Can to load sandblasting sand into .38 special brass to kill chipmunks in a live trap

[MW3840]

My friend is overrun with chipmunks and has also run out of .22 shot cartridges to kill the chippers he catches in his live trap. Can he load a small powder charge, seat a wad over the powder charge, and lastly add a small amount of sandblasters sand into a .38 spec. case, and glue an over shot wad at the mouth of the case.

Anyone have any experience with a load like this? Thank you in advance.

Mike

[johnsonian09]

As they use 12gauge shot guns with sand on steel tanks at my brothers place of work.

Yes you can.

You will, however after many shots of this load, discover your rifle or gun has suddenly become a smooth bore.


I may recommend a cheap bb or pellet gun since they are trapped. And point blank with such will not hurt most metal cages. I suspect point blank even a lowly co2 pellet pistol could dispatch them well.

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[Winger Ed.]

A wiser choice would be small Lead shot like #8 or 9, or move on up to .22LR.

If all he need to do is kill critters in a trap, any decent pellet gun will work too.

[MW3840]

Winger Ed,
I told him that very thing, but he doesn't want to spring for a large amount of #12 shot. And regarding the .22 LR, he doesn't want to damage his live trap. He is shooting them as he catches them. I told him they should taste like a red squirrel, but he isn't having any of that.

[Winger Ed.]

Winger Ed,
He is shooting them as he catches them. I told him they should taste like a red squirrel, but he isn't having any of that.

Oh well.
Sounds like you've done all you can.
I'd let it go and move on.

If it was me, I'd cut open 3-4 of the cheap/promo 12ga shells and get the #8 or 9 shot out of them.

Oh,,,
Just remember to check out the .38 real well if he wants to sell it to ya.:bigsmyl2:

[johnsonian09]

Alternatively. Thick gloves to avoid being bitten, a twist of the neck is very quick and costs nothing. However some might not like to do this


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[Oily]

Garage sale pump up bb gun. Usually 10.00 or less.

[ohen cepel]

He doesn't have a few old shotgun shells he could break down for some shot?

The sand is a bad idea if he likes that revolver at all. However, hard to help some people.......

[Dusty Bannister]

How about a wax wad cutter? Drill the flash hole larger, toss the brass when done so you never have to worry about mixing the cases in with normal loads. Any abrasive is not a good idea.

[MW3840]

What about using a .22 single shot power load? Can I shoot them in a regular .22 revolver? And if so, would they cleanly dispatch the afore mentioned chipmunk in the live trap?

[TimD]

I think the wax wad cutter approach is spot on. Should do well on a caged chipmunk.

Or he could just put the trap in a barrel of water for a bit...

[johnsonian09]

Idk what the above is. But if you have colibris or super colibris they are 450/760fps out of a revolver. And usually exit rifles but sometimes can squib. No more velocity then a pellet gun and less effective. But pretty quiet. Quiet enough to shoot in your back yard even in fancy city/suburb


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[rockrat]

ancini de pepe pasta. Its real small and its biodegradeable. Load it in your shotshells. I use it to dispatch snakes out to about 3 feet.

[Outpost75]

Lentils or dried peas also work up close.

[Green Frog]

I’ve got a couple hundred pounds of salvaged #10 or 12 shot from an old turkey shoot operation. If he’d like to buy a small lot, have him PM me. I can easily put 20 or more lb in a small flat rate box…

Froggie

[elmacgyver0]

You could do it the old-fashioned way and drown them in a barrel of water.
Of course, it is more fun to dispatch them with a gun.

[DougGuy]

You could do it the old-fashioned way and drown them in a barrel of water.
Of course, it is more fun to dispatch them with a gun.

If that's not humane enough he can put the populated trap into a kitchen trash bag and run a hose into it, connect it to an argon bottle. It's painless, odorless, the inhabitant of the bag merely goes to sleep.

[15meter]

How about a wax wad cutter? Drill the flash hole larger, toss the brass when done so you never have to worry about mixing the cases in with normal loads. Any abrasive is not a good idea.

Wax plug should work, and I'm not sure you'll shoot your eye out with an enlarged flash hole, there are a number of threads here that debunk the story that you'll blow up your gun with enlarged flash holes.

One on a different forum but I suspect the author is as well known here as anybody:

https://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2020/10/208/Drilled-Flash-Hole-High-Pressure-Test;-308-Win.

[country gent]

Carbon monoxide from a gas engie into the bag works well. poke a small pencil sized hole in the bottom so there are no air pockets

[DonHowe]

.450 BPE with soft lead bullet or .22LR birdshot. Take your pick!

