rat/snake shot rounds- anyone used them?

[XD40coyote]

Ok I have barn rats, they live under the chicken coops/sheds and I hate them LOL. So far I have trapped some 25 of them, but the smartest ones are what is left now. These guys are smarter than most red foxes!

I normally use Just One Bite pelleted rat poison which is very effective, but I always hate that several rats die way under the sheds and then the whole area stinks for days. So that is why I decided to try the trapping and alternate methods.

So I bought this 9mm rat shot, its 129 pellets or something per. Tonight I had a big rat standing around stupidly, freezing in place hoping I would suddenly not see it anymore. So I pull the XD9 out with the ratshot rounds loaded and take a potshot at said rat from like 2 feet away. I couldn't really aim- I need tritium sights or something LOL- was a tad dark behind the nest boxes where the rat was. BOOM- damn that was loud- note to self- hearing protection next time. Ok now did I hit the little SOB? I see NOTHING- no twitching dying rat, no blood, no embedded pellets in the wood, what? The rats have this escape hole just under this ledge, so I figure it dropped down and ran through it. I have no idea if I hit it or not, no idea of anything period on the performance of this rat shot stuff. I know: it was loud, my blue heeler suddenly appeared because loud noises scare him and he runs towards them most of the time LOL, the chickens were all stunned, and the slide didn't cycle due to low powder load, even though it was frickin loud.

So has anyone here ever dispatched lil varmints with these rat shot rounds? effective range, spread pattern, ect? It didn't seem to damage the barrel, I stripped the gun later and it looked fine. Oh yeah this is a subcompact LOL- yeah I am weird...

[Lycanthrope]

I've shot some smaller rats with shot from a .38 Special. Some folded up, bot generally rats are very tough and shotshells like that don't have much of an effective range. I wager about 10 feet. Pattern your gun on some paper and see.

Shot that small is REALLY hard to see inbedded in wood. I think you likely missed.

Lycangardenhosedowntheholeandgetreadythrope

[Brown-Bear]

I bought a box of those type shells for my 357 before going on a camping trip a few years ago. Took'em to the range to pattern on some paper. As long as I was within 6-10ft I would get a few on the paper, but not many beyond that. I'm no ballistics expert but I would say that the pellets are coming down the bbl in a slug like formation, all the while spinning thru the riflings. When they exit the bbl I'm guessing that they just fly everywhere once centrifical force releases its hold.

We used to shoot rats down by the old grain mill when I was a kid. Damn tuff little animals. .22 head shots. Or larger caliber for body shots. I'm jjust asumong these are not dime store rats that get fed to pet snakes. They're the big Mothers aren't they. LIke 3-4 lbs a piece? Good luck.

[Pro2A]

Get a Taurus Judge. It chambers both .410 shot shells and .45 ACP. I think Taurus asks $400 for a new one. It'll take care of your rat problems and you don't have to deal with all this hassle.

[autotech6506]

Get a Taurus Judge. It chambers both .410 shot shells and .45 ACP. I think Taurus asks $400 for a new one. It'll take care of your rat problems and you don't have to deal with all this hassle.

I thought that it was designed for 45 colt/.410? I'm not sure how it would work with 45 acp.

[toadyoforangeville]

Well a 12 ga should about do it for your rat problem.......

But my other sug. is a pellet gun. We used them in town and they worked as long as it was under 25yds.Them sewer rats are nasty critters.

[djturnz]

I've used the 38spl shot on a black snake before. From what I understand, the shot stays inside the blue cap until it clears the barrel.

Question: Why are the .40s&w shot shells made with the cap "inside" the casing and the rest of the calibers are normal?

[Lycanthrope]

Question: Why are the .40s&w shot shells made with the cap "inside" the casing and the rest of the calibers are normal?

Helps chambering.

[Swarner793]

I have used .22 lr birdshot out of a bolt action rifle successfully in my barn. Do not know if the barrel length is what helped me. They did not always die but it slowed them enough that one of my Staffordshire Terriers got them quite easily. Years ago, my Dad would yell at me about making a mess with the animal feed. He finally figured out that I was "baiting for sport" He was still pissed about the wasted feed, but he understood.

Be safe.

Scott

[toadyoforangeville]

Or you could go with what lycanthrope said and drown those little furry devils.