While I've not read much about it.....and yes, I have one, the most popular gun ever built goes without notice anywhere. No one discusses it on any of the forums....yet it's used extensively throughout the United States (and possibly elsewhere) and used by a myriad of people.

I don't have any sales data but clearly it just has to be the number one seller of all time.

It's range is vastly exaggerated by the sales force but folks buy them anyway. This gun can be used as a shotgun, however I suspect much more use is as a rifle. Ammo is dirt cheap and is of one metal and as a matter of fact the ammo can actually be good for humans and has never been known to kill raptors or other wildlife that might feed on it's dead victims.

Further it's appearance as an assault rifle has not caused any sort of governmental desires to vanquish it from the market even though it's magazine holds a very large number of shots.

There is a target rich environment for it in most places which contributes to it's popularity.

JB.....why has this extremely popular gun never been discussed here?.....and ,yes, I'm referring to the BUG-A-SALT

Apparently rifle loonies have only recently started catching on, due to a popular Facebook ad. It looks like a lot of fun, partly because it can be used on back yards! (Or at least most of 'em. There's probably there's some jurisdiction, somewhere that automatically banned it due to its name.)

I’ve seen them for sale at Gunshows. Liberals will want to ban them, next.

I wonder if the 2nd amendment applies to these guns?

The lever action thirty-thirty. It may not hold the highest sales records, however, it is deeply "Americana".

I use a AR-10 in a 243 win. for coyotes that I had built in Missuola,MT. by Norene Firearms ,I also have a couple of 556/223 great fun guns all of them and are all good predator guns with quick follow up shots. my AR-10 always shoots under a half inch and when the action is fast and more then one coyote comes in with this semi-auto I have a much better chance at more than one coyote now.

This thread is a good test to see who actually reads the original post.

I started this thread to bring out a little, but needed, firearms humor.....actually, the BUG-A-SALT is one of my most used and most fun "guns"....if one can call it that!...do as you wish!

Chet,

Exactly.

I've mentioned this before a few times, but quite a few Campfire members are so eager to "vote" they never read beyond the header before posting. And many never read beyond the first post before commenting, so never realize their posts is entirely redundant, or contradicted by others with more information.

But that's the way of the Campfire, and much of the Internet. It's a total democracy, without any requirement for proof of identity.

What? you mean I can't vote for the Ruger Hawkeye (original one) and the Marlin 62 (of which I have one).

They are popular with me.

Logic, always logic......... Data and Experience too. Just where do you think you are?


Geno

PS, best wishes for you and Eileen to have a great spring. Judging by our weather it's right around the corner.

I got one of those bug-a-salt weapons of mass destruction for Christmas 2016. Very handy little rifle err shot gun. It rarely requires a second shot.

I've bought, and given as gifts, about a dozen of them! This past Christmas I gave several of the new Bug-Beam lasers as gifts. It makes them even more deadly! Folks that don't have one, need one. More fun than you can imagine.

https://bugasalt.com/

Here's mine, complete with Bug-Beam

Statistically the most popular gun ever made in history is the AK 47.
The second most popular ever made is the Mosin Nagant. Both Russian designs. Both made and/or assembled in factories in some 50 different countries.

But we need to define "Popular".
Does that mean the one made in greatest numbers and most used, (as above) or the ones made in the greatest numbers and sold to individual citizens? If a "government purchase" is the measuring stick, the Russian guns trump everything else. In fact the AKs probably trump the top 20 civilian sales combined world wide. (counts vary, but numbers of Kalashnikov made to date is somewhere around 127,000,000 or more)
Mosin Nagants have been made at around 90,000,000 to 113,000,000 according to U.N sources. Not that the UN is trust-worthy, but I think the point is made. The low number is still 12X more guns than all the Winchesters M-94s ever made.

If we look at for example a M-94 Winchester we can come up with about 7.5 Million. But the largest majority of them were bought by individuates, so that can be said to be VERY popular, but ALL of them were made by Winchester, and they were all sold in 117 years.

