.22 shotshell

I second Tim the Slugman. I used to do a lot of set and trotline fishing along the Sabine and Trinity rivers. I always carried a S&W Kit gun for snakes. Shotshells are good for Cottonmouths and copperheads within 3 to 6 feet. If the snakes were farther than that I usually ignored them. While I can usually hit a snake at that distance with a solid or hp .22 the operable term is "usually". I perferred the shotshell as being more positive. I usually loaded with 2 shotshells and 4 solid points with the shotshells next in rotation to fire first. The solids were for gar that I occasionally pulled in and if I needed them I would rotate the cylinder to pull them up. Snakes up close and personal are about all the .22 shotshell is good for IMO. YMMV.
OldSalt
 
I'm with you on the safety thing RescueRiley. I do a lot of hunting with just a .22 and sometimes I am within range of farmhouses and things. Naturally I am careful, but I am always on the lookout for safe ammo.

I recall reading, years ago, about a boy who was killed after being hit in the head by a stray .22 projectile that had been shot about a mile away. The chances of hitting somebody in wilderness areas are fairly remote, but to me that is no excuse to shoot carelessly.

On the other hand, I was told about a farmers wife who felt something hit her chest...it turned out to be a spent .22 bullet that did no harm at all. I can't vouch for the truth of this story though...and if it was true it may have been a ricochet which had lost a lot of it's grunt.

A while back I bought some Winchester .22 LongZ. These have small projectiles and they are evidently loaded the same as the old 'short' cartridge...but the case is the full length to make magazine feeding more likely to happen. I doubt that there would be any semi-auto that would cycle properly all the time using them though. I can't recall if I've shot anything with these or not....probably have.... but they shoot quite a bit lower than ordinary subsonic .22 loads.

I use subsonic ammo and a moderator most of the time. I've used it to shoot small game like rabbits, and I've also bowled some feral goats, pigs...and more recently a deer. The head-shot deer dropped as quick or quicker than all of the other deer I've got with centrefire cartridges. (I don't recommend using a rimfire for big animals, but sometimes it has been the sensible choice for my unique circumstances). Oh yes... I used some conventional high-speed ammo for the deer come to think of it (Peters)...but the goats and pigs were taken with Winchester Hollow Subsonic. So the humble .22 is quite deadly.

I don't use solid ammo unless I have to. I believe it ricochets more often than hollow stuff. I also think that the ammo least likely to ricochet is the super high speed hollow stuff...it tends to deform and break up on impact, whereas slower projectiles might have a greater tendency to bounce.

I have asked questions on the web about how dangerous stray .22 bullets are and I've had a variety of replies. But I've seen no hard ballistic evidence one way or another, and nothing that comforts me much. So I am very careful and will often pass up a shot if there is a chance of a ricochet or sending a bullet into space.

Despite the warnings, I doubt that many .22 bullets, fired in normal hunting conditions, would make the full distance of 1.5 miles from what I've seen when I've been shooting over calm water. I guess if you shot from the side of a mountain over the plains you might even exceed this distance though. And besides, there might be a family picnicking only 500 yards away in the shrubbery.

On occasions when I've wanted to get some animals where it was likely I'd be in serious trouble if I carried a firearm, I've used my bow...or set traps.

I marvel at the way that folks will shoot at birds and animals in trees without any apparent worry at all.
 
I've tried them and don't like 22 shot shells.



For noise and velocity reasons or indoor varmints (barn), I like BB or CB caps.
 
I find the 22LR shotshells next to useless unless you are just trying to frighten an animal away. I would not volunteer for the job, but I suspect that you could shoot your foot in a leather boot and not penetrate to skin.

About the only time I would use one is indoors.

I feel you really have to be careful shooting at squirrels in trees as there is typically no backstop. I take very few shots like that anymore due to the distance the 22 bullet will potentially travel.
 
