22LR CCI Ratshot

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Dennis6474

New member
I hope this is the right forum to place this. My grandson and I give up our valuable time to take on the task of controlling rats in our barn. http://thefiringline.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif(He is a pretty good pistol shot.) We have been using CCI Ratshot from Wal-Mart at about $7 for 20 rounds. They are now out of stock. The other stores in the area have some for as much as $12 per 20 rounds.

I was told that the company only makes ratshot once a year and when it is gone you have to wait till next year or find some on the shelf somewhere else. Is there any truth to this? Where can I find some at a decent price?

I could reload .38 ratshot but I don't need the plastic capsule bouncing around and I don't need any holes in the roof. That is a little too much gun even loaded to the minimum. Also, we can't use Federal ratshot as they make a cartridge that is crimped and difficult the eject from the cylinder. CCI cartridge has a plastic capsule and is easy to eject from a revolver.

Any comments or suggestions are appreciated.
 
I'd give the 38s a go. You are not going to put holes in your roof with them. The capsules will need swept up. You'll save money and have a bigger payload than with the 22s.
 
The .38's a little too much in the feed room. A little loud too.

I ordered some from Cheaper Than Dirt. Better than Wally World. It sometimes takes more than one shot to stop those big ones but it is a lot of fun and pretty good training with a handgun. I guess I am easy to entertain.
 
For what it's worth....

Comparing the Winchester Brand .22 ratshot to CCI .22 ratshot; the Winchester's gave a lounder report, seemed to be alittle faster and had less shot or payload as compared to CCI.

The CCI ratshot capsel is fragile. It separates easeally from the case just by kicking around in your pocket or in a junk drawer. The Windchesters's are crimped well and I have never had a Winchester come apart yet.

I'd paid good money to have had the opportunity to go out on a barnyard Rat-Patrol with either of my Grampas.
 
Like you, I reload .38 Spl shot shells, but I don't use the plastic shotshells from Speer. Instead I load with coffee can lids....here's the format.

After sizing, re-capping, and flaring the case mouth, I use the primed case as its own wadcutter. Setting the case down on an absolutely flat hard surface, I use the flat of my bench vise, I position a plastic coffee can lid over the upturned case mouth, balancing it there, I use a wood block, and a small hammer to lightly tap the case, this cuts a perfect "over powder wad".

BTW, priming and powdering the case then using it to cut the wad is safe, given an absolutely flat, hard surface. The primer end goes DOWN, and you balance the plastic lid and tapping block on top!! If this bothers you, try doing it with a de-capped case, cutting the wad more conventionally, then punching it back out with a nail through the primer hole. It's the way I started, but soon found that it was unnecessarily time-consuming.

After getting the first wad cut by whatever means, tamp it down on the powder, using the eraser end of a wooden pencil, then do it all again, making a 2nd over powder wad. Tamping this one down like the first. You may find that the wad 'creeps' back up due to trapped air pressure, if so, try piercing the wads with a needle, to allow it to escape. Doing this in no way affects the shot pattern.

Next, I scoop a load of shot of #9 shot into the case, leveling it off about 1/16" below the case mouth. Again, I use the coffee can lid to create an "over shot" wad. Finally, I crimp the whole assembly using the usual method. I give the crimped case mouth a drop of crazy glue to ensure it won't come undone in my pocket or under recoil.

Adjusting the powder charge is easy enough, just check your loading manual for the weight of the shot you've added, and select a powder charge.

Testing for penetration and grouping ablility, I use beer cans. Out to about 10 feet or so, I look for penetration and a group of shot that will cover a snake's head with several pellets.

As to your situation, penetration, without endangering your stock, the roof, or your grandson in case of ricochets while still getting killing shots on rats and mice will need some careful experimentation. I don't think you'll be able to get by with the noise levels you wanted in your original post...heck, even .22 lr is pretty loud shot from a .22 revolver and a .38 won't make that much difference but may give you longer range success...the .22's are very limited in that regard with large barn rats.

HTH's Rod

Just happened to remember a method used by Stebbins in his 1960's vintage book, Pistols, an Encyclopedia....in it he described using old harness leather wads, cut in some manner, in place of shot...no damage to the roof etc, but the smack of that heavy leather was enough to get the job down....Rod
 
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Rod - That is good info. I have tried to use wax as a cap and it works pretty good. I will try the coffee can lid. The trouble is some shots are over 20 feet which is a hail mary shot and some are within 3 feet. Ricochets are a problem but we use safety glasses and put up with the sting.

Warningshot - The problem I find with brands other than CCI is that it is a crimped cartridge. The length makes it pretty hard to eject because it expands in the cylinder and is then too long. At least Federal does. I have not tried Winchester but I will see if I can find some to try.

