Pellets, Slugs, and water...

[BG3]

Well, the Wildcat MkIII and scope are enroute. I have a few other decisions to make (tripod, compressor, etc.). In the meantime, I had a thought and wanted to flesh it out with some feedback.

Besides slimming down the squirrels trying to destroy our property, it would be nice if I could transfer the muskrat control from the .22lr to the Wildcat .22 as well. At our previous house we were much closer to the water and higher above it, shooting from a 2nd story porch. So, I never had an issue with ricochets with the .22lr. Where we are now, we're a little further from the water and the lot is not nearly as steep. Plus, a single level. So, it's a much shallower angle to the shore where they swim along.

I have been told that pellets are generally not a problem around water but, that slugs would be highly likely to ricochet. I could see a wadcutter or soft hollowpoint that easily deforms (hades for example) being much less likely to ricochet. Any thoughts or suggestions on the idea and/or possible solutions?

Thanks in advance!

 

[bdzjlz]

Not sure about all of the safety implications because I am not there to look at the set-up but I have killed many muskrats with my .22 pcps. They are great medicine.

 

[BG3]

Not sure about all of the safety implications because I am not there to look at the set-up but I have killed many muskrats with my .22 pcps. They are great medicine.

What is your projectile of choice for them? I'm sure my neighbors would appreciate the pellet over the .22lr...

 

[bdzjlz]

most of my experience has been with .22s shooting a Hades 15.89 Gr or the AA 18.0 Gr. The key is good shot placement.

 

[BG3]

I have a tin of Hades to try. I was thinking I might need a heavier projectile for them. So, that's good to hear.

 

[beerthief]

Shot placement avoids ricochet.
( i know a wise a$$ in every crowd )

 

[BG3]

Ha! Yeah, but absolutely true. I've only had maybe a hand full over the last 18 years that required a follow-up shot. But, my vantage point was much better at the previous house. Thus the reason for seeking experienced feedback from others who hunt/shoot around water and the best projectiles to minimize the chances of ricochets.

 

[dens228]

Ha! Yeah, but absolutely true. I've only had maybe a hand full over the last 18 years that required a follow-up shot. But, my vantage point was much better at the previous house. Thus the reason for seeking experienced feedback from others who hunt/shoot around water and the best projectiles to minimize the chances of ricochets.

If it were me I'd avoid any chance of a ricochet off the water. Years of hunting and I've seen it all. I've had arrows ricochet off water AFTER passing through deer. In the interest of safety I would fully utilize Murphy's Law.

 

[JimD]

My backyard ends at a lake and the properties across the cove I am on are about 200 yards away. I shoot into a pellet trap or concrete backstop most of the time but occasionally a pellet hits the lake. Most do not zing off. But sometimes they do. I think as long as you follow the general gun safety rule of not shooting towards things you do not want to hit you will be fine. Your wildcat is unlikely to have even half the fpe of your 22 lr. When it's projectile hits the water it will loose significant energy even if it does zing on further. Mine do not seem to even make the other side of the cove. But I assume they could and aim accordingly. I have little experience with slugs but I would assume their better bc would allow them to carry energy further. My opinion is that shots within 50 yards don't really need slugs. The little I've shot slugs indicates to me that it's a lot easier to find a pellet your gun shoots well than a slug.

My P35-22 likes H&N Baracuda Match pellets and I shoot them with the regulator setting it came with to get about 830 fps in warm weather. 8 of the 9 squirrels I've taken with it were pass throughs. All fell immediately. I've taken them with my Prod using 14.66 grain FTTs but they didn't fall as fast as they do with a heavier pellet going ~100 fps faster. I always want to use what is most accurate but I would be trying to get a 18 or 25 grain JSB or a 18 or 21 grain H&N domed pellet to work. I'm pretty sure you will be happy with the result.