I used to have a link (pre-HD re-format) for a neat load that I found on sixguns.com called the snake charmer IIRC. It consisted of a .38 cal roundball over a shotcharge in .38/.357. I never made any of these up so I can't speak from firsthand experience but it seemed like a very versatile small game/pest load.

The shot IIRC was loaded over an upsidedown gas check and the ball on top crimped in tight. Out to about 25 yards the ball acted like a bullet for taking small game and the shot spread out around it. In a rifled barrel the shot tends to spin out and make a hole in the center of the pattern, but the solid ball was right there at point of aim and maintained minute-of-rabbit accuracy.

I once loaded very coarse shot (@#4) in a Remington cap and ball revolver and shot it from a few feet at a can. NO HOLES!? I loaded up again and shot at a frozen pond. Would you believe it make a perfect circle? Smaller shot made a better pattern. Mac
 
22-rimfire said:
I would not volunteer for the job, but I suspect that you could shoot your foot in a leather boot and not penetrate to skin.
Click to expand...

Really??

CCI shotshells will turn a snakes head into hamburger at that range, unless you are talking about welders boots or the like your foot would be in bad shape indeed. You have to remember those tiny pellets lose their velocity very quicky because of their low mass, at close range, your hand to your foot, I think it would be very bad experiment to try. Chris
 
You can pop rats, mice, snakes and other very small creatures at close range with them. Rifling can cause the patterns to go eratic.
 
The Aguilas are okay, at best. Due to thier heavier weight (which is what makes this particular round subsonic) the bullets themselves tend to become very unstable. There are many suppressor manufacturers who will not offer warranty service if these are being fired through the gun. (bullet instability= baffle strike)

.22 shotshells? best for bugs.

If distance is a concern for you, I'd consider CCI short hollowpoints. (forget the factory name for them...Mini Mags, perhaps?)

Oddly enough these are the most effective squirrel and rabbit killing .22 rounds I've seen- somehow more effective than the hyper velocity rounds even. I think because they expand and deliver the payload inside of the animals body, rather than going through them into whatever is behind them.

Another option is a decent .22 caliber pellet rifle. I've killed a few rabbits and squirrels with mine, and they couldn't have been deader with the first shot if I'd dropped a 100 lb. anvil on them. Plenty of power for small game, but not nearly as far shooting as a .22 LR, even with the higher velocity types. Springers are decent, but heavy. Pre-charged is expensive, but very, very nice. The Benjamin 392's are often a woodsmans/hunters best bet. light, powerful, and not God awful expensive. I've got a couple I picked up used for $35 a piece.
 
Runs With Scissors said:
Oddly enough these are the most effective squirrel and rabbit killing .22 rounds I've seen- somehow more effective than the hyper velocity rounds even. I think because they expand and deliver the payload inside of the animals body, rather than going through them into whatever is behind them.
Click to expand...

HUH???

The hyper velocity rounds I shoot, yellowjackets and stingers, blow grey squirrels and cottontails into pieces, hard to believe you could kill them any deader with a slower round that doesn't expand. I have been listening to that expend it in the animal stuff forever and I just don't buy it, shot too many small critters with centerfires, pink mist is about as dead as you can make something.


I agree with you on the 392, good cheap rifles, however the shot trumps it for shooting pests in buildings. I have found the shot good at room distances for all sorts of pests, I don't get yall saying it won't kill anything, at 3 to about 15 feet it kills everything I shoot it at. Chris
 
SaltBlade said:
I second Tim the Slugman. I used to do a lot of set and trotline fishing along the Sabine and Trinity rivers. I always carried a S&W Kit gun for snakes. Shotshells are good for Cottonmouths and copperheads within 3 to 6 feet. If the snakes were farther than that I usually ignored them. While I can usually hit a snake at that distance with a solid or hp .22 the operable term is "usually". I perferred the shotshell as being more positive. I usually loaded with 2 shotshells and 4 solid points with the shotshells next in rotation to fire first. The solids were for gar that I occasionally pulled in and if I needed them I would rotate the cylinder to pull them up. Snakes up close and personal are about all the .22 shotshell is good for IMO. YMMV.
OldSalt
Click to expand...

You practically took the words right out of my mouth. When I was younger and could get around better than I can now, I fished a lot from a little skiff and around the shore of a particular large lake that was actually a reservoir created by damning up a river here in the Panhandle. I also carried a .22 LR caliber S&W Kit Gun with a 4 inch barrel at all times. I used the earlier "rat shot" cartridges with the crimped brass cases because CCI, which probably did not exist then, had not brought out the improved shells with the shot encased in a plastic capsule back then. Even with the older style shot cartridges I killed scores of water snakes with that little Kit Gun at ranges of from roughly 4 to 8 feet. No problem. Worked fine. One or two rounds nearly always did the trick. I usually carried the first 2 or 3 chambers loaded with shotshells, and the balance of the cylinder loaded with .22 Shorts. Most people today don't seem to even know Shorts exist, let alone what they are good for. I even have two little Beretta pistols and one Remington semiautomatic rifle (Nylon 66 gallery version) that are chambered for .22 Shorts ONLY. I once had a fine little Astra pistol in that caliber, too, but, like a fool, I traded it away a long time ago. I like my old Ruger Standard Model pistol in .22 LR caliber, but .22 "rat shot" shells and .22 Shorts are both good reasons for carrying a .22 revolver instead of an automatic.
 
I've put a few .22 shotshell rounds into a striking snake with no effect. One good machete whack did the job. As for target practice and plinking (even hunting at close range), you can't beat CB Longs for their quietness and inability to travel very far. They won't cycle a semi-auto, but they cycle fine manually. I've never had a problem with them in my 10/22. A good air-rifle is also a good suggestion.
 
I've never tried the .22 shotshells but I will swear by the .45 cal ones. I do a LOT of hiking in Southwestern Montana and rattlesnakes are a given here. I have killed at least 6 with my Ruger p-90 using CCI snakeshot.

I have only used one subsonic .22 round and it wasn't the aguila. I have an old (like 1898) 22 lever action that doesn't care much for the new supersonic ammo. My lever action .22 LOVES the subsonic rounds.... I will have to try the Aguila.

Moorcat (Apache Blade Works)
 
MIKE MACINTOSH said:
Aquila 60gr. sub sonic's I've used in two Ruger 10/22's Ruger mk1 and a Colt huntsman all fed from mag's and cycled without problem . problem was that they are almost twice as heavy and moving slower then regular high velocity rounds and shoot to a diffrent point of impact. I like the rounds and could re zero my scope's but i cant think of any real advantage that they would give me that would warrent the almost double cost per box of ammo and they are hard to find in this area I figure if somthing needs to be hit with a heavier 22LR I'LL hit'em twice
Click to expand...


Actually for the admittedly crappy AR-7, the subsonics inability to cycle the bolt is a plus, instead of the normal malfunctions (shell caught in the reciever, spent shells stuck under the bolt etc) the aguilas turn the AR into a single shot bolt action, just pull the bolt back cycle the spent shell and you are good to go.

There have been -0- misfeeds using the AR that way.
 
runningboar said:
HUH???

The hyper velocity rounds I shoot, yellowjackets and stingers, blow grey squirrels and cottontails into pieces, hard to believe you could kill them any deader with a slower round that doesn't expand. I have been listening to that expend it in the animal stuff forever and I just don't buy it, shot too many small critters with centerfires, pink mist is about as dead as you can make something.


I agree with you on the 392, good cheap rifles, however the shot trumps it for shooting pests in buildings. I have found the shot good at room distances for all sorts of pests, I don't get yall saying it won't kill anything, at 3 to about 15 feet it kills everything I shoot it at. Chris
Click to expand...


