Trophy Carpenter Bee

[murf205]

I smoked my first carpenter bee yesterday afternoon with a load of grits and 1.5 grs of Bullseye. It hit the deck alive-sort of- and knowing their resiliency ans savage tenacity to life (LOL), I administered the heel stomp as a coup de grace. I'm afraid this is going to be addictive.
Mama Murf said I looked deranged waving a 4" 44 magnum around on our back deck(she may be on to something now that I think about it).

[Thumbcocker]

Should cut down on the number of salesmen or people handling out religious literature showing up unannounced.

[Nobade]

I like hunting them with my flintlock pistol loaded with grits.

[georgerkahn]

I smoked my first carpenter bee yesterday afternoon with a load of grits and 1.5 grs of Bullseye. It hit the deck alive-sort of- and knowing their resiliency ans savage tenacity to life (LOL), I administered the heel stomp as a coup de grace. I'm afraid this is going to be addictive.
Mama Murf said I looked deranged waving a 4" 44 magnum around on our back deck(she may be on to something now that I think about it).

How I envy you and others residing in great states/areas! In New York State, most places, one might last minutes even carrying out a revolver with cylinder open and by a pencil in barrel :) before you'd probably get arrested!!! For bugs of most all types, those cans of Black Flag Wasp Spray are about all we may safely employ.

[HWooldridge]

Leave the dead carcasses lying around as a sign to other bees (and unwanted visitors).

[owejia]

Just waiting for the 75-80 degree days for them to become active here. Have several hundred 357 mag shells loaded with walnut tumbling media to use up this year. Good shooting!!!

[owejia]

I like hunting them with my flintlock pistol loaded with grits.

Nobade do you think that Golden powder would be effective loaded in 45 LC cartridges/over powder wad/walnut tumbling media/over shot wad/finger nail polish glued ?

[Rockindaddy]

One day in Spring when the big black and yellow wood boring bombers showed up my smart ass son in law showed up and asked what I was doing running around the farm house with a little Winchester gallery gun. I told him shooting bumble bees! He laughed and said I could never hit a flying bumble bee with a 22 !!!!! I proceeded to bang 3 bees. He told me I was just lucky. Shot another one. Now he pestered me to try it. Told him I was out of ammo and had to reload. Went back into the house and dumped out the Winchester No. 12 bird shot and loaded the old rifle up with standard long rifle. Went out and handed him the rifle. I told him to be careful of my soffet, facha and gutters. He shot 7 times but could not manage to bring one down. To this day he still thinks I am the champion bumble bee shooter! Guess I will have to try loading grits in my 44 S&W.

[contender1]

I keep a pair of tennis racquets outside to handle the carpenter bees. I call it "playing Boo-Whack!"

I've considered loading up some handgun loads to shoot them with though.

However,, I'll have to share a story,, from about 2-1/2 decades ago.
My brother came to my range, with his new wife's daughter. The girl was an older teen, but was wanting to learn to shoot. I provided a lot of stuff, and we taught this young lady to shoot.
Now, it was a warm day & the bees were buzzing around.
I kept threatening to start shooting them because of how annoying they were being. Well, the girl said; "Go ahead, I want to see you shoot one!"
Now,, I used to do a LOT of hollyweird hip shooting with a SA handgun. I had gotten pretty good on NORMAL targets. But even I knew it was pretty much impossible to hit a carpenter bee with a .38 spl W/C in a .357 Blackhawk.
But,, after the challenge,, a bee got out in front of me, (perfect for the downrange safety thing,) and hovered. I hip shot at the bee, and with (3) witnesses,, the bee vaporized.
I will admit that laughing too much,, made me incapable of hitting a bull in the butt at 10 paces for over 1/2 an hour.
My wife still likes to relate that story!

[DougGuy]

I like to sit and box with them. When one flies by, stick your arm up and flick your wrist and watch it duck and evade then return curious, eventually getting mad and aggressive. If you garden, they are GREAT pollinators I will give them credit for that.