My grandson and the other ones coming up are a good reason to keep this going. Of course it takes a bit of feed to keep the rats coming even though they get shot at a couple of nights a week. I understand this is the most fun he has. Of course he really hasn't found out about girls yet.
 
quiksdraw-as buzzcook said the shot is not going to damage the rifling.

If you were concerned about the soft lead shot 'leading up' the barrel I think you're okay there too.

I shot quite a bit of .22 shot (the crimped kind) one summer many years ago and did not have any leading problems. I remember being amazed that at 15 paces the shot would barely knock over an empty pop can!

I envy Dennis for being able to do this with his grandson. Wonder if they have downloaded the theme song from 'The Rat Patrol' for even more fun.
 
haha, you ever try of using a lawn mower?

I was in our back field once, cutting tall 3 foot straw wheat/grass? found two rats, I chased one with the mower. He passed out of a heart attack? and I remember him going under my mower, but no blood. I had no idea what happened to him.
 
We ordered some Federal Game-Shok 22 shotshells and have been very happy with them. It is an all brass cartridge, and you can get them in boxes of 50 or 500. Has the same specs as the CCI but it seems to make a bigger bang and have a little more punch. Mine is used mostly in my 22 pistol for killing snakes. I have killed 42 copperheads with it this year.

http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/index.php/cName/22-long-rifle-shotshells

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/953416334/federal-game-shok-ammunition-22-long-rifle-25-grain-12-shot-shotshell
http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm?contentID=productDetail&prodID=FA716
 
I see .22 LR ratshot all the time in Sportsman's Warehouse. And I bought two boxes of shot at the last gun show for $4 a box. It's out there but not all the shops carry it. I'd just order it online and have it shipped to me.

I agree the .38 is pretty loud in a barn/garage. I prefer the .22 shot.
 
shed

WE had a rat problem in the shed/kennel a few years back and bamaboy and I had some rat hunts. First thing I took out was the .44 w/ speer shotcup reloads. I'd had them for years and could not recall the charge, the pellets looked like 7-1/2.

Rat ran along a 2x4 inside, and I lined up and shot (we both had shooting glasses on and muff's, winter coats, range about 6 foot. Dead rat, but that load of shot cut right through the galvanized tin wall and out above the dog runs. I had no idea it would do that.

We switched to W-W .22 in a single shot bolt rifle. Not as good a killer, but it would not even dent the tin, likely #12 shot.

Best killer though was trapping them.
 
I have tried most calibers from 9mm, .45 etc. The .22 does the best. While it is not always a "one shot stop" it does slow them down enough to get another hit or two. While trapping maybe the most effective, it isn't nearly the fun. If I really wanted to get rid of them, some poison would do the trick.

Also, I have some wiring for lights and such and the .22 does not hurt it while anything bigger may have me burning the barn down or rewiring the place.

Anyway, it is sure some fast paced shooting when the lights go on. and a lot of fun. It is just for the children though:>)
 
Dennis et al. just a couple of add'l thoughts. I've had good luck with pattern density using #12 shot, but I limit my work out to 15' or so. Can't say how they'd do at 20', Dennis. I found the #12 shot at a gun show 15 or more years ago...had to buy 5 lbs, which is a lifetime supply, believe me, tho they do powder birds like crazy at station 8 in skeet.

As to the barrel leading problems, I've not had any to date, but seldom shoot more than half dozen at one time and then clean my center fire hand guns in the usual manner. A patch on a brush seems to get the bulk of it, what little there is, and I've noted no more than I would had I been shooting lead alloy bullets. And lead shot will not ruin the rifling.

Dennis, if you've had trouble extracting spent crimped brass from a .22, you might try polishing the chambers with a little JB Bore paste or the Remington equivalent. I use a .17 caliber brush with a patch over it, then the JB stuff. I'm careful to keep it away from the cylinder throat's front edge where there would be a chance of wearing that critical edge...about the same as rubbing anything over the crown of a barrel. This is the polishing technique I've used in a cpl of rough chambered revolvers I've owned, some from very reputable companies.

HTH's Rod

Edit: just read your last comment, Dennis, 'fast shooting when the lights go on'...made me think of using cornmeal loaded in the same manner as my .38 Spl 'snake loads'. I've had some fun shooting at dragon flies around a pond using the corn meal..up close it works and builds a good double action trigger pull. The corn meal rounds work to perfection too, on those wood boring, round bodied bumble bees that periodically infest my deck rails and our cabin down in NC.....no penetration either on the wood you're trying to save.
 
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