[TurnipEaterDown]

Chipmunk live trap: wheelbarrow full of water, ker plunk, 5 minutes, dump, reset. Like the shampoo bottle says: wash, rinse, repeat.
Bigger live trap w/ woodchucks or raccoon: Plastic cheapo tarp, place trap in middle by using dirt rake on handle, wrap in tarp, fold one end under, light gopher gasser bomb, place well into open end, fold end under, 15 minutes later unwrap, dump into garbage.
This worked well for me at my former house in city. One summer I "managed" 37 chipmunks, 4 raccoon, 1 possum, 3 red squirrel this way. Never noticed the thinning next year. Amazing how many critters can be around in a 0.26 acre lot.

[William Yanda]

Get a 5 gal bucket, fill with water and teach them to swim. Reloading components are too dear to waste on this endeavor.

[Sasquatch-1]

This would be my recommendation, Crosman P1377BR American Classic Multi Pump .177-Caliber Pneumatic Pellet Air Pistol $60.00 on Amazon. You can pump it anywhere from 2 to 10 times per shot. Only real maintenance it needs is a drop of oil on the piston every so often.

[charlie b]

I second the air pistol if you insist on the firing squad technique.

None of the methods are enjoyable to me, but, necessary in some locations. We mainly had packrats.

The 'cleanest' our property was when we had a family of ferrets move in one summer. Unfortunately, when they cleaned out the 'neighborhood' they moved on and the packrats came back.

[15meter]

.450 BPE with sift lead bullet or .22LR birdshot. Take your pick!

This!

Knew a crazy old dude who went to war on ground moles with a 450 Nitro Express and other such implements of mass destruction.

He would sit in a lawn chair in the front yard, when the dirt moved he shot. Claimed you didn't have to hit them, concussion and muzzle blast finished them off.

He'd dig up the bronze solid slug and reloaded it.

All from Ruger #1's. He was a #1 nut. I was told he had more than 70 when he died.

The 500 N.E. was the problem child. First time he used that in a mole execution he could not find the slug. Had to get a buddy over with a metal detector because it went way deeper than anything else.

I did mention he was crazy right?

I suspect in this situation, that close to the cage may be adequate.

Kind like a hunting corollary to the old close only works in horseshoes and hand granades.

Happy hunting!

[Bmi48219]

Maybe he should get a ‘dead’ trap?
Or add a weight to the live trap and drop it in his neighbor’s pool.

Anyone remember the news story about the guy (I think in Pa.) that caught a mouse in his garage while he had a pile of autumn leaves burning in the yard? He threw the mouse in the fire, mouse caught fire, escaped and ran back into the garage. Burned the garage down.

[alfadan]

How about a shovel?

[45DUDE]

Federal still makes 22 lr #12 shot.

[farmbif]

I would not want to shoot sand through any gun I own

[Freischütz]

Any pellet gun will do the job.

[Winger Ed.]

I did mention he was crazy right?

This reminds me of Marlon Brando in "The Freshman".

In a similar situation, I'm sure he'd say:
'Crazy' is such an ugly word. I try not to use it.
Perhaps 'misunderstood' would be more appropriate.

[sharps4590]

I'll 5th or 6th the pellet pistol/rifle or, if he's insistent to use a revolver, at the range he's talking about corn cob or walnut tumbling media will work and not hurt the barrel. He can even make Magnum chipmunk loads using either media.

I have killed moles with everything from a 22LR to a 500 BPE and a 16 ga. I once emptied half of a 15 round M-1 carbine magazine into where I thought one was. Got him too!!! Couldn't tell how many times I hit it, there was lots of holes...

[Squid Boy]

Buy a "kill" trap and be done with it.

[charlie b]

PS forgot. I went to kill traps for the packrats too. Std rat traps. Peanut butter bait. For chipmunks you could probably just use mouse traps.

[fredj338]

I wouldnt put sand in my barrel. Just make your own shot rounds for 38sp. Pretty simple to do & you dont need much to kill a chipmunk. Agree though a pellet gun is about perfect.

[bangerjim]

NO SAND! Nothing abrasive.

Use any food group/grain that is small & hard!

[Winger Ed.]

At that short of range, 3-4 air rifle pellets, even rice or grape nuts cereal would probably work.

[Lead pot]

Just fill the rest of the .38 sp with corn meal or COW and cap it off with bullet lube so it don't spill. I just formed 500 .30-40 Krag cases to .38-50.
I put a few of those loads through a cardboard box to keep the mess off the garage floor. If they put a hole through a box they will go through hide.
At close range like a trap just a shell with just a primer will get the job done on a little critter like a chip.

[stubshaft]

Pellet gun!

[gwpercle]

What about using a .22 single shot power load? Can I shoot them in a regular .22 revolver? And if so, would they cleanly dispatch the afore mentioned chipmunk in the live trap?

