.22LR shotshell in my Ruger 10-.22

[Suburban Redneck]

this is a little odd, but we have a small farm ; with a few Walnut trees.
I've been shooting the little vagrant thieves (squirrels) with an old Remington, but I think the sights are off (alot). Normally, I use this rifle to dispatch "rat poisoned" rodents in the yard, pretty much head shots while they're stumbling.
My question is will CCI shotshell damage my 10-.22?

 

[USAF_Vet]

It probably won't damage the gun, but it won't cycle the bolt either.

I tried a couple rounds of .22 shotshell in my Savage 64, and it won't cycle the bolt.

I use them in a Ruger single six once in a rare while.

 

[TeaCoffee.Guy]

I don't think shot shells work a that great. I doubt if they would be able to kill a squire cleanly. I tried them once and I thought that their effective range must be 1-2 meters.

 

[Naybor]

Should do ok.

I've used .22 shotshells in the past but there is one problem ~ The rifling causes the pellets to splay out into a terrible pattern.

If you can find a .410 single shot you will probably be happier with the results.

 

[helotaxi]

If you can find a .410 single shot you will probably be happier with the results.

One person with a single shot .410 with #4 and another with a 10-22 shooting Mini-Mags is stern medicine for tree rats.

 

[Suburban Redneck]

thanks

ok, ..you're right it doesn't cycle, and the pattern still sucks. Maybe I'll find a ..410 around here, this isn't NY anymore.

 

[weblance]

There are smoothbore 22 rifles. Remington for sure, and maybe Winchester. They were made years ago, and will pattern shotshells much better than a rifled barrel. I wouldnt think the effective range would be more than 10 yards. They were really intended to shoot rodents inside of barns, and close shots on snakes. A small gauge shotgun would be much better, and single shot shotguns can be bought used for under $100

 

[USAF_Vet]

I picked up a 20 gauge single shot a little over a year ago. That's my dedicated yard gun and takes its weight in gophers each year. Picked it up for $80 at the LGS. I prefer it for my small varmint gun over the .22 since those little buggers dart back to their holes pretty darn quick. 7.5 shot is quick and effective without tearing them to pieces.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Sight in the rifle and or clean the barrel.

 

[ExAgoradzo]

This is funny because I remember as a boy using the cheapest Remington semi-auto my dad could buy for his 10yo. I would pump the shot shells through that because I said it was my shotgun.
So we were out for a walk one day (been there since, it is all houses: matchboxes on postage stamps) while we were camping in the desert and we saw two diamond backs duking it out. We eventually shot the head off one and I'm sure killed the other, but as it crawled into the bushes, my dad wouldn't let me try to get it out (amazing how much smarter dads are now that I have an 11 yo!)
Anyway, I don't know if this was any help, but it brought back a good memory for me. We still have the skin in his basement along with the pic of me holding up the (decapitated) rattler.

 

[RPRNY]

There are generally about 30 grains of # 12 shot in a .22 lr "shot shell". That's 7/100 of an oz of dust at velocities between 900 fps and 1000 fps. Effective range on a rat? About 10 feet. On the plus side, there's no shot cup, so the shot, such as it is, will not be swirled by the barrel rifling as much as if there were a shot cup.

Having said that, an H&R or NEF .410 can be had for $50 - $75 and would be infinitely more effective on squirrels. I myself like a good .177 air rifle and 10.5 gr Beeman Copper Plated Kodiaks

 

[DPris]

No shot cup?
All my .22 Speer shotshells have the blue shot cup, or capsule.
Same as the centerfires (not including .45 ACP), except for configuration & size.
Denis

 

[TwoEyedJack]

I shoot a fair number of .22 shotshells in a single six when I am plowing or disking. When mice run out, they make challenging targets. I probably get 3 out of 4.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Shot shells for squirrels is not a good choice -- try CB caps if you're worried about noise or annoying the neighbors.