22LR CCI Ratshot

I have killed many chipmunks with my Ruger Single Six and CCI magnum using their shot capsules. Range is very short for effectiveness. Ammo is expensive. Right now I have it loaded and ready for more 'munks.
When I had my farm I carried my Ruger Redhawk loaded with shot capsules using #7 1/2 shot for snakes. Very effective to a surprisingly long range.
Personally, I wouldn't want to shoot a .44 mag, or even a .38 spl. inside a building because of the sound factor alone. Although, it would be more effective on large rats.
Ever hear of D-Con?
 
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.

I recall one of Bill Mauldins Willie & Joe cartoons where one of them is pointing a 1911 at a rat and the other one says to the effect Make sure you kill him, they charge if they're wounded!
 
I use the CCI snake shot to kill rattlesnakes a lot. I keep shots within 10' with the .22's. .38 & .44 will reach a little farther.

Be careful with the D-Con if you have dogs or cats. I almost lost a good dog that ate a dead rat according to the vet.
 
just use the federal birdshot loads, its a regular style shotgun shell, its somewhat to long for a ruger 10/22 but it works, and has decent range on small woodchucks in the garden so a rat would be fairly easy.
 
Moxie - Sure did, have some arriving today.

To those recommending poison.........I do not want to kill all the rats. In fact I feed them, along with the cows.

My wife takes care of injured/orphaned wildlife for the Fish and Game Dept. We usually have something here (hawks, owls, etc.) to feed the rats to. A full grown hawk will eat a couple of rats a day. Sometimes we have to keep one for a month. So we are preforming a service by HAVING to go to the barn and "collect" some owl food. I have a freezer that you really would not want to look into before dinner. Bags of rats, gophers (they are another story. Hand loads for gophers), some road kill squirrels and other dead varmints.

If the ammo arrives today it is going to be busy in the barn about 10pm.
 
After my last experience using CCI .22lr shotshells on a water moccasin, I can't recommend them. Six rounds fired at two feet, and none even penetrated the skin. I finished it with a 12ga. 7 1/2 shot round that vaporized its head. Maybe the .38 shotshells work better, but I plan to make a few with heavier shot. I'm even considering getting a Judge just so I have a better shotshell choice. But I won't be using the .22 shotshells anymore.....
 
I agree with seeker....I do not reccomend any of the .22 ratshot shells (that I tried years ago). Two feet would be a maximum distance.

I too have had a rat problem in our barn for years (slop over from feeding our stock animals) Can't stand rats. They get into everything. My only options for getting rid of them over the years has been traps and shooting. We can't use poison because we have small dogs I fear might eat a poisoned rat they might find. Can't have a cat...wife and daughter highly allergic.

As far as shooting goes, the best, safest, most cost efficient method I have used is hunting them at night with laser sighted pellet rifle. I bait an area in the barn, under a light (I found that red light bulbs work best). Then I set a lawn chair up about 10 yards away from the bait. 10 yards is where I zero the laser sight. Just bait up before dark....then get set up in the lawn chair well after dark. Wait, watch. Don't shoot the first rat to come to the bait. Small ones usually come in first....big breeding aged ones then come in a whip the the crap out of the little ones. Bust the big ones first. Most will scatter after you shoot, but wait. One or two will usually be back in a bit. Rinse and repeat. You and your grandson could take turns with this set up. I've often killed 9-10 inside an hours time.

The advantage of the laser is that it allows minimal movement to take aim. I usually have the air rifle laying in my lap with the muzzle pointed toward the bait area. They never seem concerned about the laser dot bouncing around when you turn it on, but they will scatter if you pull up to aim with iron sights or scope. I think it actually blinds them when you lase thier eyes before the shot. The eye is a good target. Humane shots. The laser I use was from Walmart and it costs like $20.

I once had a BB bounce back on a miss once, so I always use pellets. Less bouncy.

I also have constructed "shooting galleries" in the past. Two sheets of plywood separated by 2x4's. It's like a squaty box with only one open side. These are mounted about eye level. A ramp to the open side or a hole in the top allow access to bait. Bait these regularly, but only kill in them occasionally. Often there will be three or four in these munching away. You can sneak up, throw a stout light on them and pop away through the open side. I average three out of four on these set ups.

