.22LR Shotshells Are Not Very Effective, Are They?
 

I just shot a rat in the garage with .22LR shotshells. They weren't very effective. He was still squeaking after the third. This was at about 3 ft range. I had to use a .22 Short to put him out of his misery. Fortunately I didn't hit my 911's rear decklid that was leaning against the wall right next to him.

I always thought people carried these loads for snakes. I now don't think a .22LR shotshell would be sufficient against a reasonable size snake.

Maybe you just winged him. It should be plenty powerful enough to knock him out.

I have used them and I still have 5 loaded in the rifle, but they suck. They won't kill anything, but I figure that they will not penetrate walls, but will sting like rock salt and have a nice sound effect indoors.

Dave

LR are target rounds. Shorts are no better. Got to use hollowpoints or they just pass right through the critter without much knockdown. 22 LR snakeshot is good for snakes and rats.

Be careful, 22 LR rounds will indeed kill and go through a typical wall unless it hits a stud.

edit...my bad...you are talking about snakeshot. I thought you were talking about regular LR shells. I never heard it called "shotshells." You can buy them in different loads of pellets...get the larger loads.

on a seni related note I'm thinking of getting a .22 pistol for the range (maybe sig mosquito) because I'm shocked how cheap ammo is...a buck per box of 50. egad!

Look at the browning .22's

Yep, at Wally World here .22LR is $8.50 for 550 rounds.

I have a Ruger .22 single action revolver that I use for snakes/varmints. It came with two cylinders. One carries shotshell rounds for snakes. They have fairly thin skin so the shot actually penetrates well. The other cylinder is machined for a .22 magnum round which has amazing penetration and stopping power. I would venture to say it would dissuade a home intruder from wanting to stick around assuming he wasn't laying on the ground after the first shot.

.22??!! What kind o' ******* shotshell round is that??!

Make your own .44 mag shotshells!

http://www.castbullet.com/reload/44shot.htm

Unfortunately, for me, shooting a .22 is not nearly as satisfying as larger calibers.

Use a 44 with humongous cast bullets (300+ grains) and just enough powder to get 300fps or so out of the barrel. No noise, knocks over the little bastards fine.

That's the same .22 pistol I have, the Ruger Single-Six. There's a stainless "Hunter" model now, with scope mount rail machined into the barrel - nice-looking piece.

I have the stainless, but without the scope mount. Here's a picture of what mine looks like:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1134661241.jpg

Mine is blued but otherwise the same, including barrel length.

It has actually been the most "useful" of all the guns I've owned, in the sense that it has actually done work, shooting rats and skunks. No one notices a .22 short or .22 CB cap, not even your next-door neighbor.

I thought it would be a accurate range gun due to the long fixed barrel and target sights, but as it turns out I'm really inaccurate with it - even benchrested. I don't know why.

That is a beautiful gun...:eek:

jyl - check the accuracy with the 22 mag cylinder - 22lr and 22 mag have slightly different diameters. The one I had (bought dirt cheap, sold cheap but for a profit) had poor accuracy with teh 22lr cylinder, but the 22mag was great.

KurtV, my dad has that exact same gun, though with a bicentennial stamp on it. We've used it on plenty of varmints and snakes.

I would not be shooting anything larger than a .22 in a garage. A .44 would be just insane. It would likely burt your eardrums indoors and certainly get the neaighbors' attention. .22 rat shot should be fine. It so cheap and quiet, that 2 or 3 shots shouldn't matter much. For personal defense, I would never use a .22 unless it was the only thing handy.

Alas the .22 Mag cylinder is missing - no idea where it got to. I guess someday I should send the gun back to Ruger to have a new .22 Mag cylinder fitted - but after the cost plus shipping, it would be a good part of the price for a new Single-Six w/ scope mount rib. Anyway, last time I checked, .22 Mag ammo was quite a bit more expensive than .22LR.

I'm just out here trolling (recovering from surgery on my leg) but I had to get in here...

Get the .22 shot shells with larger pellets. They will take out a rat. I LOVE the .44 idea. works with smaller calibres as well.

The best thing to use the small diameter pellets for is games on the range. I loaded up the single action .22 with some nice shot shells and bet a buddy that I could hit six seperate .9mm shell casings on the floor of the range with six shots. It shocked him when I sent them one by one down the range from about 15 feet. I came clean to him a few months later as to how I did it, after he was bragging to my wife about what I'd done and she KNEW I wasn't that good a shot...

My boss told me how he used to mow his property in a decreasing circle. When he got to the middle, all the rats/mice were in the last remaining patch of grass. When they tried to escape he'd pull out his 22 mag Ruger with rat shot and kill'm. If I remember correctly those 22 mag shot shells are not cheap.

