Guns, Bows, Shooting Sports, and Hunting Question Re .22 Rifle Ammunition

[AMink]

I looked at cheaperthandirt's website again. Every single type and brand of . 22 LR is out of stock except this:

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6-0307075
Ammo . 22 Hornet Hornady Varmint Express V-Max 35 G...

I don't know anything about it. Advice please?

Nope, . 22 Hornet is a very potent little centerfire cartridge. Very different than . 22 long rifle. Just out of curiosity, what model rifle did you get? Is it a bolt, slide, or semi-auto? If it's a bolt it very well may be able to chamber . 22 shorts which may actually be easier to find than long rifles.

 

[KBurgoyne]

ive found that for semi's, blazers and winchester super x's work best. be careful what you buy. there are some rounds, from aguila i believe that are subsonic, and fire on primer only. if you fire them in a rifle they wont make it out the end of the barrel. a squib would be the worst way to start out your shooting career.



the more i hear about ammo shortages the more i like my reloading set up. i just loaded up some 300 win mags. 69. 5, 70, and 70. 5 grains h4831SC, berger 230 vld seated to 3. 625. did the math cost me 64 cents per round. to buy this quality of stuff it would cost 3 or 4 bucks a shot. cant reload rimfire, but having several hundred rounds each of various calibers eases the pain.

 

[HBarlow]

Thanks for the good information. Glad I didn't order the Hornady Hornet.

I saved the Sportsmans Guide website and even filled out a "notify me" request on their website.

I appreciate all the advice.

 

[NIsaacs]

When my brother and i were teenagers, we shot several boxes of that ammo shooting rats in our hay barn. It'll get the rats without shooting holes in the metal roof. About once a week we would go out to the hay barn after dark and sit still for a while until we heard them scurrying around and we'd flip on the lights and shoot fast for a few seconds. Then turn the lights out and wait and do it again. About three times of that and the rats would get wise. :-laf We'd wait about a week for them to forget and do it all over again. :-laf



Bill

Yup, that was fun. We used BB-guns and flashlights, they would freeze for a few seconds when the light hit them. I have a pump up repeater that is deadly on rabbits with a head shot, I am sure it would kill a skunk, a Raccoon would probably get ****** and send me up a tree tho:-laf



Harvey, you might want to check out some BB-Guns, they make some powerful ones now and ammo is cheap and plentiful. I use mine all the time on small varmints such as rats and ground squirrels, they are so distructive around here. I live out in the country but I have two neighbors that live too close for firearms use.



Nick

 

[Bill Stockard]

Yup, that was fun. We used BB-guns and flashlights, they would freeze for a few seconds when the light hit them. I have a pump up repeater that is deadly on rabbits with a head shot, I am sure it would kill a skunk, a Raccoon would probably get ****** and send me up a tree tho:-laf

Harvey, you might want to check out some BB-Guns, they make some powerful ones now and ammo is cheap and plentiful. I use mine all the time on small varmints such as rats and ground squirrels, they are so distructive around here. I live out in the country but I have two neighbors that live too close for firearms use.

Nick

Yep, we keep a pump-up BB gun on our back screened in porch for use on squirrels (rats with bushy tails). It "pops" them pretty good.

Bill

 

[HBarlow]

I have a 20 gauge shotgun I've used in the past to eliminate skunks and raccoons but my reason for wanting the rifle, a Remington 597 w/scope, is to kill those critters from 100 yard so I don't have to sneak in closer.

I have a 43' by 60' steel building with a 500 watt security light over the front entrance doors about 200' north of my farmhouse. We haven't had enough rain in two years to have a crop of bugs but in normal years the bright light on the barn attacts bugs in the gravel underneath. It is a cafeteria for skunks and raccoons. I've killed several with my 20 gauge but I have to quietly sneak out of the front door of the farmhouse, sneak around to within 100' or so of the barn, and hope my footsteps on the gravel road or my upwind scent don't warn the critter before I get in shotgun range.

The rifle should allow me to shoot from a much greater distance without spraying the front wall of the building. The building already has several pellet dings from the spread of the shot gun shell.

 

[TJJEEPER]

I looked at cheaperthandirt's website again. Every single type and brand of . 22 LR is out of stock except this:

-
6-0307075
Ammo . 22 Hornet Hornady Varmint Express V-Max 35 G...

I don't know anything about it. Advice please?

Not the same Harv!

Those are a different bullet all together.

Your rifle should shoot 22 short, 22 long or 22 long rifle if it isn't a semi automatic. Check the paperwork.

