I think I'll leave the 410 to those with the deep pockets!!!I had a similar experience. I received a Winchester model 37a 410 at Christmas when I was 8 years old. When TSS hit the market, I was chewing at the bit to try it in that gun. I repaired a long broken forearm clip and was ready to take it turkey hunting, but I wanted to pattern it first. I was extremely disappointed in my groups at 25 yards. I wouldn't dare try to turkey hunt with it. A few years later, I bought an over-under 410 on sale at sports?><warehouse. This gun shot excellent tight patterns to 30 yards with TSS, but the bottom barrel hit high and the upper barrel hit low. I put a Burris FF3 on it, sighted in for the top barrel, put a more open choke in the bottom barrel and killed a very nice woods bird trailing 4 hens I had called up at 29 paces. It's amazing how quiet those 410s are in the woods compared to a 12. I've since pretty much settled in on 20 ga w/TSS.Well… that was a short lived experiment. I won't go through all the math but it's like this . 410 20 yards 3" super x #7.5 3 hits in skull / neck bones. 410 30 yards federal TSS #9 5 hits in skull / neck bone. 12ga 30 yards AA 11/4 #7.5 13 hits in skull/neck bones. So the math worked out as 12 ga .05 cent per pellet hit. 410 lead 7.5 .46 cent per pellet hit and 410 TSS 9 $1.80 per pellet hit. With some expensive tweeking having the barrel threaded and testing different tubes etc. it could get better for the 410 but if I was to tell my dead grandfather I was spending $1.80 per pellet to shoot a turkey at 30 yards he'd grab a stick and beat my ass!
I too tried it with a model 37 that I received for Christmas in 1959 with similar results. Was cool to try it though, brought back lots of memories!
I've got a .410 with a fixed full choke, my dad's old gun, about a 1960 Stevens. I wanted to kill a turkey with it (and did). At 25 yards using tss #9 it patterned great! Move just 5 yards further and the pattern COMPLETELY fell apart in that short distance. Definitely no room for error on misjudging distance. I will say, the bird I shot with it at 20 yards dropped like a hammer, not even a flop. Just dropped.
I tried it last year with the old single shot Winchester my dad got me to squirrel hunt with as a kid. I shot it once and put the shells and gun in the back of the safe. That's what turkey guns are made forWell… that was a short lived experiment. I won't go through all the math but it's like this . 410 20 yards 3" super x #7.5 3 hits in skull / neck bones. 410 30 yards federal TSS #9 5 hits in skull / neck bone. 12ga 30 yards AA 11/4 #7.5 13 hits in skull/neck bones. So the math worked out as 12 ga .05 cent per pellet hit. 410 lead 7.5 .46 cent per pellet hit and 410 TSS 9 $1.80 per pellet hit. With some expensive tweeking having the barrel threaded and testing different tubes etc. it could get better for the 410 but if I was to tell my dead grandfather I was spending $1.80 per pellet to shoot a turkey at 30 yards he'd grab a stick and beat my ass!
