38 Specials and carpenter bees

[BC38]

Using the CCI shotshells in a revolver sounds like a HOOT!
Kinda expensive though since the shot shells are 50 cents a pop.
But you'd be working on improving your point shooting skills!

 

[SweetMK]

Using the CCI shotshells in a revolver sounds like a HOOT!
Kinda expensive though since the shot shells are 50 cents a pop.
But you'd be working on improving your point shooting skills!

If you buy them off GB,, they are more like $1 to $2 a pop,,
but, I am shooting stuff I had,, for a LONG time,,

 

[rosewood]

I have the Bug-a-salt rifle. It works great and doesn't do any damage to surfaces. The traps work well also. If someones trap didn't work, it may have not been built correctly.

Rosewood

 

[ZGrand]

Maybe we have a different grade of carpenter bees around here. My Bug-a-Salt gun will not kill them. Sometimes it'll knock 'em down and I can step on 'em, though.

Just hung up four traps yesterday. I hate the little buggers.

 

[rosewood]

You gotta get close..

Rosewood

 

[tmd17]

I have loaded a lot of 38 and 357 rat shot, but never thought of grits for the flies we get. I may give it a shot, and thanks for posting yet another way to have fun with guns!

 

[Casual Smith Nut]

Several years ago I remember using a bolt action 22LR with shotshells to walk through a field full of big grasshoppers. Wasn't great at winging them when they flew up as I walked but I did get a few and lots of fun doing it.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

CCI makes a special round for just such pest control..."Stingers!"

Cost way too much for the amount I shoot.

 

[Telecaster]

I was removing the digital TV antenna the other day, and a carpenter bee came out of the fascia to see who was disturbing him, and flew off. Good thing I was prepping for termite tenting and fumigation. Any other carpenter bees are going to be toast after next week. They say the Vikane gas kills every living thing under the tent.

 

[JSR III]

I had a friend that used a .38 with just a primer and a paraffin wax projectile. Primed the cases and then just drove the mouth into a block of paraffin wax. Worked for him but is only a single shot unlike using grits, salt or rice. But if you are trying to improve your marksmanship it can't hurt.

 

[Drh100]

Been working on carpenter bee loads for my K-38. Using a case full of grits as my projectile. Tried a magnum primer with and without a cardboard wad below the grits. With the wad works better. Not quite enough velocity and range with just the primer. Going to try adding some powder. For 44, 1 grain of Bullseye with a magnum primer and a case full of grits does the job nicely. What say y'all?

I use my daughters .410 on carpenter bees. Expensive, but it's fun and challenging.

 

[twodog max]

This all sounds like great fun but I spray with permithrin. It has staying power and one chew and they are toast.
I also use my chocolate lab. He loves to catch them. Not terribly effective but keeps him and me entertained. If they sting he sure does not care as he just keeps going after them.

 

[6GUNSONLY]

Grapefruits = bee buckshot.

 

[AlHunt]

Grapefruits = bee buckshot.

It'd take a pretty big bore handgun to fire a grapefruit.
-

 

[SweetMK]

It'd take a pretty big bore handgun to fire a grapefruit.
-

Instead of grapefruit, I am considering wheat berries,,
I have more than 50 pounds of that,,

I also have some cracked corn, Hmmmmmmm,,

I would load these in 44 MAG cases, rather than 38's,,

Is the inside of a 44MAG case tapered??
I am wondering, because of trying to figure out what would make a good wad over the powder.

Would the irregular shape of the wheat kill accuracy?
or, would it not matter at 12 feet.

The gun would be a 8 3/8" barrel length,,

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I use 1.5 grs of Bullseye. Then wad(cut from primer boxes with an arch punch) #9,10,12 shot. NOTHING works better than lead shot. Whatever I have on hand. Then another wad tamped down with a little airplane glue to seal and lock the top wad. I've tried cereals/rice/sprinkles etc.. None of them work.
As to primer powered wax bullets. I shot a lot of them. 1 to knock down wasp nest off the eaves. 2 When the wife was gone. I'd open the fireplace doors and screens. I'd tape a target to the top. I'd sit on the couch and shoot it with my mdl 10.......Much fun!!!

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Shown again...No bag limit......KILL THEM ALL.......

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Instead of grapefruit, I am considering wheat berries,,
I have more than 50 pounds of that,,

I also have some cracked corn, Hmmmmmmm,,

I would load these in 44 MAG cases, rather than 38's,,

Is the inside of a 44MAG case tapered??
I am wondering, because of trying to figure out what would make a good wad over the powder.

Would the irregular shape of the wheat kill accuracy?
or, would it not matter at 12 feet.

The gun would be a 8 3/8" barrel length,,

Wheat would be worthless. I once trimmed some 308 cases just short of cylinder length in my 625. Sized the neck with my 45acp die so they would fit the cylinder. Loaded with a couple of grs of bullseye. Powder/wad/shot/wad. Amount of shot was about equal to a 410. Put in 1/3 moon clips. Thought I had created a SUPER snake load........NOT. The longer barrel imparted a spin of the shot load. Did NOT do much damage on empty clorox jugs at 10-12 ft..........Abandoned project,

 

[gdogs]

I'd love to be able to try this, but I don't think my neighborhood would be too amused, or the police either for that matter. I do have one spot of fence that attracts carpenter bees every year. About 5 years ago I got one of those box style traps. No question, it just plain works. I empty about 7-10 dead ones out of it every month during the spring and summer.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I'd love to be able to try this, but I don't think my neighborhood would be too amused, or the police either for that matter. I do have one spot of fence that attracts carpenter bees every year. About 5 years ago I got one of those box style traps. No question, it just plain works. I empty about 7-10 dead ones out of it every month during the spring and summer.

