.410 For a garden gun? - Page 2

FITASC · August 17, 2020, 08:46 AM

If bobcats are on your property, then there is a food source; eight pet food left out or small pets. Snakes can be handled easily enough, you can always try and find a pest control person who uses ferrets for snakes.

Double K · August 17, 2020, 08:59 AM

I routinely make 50yd shots with 950fps pellet guns. You still have to shoot in a safe direction though, range is about 250yds with a 177.

jimbob86 · August 17, 2020, 10:08 AM

A 45 pound longbow and 125gr judo points does for garden pests in my yard, as even pellet guns are a no-no in town. Lethal on rabbits and squirrels at any range I can hit them ..... dunno about bobcats, but I've never had a bobcat stick around more than 2 or 3 seconds after he realized there was a human present.....

Double K · August 17, 2020, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FITASC

If bobcats are on your property, then there is a food source; eight pet food left out or small pets. Snakes can be handled easily enough, you can always try and find a pest control person who uses ferrets for snakes.

I've never heard of anyone using a ferret to control snakes, even wild black footed ferrets avoid confrontations with rattlesnakes because their almost always bitten in a fight with an adult snake. Rattlesnakes strike is faster than a cobra, even a mongoose would be killed by one.
If you get rid of the rabbits the bobcats will leave on there own, they don't eat vegetables.

Double K · August 17, 2020, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimbob86

A 45 pound longbow and 125gr judo points does for garden pests in my yard, as even pellet guns are a no-no in town. Lethal on rabbits and squirrels at any range I can hit them ..... dunno about bobcats, but I've never had a bobcat stick around more than 2 or 3 seconds after he realized there was a human present.....

Typically with pellet guns if the projectile doesn't leave your property your legal excepting Hoa rules, of course big cities have much stricter rules but it's doubtful the op lives in Dallas or Houston having rattlesnakes and bobcats in his garden.

jimbob86 · August 17, 2020, 10:57 AM

DoubleK, my neighbor turned me in for using a pellet gun..... and the village sent me a warning letter with the pertinent village ordinance verbatim, complete with penalties ..... even throwing things like darts or spears, even blowguns, was verboten..... but it did not say anything about bows and arrows..... So. Neighbor saw me shooting the bow ..... didn't like it and said she was calling the town board ....never heard anything else about it.

Double K · August 17, 2020, 12:41 PM

Sounds like you need to get on the village board!

stuckinthe60s · August 18, 2020, 01:22 PM

village boards in Nebraska? holy cow...there goes the quiet northern hideaway from the bussling usa neighborhood!

Double K · August 18, 2020, 01:24 PM

The whole country is being invaded by city people running away from the messes they created themselves.

FITASC · August 18, 2020, 03:52 PM

Was she a transplant from CA? Every place in NV and FL where I have lived has had folks in their small urban backyards practicing with their bows.

stuckinthe60s · August 18, 2020, 03:56 PM

good point.

bamaranger · August 18, 2020, 11:19 PM

Eliminating a poisonous snake off your property seems prudent. I do the same. There are plenty of non-poisonous snakes about to help with rodents and other pests. Yes, if I see a viper first , I can proceed however I see fit, but its the ones I don't see that concern me. I've never lost a dog to snakebite, but I've had a few bit, and it was ugly 'till it healed up. I've not been bit, and don't want to be. Certainly don't want bamawife bit either.

Had a close call in the dark by the AC unit, and bamaboy nearly stepped on one sunning on the front porch steps. Both of those were timber rattlers approaching 4' in length. Copperheads perhaps even more common, but smaller. See a few "ground rattlers", which are likely pygmy rattlesnakes, but they sure are marked like a massauga rattler, but we are supposedly not in the massauga's range. Cottonmouths about, but never seen one on the property, but certainly within a 1/4 mile or so.

Keep an Win37 .410 as a snake and pest gun by the door most times. The 2-1/2" load with #8 or #9 shot will certainly kill any snake, and carry just as far as if it was launched from a bigger gun. Trouble with a .410 is that it is plenty loud, and I would think annoy most neighbors if you live in that kind of neighborhood. The little Ruger Bearcat with .22 ratshot will work too, if close enough, but you likely have to shoot more than once if outside 5-6" feet away. I generally leave a poisonous snake alone in the woods, and I an not one of those fools who nearly roll the truck over trying to run any snake over on the highway.

