Hunting With 410 Shotgun

This article is ultimately about single shot shotgun mods but here is the story leading up to it. For the longest time I was free to hunt with rimfire rifles and shotgun slugs without any restriction. Centerfire rifles as I understood were never allowed in an approved hunting area with such close proximity to city limits.

As we all know, times change and so do local laws. New rules regulating where I hunted were onset by this ugly thing called urban sprawl. Urban sprawl is when you have cities or private land owners selling their suburban plots of land to ambitious real estate purchasers. These new land owners end up developing those very areas to make million dollar homes, that sit empty because no one can afford them.

This human activity ruins what was once sprawling fields and quiet patches of trees that offer refuge to game animals. It also ruins opportunities for those who had permission to hunt there. My story is about this very issue and how I had to adapt and the tool I used.

There is eighty acres of private land that I frequented over the years where myself, my father, and my brother in law would deer hunt with our shotguns chambered in 12 Ga slugs. This land is an undisclosed location between rural Afton MN and Woodbury MN. It was well known to us that we could not hunt with centerfire rifles because of the range they can achieve, this area is also two and a half hours south of Minnesota Highway 10- which is the dividing point of the state (north is where rifle hunting deer is legal, and south is archery & shotgun). Even if we wanted to hunt coyote in this area we would have to use rimfire rifle cartridges or 000 “buck”.

It wasn’t until June of 2018 that the county outlawed slug gun hunting in this area, if we desire to still hunt this private property we would all have to take up archery which is an added cost considering all of the gear we have is for firearms. The county however, still allows shotgun hunting for small game and turkey. After receiving the news we could no longer hunt with slugs I immediately forwarded an inquiry. This one  was about us still being able to hunt with rimfire and the answer was a hard “no..”. The county restricted single projectile firearms of any kind due to the housing environments developing so close to this land.

Knowing this information, I was at a loss for words because I had just lost the freedom of hunting so close to home as well being able to subsist off of what I shot and killed. It was time to adapt and overcome as the military taught me. In no time at all I found myself scanning the shelves of the Woodbury Cabelas used gun section. I was looking for a versatile shotgun that was affordable to shoot and could handle steel shot. My eyes stumbled upon a LSI Pointer .410 Ga for $119.00. This shotgun was in the USED section but appeared to be untouched. I brought the shotgun to the gun counter and made an offer for $100.00 even.

The deal was sealed with a hand shake and of course some paperwork, gun sales had to be finalized by a department manager so I had to wait. While I waited I browsed the ammunition options for my new toy, I noticed an array of options ranging from 2-3/4″ shells to 3″ available in High brass or low brass, lead game shot or steel shot. I signed for my gun after paying and filling out the ATF FM4473 and I was out the door! This is exactly the firearm I need for my old hunting area that these housing developments are encroaching on. I saw it is by far my best option since rimfire is no longer allowed. OH WELL!

Here is My Single Shot Shotgun Mod

Having this new shotgun for a few months I came to understand how it operates and how annoying it was that it did not have a sling. In fact, this is a shotgun I would describe as featureless. It was time for some single shot shotgun mods. What I mean by featureless is that it is no more than the basic pieces that allow it to operate. I was frustrated with this, being a hunter I acknowledged my need for a sling, I also saw this as an opportunity to create a DIY video for my channel of how to customize your gun to accept a sling beginning with drilling into the synthetic stock and screwing in swivel studs that I ordered from amazon. The video turned out well and so did the swivel studs and I went ahead and attached the sling making this shotgun a lot more user friendly.

Single Shot Shotgun Mods Video

 

Fast forward to New Years Day…

I was invited to the property that belongs to a friend of mine, this land is 85 acres wooded with 40 acres agricultural plot all located in Mora Minnesota. New Year’s day 2019 was the final day of pheasant hunting for the state of Minnesota so we thought we would get together and start the year off with a bang. I brought the LSI Pointer .410 for it’s second hunting trip, hoping this time it draws blood resulting in a successful hunt.

Our goal that afternoon was taking rooster pheasants, eastern cottontail, snowshoe hares, and large gray squirrels. This was a mission to subsist. We went out in hopes to fill some freezer bags with lean healthy game meat. Thirty minutes into our hunt we entered a low area just passed the creek that ran through the center of his property. This low area had thick briers and thorns that looked like the perfect place for rabbits and pheasants to hide in pending our approaching footsteps through the snow. Leading up to the thick patches I saw tons of rabbit sign including prints and scat, it looked promising.

Not very long after seeing my friend halt his side of the drive I saw movement to eleven O’ clock. It was a massive rabbit that began to scurry as soon as it heard me cock the hammer back. In the heat of the moment I didn’t hear the shot or feel the recoil; all I saw was the snow lift up where the rabbit was and it laying exactly where I shot it. The Federal Steel Game & Target shot in .410 was effective at killing this cottontail through light cover brush from 20 yards away.

Shooting Rabbits with My 410 Single Shot Shotgun

That evening we gutted and skinned our rabbits while reminiscing about the excellent shots we made. Having only deer, goose, and turkey in my freezer; it was nice to add a little variation to the menu at home. I reflect regularly about the guns I have and the purpose for each, as I am sure many of you do. I think of my LSI Pointer .410 Gauge Shotgun as a minimalist shotgun that has one purpose, not recreation, not range fun or plinking, but for acquiring FOOD. The simple design makes hunting the only thing I can see this shotgun being used for.

Rabbit Wild Rice Soup

• 3lbs of Rabbit meat
• 2 1/2 qt. packages of cream of mushroom soup
• 1 rounded cup of wild rice
• Quart of vegetable or beef stock
• 1 tsp of garlic powder + dash of black pepper
• 2 tbsp of Pink himilayan sea salt
• 1/2 of white onion
• 2 cups of sliced carrot
• 1-1/2 cup of sliced celery
• 1 tsp Paprika
• + or – 1 cup of water depending on thickness

INSTRUCTIONS

Put it all in a crock pot and turn on high for 3 to 4 hours. Begin the timer once everything has heated up.

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Joe Metzger

Strata Camo by True Timber

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