Henry Rifle Forums

I have googled this question and got the answer that you CAN shoot slugs in full choked shotguns unless the barrel is marked NOT for slugs. The cons to that practice is that they will not be as accurate at long range and less powerful, and PLASTIC chokes could be damaged by the slugs. I have a Mossberg 500 410 pump, a very nice gun with a vent rib and in excellent condition. My daughter wants a shotgun to use for varmints around her barn, mostly coyotes. This one is marked full choke. Should she stick with number 4 shot, or can she shoot the slugs now and then? I'm mostly handguns and rifles though I shot a lot of shotgun in the military and LE instructor school, but they were "riot" guns. LOL.

I sent a query to Mossberg to ask them directly, what does the peanut gallery think?

I also have a Mossberg 500E .410 with full choke. I had also previously tried to find out if I could shoot slugs. You likely saw the same answers as I did. Inconclusive. A lot of people said yes and a lot of people said no. There seemed to be more yes's if the slug was rifled. I did buy some but I've never had the courage or stupidity, depending on the outcome, to try them. I inherited the Mossberg I have. Originally it came with two barrels. Cylinder bore and full choke. Full choke was mounted when I got possession.The cylinder bore barrel disappeared. During the house clean out I think someone thought the barrel was useless without the rest of the gun, not realizing it was an accessory.

Anyway, you might be able to find a cylinder bore barrel. You could even ask Mossberg about that.

I got a quick reply from Mossberg. "We are busy, we'll get back to you in 72 hours or so."
So, I'm waiting. The gunsmith I bought the gun from told me my wife could shoot slugs out of the gun for deer hunting. So it should be good to go, but I'll wait and see how it goes. I also have a 500E I could let the daughter take, also a Mossberg, and I know you can shoot slugs out of that. Shorter barrel but has a muzzle brake. Might be better for her little butt anyway. (5'2")

Short People, what yah gonna do?

Marine, my grand father ran a bait and tackle store for decades. He sold guns and ammunition there for about 20 yrs. I asked him this same question when I began to be interested in guns and hunting. He told me a story of a 12 ga full choke shotgun he had taken deer hunting. He had a gimme 40 yd shot. Nothing. Deer looked at him and he shot again. Nothing. The deer ran off. He decided he needed to check the gun. He put a target up on an apple tree and went back 40 or so yards. Bang, nothing, bang, nothing, bang, nothing. A box of five slugs. He walked up to the target and saw a clean target. He turned and started to walk back and found five slugs sitting before the target. You can shoot them through a full choke, but the full choke takes a lot out of them. This was back before rifled barrels. The soft lead slugs got squished through the full choke and slowed way down. He gave me a Franchi 12 ga semi auto that was about half the weight of a Browning A5.

I would try three pellet buck shot in the full choke Mossberg. It should do pretty good.

The two barrels for the Mossberg 500E .410.
https://www.mossberg.com/parts/type/bar ... &model=500

I got the reply from mossberg.

NO, do not shoot slugs from the full choke barrel. Could result in damage to the gun or a catastrophic failure.

That's pretty clear. She can either shoot Buckshot, #4 shot, or take the other gun with the more open choke rated for slugs.

BrokenolMarine wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 14, 2024 1:18 am

I got the reply from mossberg.

NO, do not shoot slugs from the full choke barrel. Could result in damage to the gun or a catastrophic failure.

That's pretty clear. She can either shoot Buckshot, #4 shot, or take the other gun with the more open choke rated for slugs.

Mossberg is right. My TS12 is threaded for chokes, but anything tighter than Modified, even with rifled slugs, will cause problems according to IWI. It came with both Modified and Improved Cyl chokes and currently has the IC installed. I also only shoot Brenneke slugs, which are a harder lead than the usual Foster slugs so that can make a difference also.

Mags wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 14, 2024 12:20 am

The two barrels for the Mossberg 500E .410.
https://www.mossberg.com/parts/type/bar ... &model=500

I got that "Security" barrel for my .410 Mossberg. It looks like a miniature riot gun for sure.

I'll give the daughter the option of which gun she wants.

The barrels are a bit hard to come by and I have two she can choose from.

The nice 500 with the vented rib, that she can shoot buck or #4 for varmints, including coyotes.
or the 500E that can shoot it all, but has the 18.5 inch barrel and muzzle brake.

The nicer of the two, full choke:


The shorter barrel, home defender 410, which works well on varmints too.


Either will do the job, she just needs to decide if she thinks she really needs slugs.

I have an inexpensive .410 O/U that is full over full. When I bought it, it was either full/full, or skeet/skeet. I figured that I'd use this for rabbits and such, so went with the full chokes. I've shot skeet with it and did well, so not a handicap in actual practice.

I bought a couple boxes of .410 slugs a couple years ago and have fired 5-6 of them at our pond. I'd pick a cattail or a reflection, and see how close the splash would be, and they were often more than a foot away. Bead sight barrels, especially single bead ones, do not lend themselves to accurate shot placement, at least not with occasional use. Well, my opinion anyway. I believe the vanes on larger gauge slugs are designed to give room for the lead to swage into when passing through a choke. The cheap slugs I have for the .410 don't have those vanes, so probably not a good idea for me to shoot those through the full choke. Mossberg's response makes sense to me, at least for a full choke.

All that said, those loads with a few buckshot might be perfect for your daughter's application. The #4 shot loads would work well too. If you know someone that reloads, there are lead BBs intended for airguns that would probably make a very potent load in a .410. From everything I've read, loading the steel BBs is a recipe for disaster, since steel won't compress in the choke, so not the steel BBs. Most slugs are listed as ¼ or 1/5 ounce, that's less than 110 grains, so not much weight. The shot loads have ½ ounce, or 11/16 ounce, so a bigger payload, and a better chance of hitting too.

I'm thinking with her size and the use she intends, she'll go with the compact gun. I'll keep an eye on the mossberg site and buy Miss T a slug barrel for the nicer gun when mossberg gets them back in stock if Jess takes the Defender model. I think it will be a better fit for her overall. Either way is fine for me.

The mossberg 410 turkey model is not a fixed choke. I accidentally shot a slug through the turkey choke. It may not pattern that well anymore.

The Turkey choke, from what I read, is an extra full, or super full. Yeah, I can guess it might not pattern that well.