 

[BG3]

Good info @JimD. That closely aligns with my thought process. The large majority of my shots, will be away from the water, into the slope of my yard or, the woods across the street.. The muskrat shots would be in the 25-35 yd. range. It's a little over 100 yards across the cove and the slope is much steeper on the other side.

I have JSB 18g's, and plan to use them for practice, then experiment from there. Though, I'm not sure I will use them for hunting. My goal is to find a pellet/slug that minimizes pass-through on the squirrels. Most of those shots will be in the 35-75 yd. range. In my mind, I want a pellet that will deform and leave as much energy as possible, in the squirrel.

SPAW tuned the gun for the FX Hybrid Slugs flying at ~905 fps., before shipping it. So, maybe I should sight in at that setting first. Then see if I can lower the power enough to suit the pellets without having to tamper with the initial tune. At least until I get familiar with the gun.

 

[JimD]

I read that you can decrease the hammer spring setting in FX guns and decrease the velocity and still often have good accuracy. My SPA guns do not work that way. If the hammer spring is not at about the level that produces maximum velocity the first shot velocity will be off and the accuracy may be poor. So I think in terms of using a heavier pellet to reduce velocity. Like the 25 grain JSBs. But since you have 18s trying the hammer spring may work. Certainly you can lower the velocity with a regulator change but I sense you don't want to do that.

You don't need a ton of penetration for squirrels and your gun is powerful enough you should still be OK with an expanding projectile but expansion cuts penetration quickly in airguns. FX hybrid slugs expand quicker than most in the tests I've seen. So that should help a lot with pass through. The other way to minimize pass through would be to dramatically lower the fpe. My Prod shoots 14.66 grain FTTs 700 fps or so and rarely shoots through a squirrel. But it still kills them fine. Not as quickly as my P35-22 tuned to 32 fpe but with a decent hit, they die quickly. But a 18-20 fpe 22 might be a little light for a muskrat. I was going to give it a try when that was the only airgun I had, however, and I had a muskrat chewing up my dock floats. (He moved away when I took the 2x12 skirt boards off my dock).

I don't worry a lot about pass throughs. I shoot in the direction where a miss will not hit people or their homes. Pass throughs will probably go in the same direction but they will for sure be at significantly reduced velocity. As long as they do not change direction a lot they are going to fall in the lake. I think the holes that even 177 grain pellets make are big enough for clean quick kills without any expansion and 22s and 25s are even more adequate. That belief is based upon 9 kills with 177 and 53 total kills to date. One explanation of why I get quicker kills with the higher energy guns is the exit wound. I think that makes them bleed out quicker.

A wider wound will create more damage too, however. As long as the penetration is adequate to get to the vitals it is a totally valid way to a quick kill too.

 

[BG3]

That all makes good sense. Well, except the skirt boards. Were those what I'd call fascia boards dressing the outside edge of the dock or, below the fascia/headers? That's really interesting.

The biggest thing I've learned with muskrats is, they like smooth. calm water. I've never seen them swimming on top with anything above a slight shimmer. If there's any kind of ripple from wind or watercraft, they don't come out to play.

At our previous home, we had a floating dock. They would take mussels up on top of the floats and eat them but, fortunately, never harmed the floats or air lift. We did have the reinforced "muskrat hose" from Hydrohoist but, they never bothered it. However, they got inside of a couple neighbor's pontoons (classic styles that had the rear steps built in) and they destroyed them. They also chewed through a neighbors lift cable! More than anything, they get behind the seawalls and/or the shoreline and destroy the ground with tunnels. So, there are a few neighbors that work together to minimize them. Some trap, some shoot.

I'm really interested to get the gun and see what is possible with the adjustments. It should be here Mon. I'm really intrigued by the scope. I decided to try the Immersive 14x50 for this one since it will primarily be for hunting/pesting. Now if I can just figure out the compressor and get that on the way, I can start my journey down the proverbial PCP & pellet vs slug rabbit holes...

Thank you all for the input so far.