What caliber for spiders?

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I should think that with the proper vessel to support it, a 5" gun should do nicely. Gets the job done and saves materiel over the 16", wich of course, could also be used quite effectively. :)
 
I shot a spider with a .22 revolver once. Calmed him down real quick-like. :evil:

That's a real bummer about your friend. If I were him, I think I would do a lot of experimenting with different shooting techniques before I sold off any of my pistols, though.
 
i like to use my old crosman 2240 air pistol. i use it like a muzzle loader shotgun. ball of cotton, then a .45 acp case full of crushed walnut shell(brass polisher), then another cotton ball.

i use it to get rid of quite a few diffrent pests. it will knock a wasp out of the air up to around 6-7 feet and get cats off the lawn. beyond that point the shot will barely sting your skin at all.
 
4 ft 10 pound shovel caliber for outdoors/garage, been using an old copy of Outside magazine for indoor action... I was joking with a friend about using some 12 gauge AA target on a black widow I killed earlier this week, never thought I'd see a THR topic..will have to send the link now.
 
I've actually shot black widows with a BB gun. Little bastards are actually quite tough; the BB failed to penetrate.
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We don't call that a "failure to penetrate" around here, we call it a miss. :D

If you'd hit it, it would have ended it. I've had a lot of "dealings" with black widows (as well as Brown Recluses) and they're no tougher than any other spider. They come apart very easily. If you'd actually hit it, there would have been parts scattered and a smear.
Unfortunately, from what I have read on the subject, it wouldn't really have mattered if he went to see the doctor immediately or not because there is no FDA-approved antivenin for brown recluse bites.
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That's probably true since it's not really a venom in the classic sense.

There are substances that will break down the digestive enzymes in the Brown Recluse's "venom", but more pertinently, if you remove the dead tissue and clean things out thoroughly, it will usually stop things from getting really nasty. The worst cases result from neglecting to get treatment.
 
spider bites

i had a friend years ago that got bitten by a spider while using an outhouse at a campground !! lets just say he was praying to take away the pain and leave the swelling !!! Ouch it turned out allright becasue he was motivated to get it treated imediatly ! Kevin
 
I actually scared the hell outta my boss by shooting a spider out on his property one day with some other guys from work. We were all out there doing some target shooting, (so we all had hearing portection on, otherwise, I wouldn't have) and I saw a big ol' pregnant spider scurry in front of me. I told him I was gonna shoot it. He laughed it off. When he turned around, I popped the spider with a 115 gr 9mm FMJ. Boss jumped. Didn't think I was being serious.


I don't joke when it comes to spiders. Any size, any kind, I kill every one I see.



I couldn't care less about snakes, but spiders freak me out.



Except daddy long-legs.
 
Any spider that sets up shop in my house is given a first class ticket to the after-life, no questions asked.

Beneficial insect status be damned.
 
Unfortunately, from what I have read on the subject, it wouldn't really have mattered if he went to see the doctor immediately or not because there is no FDA-approved antivenin for brown recluse bites.
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That's probably true since it's not really a venom in the classic sense.

There are substances that will break down the digestive enzymes in the Brown Recluse's "venom", but more pertinently, if you remove the dead tissue and clean things out thoroughly, it will usually stop things from getting really nasty. The worst cases result from neglecting to get treatment.
Click to expand...

Maybe I used the incorrect term... there apparently is something that does roughly the same thing as snakebite antivenin that apparently is available in South America but is not FDA approved. I don't know anything about how effective it is or potential side effects.
 
i fyou eer get stung by a scorpion fish apply as much heat as you can stand without scalding the flesh and the poison will be broken down by the heat ! it really works i got jabbed under the thumbnail a few years back !
 
yeah...I am thinking 12 gauge with #8 target loads...this will make me feel better.

I was lucky and managed to get to sick call pretty quick as the Drill Sargent knew what it was that bit me...this was at Ft. Knox and not Ft. Leonard Wood though.
 
Wow. I like guns and stuff as much as the next guy, but for a spider? What's wrong with the palm of your hand or a kleenex? When its biting tools are being smashed against the ground/floor/counter/wall/whatever, it's rather difficult for the thing to bite. I just smash all of em' with a palm or a thumb and wipe up the goo.

Of course I live in MN, so I wouldn't know a brown recluse from a punch in the chops.
 
Spidy Loads

I've heard of folks loading up a few centerfire revolver cartridges with "sand shot," #11 or #12, I think, for use with small, around-the house-pests. Sounds like a plan.

"Where is the weapon with which I enforce your bondage" You give it to me every time you open your mouth." -- Frank Herbert
 
Natures one thing you don't want to DIY with.. A lot of that crap can really mess you up if you abstain from reason.

Small thing bit me, bad things are happening... It's OK though, that thing was so small, surely it won't be a bad ride.

Wake up the next day to the news that you're SOL and ol sawbones is en-route with a letter signed by someone talking about you.

bad position to be in.

As far as what to use for spiders though.. I'd prolly go with a "fire round"

or simply something that puts a lot of fire on target. Fire gets rid of most critters PDQ.
 
I've killed Spiders with both airsoft and BBs, wasps also.

I've seen a large Grasshopper survive a direct hit from a fairly powerful BB gun. His hull has cracked with a little juice oozing out but it tok a second shot that took off his head to finish him.
These were very large Grasshoppers maybe five inches long or more, don't see em like that around here these days.
 
Wow. I like guns and stuff as much as the next guy, but for a spider?
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The tread title was a tongue-in-cheek parody of all the "what caliber for" threads. It's really about my friend and fellow gun nut having to retrain himself shooting.

I should have known most people would take the question seriously. :rolleyes:
 
Spider venom is interesting. Most venomous animals have a history of venom escalation. Rattle Snake venom starts out at powerX, and its prey that can't withstand that much venom is killed off. Natural selection of prey that has resistanceY. So the snakes with powerX die off, because it can't overcome resistanceY, but snakes that have powerZ thrive because they can kill resistanceY, which then selects for resistanceA.

And so forth and so forth, until you get snakes that are really poisonous and some animals that can survive large amounts of toxins.

But most spiders didn't develop an escalation and natural selection of venom. Web spiders don't need that strong of a venom to kill their prey. (Some ground spiders, like tarantulas etc, could under go natural selection towards more potent venom, and some scorpions have) but the most dangerous spiders have never escalated their venom.

For some reason years and years and years ago a few spiders developed this super toxin and its never had to change. Many thousands of years ago big spiders hunted large mammals and naturally selected themselves to smaller sizes (perhaps because the big ones were easy to find and be eaten) but the toxicity remained the same.


Whatever the reason spiders are gross.
 
We don't call that a "failure to penetrate" around here, we call it a miss.
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I didn't miss. The range was point blank and you could see dents in the exoskeleton from the BB impact. Like I said in the rest of my post, the velocity was fairly low (100-200 fps) which is probably the main reason it didn't penetrate. Still surprising that they didn't, though.
 
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We don't have Brown Recluses in Jersey. Lautenburg banned them.

Occasionally, they hitch rides up here on trucks, in shipping crates, etc. My daughter has a friend who was bitten by one. Fortunately, she got to a doctor right away. He still had to remove a pretty large chunk from her arm.

I shot a fly on the ground with a .45 Ruger Old Army once. One of those damned black flies. He bit me, then landed a few feet away.

I couldn't find the fly, just a crater the size of a saucer where he had been. The ROA should be effective against spiders too. :evil:
 
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