slugs for short distance ratting?

[airman_o]

hi all,
Just a question on ammo for ratting: So far I only used slugs for longer distance because of their favorable BC. And I was looking for hunting pellets (hades, ultrashock etc) for shorter distance ratting.
But how does a hollow point slug do? Does it make a comparable damage to a hunting pellet trough mushrooming, or do hunting pellets still hold an edge for this use? Does a slug have a higher probability of passing trough?

 

[HogKiller]

Seeing as slugs generally cost more than a pellet and odds are you are ratting at under 30 yards, my question is, why spend the money, besides wanting to try it. There aren't different degrees of dead. If you want some fun, try the AEA slugs, I think they fragment fairly easily. The ONLY thing that leads me to this is, in my steel pellet trap, I get shrapnel on the back of the target paper when shooting them.

 

[JaceSpace1369]

hi all,
Just a question on ammo for ratting: So far I only used slugs for longer distance because of their favorable BC. And I was looking for hunting pellets (hades, ultrashock etc) for shorter distance ratting.
But how does a hollow point slug do? Does it make a comparable damage to a hunting pellet trough mushrooming, or do hunting pellets still hold an edge for this use? Does a slug have a higher probability of passing trough?

Dale from Varmint Knockers, you can find him on ebay. They will fragment/grenade if you shoot them fast enough in .177 and .22.

You can shoot them as slow as 730fps and still get a ton of expansion, they are pure lead and swaged.

 

[airman_o]

Seeing as slugs generally cost more than a pellet and odds are you are ratting at under 30 yards, my question is, why spend the money, besides wanting to try it. There aren't different degrees of dead. If you want some fun, try the AEA slugs, I think they fragment fairly easily. The ONLY thing that leads me to this is, in my steel pellet trap, I get shrapnel on the back of the target paper when shooting them.

true, but cost is no issue here. I'm not shooting large quantities. I need precision and knockdown power. And I know it's not logical, but the particular slug I use (JSB knockout mk2) shoots more precisely in my gun than all other pellets I've tried.
Thanks for the tip on the AEA slugs, haven't tried those yet.

 

[airman_o]

Dale from Varmint Knockers, you can find him on ebay. They will fragment/grenade if you shoot them fast enough in .177 and .22.

You can shoot them as slow as 730fps and still get a ton of expansion, they are pure lead and swaged.

thanks for your advice, but they seem to be impossible to find in Europe.

 

[JaceSpace1369]

thanks for your advice, but they seem to be impossible to find in Europe.

Ahh that's because he's an American seller, my apologies. What caliber and gun are you using?

 

[airman_o]

it's for a .22 edgun Leshiy 2. But in fact, I found the slug that works really well in the gun (JSB knockout mk2). My barrel seems to be very picky: I've tried a load of different pellets and slugs, but without really good results. Until I tried the knockout mk2, now my gun is stacking them. On the other hand: my .25 is not picky at all. It shoots whatever you load in it.

The question is mainly if a slug is a good ratting projectile for short distance. I want to have maximum knockdown power, and minimum passthrough.

I could try it live on rats of course, but I'm waiting for new targets as I terminated the whole nest last week ;-)

 

[sonnysan]

You will get passthroughs with guns shooting slugs even in the low 20's range, especially at close range with squirrels and rats/mice.

 

[L.Leon]

hi all,
Just a question on ammo for ratting: So far I only used slugs for longer distance because of their favorable BC. And I was looking for hunting pellets (hades, ultrashock etc) for shorter distance ratting.
But how does a hollow point slug do? Does it make a comparable damage to a hunting pellet trough mushrooming, or do hunting pellets still hold an edge for this use? Does a slug have a higher probability of passing trough?

Seems like you know the answers to your question as far as rats are concerned… Slugs for rats? Are these Nutria size monsters? Rats are thinned skin critters. 12 FPE airguns will get pass throughs at typical ratting distances. I have personally killed many, many rats from 5-50+ yards with 14-18 grain pellets… Slugs for ratting, of course you can, but there are better, less expensive options.

