.22 LR bird shot?

[daman]

Ok whats the deal with these so called bird shots for 22's trying to take out some barn swallows and if im more then 10-20ft away i cant kill nothing,i have to be right on them to make a kill it seems the pattern spreads to fast.

do they make a better Bird shot? im using just winchester now.

 

[Brett Miller]

They are about as effective as throwing an empty oil bottle at them.

 

[daman]

Originally Posted By: Brett Miller
They are about as effective as throwing an empty oil bottle at them.

you got that right!!!

so all B S are rounds are like that?

 

[UncleS2]

.22 rat shot- here's a counter-intuitve fact, it actualy works better from a handgun than a rifle. A revolver with about a 3" to 4" barrel is ideal. Velocity loss is fairly small, & it patterns much better. Even so, I'd set about 7-8 feet as a practical maximum. From my own Ruger .22 single action w/6.5" barrel, my experience says rat shot is a great snake killer at 5-6 feet- much worse by 8-9 feet, and the pattern gets so thin it's pretty much useless by 12-13 feet.

HOWEVER: back in the 1950's- 60's, into the 1970s, there was a .22 LR ratshot skeet shooting system called Mo-Skeet. It was available at Scout Camp way back when. I know this for a fact because most my spending money went to the Rifle Range & the MoSkeet Range!

The targets were small clay pigeons, maybe 2 1/2" in diameter. The guns were bolt action .22 *Smoothbore* single shots- with a smooth .22 dia bore for about a foot, that then flared to a larger smooth bore for the remainder of the barrel length. IIRC, it was a little smaller than a .410 at the muzzle, maybe about the size of a .38/9mm or a bit bigger. If you could find such a gun somewhere, it should extend your .22 rat-shot bird shooting range to about 20 ft or a little more- but not a whole lot more!

 

[daman]

Ahhh i see ok, well that stinks why make the rounds then if there so ineffective, seems silly to me, was going to buy another box getting low but probably wont now.

i get a kick outa the box has a warning on the range, 3/8 of a mile or something like that, yea right.

 

[BlownF150]

Decent pellet rifle and a little shooting practice. I could plink pennies off the backyard fence from well over 50ft with iron sights.

 

[White 03]

I think it is the rifling that fouls things up. I did a patern test on one once because I couldn't hit anything and found the shot was like a small tire shape. All the shot was in a outside ring and a big hole in the middle. I found that if I aimed to the side of the target I did better. I am thinking that the rifling spins the shot to the outside.

Try a pattern on a paper plate or something and see if you get the same results. Should be able to tell the effective range after a couple of tries also.

 

[UncleS2]

Originally Posted By: White 03
I think it is the rifling that fouls things up. I did a patern test on one once because I couldn't hit anything and found the shot was like a small tire shape. All the shot was in a outside ring and a big hole in the middle. I found that if I aimed to the side of the target I did better. I am thinking that the rifling spins the shot to the outside.

Try a pattern on a paper plate or something and see if you get the same results. Should be able to tell the effective range after a couple of tries also.


Yup, all 100% true. It's the spinning- and, I suspect, addtional dispersion from the extra shot deformation that occurs in the longer barrel of a rifle- that cause such rapid & uneven dispersion. Holding off to one side may well produce better hits after the first few feet- but bear in mind that those little crimped brass .22 shells hold a *very* small charge of shot.

 

[daman]

Originally Posted By: White 03
I think it is the rifling that fouls things up. I did a patern test on one once because I couldn't hit anything and found the shot was like a small tire shape. All the shot was in a outside ring and a big hole in the middle. I found that if I aimed to the side of the target I did better. I am thinking that the rifling spins the shot to the outside.

Try a pattern on a paper plate or something and see if you get the same results. Should be able to tell the effective range after a couple of tries also.

How far away were you from target? i did shoot pice a tin and it seemed fine had hits in the center as well,BUT i was only 10ft from my target,i'll try farther away and see.

yes these rounds need more shot in them

I'm using a old Remington bolt action long barrel gun,it's a accurate old girl with slugs reaches out.

 

[Oldwolf]

My Granddad used .22 LR birdshot to kill rats and other rodents around the house. He usually shot them from 5 or less feet.

Maybe .22 mag birdshot would work better for you.

If you have a .357 Mag revolver you can hand load birdshot for it btw.

 

[Pablo]

Get the .410 out. I have a single shot .410 for stuff like that, I make the wife patch the holes in the house.

 

[daman]

Haha yea dont have a 410 tho,do they make bird shot for that gun?

 

[IndyIan]

I've heard of guys replacing the lead bullet with a crayon... Don't know how accurate it would be for any distance though.

 

[Pablo]

Originally Posted By: daman
Haha yea dont have a 410 tho,do they make bird shot for that gun?


.410, sure since it's a shotgun they make shells with up to #9 shot (very fine)

 

[daman]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
Originally Posted By: daman
Haha yea dont have a 410 tho,do they make bird shot for that gun?


.410, sure since it's a shotgun they make shells with up to #9 shot (very fine)

Hmmmmm

 

[Pablo]

I hope the swallows aren't in your barn (roof ventilation), and why do you want to shoot them?

They do eat insects!

 

[daman]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
I hope the swallows aren't in your barn (roof ventilation), and why do you want to shoot them?

They do eat insects!

Well thats the thing a 22 with bird shot wouldn't do any damage shooting inside,they dive at you and c rap all over equipment.

 

[JT1]

Yea, that swallow poo all over everything gets annoying. I'd rather use a red rider BB gun than 22 bird-shot on anything more than a barn mouse.

 

[robert_west]

I agree with JT1. A decent air rifle with good sights is more effective at anything more than 15-20 feet. A Crosman 66 is pretty stout for the money .

 

[nwjones18]

I've special ordered a smooth bore savage .22, so they were still available as of 6 or 7 years ago. I use it instead of a gig for frogs. If you shoot them with a regular .22 they will jump, if you shoot them with they shotshell they don't go anywhere. The smoothbore pattern's well, but you still have to be within 30-40 feet to do any good.