Gun and ammo question

[MossRoad]

I prefer a bolt action when the maximum in accuracy is needed. Like for deer hunting where one shot will likely be all you get, and it better be spot on. Or target shooting. But in a good-quality .22LR semi-auto, the very, very slightly (maybe) diminished accuracy is negligible. JMHO. And the ability for immediate followup shots with the auto-loader is an advantage. Especially on wiggly, snarling, tough to put down racoons.

We can hit pop cans at 100 yards with a 10/22 if the wind isn't blowing left/right. But really, how many pop cans can one person eat?

 

[TheMan419]

We can hit pop cans at 100 yards with a 10/22 if the wind isn't blowing left/right. But really, how many pop cans can one person eat?

I find them kind of chewy....

 

[Garandman]

5.56, 12 gauge, and 9mm vs drywall in slow motion - YouTube

There you go, ten walls and they both penetrate nine.

My 'home defense' shotgun has low recoil 00 or #4 buckshot stored on the side for this reason. Those rounds are for use outside if I ever have to dispatch another skunk or finally get a shot at one of the coyotes sniffing around. On the stock I have the slowest, lightest loaded #4 shot I could find as the actual 'home defense' load. At ten feet or less even the plastic wadding is gonna hurt and the lead will be so close it will penetrate. Hopefully the lighter shot will have a harder time penetrating drywall.

Here is a link I highly recommend anybody with a shotgun for defensive use look at. Actually, anybody that uses a shotgun for anything other than bird hunting could learn something from this. They test everything from #8 birdshot to 00 Buck to different types of shotgun slugs in ballistic gelatin. I do NOT want to ever be shot with a high powered slug. Heck I don't want to be shot with a low powered slug. Or be shot with bird shot. I really don't want to be shot with anything but the destruction caused by some of those slugs is just scary.

Shotgun Penetration With Various Rounds - The Truth About Guns

RSKY

That first video is a little deceptive in that they fired a Federal Power Shok slug. So you have:

• 5.56 FMJ - fired from a pistol-length barrel.
• 9mm hollow point
• 12Ga slug.

Doesnt make a lot of sense to me.

We bought a bunch of 12G Speer Lawman #4 tactical ammo, no longer available - rebranded, actually.

There are very few 鍍actical loads available for 20Ga. We purchased #3 buck. Federal now makes a #4 buck load for 12 and 20Ga. No doubt bird shot is devastating at close range, but #4 is the smallest buck I’m willing to try.

Federal Premium Ammunition - Shotshell

 

[bcp]

I don't remember which, but in a book by an African professional hunter, he said #4 buckshot was the best load for leopard defense. Might be a good guide for self defense shot size.

The question is whether his #4 buckshot loads were the same size shot as our #4 buckshot loads.

Bruce

 

[RSKY]

The only thing I have ever shot with #4 Buck is a couple of skunks. Since we had been out of our house for more than a week, due to one spraying under it, I was not very happy. I used 12-guage, 3", with 41 .22 pellets. You might think that was overkill. To me it was the same as shooting the d*** things 41 times with a 22 long rifle.

I was about 25' away because the maximum spray range for a skunk is, according to Google, 20'. And no I did not pace it off. Both times the shots rolled cage and skunk over on it's side. Other than that they did not move.

And while we are off the main subject and on to skunks... How did that happen?.... I was told before I caught the first one to shoot them in the head and they would not spray. Wrong. When shot in the head they empty the stinky glands. That caused us to be out of our house for an extra week because when they spray five feet from a house the house stinks up just like they sprayed under it.

Shoot them in the hind quarters with something that instantly severs all nerve endings. Something like a 12-guage, 3", #4 Buckshot.

Back on the original subject. I ordered some of the CCI Quiet 22lr today. They are 40 grain at 710 fps. Also ordered some CCI Stingers which are 32 grain at 1640 fps. The Quiets supposedly will not cycle the action on an auto pistol or rifle but a guy at Wal-Mart did tell me they were no louder than a pellet gun. He was also looking for some. The Stingers are a different matter and are probably the hardest hitting 22 Long Rifle made. Fifty of each were $3.29 and $6.99 respectively. You can't shoot anything else that cheaply.