 

[airman_o]

I shoot rats at high energy (60 joule in .22 or 80 joule in .25). that's indeed way more than needed. But I use my guns as well for longer range shooting and in windy climate. Hence the high power tune with rather heavy pellets. In the 25 I use regular (non hunting) pellets. They usually do not pass through. Slugs still to try.
But even at this high power, it's not easy to down rats on the spot. Usually they jump a few meters even with a good shot in the vitals. Not Nutria sized, but the bigger ones weigh about 1kg.
and as I want to shoot them exactly where I want I use the pellet (or slug) which is the most precise.

 

[airman_o]

You will get passthroughs with guns shooting slugs even in the low 20's range, especially at close range with squirrels and rats/mice.

probably... so I guess I'll need to find a new rat nest to try it out.
allthough I found the following source: https://hardairmagazine.com/reviews/jsb-knock-out-slugs-review-217-cal-25-39-grain/
5cm penetration is not that deep, and would not pass trough in larger rats.

 

[Scotay42]

Jsb knockouts cost the same as jsb pellets. I dont see the extra expense everyone is talking, but 10g KOs definitely work well on rats. Hell i use .25cal because i want passthrus to help out my cleanup hawks. The .177 Reximex Meta i was sending 10g slugs with, would put a hurting on rats, and super quiet. Slugs have better expansion than pellets, period. I know there are more expensive, but for .177, Zan and Jsb are about the same price as jsb pellets. So for a quality soft pellets vs a quality slug, virtually the same price.

 

[Scotay42]

I shoot rats at high energy (60 joule in .22 or 80 joule in .25). that's indeed way more than needed. But I use my guns as well for longer range shooting and in windy climate. Hence the high power tune with rather heavy pellets. In the 25 I use regular (non hunting) pellets. They usually do not pass through. Slugs still to try.
But even at this high power, it's not easy to down rats on the spot. Usually they jump a few meters even with a good shot in the vitals. Not Nutria sized, but the bigger ones weigh about 1kg.
and as I want to shoot them exactly where I want I use the pellet (or slug) which is the most precise.

I am sending slugs at 80j to stay quiet in my delta and pellets at 65j to stay quiet in my M3.
I had to clean up alot more when using .177, i needed to make sure i got out there either right after ratting or early before the sun came up, as the slugs were still in the rats.

 

[JaceSpace1369]

I would like likely go for wild man slugs if money is no money to you as they should be pure lead. Also, I would recommend Mako but I'm not sure they make .22

 

[Engg.Ken]

We are making a swaging kit for those ultra light, huge hollow points, light 22 slugs.

 

[L.Leon]

But even at this high power, it's not easy to down rats on the spot. Usually they jump a few meters even with a good shot in the vitals. Not Nutria sized, but the bigger ones weigh about 1kg.

Rats go down hard and stay put with good head/brain shots, vital shots, also mostly DRT… If you are having the issues quoted above? Then its your shot placement thats the issue… An example… with 14 grain pellets CPHPs.

 

[blackbird1993]

For short distance up to 10-12 yards, the british guys often use their 6 ft/lbs air pistols like the crosman 2240. They drop rats quick with it, without much overpenetration (with normal roundnose pellets).

 

[airman_o]

Rats go down hard and stay put with good head/brain shots, vital shots, also mostly DRT… If you are having the issues quoted above? Then its your shot placement thats the issue… An example… with 14 grain pellets CPHPs.

good shots! I hit them mostly in a similar way. I try to lure them to my feeding place, which is just next to some bushes. That's why I really want to anchor them, because if they move another yard I need to look for them in the bushes.

 

[airman_o]

Jsb knockouts cost the same as jsb pellets. I dont see the extra expense everyone is talking, but 10g KOs definitely work well on rats. Hell i use .25cal because i want passthrus to help out my cleanup hawks. The .177 Reximex Meta i was sending 10g slugs with, would put a hurting on rats, and super quiet. Slugs have better expansion than pellets, period. I know there are more expensive, but for .177, Zan and Jsb are about the same price as jsb pellets. So for a quality soft pellets vs a quality slug, virtually the same price.

you're right, there's almost no price difference. That's also my reasoning for shooting slugs. Also for plinking. I want to know my projectile very well before I launch it to any critters.
So far I shot the critters with another gun and pellets. But next time I have some big fat rats I will try the slugs on them to see if they knock them down as easily as with a heavy pellet.

 

[Ranchibi]

Accuracy is most important and you have found THE SLUG/ammo your .22 Leshiy likes so I would stick with those .