Look at the AR-15 which leads the rifle sales in the USA today, and it's been made by a few dozen companies in the USA and over seas too, and sales of ARs today are so far in front of M94s that it's not even a contest, but have 7.5 Million been sold?
No!
Why?
Because they have become wildly popular only in the last 15 to 20 years.
The M-94 has a bit of a head start, don't ya think?

So...how do we answer the question?

"Popular" needs to be defined first or we really can't answer it.

I have never seen one of those here.

But this list is what interested me.

List of most-produced firearms

Obviously the posts here have again overlooked what happens in most homes from the Ozarks to Montana. Few people would waste salt on a bug and just shoot them with the gun close by.

And then there is the issue of starting a whole new thread about something that already has a thread (or more) clearly labeled as being about that very topic.

There are certainly no flies on the Bugasalt.

I also very much like the laser adapter kit as it comes with a nice suppressor too.

Went to a Friends of NRA event in Dalhart a few years back. They had some on their Live Auction. The guys (all at one table) that bought them spent the rest of the evening shooting flies. They were having a blast (no pun intended).

I want one! (Yep, I read the whole thread.)

From the website and lmao:

"These disease carrying gangs and their maggot counterparts must be exterminated at all costs. We the people must join forces to combat these $h*t breeding [bleep]*ker$!"

A classic thread. All it needs now is for Larry/Big Stick to jump in and tell us how to really use an a-salt gun.

I spent more time on the website trying to kill that pesky fly than I did reading the product specs.
Finally got the little bastid!

Ed

No doubt!

I have not used a bug a salt gun but am very interested. What is the effective range? I suppose, for long range shots, I can return to using the Red Ryder but I have to use some care to avoid collateral damage. I have been thinking airsoft but wonder about accuracy as well as whether or not the plastic pellets would be environmentally friendly. Looking for minute of fly at 30 feet or so. GD

from my own experience the BUG-A-SALT has a maximum range of about six inches.....even less if the varmint has a light shell like a lady bug. Possibly if you wait a bit they will come out with a BUG-A-SALT magnum....it would shoot whole peppercorns to amazing new distances.....

The obvious answer for the ne plus ultra would be a BUG-A-Salt Creedmoor.

I wish these existed back in the 90's. I was living in a 1 bedroom apartment in Plant City Florida. The banana spiders down there were the size of coasters. The first one I hit with a rolled up magazine against hte ceiling made such a mess I had to paint the ceiling in that spot! I went to K-mart and bought a spring fired plastic ball shooting replica of a S&W model 39. I had more fun that summer shooting spiders in the apartment than I did hunting outside!

quote]

The obvious answer for the ne plus ultra would be a BUG-A-Salt Creedmoor.
[/quote]
This just has to be the funniest line posted on the fire in years.....LOL.....LMAO

You will need a fast twist barrel to accommodate the high BC rock salt.

Do you think Bug-A Salt will do a special run with a number two barrel and a special salt grinder? In left hand of course?

Or water softener pellets.

Here it is....you heard it here first.....buy stock in Morton salt company.....it's going to be the next Amazon!!!!!

Six inches, what kind of flys you shootin'? I have about a 24" range on house flys and spiders with mine loaded with Morton table salt. Box elder, stink bugs and wasps are tougher and require a point blank range shot or a load of Bug A Salt buck shot......aka kosher salt. It penetrates better but patterns are not as dense.

I've seen them advertised and have been on their web site and they seem pretty cool. Looks like something I could have a lot of fun with come summer. The aforementioned Creedmore variant would be interesting and a Magnum model for increased range would be nice. Wonder if I could chronograph one of those things?, LOL.

If anyone is interested I have a "Ackley Improved" reamer I am willing to rent out.

the bug-a-salt creedmore magnum ackley improved.....I think we have a winner here.....

This cabin fever is addictive me thinks.....LOL

Here is the bug-a-salt when just getting started. https://newatlas.com/bug-a-salt-salty-pest-control/23443/

This site sees a lot of new concepts, inventions, products.