Darn it, we are getting a rodent infestation here. Must be the start of the rain and cold season. Shot the one rat a few days ago, yesterday another was caught in a sticky trap and appears to have crawled into a wall to die, this morning I caught a mouse in the downstairs bathroom (and was ordered to release him alive in the park a couple blocks away). This is getting out of hand.

I have a Ruger Mark II that is awesome...it is a tackdriver and the ammo is CHEAP.

Have read very mixed reviews of the Mosquito...

What range do you usually go to?

Isn't even a .22LR kinda LOUD to be firing in the garage?

My neighbors would freak...I even cringe when I fire .177 pellet airguns around here.

This is the MKII I have. (Not my pic though.)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1134863275.gif

dude, you live in berkeley! dont get caught shooting vermin. i used a .22 to claim plenty of jackrabbits, so i think you just winged the bastard. i think you should just lay out plenty of rattraps. snicker bars are my bait of choice.

get a cat?

Maybe I should buy an CO2 pistol.

We're going to put out a bunch of traps. Got to get this under control. The last rat (the one who crawled away) made a big hole in the wall - like, 6" across - presumably to fit the sticky trap that was attached to him.

Anybody tried these?

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ctd_i...42/AMM-066.jpg

"Aguila .22 Super Colibri is super-quiet ammo that does not contain gun powder but fires from the force of the primer only. Powerful and silent, great for use in urban areas. This is a 20-grain bullet in a brass case. Will break glass and penetrate hard tin cans. Velocity is 500 fps (11 foot-pounds) at the muzzle and can be lethal."

Looks useful. I use CB caps for the same purpose.

CCI makes CB caps in full length .22 Long Rifle shells. They are far more accurate than the short CB caps from other makers. They put the bullet closer to the throat and the full length case aligns them better in the chamber. In a full length rifle barrel, or even a carbine, they make less noise than a high powered .177 air rifle. They kind of crack a bit from a revolver or pistol. They dump rats pretty darn good, but be careful. A lot of guys think less power is better for indoor shooting safety, but these things can and will bounce off of hard surfaces, and they hurt like hell, believe me. Wear safety glasses; "it's all good fun until some one loses an eye".

I have had great success with .22 lr shotshells.
When fired from my Ruger MkII, I drop red squrrels from 40 feet up in the trees. It sometimes takes two shots, but that's more the shooter than the ammo.

Check local ordinances.....in some cities even the use of air powered guns are illegal.....

Not that stops anyone....just a point if a neighbor gets miffed and drops a dime on ya to the local PD.

Living in a semi rural area we get a lot of local moochers coming in to steal cat/dog food. My .177 pump persuades them it's not a gud idea....

Well, darn it, my paintball gun isn't going to cut it. Where's my right to defend myself and my family (and our earthquake supplies) against home invasion by another species?

At a distance of 3 feet a 22LR BLANK should take out a rat. At that range it should make a dime size hole half way thru the varmit.


My old muzzle loading 4GA uses 1/4 POUND of 45 cal round balls. Backed up with 1/4 POUND of powder. Now thats real stopping power. All the smoke is back up. Fire dept will respond quickly when neighbors see all the smoke.

Don't know about the blank, but the shotshell (snake shot) didn't do the trick. Oh, he would have died, but he wasn't quickly and humanely killed.

I will admit that after another afternoon (today) of cleaning up rat turds, plugging holes in the wall, and throwing out ruined stuff, I'm rapidly getting less concerned about a humane kill.

Interesting. Who made this gun? What more can you tell us about it? While the shot charge is correct for a four bore gun, the powder charge is unusually high, like about four times as high as any I have seen.

Home made gun. That was actually the proof charge I used, remember its black powder as well so its hard to really overcharge a chrome molly steel barrel. Its also easier to remember and more impressive. I am still working on the 2nd barrel, just in case the first one leaves something. Notice I didn't say standing, just something.

Making muzzle loaders was once one of my hobbies.

An old inactive member of the NMLRA.

PS Irish still rule.

Did someone say at home fun with a .22? Here is mine...http://members.cox.net/onequicksupra/zachruger.JPG

for quiet backyard use to kill varmits I use these....http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1134961837.jpg

Neat stuff. I've been a black powder shooter for as long as I can remember, both muzzle loaders and breech loaders. I've been fairly active in the long range match game up here in the Pacific Northwest for years, shooting a variety of Ballard and Sharps target rifles. Most of my hunting is done with muzzle loaders, including bird hunting, or with breech loading single shots. "Smokeless powder is a passing fad", to quote Mr. Garbe.

You guys ever build a potato gun? Gawd, are they fun. I used to have a roommate who was a patent examiner and very good at building things. A few feet of PVC pipe, some extensions, a gas grill ignitor switch, some screws and a can of Aqua Net. Oh, that was the best! We used come home from the bars and grab a sack potatos and have at it in the back yard. Probably too big for varmints though.