[dverna]

I smoked my first carpenter bee yesterday afternoon with a load of grits and 1.5 grs of Bullseye. It hit the deck alive-sort of- and knowing their resiliency ans savage tenacity to life (LOL), I administered the heel stomp as a coup de grace. I'm afraid this is going to be addictive.
Mama Murf said I looked deranged waving a 4" 44 magnum around on our back deck(she may be on to something now that I think about it).

It's Alabama...how can that look deranged?

[Nobade]

Nobade do you think that Golden powder would be effective loaded in 45 LC cartridges/over powder wad/walnut tumbling media/over shot wad/finger nail polish glued ?

That sounds like a great use for golden powder. I bet it works just fine.

[Winger Ed.]

Leave the dead carcasses lying around as a sign to other bees (and unwanted visitors).

Around here, with our killer bees and their attitude problem:
a bunch of their friends and family will come to the funeral.

[35 Rem]

The old crimped 22 shotshells with #12 shot are tailor made for those things. I'm thankful my father bought up nearly 1,000 rounds of those back before the price required financing. They make it relatively easy to bust those buzzing pests. I have a H&R model 949 nine shot 22 revolver, also belonged to my father, that is the perfect match to the shotshells and either bees or rats in the chicken house at night. It doesn't have quite the flair of a 44 Magnum but it gets the job done. :)

[HWooldridge]

Around here, with our killer bees and their attitude problem:
a bunch of their friends and family will come to the funeral.

A good friend of mine (now deceased) used to raise honey bees and the Africanized version caused him to quit keeping hives. At any rate, said he could grab one bee with a glove and kill it, then throw the glove several yards away - they would attack the glove and leave it full of stingers while he worked on the nest.

[murf205]

It's Alabama...how can that look deranged?

You're just envious.

[murf205]

Around here, with our killer bees and their attitude problem:
a bunch of their friends and family will come to the funeral.

Yellow jackets are the same way. I know for a fact they can out run a 19 hp Cub Cadet!

[Winger Ed.]

Yellow jackets are the same way. I know for a fact they can out run a 19 hp Cub Cadet!

I've learned killer bees are attracted to black, and those big yellow & black bumble bees are attracted to red--
plus they have a real bad attitude problem.

A buddy was mowing one time and a bumble bee was buzzing around his red hat.
So he took it off and swatted the little beast.

He hit it, it was thrown about 15 feet, then came back like a yo-yo and hit him--- 'stinger first' right in the face.

[TNsailorman]

murder season is almost here, get those cannons out. Cannister shot required.

[elmacgyver0]

How do you cook them?

[fastdadio]

How I envy you and others residing in great states/areas! In New York State, most places, one might last minutes even carrying out a revolver with cylinder open and by a pencil in barrel :) before you'd probably get arrested!!! For bugs of most all types, those cans of Black Flag Wasp Spray are about all we may safely employ.

You could always get one of these;
https://www.pyramydair.com/product/gamo-viper-express-air-shotgun-rifle?m=1020
.22 smooth bore air gun. With the cost of primers these days, it could pay for itself in no time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeiO03hu7LM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnU-slxax1M

[wilecoyote]

a spray paint can at hand, color unimportant, can do wonders on the flying efforts of any insect. stomp next_
not funny as shooting, but not prohibited by firearm laws, here. until now, at least_

[georgerkahn]

You could always get one of these;
https://www.pyramydair.com/product/gamo-viper-express-air-shotgun-rifle?m=1020
.22 smooth bore air gun. With the cost of primers these days, it could pay for itself in no time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeiO03hu7LM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnU-slxax1M