More than one household out here in the country just keeps a hoe near the back door

FITASC · August 19, 2020, 02:34 PM

Quote:

More than one household out here in the country just keeps a hoe near the back door

Or a square blade shovel or machete............

Jim Watson · August 19, 2020, 02:55 PM

Haven't you heard the legend of the field hand who chopped at a rattlesnake with a sharp hoe, cut the snake's head clear off and flipped it up into his face, fangs first?
My Great Grandfather allegedly lost an employee that way.

Great Grandfather Hall was an interesting man, well regarded for giving paying jobs to freed slaves. He wasn't an MD but he had medical books and kept a medical bag in his two wheeled buggy and was all the doctor the country folks had.

RaySendero · August 19, 2020, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Jim Watson wrote:
No. 8 shot fired at the optimum angle will carry nearly 200 yards. It won't hit very hard, but you wouldn't want a neighbor to catch one in the eye.

One would hope he's not growing a garden up in the sky!

FITASC · August 19, 2020, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Haven't you heard the legend of the field hand who chopped at a rattlesnake with a sharp hoe, cut the snake's head clear off and flipped it up into his face, fangs first?
My Great Grandfather allegedly lost an employee that way.

Great Grandfather Hall was an interesting man, well regarded for giving paying jobs to freed slaves. He wasn't an MD but he had medical books and kept a medical bag in his two wheeled buggy and was all the doctor the country folks had.

Nervous energy can keep a viper's head venomous and dangerous for up to 1-1/2 hours after separation. Cut it off, use a shovel and dispose of properly

410guy · August 21, 2020, 04:30 PM

410 works great for a snake gun and for hunting. But I use #4 or #6 shot. I only have a neighbor on one side of me. But since snakes are on the ground, most of the pellets will go into the ground also. Another option would be a 22 mag using ratshot, they pack a little more punch then the 22lr version.

I'm using a Stevens 301 410 single shot now, cheap, well built and has changeable choke tubes.

JERRYS. · August 21, 2020, 04:40 PM

are you shooting up in the air or something?

Nanuk · August 21, 2020, 09:09 PM

Forked stick and a burlap sack.

jimbob86 · August 24, 2020, 06:06 PM

Quote:

One would hope he's not growing a garden up in the sky!

Here on this earth, what goes up must come down ..... and shootin' at the ground at shallow angles can make projectiles go up ...... it's science.

Bartholomew Roberts · August 27, 2020, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Typically with pellet guns if the projectile doesn't leave your property your legal excepting Hoa rules, of course big cities have much stricter rules but it's doubtful the op lives in Dallas or Houston having rattlesnakes and bobcats in his garden.

Plano actually has numerous bobcats. However I moved north from there, still in Collin County but just south of Grayson.

kell · August 27, 2020, 04:41 PM

Absolutely not. A round half acre has a radius of about 85 feet. You probably don't want to get hit with #8 at 85' or even 170'. #12 maybe, but still, one of those little boogers in your eye ???

dyl · August 29, 2020, 02:32 PM

So you are either inside city limits in which case discharging a firearm (or in my case that means air rifles + bows/arrows) is forbidden. So that's a no-go. Or you are outside city limits in which case you can shoot whatever you want including a 22.

If you're in the city, check your city laws as they should say (or not say, which might be good) if air guns / pellet guns are forbidden or not. I shot a rabbit before (didn't eat it) with a 0.177 cal break action Gamo (spanish) air rifle. In a different town where air guns were not prohibited of course. It cost somewhere between 2-300 dollars or so and was considered middle of the road quality. It's pretty quiet, no hearing protection. With middle of the road pellets (Gamo brand) it can get quarter sized groups at 10-15 yards which is pretty good for not having found out what pellet it likes best. I would go with 22 cal if the main use was on animals, but wouldn't attempt a bobcat.

How close were you planning on getting to the rattlers? If you're really close, you'll be shooting downwards within 10 yards or so. Too far and those pellets won't have the density of hits that you might want out of the 2" barrel.

Maybe the pellets don't reach as far as people have saying, if you're talking about a 2" barrel. Looks like you have an excuse to test something out at a range.

gwpercle · August 29, 2020, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Watson

No. 8 shot fired at the optimum angle will carry nearly 200 yards. It won't hit very hard, but you wouldn't want a neighbor to catch one in the eye.

