A few years ago I tested the American Tactical Imports (ATI) Omni Hybrid .410 shotgun for Ballistic Magazine. The shotgun brought a lot of potential for home defense or a survivalist’s bug-out gun. It featured light weight and recoil, making it easy to handle, even for shooters of the smallest stature. Combine semi-auto firepower with a 15-round detachable box magazine, the defender makes a very compelling argument for home invaders to withdraw posthaste. But just how far out is the true effective .410 range when hunting?

How Far is the Effective .410 Range?

From the survivalist’s standpoint, the little .410, used within its limitations, has turned lots of birds and small beasts into food. A 12-gauge, 2¾-inch shell with a game load of 1.125 ounces of No. 7½ shot weighs 1.6 ounces, compared to 0.7 ounce for a .410, 2½-inch shell’s 0.5-ounce shot load. The smaller load is less likely to tear up meat. You can also carry a lot more skinny .410s in your pack than fat 12-gauge shells. When you’re thrust suddenly into a survival situation, the shotgun’s pattern offers a better hit probability than a .22 rifle for the average shot or unpracticed hunter. In addition, with slugs it can take down deer-size game and two-legged predators. The detachable 5- and 15-round magazines permit quick switches for birds, small or large game and self-defense loads as circumstances change.

The tradeoff for the .410’s light weight and recoil is performance. Don’t expect these little shells to do what the larger gauges do. They can’t. They are short-range guns. Work within their capabilities and you’ll shoot your supper. When testing the Omni Hybrid .410, I marked the hits from each shot in a different color and noticed the patterns often had conspicuous holes in them. The .410 is known for this, and it’s allowed some really lucky critters to cheat death on occasion.

Game-Getter or Crippler?

The .410 also has a reputation for crippling game. From a survival standpoint, it will still feed you. But it’s not as good as a clean kill because tracking may be necessary to recover your quarry. For cleaner kills, stay within the range of your gun and shells. For birds, use small No. 8 or No. 9 shot and an open choke for a broad pattern, and stay within 20 yards. Full choke will reach out a few more yards, but the tighter pattern will make it harder to hit a flying bird. An unpracticed marksman will do better to keep the range close and the choke open when wingshooting.

For small game like rabbits and squirrels, use No. 7 (or even No. 6) shot and a Full choke to hold your pattern tighter longer for more range. Bigger pellets retain more energy and have greater killing power, but there are fewer of them in the pattern, which reduces your chances of hitting the animal. Your maximum effective range will depend on how your gun patterns, but don’t expect to hunt beyond 30 yards. For deer-size game and personal defense from 30 to 50 yards, slugs are the best choice. Don’t expect the knockdown power of a .30-06. A 0.25-ounce slug at 1,400 fps is more like a .357 magnum with a 110-grain soft lead bullet. Aim carefully.

Pattern for the Win

Pattern your shotgun with different ammunition types to find a load that shoots well and the required point of aim for putting the center of that pattern over the target. Since most shotguns have only a front sight bead, Kentucky windage is required. With a reflex sight, you can adjust the reticle to get the correct point of aim.

This article originally appeared in a previous issue of Ballistic Magazine. Get your print or digital subscription at OutdoorGroupStore.com.