Ammo is VERY hard to get right now due to all the impending legislation. Once things settle down in about 6 months 22 ammo should be easy to get again.

 

[HBarlow]

I had never seen a 22 round that looked like that but knew only enough to wait and ask. Glad I didn't order it. My Remington 597 is apparently supposed to shoot only ordinary rim fire 22 LR.

 

[sarj]

Harvey, you might want to check out some BB-Guns, they make some powerful ones now and ammo is cheap and plentiful. I use mine all the time on small varmints such as rats and ground squirrels, they are so distructive around here. I live out in the country but I have two neighbors that live too close for firearms use.

Nick

+1

I have a scoped Beeman to shoot roof rats off cable lines for that exact reason. 20cal. The woman feeds the squirrels so I can't lay out poison. It keeps the congregating crows outside 100 yards too. It costs nothing to shoot.

 

[GHarman]

If you have a GOOD . 22 Rim Fire rifle and shoot "Rat Shot" through it? You will; #1. lead up the barrel, which destroys accuracy
#2. your pattern will look like a doughnut, with a big hole in the middle. Unless you are at point blank range.
Many high quality . 22 rifles have been ruined, trying to scrub the lead out of the barrel from using the shot cartridges.
If you can reload centerfire ammo for a handgun? Use a "plastic shot cup" which keeps the shot away from contacting the bore. The results are the same. Just more shot and the doughnut pattern,
created by the mass of shot being spun around its axis by the rifling
This ammo can be useful at point blank range.
I have seen old junker 22 rifles that were reamed out and used as dedicated "shotguns" specifically for rat shot loads!
Have FUN!
GregH

 

[HBarlow]

Thanks, Greg. I needed to know that. A couple of other posts like Mark's have suggested that but you filled in all the information. This box of ratshot rounds will be going back to the country store today.

I'm as knowledgeable and experienced with guns, ammunition, and hunting as a NYC subway rider buying a Cummins-Ram dually and a 36' fifthwheel trailer.

 

[HBarlow]

I never thought of an air rifle, didn't know they had advanced so far beyond boy's toys. Of course, I was not aware there is no ammunition available when I bought the gun either.

 

[HHhuntitall]

I've had good luck shooting the ratshot... . I've used both the brass crimped end ammo from Winchester, and the plastic cased stuff from CCI. I've shot hundreds of rounds through my Winchester 94/22 and a Remington 597 shooting rats and pigeons in my barns and silos... . Lead fouling can be seriously detrimental to your barrel if you don't clean it frequently and remove it all. It can also wear the lands unevenly from scattering the shot down the bore if not encased in the plastic shot wad, as Gharm stated..... I've killed several skunks and coons in my barns and equipment using it, but it won't do it from very far, and certainly won't do it without a head shot. It won't work for you if you're wanting to do it from the house. The Remington's "usually" shoot pretty well with 40gr bullets, and I'd wager it shoots well with the Ely ammo. I usually see that at the shooting range, with guys shooting match or silhouettes. The Aquila subsonic ammo should shoot well in the rifle, and I've shot a lot of it shooting rats and pigeons as well, but again, it won't do it from the porch. Shooting 100 yards will take pretty good sights or optics, and will take a little practice. On really windy days/nights, as you see from time to time in Lubbock :-laf, you're going to see a little drift that will affect bullet impact..... That can be minimized by moving a little closer, say 50 yards, but can also be overcome with a little practice... ... I bet you enjoy it a little, either way.



And that's just my personal experience... . Not to be argumentative to anyone here. I've got a 9 shot revolver loaded with Winchester Ratshot right now, draped over the horn of my saddle in it's holster... . I had an argument with a bull, and ratshot is the perfect persuasion tool. When shot out of a pistol, it really opens up quick, and the pattern is usually too light to do much very far..... Snakes are easily dispacted from point blank to about 15 feet..... A rifle holds the pattern tighter a little further, and I shoot pigeons in the rafters at 30-40 ft. I like to wait until night, blind 'em with a flashlight, and then slaughter the pooping feather balls..... Somehow, they defy physics... . they can eat 1lb and poop 4lbs... . Usually down the stacks of my KW or on the hood of my tractors... . #@$%!

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Here's a possible source - they have both the . 22 birdshot, and regular ammo in stock - and yeah, I have several pump-up type pellet guns that are up in the 1200 FPS range - fun for squirels and similar...

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Fede...22+lr+shells&WTz_l=Header;Search-All+Products

 

[JJPage]

I never thought of an air rifle, didn't know they had advanced so far beyond boy's toys. Of course, I was not aware there is no ammunition available when I bought the gun either.