Yes , power loads can be shot in a regular 22 revolver . At point blank range they are lethal and will cleanly dispatch even a person with a shot to the head .
I attended the funeral of a friend's son who was killed playing russian roulet with a 22 loaded with a power load ... he didn't realize the danger and assumed nothing comes out the end of the barrel on firing . He died instantly from one shot with a power load .
Gary

[masscaster]

Chipmunks and ground squirrels are great!! I leave them leaner times!

[Three44s]

I “Water Board++” grey diggers and pack rats caught in a live trap.

Three44s

[Sasquatch-1]

How about this dead trap? I saw an actual working model on a YouTube channel. I think it was Shawn Woods.

301315

[murf205]

I use 22 CB's and CCI Quiet's. They actually cycle in my 552 Remington. Not a lot of difference in sound between them and my Gamo pellet rifle. Shot a 'possum in my Havaheart this morning. Did'nt even wake Mamamurf up and she can hear a pin drop.

[Murphy]

I've never had to deal with the little critters. Sounds like a great reason to pick up an air gun, cheap and efficient.

Murphy

[MarkP]

I remember reading post here several yrs ago about a 38 SPL wasp load. He loaded the cartridges with walnut polishing media and shot wasps. Sounded fun unless you missed.

[pmer]

I was at a LGS, they had 22 shorts and long rifles.

[Hanzy4200]

I can't see that treating your barrel well. how about................hammer.

[jonp]

One way to dispatch them is to live trap with a Hav-a-Hart trap then put a blanket over it and run the car exhaust nest to it. Put's them to sleep from the CO2 and they die painlessly. I've used this method for skunks, squirrels, possums, feral cats etc when doing animal control to avoid shooting them.

[derek45]

shop-vac hose duct tapped to truck tail-pipe

cover trap with a tarp, and idle the truck for 20mins.

. . . . . thinks about current gas prices.....

.
.
uh.....get a good spring powered pullet gun.

https://i.imgur.com/0KbYKcc.jpg

[super6]

We used to pull 22 short lead and pound a soap bar in as a BOOLIT, Killed rats in house.

[hoodat]

Several posts back, the word "crazy" came up. Do y'all realize that we're three pages into a thread on how to kill a trapped chipmunk??:p

And no, I'm not lookin down my nose. I've been an avid reader.:-? jd

[super6]

I'll bet the dang thing is on the rainbow bridge by now!

[HWooldridge]

A friend of mine, now deceased, was a professional trapper for many years. He had to dispatch all sorts of vermin in public parks where families might be enjoying a day out and kids were playing. He carried a jointed aluminum pole on his truck that could be adjusted for length. On the working end was a large hypodermic syringe that he filled with formaldehyde. He would approach the trapped animal slowly and push the hypo between the mesh openings then jab it into the ribcage. The dose would kill the animal immediately without any blood or drama. Skunks don’t spray when hit this way; it’s instant death. Leonard would roll the animal into a plastic trash bag, reset the trap and leave - he kept a low profile and said nobody ever inquired what he was doing; just a little old man collecting trash.

[15meter]

If an airgun will whack an iguana at distance, I think a bb gun would probably be adequate for Chip and Dale up close and personal.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv6t3NZyy2Q

[Jeff Michel]

I just put the trap in the horse trough.

[Baltimoreed]

Yellowstone was eat up with chipmunks the year we were there but I guess the terrible recent floods have thinned the critters a bit. I agree with Jeff, drown them. Primers are too valuable to waste shooting fish in a barrel.

[earthquake]

Wax plug should work, and I'm not sure you'll shoot your eye out with an enlarged flash hole, there are a number of threads here that debunk the story that you'll blow up your gun with enlarged flash holes.

One on a different forum but I suspect the author is as well known here as anybody:

https://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2020/10/208/Drilled-Flash-Hole-High-Pressure-Test;-308-Win.

You could pour some shot in a pie pan and pour hot wax in the pan and let it cool, then make a wax/shot plug that should dispatch a small critter.

eQ

[tja6435]

A bucket with 4-6” water is the cheapest solution.

[MSD MIke]

Pet snake

[Dimner]

Pickup live trap. Put trap in 5 gallon bucket full of water. Enjoy the primers you have saved

[Geezer in NH]

Chipmunk live trap: wheelbarrow full of water, ker plunk, 5 minutes, dump, reset. .

Not considered Humane by the Feds who most F&G go by. Take a course in animal control like my son and I have and get licensed. Drowning is NOT an approved method and can result in animal cruelty charges up to felony level.

See what we have to contend to. We either shoot in the head in the approved manner or put the cage in the kill box in the back of the truck then flood it with CO2 wait an appropriate time.

Not my rule the, .Gov rules.

As a former gun shop owner yes shoot sand through the barrel, I can make money that way. Sarcasm/off