Carpenter bee loads

[epj]

Read about these in the lounge. I finally managed to make some cardboard wads by cuting them out with a .38 cartridge casing for a die. I believe I read in the other post that the recipe was 2 gr. of Clays, wad, grits, (or cream of wheat if you're a Yankee) followed by another wad.

Do you need to crimp? any advantage to using .357 cases vs .38 cases? (more payload). What is the effective range of these loads?

Any advice appreciated. I have lots of bees.

 

[alwslate]

I like 22 shotshells for the bumble bees that take offense to my mowing THEIR yard.

 

[Jellybean]

I've never tried to make any, but if I would...I would use a crimp or maybe even a little dab of glue to hold the overshot wad in place during shooting or handling. Fast pistol powders should work good, (ie. Bullseye, 231 etc.) and it won't take much.

The longer magnum cases will hold more and the effective range will be close since the projectile weight will be light and tasty.

 

[enfield]

I've just been using a slightly oversized (3/8) wad, no crimp or sealant. I load them one at a time in a .38 and they're deadly inside of a foot, which isn't hard to do on my deck. I originally loaded up a dozen with grits and 2 grains of Bullseye, need to load up some more.

 

[epj]

Any idea of the max effective range?

 

[Iggy]

I load them one at a time in a .38 and they're deadly inside of a foot,

Hmmmm, I guess it must be the challenge,,, I think at that range, I might use something cheaper....

 

[Buddy G]

I load them one at a time in a .38 and they're deadly inside of a foot,

Hmmmm, I guess it must be the challenge,,, I think at that range, I might use something cheaper....

Yeah, a squirt bottle with a mixture of Simple Green and Dawn liquid. They crash and burn very quietly. 6 ft...deadly. heh heh.

 

[38-44HD45]

Man, this brings back fond memories! When I was about 12 or 13, my grandparents had a nest of bumblebees under an overturned boat in their back yard. My Dad had bought my brother and me a Daisy Quick Skill BB gun kit, like the ones used in the Army's Quick Kill training program. We found that we could pretty easily pick off the lumbering bees on the wing with the sightless BB gun. FUN!!!

Sorry, I have no good loads for carpenter bees....

 

[andyo5]

I wait until the little bas**rds are in their holes, then soak 'em down with a good insecticide. Never considered shooting carpenter bees.
I have noticed that they will drill right into the current crop of treated lumber, but not the older stuff that was treated with arsenic.

 

[cjw3]

Badminton racket.....not too sporting, but a death ray.

Otherwise, a regular magazine-around-barrel BB gun works pretty well...ah, the memories.

 

[Rule3]

How about a can of cheap Hair Spray and a lighter.?
Make a tasty appetizer.

 

[epj]

Well, I loaded up six rounds today, 2 gr Clays, wad, grits, and another wad. On the first shot I blasted one of those critters right out of the sky. I then took on a couple of wasp nests that were inhabited. One shot took out about a half dozen of the little bastards as well as their house. There was one survivor, who left the area post haste. The other only had one wasp and he was shreaded by the breakfast dish.

Next time, I'm gonna load 'em up in .357 cases so I can pack in a few more grits.

 

[maggie]

Whats the ratio of Simple Green to Dawn etc.

 

[jimbo44]

what is simple green? I have been using the badmitton rackett and trying to thik of something else.

 

[enfield]

My new batch is loaded with crushed walnut shell tumbling media instead of grits -- much more effective. I killed 5 this afternoon with 7 shots.

The point is not to kill carpenter bees the cheapest way, but to have fun doing it.

To the critics of the 1 foot killing range, what do you expect performance-wise for a light load of walnut hulls in a .38 Special case fired at a target half the size of your little finger? I killed one as he flew past a plastic garbage can and the "shot" smoked the bee and bounced off the can. What's not to love?

 

[skeeterbait]

blowgun and wire darts is quite challenging.

 

[ricks1]

dont know what you are shooting. I use 2gr bullseye a piece of wax paper for over powder wad and "regular" not the instant grits to fill the case and seal with crisco. This is in a 357mag case most of the time its good for about 15ft max but the grits dont hurt your roof or windows
I make the waxpaper wads with a 45 acp case and take a pencil er acer and push in the case

 

[whelenshooter]

This sounds like fun! Has anyone ever tried corn meal instead of grits? I'm a northern boy, so I've never seen uncooked grits; I don't know what they look like. Are they coarser or finer than corn meal?

A person should think twice before using walnut shell tumbling media for this purpose. The tumbing media would likely have some sort of abrasive in it for cleaning cases; it could possibly do damage to your gun. If a person had untreated media (either walnut shell or corn cob), that might work. I'd be concerned about it possibly not being as fine as the grits and maybe doing damage to the finish on your siding, or to glass. I don't know how coarse uncooked grits are, however, since I've never seen them that I know of.

 

[bobelk99]

I vote for the squirt bottle. Wet bee wings no fly well.

 

[Doc Watson]

I use a Red Ryder, works great.