Thanks for suggestion, but I already have several dozen air arms! The MAJOR challenge is the, pick your choice of word: ignorant or stupid -- where the great percentage of people could not distinguish the difference between an air-powered or powder-powered device. Sure -- "TOY" arms are supposed to have that ORANGE coloured band near muzzle, but that's not enough to too-often be mistaken for "the real McCoy". Further, in most municipalities, even a sling-shot is verboten; even a Red Ryder BB gun is against the law to be discharged.
SADLY -- 'though it works soooo very well -- those spray cans of Black Flag Wasp and Hornet Spray are our only (legal) choice... And... I continue to envy those who live in areas where it is OK!
geo

[murf205]

George, your only hope is that the environmentalist don't have wasp and hornet spray outlawed for some silly "green" reason. If they ever ran over a yellow jackets nest with a lawn mower, they would think a 50 BMG is entry level!

[owejia]

Murf you are suppose to stop over top of the nest and let the whirling blades slice and dice them, just don't run out of gas before you get them all.

[Thumbcocker]

Shoulder or full body mount?

[dverna]

I hope to try wasp hunting this year. We get a lot of them.

My PCP gun is very accurate (3/8" @25 yards). Will start at 25 yards and use jelly for bait.
I am too frugal to use primers to shoot bees/wasps, and too lazy to load bee buster ammo. $6/500 pellets make for a cheap "backyard safari"

[Green Frog]

How do you cook them?

Honey roasted??

[murf205]

Murf you are suppose to stop over top of the nest and let the whirling blades slice and dice them, just don't run out of gas before you get them all.

There was a time when I was a lot braver than smarter but after I went into anaphylactic shock and my BP went down to 50/30 and got a free ride in the meat wagon to the ER, I realized that I don't have guts enough to mess with yellow jackets. And that was only 2 stings!

[Winger Ed.]

This year I knocked down the few wasp nests I've found around here before they got very big.

I kinda wish I hadn't. I got one of the small quad-copter drones for Christmas and remember seeing a guy
on youtube running his up close to a wasp nest and letting them attack it.
It didn't end well for the wasps.

It looks fun, and you don't have to be quick, nimble, or even very close.

[TNsailorman]

A quad drone, another fun toy to make life miserable for things that use stingers. A few summers ago I was mowing my yard and ran over a nest of German ground wasp. I had never heard of them up to that time. Those thing put Hornets to shame. They just keep stinging, none of that sting once and go. There is a jacket that the stinger goes through so it does not loose the stinger when it stings. The jacket often does and quite a few of them were still in me when I got into the house. My wife pulled quite a few out of me with tweezers. The lawn mower blade was not eating the wasp up either. I turned loose of the mower while it was over the nest and ran for the porch thinking they would not pursue me for 75 feet or so. Fat chance, they followed me all the way onto the porch and my wife came out with a broom and was sweeping them off of me. They finally surrendered to the broom and left me, except for a few that had made it up my jeans legs. I took my shirt off on the porch to make sure none would go into the house and went in to take a shower and get the little stinger jackets pulled out of my skin. We counted something like 88 sting places on my back, legs, and chest. Funny thing was that my bare arms(short sleeve shirt) only had a couple of stings on them. The next evening just about dusk I poured the nest full of gasoline and lit it off. The next day I checked on the nest and there were a few still going into and out of the nest. I poured more gas and lit it off. The next day I checked and there were only a couple trying to get into the nest but would lite on the edge of the nest but would not go into the ground (big round tunnel hole going into the nest). I killed those few with a shovel when they lit and proceeded to dig up the nest. That thing was 4 layers deep (about 18 inches into the ground) and each layer must have been 14 to 16 inches in diameter. It was a small cavern. I talked to our local Naturalist at the state park and he said it must have been a very old nest for it to be that big. Said it probably had been there for quite some time and he wondered why it had taken them so long to finally get after me when I was mowing. He told me that those things were usually extremely aggressive. He and my doctor both said I was a very lucky man as having been stung that many time I should have went into shock. The skin on my back was flinching but the pain was the only thing on my mind right then. They started a war with me and I kill every thing that has a stinger now with the exception of honey bees. long story but it is still fresh in my mind, james

[rockrat]

I was mowing with the Bush hog, next to the road that ran in front of Grandads farm, and ran over a hornet next. Making the next pass and saw an insect cloud and figured out what had happened. Went elsewhere to mow and came back a while later. Just a few, so parked the bush hog over the nest for a few minutes then left. When I drove by later, you could see pieces of hornets everywhere and lots of other that I guess had returned to the next.
Early next morning, got out the tractor and found the entrance and just ran over it a few times with the tires. That was the end of that nest. Friend wondered why I hadn't been stung.

