.22LR Subsonic

[308win]

A heron has decided to make our water garden his buffet. I know he is only doing what comes natural but he picked the wrong water garden and should have went to the one down the street. I picked up a box of .22LR subsonic HP's and I was wondering how loud they will be as compared to a regular 22LR?

 

[Chipperman]

I think Herons are protected in some states. Make sure it's legal before you plug him.

 

[SLCDave]

It also depends on what you're shooting them out of. A Beretta 21A, still loud. A bolt action rifle, not very loud. Go somewhere you can legally practice and find out.

 

[Sachse]

Longer the barrel the quieter the subsonics will be. After 13" inches in the barrel the bullets start to slow down.

 

[308win]

I think Herons are protected in some states.

Yes they are and so are my Shebunkins and Sarasa Comets now.

 

[cracked butt]

Herons are a protected species, don't be the goober with the gun in the newspaper that has been caught shooting one.

Call up your state DNR agency for ideas on how to keep them out of your precious garden, or spray them with a hose when you see them or ty putting up coyote or fox decoys.

http://www.ponddoc.com/WhatsUpDoc/Predators/GreatBlue.html

 

[redneck2]

Just whacked a muskrat

last nite with a .22 subsonic. Louder than you want if you're trying to be stealthy

Also, I have a problem with shooting herons as they're protected

The non-lethal answer to your problem is to stretch fishing line across your pond about every 3 feet on stakes. The herons will try to wade and trip over the lines and leave.

 

[shermacman]

Don't shoot the heron! You made a water garden, enjoy it, you can't plan everything. If you really can't stand it, get a pest control owl, the plastic ones at garden centers and farm supplies.

Having said that, I bought a box of Remington sub-sonic .22lr to "alter" the feeding habits of squirrels. They are at least as loud as the Federal bulk pacs from WallyWorld. The quietest .22lr's are from CCI. They crack like a broken branch out of my Winchester bolt rifle.

By the way, out of my .22 pistols, they are all loud!

 

[308win]

OK, OK! The cannibalistic feathered hemorrhoid got a 24 hr reprieve. I just finished stretching bird netting used to protect fruit trees over the water garden. The SOB had better be discouraged.

 

[cracked butt]

Hey don't feel like you are alone. There are two ponds in my neighborhood and the local Heron flies between the two with my backyard in the direct path. Ever seen a thick line of bird crap that stretches 30'+

 

[Gordon]

I wouldn't blast the heron, I used to when I ran a trout farm , I am not proud of it today!

 

[GlocksRock]

CB caps are powerful enough to kill a small animal and are waaaay quieter than subsonic rounds, they sound like an airgun going off.

 

[Harry Tuttle]

paintball!

 

[M67]

The SOB had better be discouraged.

Son Of a Bird?

 

[mfree]

Think potato cannon with no load. I've fired my first empty with a starting fluid load and it rattled off the hills. Good luck convincing the neighbors you actually didn't shoot the .22 though.

Shoot it early and often... with 35mm

 

[Hellbore]

Why would you even want to kill it? Is it hurting anything? Is it eating your fish or something?

BTW I second the paintball idea... We had a big stray tomcat that was coming around the yard all the time and eating the dog food (the dogs were letting him). Then he was pooping in the yard and the dogs were eating his poop and getting worms In case you didn't know, cat poop is the utmost delicacy to a dog, they can't stay away from it!

Nothing else worked to keep him away so I snuck up on him while he was eating the dog food (harder than it sounds, sneaking up on a cat) and got him with a pump paintball gun. He never came back but he is alive and well, I see him around the neighborhood. I couldn't bring myself to kill him because there was a small chance he was someone's beloved pet.

 

[Hellbore]

BTW I heard you can get a license from the government to kill limited numbers of herons. You might need one of these to legally kill it.

 

[waktasz]

Get the aguila ammo (damnit the name escapes me) that is just a .22 with a primer, no powder. Very quiet out of a rifle, but won't cycle the action on a semi-auto.


edit: its Aguila .22 colobri. I actually have some that I got to use inthe woods out of my .22 pistol but it's still too loud to use because civilization is still only a few hundred yards away. If you want to pay shipping you can have it, I probably have 480 out of a 500 box left.