Glad yours worked. I built 2 and hung them under my tractor shed roof. Never caught a bee........Had high hopes.

 

[BC38]

If you buy them off GB,, they are more like $1 to $2 a pop,,
but, I am shooting stuff I had,, for a LONG time,,

AMMOSEEK.com! That's where I got the "50 cents per round" price.
NOS at yesteryear prices would be even better - if you are lucky enough to have laid in a good supply way "back in the day"!
I didn't - 'cause I never anticipated having any need for 22 shotshells.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

The CCI shot shells aren't expensive if you load them yourself.

Buy the capsule and load then with #9 shot like the factory stuff. I prefer #12 shot but didn't want to buy a bag since I would only used it in the snake shot. I bought a cheap box of #12 12ga shotgun shells and removed the shot. (cheap as in before the crunch, $3.25) If you buy 1 1/8oz shells you yield just over 2 lbs of shot, plenty for loading .38 shotshells for a long time.
Speer Empty Shot Capsules 38 Special Box of 50

 

[BC38]

The CCI shot shells aren't expensive if you load them yourself.

Buy the capsule and load then with #9 shot like the factory stuff. I prefer #12 shot but didn't want to buy a bag since I would only used it in the snake shot. I bought a cheap box of #12 12ga shotgun shells and removed the shot. (cheap as in before the crunch, $3.25) If you buy 1 1/8oz shells you yield just over 2 lbs of shot, plenty for loading .38 shotshells for a long time.
Speer Empty Shot Capsules 38 Special Box of 50

That works - for 38 specials.
Unfortunately the more harmless 22LR shot shells (like in the video) aren't so easily reloadable.
Though more to your point, you can probably reload 38 specials for less than the 50 cents apiece cost of the CCI 22LR shotshells.
The posted video makes shooting them look like so much fun that it ALMOST makes me wish I had carpenter bees to shoot.
Almost...

 

[WR Moore]

I bought 4 bee traps a year or so ago. Need to buy some more. While no fun involved, all I have to do is empty the catch tube once in awhile.

 

[rosewood]

The capsules are about .30 each + primer, shot and powder, so u are looking at .40-.50 per. Now if you use home made wads from cardboard and Elmer's glue to seal, u can get away with maybe .20 per rough est.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

24 pack! I'm using magnum primers because I'm afraid a standard primer won't light all that hard to ignite powder .

I made my dipper using a piece of 1/4" Plexiglas and drilling a 1/4" hole almost all the way through. Dumps right at 1 grain of BE. You'll probably need to drill out the flash hole on the casings to keep the primers from backing out and jamming up the gun. I drill mine with a 1/8" bit. Be sure to mark the drilled casing in some fashion, so you won't use them for regular loads.

I made my dipper out of a filed to measure .22 LR hull glued to a narrow popsicle stick. I've never drilled out a flash hole and have never had a primer back out. I load 3-400 of these every year.......Pic of my dedicated 38 spl bee reloading kit.

 

[rosewood]

I made my dipper out of a filed to measure .22 LR hull glued to a narrow popsicle stick. I've never drilled out a flash hole and have never had a primer back out. I load 3-400 of these every year.......Pic of my dedicated 38 spl bee reloading kit.

How fast? Have you ever chronographed them?

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

How fast? Have you ever chronographed them?

No. But safe to shoot against the underside tin roof of my shed.

 

[BC38]

How fast? Have you ever chronographed them?

Could you even chrono such a small charge of such small shot? Would it even register?

 

[SweetMK]

I loaded some #9 shot shells last night for the 629,,,

Before I opened the 25 pound bag of #9 shot, I loaded three shells with the shot out of a 12 gauge #8 shell.
I did that to make sure the concept would work.
The 1 and 1/8 ounce of lead was just a little too much for 3 cartridges of 44MAG.

The 44MAG shell was primed, then 2 grains of Unique, a .430" wad,,
then the brass was filled 90% with lead shot, and another wad.

Rather than gluing the wad, I stuck the finished round in the Dillon 550B that was set up.
I used the crimp die for 44MAG, and put a slight crimp on the finished case.

I fired several,, (no bees were out today, it has been cold)

Two were shot at cardboard, one at a plastic COKE bottle.

The pattern looks perfect at 12 feet, normal range for a bee.
At 7 yards, the pattern looks to have opened enough that hitting a bee would be luck.

At 12 feet, the pellets simply "smeared" on the Coke plastic bottle (filled with water)

The shot did hit the bottle hard enough to knock over the bottle.
If you look at the pic with the gun to the right, you can see the lead smear marks on the Coke bottle.

Included are the two pics,, Coke bottle, and 629 included for scale.

I ended up using my 4" 629,, this is my "beater" 44 MAG,,
The gun has to have WAY north of 20,000 rounds through it.
It shoots great,, but, if I am gonna damage a gun, I would rather it be this one,,,

As far as noise, this round is quieter than simply firing a primer in an unloaded brass cartridge. It is quiet.
Hopefully, tomorrow will be warm enough to bring out some bees,,,