I was hunting in central Indiana and I had already taken 2 does with my .410. I had a buck tag left but I was sure that I would not be lucky enough to get one. The guys who leased the property with me said that an 8 point was roaming the property but no one had been able to get a shot at it.
My tree stand sets in a row of trees that divides 2 fields. I climbed up in my stand , unzipped the .410 from it’s case and waited. I was scanning both fields for about 45 minutes when I saw the large, dark brown, body of a deer in the field to my left. Its head was down and it was about 30 yards away. I looked at its head and noticed it was the buck that the other guys had been talking about. It crept slowly into the tree line and I slowly brought the Marlin into a get ready shooting position. I waited for it to travel through the trees and it appeared without a sound to my right. Its head was down but its chest was behind a few shrubs so I waited for it to move. It moved 3 more feet and I had a clear, broadside shot at it’s chest. The inner circles of the crosshairs moved on it’s chest as I told myself to calm down. I squeezed the trigger and the buck jumped in the air kicking toward his chest. It ran to my right and I levered another round in the Marlin. I was going to shoot again but the buck staggered and fell 20 yards from my stand. It was the largest deer that I have ever shot with anything. If someone tells you, that you can’t kill a deer with a .410 I have killed 3. It is not a stunt and a .410 slug in the vitals is a lot more effective than a 12 gauge slug anywhere else.
Scott Mahl
Dedicated to the Smallbore Shotgun 
Love your site! Thanks in part to you, I picked up a Mossy 500 Field All-Purpose in .410 a few weeks ago, and today I ordered an 18.5-inch barrel for it. I’m looking at the Williams Ace in the Hole rail/sight combo, but I need to talk to a tech at Williams to make sure it fits well enough.
I’m very interested in your 210-grain slugs. I watched your videos and plan to try them myself soon. Are they still working well for you?
Keep up the good work!
Bob
Hi Bob,
I am glad you like the site! I have not shot any 210 grain slugs in a long time…I have a single shot H&R that I want to chop down and dedicate to slug development, just need the time to do the project. Thanks for the encouragement.
Brent
Spare time and cash have been short, but I decided to go with a regular rail and a separate peep sight. I slugged the Mossberg’s cylinder bore barrel and found it’s .413 inches. I plan to try the Lee .410 plain-base 195-grain SWC for the .41 Magnum. I’ll size them to .410 just to be sure and safe. How does this sound to you?
By the way, did you try both the 3-inch and 2.5-inch hulls with your heavy slugs? It seems like the 3-inch hull would give better accuracy, due to less freebore with the longer hull. Any thoughts?
All my best,
Bob
Congrats! Been following your blog for years! As an avid 410 shooter I love hearing this!!
In case you haven’t heard…check out the yildiz 410 single shot. They’re the new craze and I hope to pick one up soon