Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns birdshot out of a 22 lr revolver?

can you shoot 22 birdshot shotshells out of a 22 long rifle revolver or does it have to be a 22 mag revolver? I'm looking for a 22 revolver with a 4" barrel to use for "snake medicine". suggestions?

yep it will work, I have shot them out of my 617. the kind w/ the blue shot capsuls, CCI I think. good for about 6-7 feet.

A carefully aimed shot with a .22 solid bullet is much more effective than .22 CCI birdshot. The heavier calibers do a much better job...

Try it on a piece of paper sometime...a snake could "walk" through a pattern much beyond a few feet and that being the case why shoot the snake...

Bob

I've killed dozens of Prairie Rattlesnakes with WW 22 LR #12 shot cartridges ----- They have even less shot than a CCI shotshell (25 grains vs 31 grains) and work just fine @ 6 to 8 feet. Seldom does it take a second shot. The 22 Mag is in another class having over 50 grains of #12 shot (it used to be #11). I handload .44 Special CCI capsules with 140 grains of #8 shot and .38 Special capsules with 109 grains of #8 shot ---- they all work.

Yes! I have killed small birds with them but for snakes in the thick grass at my place, I went to the 3-inch JUDGE and #7.5 shot in 3/4 ounce loads.

I compared .22, .357, and .44 shotshells, on soda cans, and the .44 is one heck of a lot more impressive in its effects, both damage and pattern.

The .22LR works. The .22Mag works better. The 9x19 is okay. The .38/.357 works very well. The .40S&Ws are decent. The .45ACPs work very well. The .44s are devastating. The .45LCs even better than that.

Yeah...DON'T use a .22 with birdshot on snakes...Vanimrod was spot on in his assessment...38/357 is where the good stuff starts.

I only ever shot one snake with a .22 and bird shot...a rattler, from four feet away, right in the face...

Suffice it to say I learned a LOT in the next few seconds....

I have killed tree rats at 10 feet or so with a 22 lr shot shell. I shot a copper head 2 years ago with a 38 shot shell, I was so close the plastic cup mashed his head in. I killed a rabbit at about 20 steps with the same 38 load..one pellet hit him in the head...I take my 22 handgun out to the range and throw some fired shotgun hulls on the ground. Then shoot them at different distances with regular bullets. Within 10 feet I think I could kill a snake pretty easy with a regular bullet.

I realize I will not get as good a pattern with a 22 shotshell as I would with a 44 mag shotshell but I would mainly be using it when I go fishing and around the water. I don't need something that's gonna bounce all over the place like a 44 mag would. also here in pa there are lots of houses everywhere so I don't wanna go shooting off a 44 mag 50 feet from someones back door.
I will admit however that some of you have made a good point. If I am protecting me or my 4 year old from a copperhead or rattler maybe I should give in a little to some more power. I think I have conceeded and I might just buy a 9mm or 40S&W so then I can use it as my concealed carry weapon as well.

You're in PA?

The .22LR will be fine; small rattlers (and very uncommon) and coppoerheads (easy to kill).

The 9x19 and .40S&W loads are only moderately better than the .22Mag shotshells, and don't cycle for schit.

If you're going to buy something for double-duty, get a .38Special snub-nose and use the shotshells in it. Much better than the 9s or .40s with shot, easier to load in series with shot and standards, great CCW, and utterly reliable.

Another really good double-duty gun is a S&W M60 with a 3 inch bbl or A ruger SP101 with same....

Yep.

FWIW, having run shotshells through all of the above, I'd take a .22Magnum over the 9x19 or .40S&Ws, and the .22LR over the 9s (about equal with the .40s), especially from a revolver.

The .38/.357s are a significant step up, and about perfect for what he's looking at, IMHO. And, I've shot more than a few snakes with the loads discussed.

Yep again, I used to hunt them for their hides, and sell them..killed hundreds of Rattlers with the .38/357 loads and only ever had two that needed a follow-up shot.....which provided excitement...both times!

The .45LC loads are... definitive.

Another option if noise is a concern, are those Aguila subsonic 22s that have no powder. They shoot out of a pistol at about 5-600fps, a little louder than a pellet gun. actualy they are a 17 gr pellet i think. These would be plenty to kill a snake at close range, just dont miss.

Wouldn't even consider that.

how bout a big rock? snakes aint that hard to kill.

Snakes are harder to kill than what a BB gun delivers, and that's what that Aguilla is akin to. BT/DT on snakes (Red Ryder); I'd rather a stout stick.

If a snake is at a range where a .22LR shot load won't kill him, he's far enough that he needn't be shot at all. Unless it's definitely a poisonous snake within striking distance, just walk away. Snake loads are for those rare times when your first thought is "Oh, SHOT!"