This little 410 bore is quite capable

"The .410 Slug, capable or comical?" This is a question that pops up often in shotgun slug shooting circles, no pun intended with the "pop", but I'll go with it because that is what many people have stuck in their head concerning the 410 bore and deer hunting, the idea that the 410 is just a pop gun and not capable of cleanly taking deer. That may have been the case in the past except for very close range or in the hands of the most able shooter. Today with the HBBS 410 Rifled slug barrels and adequate loads, 100 yard shots on target are easily achieved. Accuracy is not an issue with these barrels, so for those who need convincing in the power department, here are some ballistic tables to consider. These 410 loads utilize a 375 gr slug (nominal 370 gr slug for factory HBBS loads) that retain a lot of energy down range, unlike the typical fast but lightweight 1/4 or 1/5 ounce 410 slug load commonly available. The 45/70 load shown for comparison has a 400gr slug. Is the 410 capable or comical? Maybe both these days but surprising at the least. I'm laughing, but not because the 410 is not capable. It is just too much fun to think of pulling out a 410 for serious competition and seeing the final results at the end of the day or posing for a picture with the 410 stretched out across a big rack back in hunting camp.

The HBBS 410 Rifled barrels were developed for deer hunting and were first promoted for the hand loader who could optimize their loads for extreme accuracy and power and still are. While extreme accuracy and power are possible and available in the HBBS Rifled 410 bore, it does not require extreme chamber pressure to achieve them! A fact difficult for many people to believe. Prototype loads for the HBBS 410 Heavy factory load and the HBBS 410 Youth load have been laboratory tested and have been found to be within SAAMI specs for 410 bore chamber pressure. It is now a scientifically proven fact, believe it or not! These same tests show very consistent velocities from round to round, another contributing factor to the extreme accuracy.

Hoening Big Bore Slug developed and tested many loads including those shown below which were previously published here to provide users of our barrels a starting load to work with. The loads were also published with targets to show the versatility of the HBBS 410 barrels and the ammuntion loading methods. Since marketing the hottest 410 ammo we know of, we have stopped advertising load data for hand loads. There is little doubt hand loaders can come up with new and improved loads on their own. Research and development continues at Hoening Big Bore Slug LLC, still on the cutting edge of the new 410 Slug World. Stay tuned for more, the best is yet to come.