Harvey,

I own an . 177 caliber RWS, break barrel action pellet rifle that is at least 20 years old. You cock the barrel once to arm a single shot pellet, it claims 1000 ft per sec, and is extremely accurate to around 50 yards. There are alot of newcomers on the market, and a few older names offering similar results for about $100, you get what you pay for. A pellet rifle like mine(RWS Diana #34) is around $230 today's price.

I have lost count of the number of pellets this gun has fired, and is still working great. I have shot many "hot shot" loads through it also, this is where you place a drop of mineral oil(or gun oil) in the combustion chamber before cocking and loading your pellet, when the rifle is fired, and the piston compresses the oil with the air, it will "diesel", and you have a screaming . 177 pellet that cracks like a . 22 rimfire, and will kill many creatures... firing it normal will take out any small animal with a well placed shot.

There are . 22 and . 177 caliber pellet rifles available(I prefer . 177), many different pellet styles also(target, hollow points, superdomes), and they have them performing well over 1200 ft per sec now. Very reasonable (cost wise) to shoot.

The RWS's are made in Germany, have replaceable synthetic pistons if needed (mine is still original), and are second to none! (needless to say... ) you do have to regularly clean the lead from the rifled barrel, unless you spend for titanium pellets.

Jess

 

[Bob4x4]

Shooting an aggressive water moccasin (cottonmouth) with rat shot would be like spitting in Mike Tyson's face when he was in his prime: Either way, YOU GONNA DIE!! Mark

Water moccasin in Texas????

 

[Mark31]

HHH, my comment on shooting snakes with rat shot comes from water moccasin encounters. They have bad tempers to begin with and in bedding season they can go full looney. They can really move and they blend in. A timber cruising crew not far from here was put out of their woods by a bunch of 'em. One guy sprayed some of them with orange timber marking paint on the way out. Two weeks later the same "marked" snakes put a different crew out also. If you would go on them with rat shot, you got bigger gonads than me! Mark

 

[Mark31]

Water moccasin in Texas????

http://www.cottonmouthsnake.org/

 

[crispyboy]

If you really wanted to be accurate at 100 yards the . 22 Hornet rifle and cartridge works really well for varmints. I have taken out lots of prairie dogs out west and many crows back here in the east with this rifle. It is considered an old cartridge and getting more expensive to shoot but still has it place for varmints.

Since your using the . 22 rim fire long rifle on such a long distance you may want to get the better ammunition such as the CCI hollowpoint ammo when going after varmints. There will be a lot of variance with the cheaper ammo.

 

[HHhuntitall]

We've got quite a few of them, too, here in the Trinity River headwaters... . I've seen thousands of them balled up in creeks during breeding season. On the +N (Crossen) ranch North of me 3-4 miles, I've seen them literally block the water laying on a road crossing in a big creek leading down to Clear Creek. I've shot into them with a 12ga Magnum with BBB shot, and seen them literally cut to pieces, several of them, and then watch them float away in the flowing water, only to instantly have them replaced by more..... I've burned many rounds that way, and the next day, they're back and PO'ed!! Where I live here in Denton Co. , I've killed several with ratshot whenever I don't have my favorite snake killer, my shovel!! (A hoe works great, too, maybe even better, but I usually have a shovel on my truck. ) The ratshot comes in handy when they're on the water following you while walking along the creek..... At 4-6ft, they usually jerk really hard, then roll over and float. Obviously, I don't wade into the water after them, but when I catch them in shallow water along crossings or small creeks, I have at them, if I have time... ... I've had horses and cows get bitten several times, and almost lost a horse once..... I think the mass migrations of them is what happens up on Crossen's... There is a large Conservation lake North of that creek crossing, and I used to see lots of them up there..... We'll also go down and shoot on the tanks (stock ponds) with our . 22s. It's good population control... One of my favorite pastimes, shooting snakes and snapping turtles out to 300yds..... The longer distances require a little "bigger" cartridge, and that's fun to take the 22 Hornet, . 223Rem, 22-250, 243, or maybe even the . 270. They'll be close for the first 30 minutes or so, and then they'll start moving further out across the tank. The snakes dissapear after about 3-5 minutes... they know the routine. The turtles, though, they're not that smart. They'll stay under for awhile, but when they come up for air.....



The . 22 Hornet is one of my favorite plinking cartridges... . I load the 60 V-max bullets with 10gr H4227 for coons, priarie poodles, and closer things I don't want overpenetration on, and I load the 40gr V-max with 12gr... . The 40 also works nice for turtles and snakes!!