Numerically the AK but I don't think it's because people wanted it. It's what they could get for 2 chickens and half a pack of Newports.
As far as people purchasing something because it's what they want... probably the AR. A bunch of surplus nagants and 1898s out there.

the bug-a-salt creedmore magnum ackley improved.....I think we have a winner here...... Where can I get some loading data? Also wondering how it groups. And what's the average B. C. of table salt? But seriously; I could see myself getting one of those just for grins.

Lets not get too carried away, don't want to damage too much meat, gotta save some for pet frogs and venus flytrap.

Gonna need one that shoots uncooked rice grains for better bc

+1 I just gonna to haf to get one of them for the summer camping season and a box of "ammo".

That would be the creedmore, magnum, Ackley improved version that shoots the VLD rice grains

They taste better pre salted.

So, I'm getting the impression that it might not be ideal for dangerous game; like the black hornet, for instance. I might try one anyway and just refrain from shooting at anything that is likely to charge.
By the way, there must be some members here who have taken part in fly shoots using BR rifles (usually Light Varmint class). The target was a silhouette of a fly at 100 yards and rules varied with some clubs awarding maximum points for head shots while others gave maxpoints for completely severing the fly's body. I used a 6x47 in the first instance and a 308 in the second. A variation on this was live varmint shooting wherein flies were baited onto a blank sheet of paper (syrup worked fine). In season, grasshoppers were and easy target to shoot but tougher hunting since they were not so easily baited. Predators were represented by yellowjackets and, on occasion, the aforementioned black hornet. GD.

I recall back in 4th grade, I had a tiny, plastic replica of a Thompson. It was white and black with an orange cocking mechanism. Its ammunition was a grain of uncooked rice. Accuracy was not a part of the equation, but it was fun to shoot anyway.

Been a contrary sort in this field and though I recognize the popularity and utility of the bug-a-salt I chose instead a caplock muzzle loading .45 pistol. With 5 gr of 3f and a teaspoon of rice it's good on lizard size pests or smaller out to 10-12'. It also makes the house smell better.

Hmmm. I haven't used my .50 cal plains pistol in a few years; maybe a good excuse to get it out again.

That bug-a-salt gun is a lot of fun. I got one last summer and quickly realized it benefits from an improvement - a drop of super glue to bond the safety in the fire position prevents it from engaging every pump. This is helpful for rapid fire when being swarmed by flies from the trash heap.

Another thing I quickly realized was that it's effective on the little fruit flies sitting on the bananas, and the bananas look fine at first, but the wife will find a shotgun pattern of little brown spots on them in a few hours. Apparently that's a no-no for some reason; now I must abide by fair chase rules, allowing the fruit flies to lift off from the bananas and fly around before shooting them.


On a serious note though for anyone else using these in the house or garage - obviously salt corrosion is a problem with spraying table salt everywhere, especially in humid environments. Make sure to clean the salt up or at least blow it off of tools, window panes, and anything else that could corrode.

That would be one of my objections to bug-a-salt. Sand might be an alternative. Rice doesn't corrode and is biodegradable. Mebbe use wildflower seeds and turn liberal dips into ardent supporters of the 2nd?

While rice might be the "bees knees" if might have to be copper plated to prevent "ricing up" the barrel...Also since most targets are found in and around sources of light (windows) the use of sand could damage the glass.....not a good idea....but the wildflower seeds (where does one get them?) is a great thought.....

Now where's that applause emoticon when one needs it?

That would have been fun to shoot flies back when I had bird dogs!!

Wondering how cat litter would do, outside of course. Particles smaller than rice, larger than table salt. Probably smaller than rock salt.

Kinda like #8 shot vs heavier shot up to buckshot.

DF

My brother in law sent me a Bug-a-Salt. It works great out to about 3 feet. After wasting a bunch of flys I took it out side to try it on something bigger. I was disappointed that it would not bring down a wasp. I hit a big buck wasp 3 times at point blank range and it would not stay down. Oh well back to the 45 auto.

I would really like to put a butt stock on it. A Bump Fire stock would be even more fun.

we used to load shotgun shells with salt used it on animals to keep them away from our farm.