[Winger Ed.]

[QUOTE=TNsailorman;5710988] proceeded to dig up the nest. That thing was 4 layers deep (about 18 inches into the ground) and each layer must have been 14 to 16 inches in diameter. It was a small cavern. /QUOTE]

There's some videos on youtube with guys pouring ground nesting wasp and fire ant nests with molden Aluminum.
Then they dig them up, wash 'em off and make artwork & lamp bases out of them.

They look pretty cool....... Although it's a rather traumatic experience for the wasps & ants.

[Jtarm]

I hope to try wasp hunting this year. We get a lot of them.

My PCP gun is very accurate (3/8" @25 yards). Will start at 25 yards and use jelly for bait.
I am too frugal to use primers to shoot bees/wasps, and too lazy to load bee buster ammo. $6/500 pellets make for a cheap "backyard safari"

PCP gun?

Does that make ‘em go crazy & kill each other?

[35 Rem]

My father and I came up with a great and exciting way to battle yellow jackets. We had a kerosene powered flame thrower for burning brush piles on the farm and one day it occurred to us that it could be a great weapon if we could find a way to group the bugs close enough before unleashing it on them. Darkness was the obvious answer. So we waited until about 10:30pm and went back to where the nest was with flame thrower in hand along with a shovel. He fired up the flame and put it right over the hole while I pushed the shovel down beside where we figured the nest to extend to. When I leaned the shovel over and lifted the dirt, holy mad bee Batman!!!! Yellow Jackets were pouring out straight at us but most of them were on fire and the others decided that they wanted no part of this fight. I flipped the dirt all the way over and he roasted the whole basketball size nest. We did this to at least 3 nests and they never came back in those locations. To do this of course you are going to need a very hot and large flame. This flame thrower didn't make a long flame but it got so hot that it was very uncomfortable to use in the Summer time.

On the flip side we had some kind of small black wasp looking stinging bug a few years back that nested in the ground. I had one of those sting me on the back of my hand a couple times while mowing and it cured my arthritis in that hand for a good while. :)

[Skipper]

Mama Murf said I looked deranged waving a 4" 44 magnum around on our back deck(she may be on to something now that I think about it).

Shades of Elmer Keith!

[kenton]

325438

[HWooldridge]

My father and I came up with a great and exciting way to battle yellow jackets. We had a kerosene powered flame thrower for burning brush piles on the farm and one day it occurred to us that it could be a great weapon if we could find a way to group the bugs close enough before unleashing it on them. Darkness was the obvious answer. So we waited until about 10:30pm and went back to where the nest was with flame thrower in hand along with a shovel. He fired up the flame and put it right over the hole while I pushed the shovel down beside where we figured the nest to extend to. When I leaned the shovel over and lifted the dirt, holy mad bee Batman!!!! Yellow Jackets were pouring out straight at us but most of them were on fire and the others decided that they wanted no part of this fight. I flipped the dirt all the way over and he roasted the whole basketball size nest. We did this to at least 3 nests and they never came back in those locations. To do this of course you are going to need a very hot and large flame. This flame thrower didn't make a long flame but it got so hot that it was very uncomfortable to use in the Summer time.

On the flip side we had some kind of small black wasp looking stinging bug a few years back that nested in the ground. I had one of those sting me on the back of my hand a couple times while mowing and it cured my arthritis in that hand for a good while. :)

Spot on with regard to darkness - most diurnal insects are blind at night.