This is the truth ... when I was a kid with a .410 my Dad proved my .410 shot carried just as far as the shot in his 16 gauge .
The patterns were even similar in diameter ...the 16 ga. had a denser pattern because the shell carried more shot ... but the .410 shot traveled the same distances .

Your best bet for keeping shot on your property is to shoot down ...elevating the gun up will allow the shot to travel, killing shots on birds can be made at 40 to 50 yards easily ... at 200 yards ...it will hit you ... and could put an eye out !
Gary

Lavan · September 4, 2020, 11:35 PM

That's what I was thinking. Where do these snakes get high enough for a trajectory?

August 17, 2020, 08:46 AM	#26
FITASC Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 2014 Posts: 6,441	If bobcats are on your property, then there is a food source; eight pet food left out or small pets. Snakes can be handled easily enough, you can always try and find a pest control person who uses ferrets for snakes. __________________ "I believe that people have a right to decide their own destinies; people own themselves. I also believe that, in a democracy, government exists because (and only so long as) individual citizens give it a 'temporary license to exist'—in exchange for a promise that it will behave itself. In a democracy, you own the government—it doesn't own you."- Frank Zappa

August 18, 2020, 01:22 PM	#33
stuckinthe60s Senior Member Join Date: January 31, 2017 Location: Va., Ct., Mo.. Posts: 877	village boards in Nebraska? holy cow...there goes the quiet northern hideaway from the bussling usa neighborhood! __________________ Retired Military Aviation Former Member Navy Shooting Team Distinguished Pistol Shot,NRA Shotgun/Pistol Instructor NSSA All American, Skeet/Trap Range Owner

August 18, 2020, 03:52 PM	#35
FITASC Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 2014 Posts: 6,441	Was she a transplant from CA? Every place in NV and FL where I have lived has had folks in their small urban backyards practicing with their bows. __________________ "I believe that people have a right to decide their own destinies; people own themselves. I also believe that, in a democracy, government exists because (and only so long as) individual citizens give it a 'temporary license to exist'—in exchange for a promise that it will behave itself. In a democracy, you own the government—it doesn't own you."- Frank Zappa

August 18, 2020, 03:56 PM	#36
stuckinthe60s Senior Member Join Date: January 31, 2017 Location: Va., Ct., Mo.. Posts: 877	good point. __________________ Retired Military Aviation Former Member Navy Shooting Team Distinguished Pistol Shot,NRA Shotgun/Pistol Instructor NSSA All American, Skeet/Trap Range Owner

August 18, 2020, 11:19 PM	#37
bamaranger Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 2009 Location: North Alabama Posts: 8,302	.410 Eliminating a poisonous snake off your property seems prudent. I do the same. There are plenty of non-poisonous snakes about to help with rodents and other pests. Yes, if I see a viper first , I can proceed however I see fit, but its the ones I don't see that concern me. I've never lost a dog to snakebite, but I've had a few bit, and it was ugly 'till it healed up. I've not been bit, and don't want to be. Certainly don't want bamawife bit either. Had a close call in the dark by the AC unit, and bamaboy nearly stepped on one sunning on the front porch steps. Both of those were timber rattlers approaching 4' in length. Copperheads perhaps even more common, but smaller. See a few "ground rattlers", which are likely pygmy rattlesnakes, but they sure are marked like a massauga rattler, but we are supposedly not in the massauga's range. Cottonmouths about, but never seen one on the property, but certainly within a 1/4 mile or so. Keep an Win37 .410 as a snake and pest gun by the door most times. The 2-1/2" load with #8 or #9 shot will certainly kill any snake, and carry just as far as if it was launched from a bigger gun. Trouble with a .410 is that it is plenty loud, and I would think annoy most neighbors if you live in that kind of neighborhood. The little Ruger Bearcat with .22 ratshot will work too, if close enough, but you likely have to shoot more than once if outside 5-6" feet away. I generally leave a poisonous snake alone in the woods, and I an not one of those fools who nearly roll the truck over trying to run any snake over on the highway. More than one household out here in the country just keeps a hoe near the back door

August 17, 2020, 08:59 AM	#27
Double K Senior Member Join Date: June 16, 2020 Location: Colorado Posts: 486	I routinely make 50yd shots with 950fps pellet guns. You still have to shoot in a safe direction though, range is about 250yds with a 177.