I've had the same experiences with Stingers and Yellowjackets. I've also had about the same number of them run off into the bushes another couple hundred feet because it didn't had not been made fully aware that it had just found itself celestially challenged. The CB's have provided much more consistent performance for me. I've had similar experiences with caribou.
Lung shot one with a .338 and the damn thing kept grazing!:eek: Shot it twice more before it realized it was expected to assume ambient temp. Same shots with a 30-06 have all been one shot kills. (with ALOT less wasted meat)

I suppose we'll all debate penetration vs. expansion 'till doomsday, but....It doesn't really matter I suppose, as long as the game is taken as painlessly as possible.
 
Runs With Scissors said:
I've had the same experiences with Stingers and Yellowjackets. I've also had about the same number of them run off into the bushes another couple hundred feet because it didn't had not been made fully aware that it had just found itself celestially challenged. The CB's have provided much more consistent performance for me. I've had similar experiences with caribou.
Lung shot one with a .338 and the damn thing kept grazing!:eek: Shot it twice more before it realized it was expected to assume ambient temp. Same shots with a 30-06 have all been one shot kills. (with ALOT less wasted meat)

I suppose we'll all debate penetration vs. expansion 'till doomsday, but....It doesn't really matter I suppose, as long as the game is taken as painlessly as possible.
Click to expand...

No debate, I agree with you, mostly, I have my own stories, best example is the 7mm mag not getting full penetration broadside on a 100 lb feral hog, while my 35 rem never fails to dig a crater in the mud on the other side. The front half of the hog shot with the 7mm was bloodshot and useless, shot with my 35 and you can eat right up to the bullet hole. My favorite 22lr hunting ammo is Remington/Eley EPS standard velocity, the flat nose gives them a good thump but doesn't tear the meat up, and it is the same OAL as a regular LR and is accurate as hell.

Now when I shoot any game, I want through and through penetration everytime, if the game doesn't drop on the spot it leaves a better blood trail and bleeds out quicker with 2 holes instead of one. Also I have never had anything jackrabbit size and smaller soak up a yellowjacket and get away. Chris
 
For any problem you could solve with .22 shotshells I recommend the Baikal Drozd BB submachine gun. For two hundred bucks you get enough accuracy and range for pest control (including snakes) out to fifty feet. If you're willing to spend the extra money, there are upgrade parts available to get up to 750 fps and 1200 rpm. We are still waiting for the three hundred round magazine, though.
 
I like the shorts for reducing the distance the bullet will travel. They are also very quiet.

The Aguila SSS is a neat round. I don't know what it does well, but it is much quieter. It has more thump on targets at 100yds, from the sound of it.

The Aquila colibris have so little power and speed, they are pretty much pointless to my opinion. I would rather have a pellet gun. They drop like a rock.
 
Keep the sub-sonics for suppressed weapons. They travel only at a marginally slower velocity than a standard .22LR and will still travel nearly as far and hit nearly as hard. The negligable difference in velocity is only applicable if your concerned with the report of just the round breaking the sound barrier and creating it's own crack. That is why there is a market for them in suppressed weapons, where the concern is to not make any noise at all. (The report of the round and the bullet breaking the sound barrier), and still retain sufficient velocity and mass to strike with similiar energy as a regular .22Lr (although always less).

I have found shotshells ineffective.

My usual answer to these problems is to use a long barreled bolt action rifle loaded with CCI CB Long rifles. The round travels at just over 600fps, and retains almost twice of the mass as a .177 pellet gun. I have killed birds, rabbits, squirrels, coyotes, a bobcat and other assorted little stuff within 25 meters with less of a report than a pellet gun (with a 20 inch barrel, a pistol will be MUCH louder). I own a suppressed mark II, and am simply scared of the power of a full powered .22 round in proximity to my neighbors on a 1 acre lot.

Hope this gives you some idea's. Try out the CB's, I like them a lot. Saying that, know the legalities of discharging a firearm in your area. A problem which is mitigated by using a good quality pellet gun. Even discharging low powered rounds is still considered discharging a firearm.

My .02
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top