We had a bunch of hornets build a huge nest in a stack of lumber when I was in high school. My grandfather noticed them flying in and out, so he decided to pull the pile apart and burn them with a pitch torch. 40 or 50 stings later, he quit and skedaddled for the house. My mother wanted to call an exterminator but I convinced her otherwise.

I waited until dark then parked the truck with the headlights turned on so there was no light attached to me. I made up a strong water spray with Chlorodane and Malathion insecticides then started spraying everything. I would pull off a board or two, exposing the nest, then wet it. The spray mix killed them within a minute so I would wait for no movement then keep going. Any that decided to fly went towards the headlights and nothing landed on me. Took about an hour to knock the whole thing to the ground and we estimated there were a couple thousand hornets in the nest, which extended along and between all of the boards. I learned from that experience and always kill nests after dark.

[TNsailorman]

That part about them returning to the nest after dark is spot on. That is the best time to do the little buggers in. Lot of good ideas here on how to do it and still have fun. I am listening, james

[Skipper]

I smoked my first carpenter bee yesterday afternoon with a load of grits and 1.5 grs of Bullseye. It hit the deck alive-sort of- and knowing their resiliency ans savage tenacity to life (LOL), I administered the heel stomp as a coup de grace. I'm afraid this is going to be addictive.
Mama Murf said I looked deranged waving a 4" 44 magnum around on our back deck(she may be on to something now that I think about it).
If you run out of grits, salt works pretty good.

[Winger Ed.]

If you run out of grits, salt works pretty good.

Kosher salt has bigger granules.
I found it hits harder than regular table salt in my bug-a-salt gun.

[poppy42]

How I envy you and others residing in great states/areas! In New York State, most places, one might last minutes even carrying out a revolver with cylinder open and by a pencil in barrel :) before you'd probably get arrested!!! For bugs of most all types, those cans of Black Flag Wasp Spray are about all we may safely employ.

Yes I imagine a lot has changed in 40 years since I left. Don’t think I’d get away with ghosting woodchucks off the back porch anymore. Like I did when I lived up near Ticonderoga. Heck for all I know they’re protected species up there now lol. Is it true the chipmunks are having a sexual identity crisis. Sorry couldn’t help it you have my condolences. Like I said I left 40 years ago and don’t regret not ever being back there.

[murf205]

I am using a 629 S&W and although they are not prone to rust, I wonder if the salt residue would hurt the gun. After reading the suggestions, I found some walnut shell media that I was going to throw out. I guess hording has advantages....sometimes.

[steve urquell]

What is the process for the grits or walnut shell loads? Cereal box wads with the grits sandwiched between the layers? Also about how much media is a good load?

[dverna]

I have seen reports of folks using acini di pepe pasta or pastina for "shot".

[steve urquell]

I was reading thru the shot load threads and realized I had 10lbs of spent water filter media. It is 75/25 copper and zinc shavings, called KDF-85. Would probably shred anything hit with it.
325460

[TNsailorman]

Have you tried those in a pistol/revolver? Would not those tiny flakes plate the bore with copper and zinc. Not all that sure, just curious. james

[Nazgul]

Loaded a bunch of 45 Colt with rice. Used it for 10 years every summer. Loads of fun.

Loaded some 444Marlin cases with Red Dot and rice for the Pedersoli Howdah. Going to really go after those big wood bees.

Don

[Joby]

My bride thought my son and I were silly shooting carpenter bees and wasps with the 45 colt walnut shell loads until she tried it. Now I have to keep a good supply of walnut loads just for her.
Indeed we now get a chuckle of seeing her patrolling about the porch. Also has a good hit ratio.

We also make #10 and #12 shot rimfire loads with #4 gelatin capsules for slightly longer distance work. Just don’t get them wet.

