there such a thing as a hard cast 1/2 ounce (219gr) 410 slug?"
I've never heard of one, maybe somewhere, I don't know.
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I would not have expected such poor performance from the .410. I learned something today.Here's a pretty good assessment of .410 slugs.
.410 Slugs: What’s The Use?
As a shotshell primarily useful for hunting, what are the largest animals and longest ranges that .410 slugs can effectively be used for?gundigest.com
From your link-
^
Look at how quickly it loses velocity!
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12 gauge slugs are what the op seeks.
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I've met a few highly delusional people who own hamchunk .45/.410 revolvers and they do not hesitate to share their immense knowledge and they're pretty confident that a handgun with .410 loads will murder anything that walks.
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Remember those statistics on being attacked by a wild animal aren't really valid statistics because they're based on the number of events vs the actual human population. Most of the human population lives in Metropolis City and never leaves town. If you consider the number of people who are actually out in the woods where those animals are vs the number of attacks, suddenly the statistics are a lot different. Still not a lot of wild critter attacks, but the number is effectively a lot higher than published stats.
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No matter what ammo is used, .410 caliber is really just a 25-30 yard load. My wife keeps a single shot (H&R), full choke, with a 26” barrel at hand. She has a speed strip with 5 rounds of W-W 2.5” 000 Buck. At 10 yards, it‘s pattern opens up to 3-4” at ten yards, so it should open up to 9-12” at 30 yards. This is good for protecting a strongpoint within the house, but I wouldn’t use it against dangerous game.
Personally feel comfortable defending myself against quail or grouse with 410 shotgun... Bears? Use the 410 to wave your white underwear at the bear to surrender.
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I was only considering people that are in bear country -
Still very rare to be attacked by a bear - and lugging a long gun around all the time would be a PITA -
I guess for the times I wanted a long gun I would still want a 10MM handgun in a holster.
So I would be - handgun only or handgun + long gun.
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