 

[El Rojo]

As far as the original question goes, the .22 subsonic are not quiet. They are rather loud. I honestly don't think there is much difference between the .22 subsonics and regular ammunition as far as noise goes. I most certainly wouldn't use them in a covert heron operation.

I just bought some of the Aguila Super Colobri 20 gr. .22LR rounds. Now those are quiet. They are not that accurate, but if you are shooting something within say 10-20 yards, it might do the trick. Last year I trapped 10 ground squirrels out of my back yard in a cat trap. I was tempted to shoot them with the .22, but didn't want to take the chance. These Super Colobri's are so weak and very quiet, this year it is on! I am actually waiting for the squirrels to come back this year!

I have another question. What is wrong with having a heron in your water pond? I don't know about yall, but I would enjoy watching a heron in my water pond (if I had one). Now if I had expensive fish in there, I would understand.

 

[308win]

Now if I had expensive fish in there, I would understand.

There it is!

We have had some of them for five years now; they are more highly prized than any of our neighbors, some of our family, and certianly more than some mope heron too lazy to work for his living.

I like the idea of a paintball gun, I will have to borrow my son-in-law's.

The nearest gun shop only had bricks of 22lr and packs if cci subsonics so I got what I could get. I will stop at Fin, Fur, and Feather this weekend and get a box of CBs.

In the mean time, the fruit tree netting has worked so far today as I can't see any sign of him being around. I am going to try the owl deal also. There is a Harrier hawk that hangs around the neighborhood but he is just like police, never around when you need him.

 

[SONICMASD]

If you want to shoot and not be heard use AGUILA COLOBRI 22, NO GUNPOWDER. Comes in a red box and has a hummingbird on it. YOU CANNOT HEAR THESE AT ALL, ALL YOU HERE IS THE ACTION SLAMMING and then the BULLET HITTING. they are quieter than an air gun. I use them all the time for "Urban Hunting" They drop rabbits if placed in the head/neck.

 

[brian roberts]

heron....

its my understanding that Arkansas is the only state that allows heron shooting, & there only if you have a fish farm. But THOSE Arkansans can shoot them w/machine guns, (if they have them).

 

[Domino]

As far as the original question goes, the .22 subsonic are not quiet. They are rather loud. I honestly don't think there is much difference between the .22 subsonics and regular ammunition as far as noise goes. I most certainly wouldn't use them in a covert heron operation.

Actually, all of the subsonic ammunition I've fired out of my 10/22 or Mossberg bolt action has been amazingly quiet. I don't know where you got your conclusions but subsonic ammo with rifles = VERY quiet and subsonic ammo with pistols = loud. It sounds more like a pellet gun than a firearm and is very hard to distinguish the location of the shot. Most of the heavier subsonic bullets will tumble after about 50 yards or so due to lack of stability from the twist of the barrel, although speacial barrels can be found with the proper twist rate for the slower heavier bullets. But, the best ammo I've found is the CCI subsonic 40g hollow point which is the most consistant and accurate of all the subsonic ammo. At 80 yards I could get groups under 1.5" from my stock 10/22 with no sign of bullet tumbling and 100% flawless function. Its the perfect quiet ammo so give it a try.

 

[stevelyn]

Another vote for Aguila Super Colibris. They launch a 20 gr bullet @ 500fps on the priming alone. They are soooooooo quiet. They won't cycle a semi-auto, so you end up with a straight-pull bolt gun when you use them. I've killed tundra squirrels with them and make clean kills. Their accuracy is a little erratic, so you'll have to play around with them a bit to see where they hit.
I have a couple of heavy gauge metal canisters that used to contain Speyburn scotch. They are on the limbs of an alder bush about 25 yrds from the back of my house. I consistently punch holes in them shooting from my bedroom window with the Super Colibris. I'm certain they'll mess up the veterinary records of any heron hit with them.

 

[landon74]

Since we're speaking hypothetically, I'd used an air rifle, say a .177 at about 1000 fps, target pellets, shoot it in the head, hypothetically speaking of course...