[Uncle Grinch]

When the occasional carpenter bee buzzes my shop, I break out my badminton racket. It makes for great fun. Just stand still with your racket at “cocked & locked” and swing away.

Not sure why they come around. I don’t have any wood exposed anywhere.

[Joby]

And one day last summer I managed to get about 2 dozen carpenter bees with a 5 foot piece of furring strip just outside my hangar doors. A racket was too short. They were lying wounded all over.

[steve urquell]

Have you tried those in a pistol/revolver? Would not those tiny flakes plate the bore with copper and zinc. Not all that sure, just curious. james

I have not but would it be worse than lead shot?

[rbuck351]

For the underground yellow jackets, I use a weed eater over the hole and stomp the ground around the hole to get them to come out. I call it my whirling dervish. For around or inside the house, I use a bug-a-salt gun.

[steve urquell]

Loaded some .45LC 2.0gr of TiteWad with long grain rice between 2 cardboard wads. I chucked a .45ACP case in my drillpress, ran it with a file on the mouth at angle to sharpen it and cut the wads with it spinning. Drilled the primer out and pushed the wads out from the back.

Shooting out of my ADC .45/.410. Blows them away like Dirty Harry. How about a new caliber name?
.45 Long Grain

Here's a couple vids of me hunting lol.

325472
325473

https://youtube.com/shorts/dKzC7qiK5lc?feature=shared
https://youtube.com/shorts/AAhpTP48dF4?feature=shared

[murf205]

What is the process for the grits or walnut shell loads? Cereal box wads with the grits sandwiched between the layers? Also about how much media is a good load?

I drilled my 44 brass primer pockets with a 1/8" drill bit and seated a std primer. Then weighed 1.5 gr of Bullseye and loaded it, then took a Lee powder scoop and filled the case with grits, walnut shells or what ever directly on top of the powder charge. Then, like Steve showed in his post, I sharpened a 44 case with a chamfer tool and used a hammer to pound out some milk carton wads with a piece of scrap carpet to pound on. Next take a ball point pen, pencil, small wooden dowel and seat the wad just below flush in the whole concoction and apply a roll crimp. Easy to do. Good luck

[steve urquell]

I drilled my 44 brass primer pockets with a 1/8" drill bit and seated a std primer. Then weighed 1.5 gr of Bullseye and loaded it, then took a Lee powder scoop and filled the case with grits, walnut shells or what ever directly on top of the powder charge. Then, like Steve showed in his post, I sharpened a 44 case with a chamfer tool and used a hammer to pound out some milk carton wads with a piece of scrap carpet to pound on. Next take a ball point pen, pencil, small wooden dowel and seat the wad just below flush in the whole concoction and apply a roll crimp. Easy to do. Good luck

The "Steve" you are referring to is me lol. I went thru the forum on here after posting my question for shot loads and got a little direction. I did a wad on the powder and another on top. I will try no wad on the bottom next time. Thanks. This is fun stuff.

[wilecoyote]

When the occasional carpenter bee buzzes my shop, I break out my badminton racket. It makes for great fun. Just stand still with your racket at “cocked & locked” and swing away.

Not sure why they come around. I don’t have any wood exposed anywhere.

chinese sells everywhere a sort of cheap electrified tennis racket, just engineered to fry anything flies.
beautiful ZOT sound, btw :smile:

[gwpercle]

You need to get it mounted ...
A nice shoulder mount would look good on the wall ...
But you have to stop with the "Heel Stomp" ...
That drives the Taxidermists insane ... all the extra work !
Gary

[murf205]

You need to get it mounted ...
A nice shoulder mount would look good on the wall ...
But you have to stop with the "Heel Stomp" ...
That drives the Taxidermists insane ... all the extra work !
Gary

He was wiggling just a bit, so I put him out of OUR misery. After a couple of these flying insects put me into anaphylatic shock, I find it really hard to have a shred of compassion for them. Hard to believe that only 2 little critters this small can kill you....but they can.