August 17, 2020, 10:08 AM	#28
jimbob86 Junior member Join Date: October 4, 2007 Location: All the way to NEBRASKA Posts: 8,722	A 45 pound longbow and 125gr judo points does for garden pests in my yard, as even pellet guns are a no-no in town. Lethal on rabbits and squirrels at any range I can hit them ..... dunno about bobcats, but I've never had a bobcat stick around more than 2 or 3 seconds after he realized there was a human present.....

August 17, 2020, 10:57 AM	#31
jimbob86 Junior member Join Date: October 4, 2007 Location: All the way to NEBRASKA Posts: 8,722	DoubleK, my neighbor turned me in for using a pellet gun..... and the village sent me a warning letter with the pertinent village ordinance verbatim, complete with penalties ..... even throwing things like darts or spears, even blowguns, was verboten..... but it did not say anything about bows and arrows..... So. Neighbor saw me shooting the bow ..... didn't like it and said she was calling the town board ....never heard anything else about it.

August 17, 2020, 12:41 PM	#32
Double K Senior Member Join Date: June 16, 2020 Location: Colorado Posts: 486	Sounds like you need to get on the village board!

August 18, 2020, 01:24 PM	#34
Double K Senior Member Join Date: June 16, 2020 Location: Colorado Posts: 486	The whole country is being invaded by city people running away from the messes they created themselves.

August 19, 2020, 02:55 PM	#39
Jim Watson Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2001 Location: Alabama Posts: 18,537	Haven't you heard the legend of the field hand who chopped at a rattlesnake with a sharp hoe, cut the snake's head clear off and flipped it up into his face, fangs first? My Great Grandfather allegedly lost an employee that way. Great Grandfather Hall was an interesting man, well regarded for giving paying jobs to freed slaves. He wasn't an MD but he had medical books and kept a medical bag in his two wheeled buggy and was all the doctor the country folks had.

August 21, 2020, 04:30 PM	#42
410guy Junior Member Join Date: August 21, 2020 Posts: 12	410 works great for a snake gun and for hunting. But I use #4 or #6 shot. I only have a neighbor on one side of me. But since snakes are on the ground, most of the pellets will go into the ground also. Another option would be a 22 mag using ratshot, they pack a little more punch then the 22lr version. I'm using a Stevens 301 410 single shot now, cheap, well built and has changeable choke tubes.

August 21, 2020, 04:40 PM	#43
JERRYS. Senior Member Join Date: September 23, 2013 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,968	are you shooting up in the air or something?

August 21, 2020, 09:09 PM	#44
Nanuk Senior Member Join Date: January 2, 2005 Location: Where the deer and the antelope roam. Posts: 3,082	Forked stick and a burlap sack. __________________ Retired Law Enforcement U. S. Army Veteran Armorer My rifle and pistol are tools, I am the weapon.

August 27, 2020, 04:41 PM	#47
kell Member Join Date: August 8, 2020 Location: DFW Texas Posts: 42	Absolutely not. A round half acre has a radius of about 85 feet. You probably don't want to get hit with #8 at 85' or even 170'. #12 maybe, but still, one of those little boogers in your eye ???

August 29, 2020, 02:32 PM	#48
dyl Senior Member Join Date: October 31, 2009 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,310	So you are either inside city limits in which case discharging a firearm (or in my case that means air rifles + bows/arrows) is forbidden. So that's a no-go. Or you are outside city limits in which case you can shoot whatever you want including a 22. If you're in the city, check your city laws as they should say (or not say, which might be good) if air guns / pellet guns are forbidden or not. I shot a rabbit before (didn't eat it) with a 0.177 cal break action Gamo (spanish) air rifle. In a different town where air guns were not prohibited of course. It cost somewhere between 2-300 dollars or so and was considered middle of the road quality. It's pretty quiet, no hearing protection. With middle of the road pellets (Gamo brand) it can get quarter sized groups at 10-15 yards which is pretty good for not having found out what pellet it likes best. I would go with 22 cal if the main use was on animals, but wouldn't attempt a bobcat. How close were you planning on getting to the rattlers? If you're really close, you'll be shooting downwards within 10 yards or so. Too far and those pellets won't have the density of hits that you might want out of the 2" barrel. Maybe the pellets don't reach as far as people have saying, if you're talking about a 2" barrel. Looks like you have an excuse to test something out at a range.

September 4, 2020, 11:35 PM	#50
Lavan Senior Member Join Date: December 10, 1999 Location: California Posts: 2,716	That's what I was thinking. Where do these snakes get high enough for a trajectory?