Trapping has proven to work best. I've almost abandoned hunting them. Really big gopher rats often escape a large wooden base Victor rat trap. I use Victors in conjunction with #50 Connibear traps. Nothing survives a properly set Connibear. Make sure you don't have pets that can access these. My workshop is in the barn, so I do all my trapping in there. I also use small live traps at certain times. You just have to dispatch them in the cage. Often, it is hard to kill them in a cage with one clean, humane shot. I have found that a dunk in the horse trough is often a faster end, more humane. They go quick that way.

One note on trap sets. On the Connibears and live traps I use bait balls made of old panty hose filled with grain/peanut butter/banana. Tie the bait sacks to the triggers on the traps. They really have to work the bait in the little sacks.

An alternative shooting method would be with costlier night vision stuff. Go on Youtube and find videos by a Brittish lady named Snypercat. She cobbled together a fairly inexpensive night vision set up of pest control in her barn. She uses a Sony Handycam attached to a regular scoped air rifle. Rather ingenius rig she made. She cleans house with that thing. I am currently trying to find the stuff for a rig like hers.

Sorry for the long post, but rats can be get to be a really expensive problem if they get out of hand. Just passing on my experiences to help.
 
You all have some great methods of eliminating rats. However, I don't want to eliminate them. I want a constant supply of targets for my grand children and me.

I imagine a rifle would be more accurate and a .38 would kill more but nothing can compare to turning on a light and watching a 12 year old drop a rat or two with instinctive pistol fire. Great training and fun besides. Of course some need more than one shot but it teaches shot assessment as well as shooting from other than a weaver stance.

If I cleaned out all the rats I would have to import some.
 
Can't say I could let a 12 year old to go blasting away suddenly in the close quarters of a barn. Especially a .38....ratshot or no. To each his own.

Problems I see.....

Sound. Anything more powerful than a .22 short is going to be deafening in a barn. Believe me....been there.

Also.....projectiles, whether shot or bullets will need good back stops. Like I mentioned earlier, a BB on a missed shot bounced off a post and came back toward me. Remedied this with soft backstops in my shooting set ups and using lead pellets.

You mention turning on a light and popping away. In my experience, this will be quite hard to do. Rats are incredibly fast. Most likely, most will scatter at the sound of your aproach, even before you hit a light switch. Watch "ratting" videos on Youtube where proffesionals use Rat Terriers to clean out barns. One of those little dogs can kill two rats before you can even see the deed.

Fire. Ratshot in a pistol will require close shots. In my barn this would not be do-able with all the hay kept there.

As far as keeping a supply of rats to shoot... If you are hunting them, have an infestation and have food/water/cover for them, you will always have rats.

Personally, I don't kill things just to have something to kill. I take a life if there is some purpose in it. With barn rats, the purpose is to rid the barn of destuctive vermin. But, like I said, to each his own.
 
Flysubcompact - Age really does not enter into it as I know many adults that I would not trust as much as my grandson with a handgun or a long gun for that matter. Maturity and ability are more important than age. Maybe the 12 year olds that you know did not grow up on a farm and handle guns on an almost daily basis.

Granted rats are fast and that is ok. 8 in one night is our record so we must be faster than a quite few of them.

Eye and hearing are protected.

Very noble.....read my post 27. Every rat taken goes for a good cause.
 
Maybe the .38 shotshells work better

Much better. The .22 round is loaded with #12 shot. It has very little retained energy after more than a few feet. The .38 round is loaded with #9 shot.
 
Doyle - I agree that the .22 is pretty light for much more than dragon flies. The .38 is much better.

I do not want anything bouncing back at me so the .22 with #12 shot works pretty well. It stays in wood and does not bounce off in close shots and in longer shots where it doesn't stick it will not bounce back to me.

The factory .38 ratshot is #9 and it does not bounce off but it is pretty loud and much more powerful than I need. So I loaded some 7 1/2 shot that I had on hand in .38 and reduced the charge till it just sticks in the wood at about 15 feet. Seems to work pretty good so far. If the shot does not stay in the wood and it does not bounce more than a couple of feet at most. It is not near as loud.

I imagine you will get much different results with a 22" barrel in a rifle than a 6" barrel in a pistol.
 
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