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

[jyl]

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.

[89911]

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

[slodave]

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

[fintstone]

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.

[nostatic]

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!

[red-beard]

Look at the browning .22's

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

[Rot 911]

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.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

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

Make your own .44 mag shotshells!

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

[RickM]

Originally posted by nostatic
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!

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

[id10t]

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.

[jyl]

Originally posted by Kurt V
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.

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.

[Rot 911]

Originally posted by jyl
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:

[jyl]

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.

[Seahawk]

That is a beautiful gun...

[id10t]

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.

[Rick Lee]

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.

[jyl]

Originally posted by id10t
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.

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.

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

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...

[David]

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.

[jyl]

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.