I would still get the 10/22 for dispatching animals if for no other reason than an episode I remember from fifty years ago. I saw my dad shoot a ground hog or something larger than a coon and furry. He hit it once then had to turn and run and dive into the back of the pickup to get away from it. His bolt action 22 was left on the ground somewhere in the chase. That thing was hurt and ticked off and he didn't have time to work the bolt. The next week we had a brand new black and white Remington Nylon 66 22lr semi-auto rifle.

I hadn't thought of that incident in years but your remark about dispatching hurt animals brought it back.

RSKY

RSKY

 

[hosspuller]

I have :
Remington 870 12 gauge
Ruger 556


If I could only have one, it would be the Remington 870. I have two barrels for it, 28 and 18 inch. the long barrel for birds and clays, the short barrel for in the house. Ammunition is most versatile between the two. It's a simple pump action. Easy to operate and reliable. There are many parts and add-on available for it.

 

[brown40]

How about .17 HMR, 22 magnum, and 22 LR all in one? That'd give you deer/coyote reliably out to 50 yards then a chance to fire shorts if you want to make some noise. Not best choice for game in my opinion, but favorite deer and varmint rounds for many who hate the kick, noise, and expense of centerfire.

CZ makes the (452?) in at least three furniture styles that has interchangeable barrels. If I didn't have 22's and a 22 mag--thats the purchase I'd be trying to justify. From reports top quality and great accuracy in a FULL SIZE package. Drawback for me--no stainless options.

I.e. you can choose the stock to match your long long gun (if you have one) instead of practicing scaled down mechanics and geometry. Buy two, and you've got two guns and one spare barrel. People rave about the finish and accuracy--I've yet to hold one.

 

[MossRoad]

I find them kind of chewy....

It's all in the marinade...

 

[FarmWrench]

To the OP,

The historical "farm gun" has been something not terribly powerful, (.22lr, .22hornet which I find brass whenever I clean a hedgerow, .32-20, .410 shotgun) simple, (break action, rolling block, bolt) and cheap, (because it was just another tool that was going to be with a farmer getting rained on fixing fence and bouncing around cultivating corn).

I would recommend something that takes a box magazine due to rules about having a "loaded" firearm if that is acceptable. In places where a loaded magazine is a loaded gun, may I suggest something that takes stripper clips.

I carried a 10-22 for years on the fender of the old Ford in a scabbard. Times have changed, I wouldn't want to be caught just leaving it under a jacket anymore. As I've gotten older, I now realize that there may be a time where .22lr just isn't enough. (I know the biggest bear in Canada was taken with a .22lr....shot placement is what counts.) I also got caught with less than 100 rounds when the banic started and I went years without finding resupply.

As a fan of Jeff Cooper, I've chosen the Scout rifle concept.
1. It is one gun capable of taking anything in NA.
2. Light, short, (just like 10-22)
3. Bolt action should be safe from political action for a while.
4. Bolts can be fast (look at "mad minute" videos)
5. Easy to download and reload.
6. Multiple sight systems available on the rifle.

Yes it is a .308win but using a $30 NEW Lee loader, cast lead bullets (buy them cheap, made for 30-30, you don't have to cast) and some Trail Boss powder I load my own subsonic loads for less than .223 and it has very similar report, recoil and trajectory to a .22 while having 165gn vs 40gn of bullet hitting.

Currently steel cased Russian .308 can be under $.50 a round.

The 12ga advice is good. If you are going to shoot a raccoon in a tree or running, a load of shot works great.

It seems like a rimfire and a shotgun are pretty standard tools. Don't spend a dollar to save a dime with conversion kits and interchangeable barrels.

 

[k0ua]

It's all in the marinade...

So you are saying soak them in Italian dressing for 24 hours, and that softens them up? :laughing: