Birdshot for a revolver?

mcneely77

Jist drinked me sum irsh choco late mulk, Guiness, want to no how make ever 3rd bottle tracer round sos I can c if i kin hit the mulk house frim my beck poch.Seriously,Maybe this was discussed before I joined this fraternity of outstanding, computer literate, gun nuts, but has anybody ever heard of shooting birdshot through a revolver? Does it hurt the barrel? I am going turkey hunting in three weeks, and a buddy of mine told me about magsafe or something like it.

wundudnee

Years ago a friend of mine's dad used shot shells in a .44 cal star revolver to hunt rabbits. People that didn't know what he was doing thought he was a super shot.I have no idea about damage but I suspect not. I've used them to shoot birds out of barns with a .22 rifle with no apparent ill effects.

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offeror

I have some CCI shot shells for my .44 Special Bulldog Pug, but the box fails to mention velocity and the shot, being in a plastic cap on the end of the round, probably has a very wide pattern and a very short range -- in fact, I have often heard this load referred to as snakeshot. The shot are too small for turkey in any case.As for Magsafe and Glaser Safety Slugs, they are high velocity semi-frangible loads designed for self defense, meaning that they do have a greater reach and more penetration, but they do not break up until after penetration has occurred. They are designed to debilitate someone, be very painful inside the body, and stop a fight quick. The shot tends to spread throughout the body, sometimes very long distances from the point of entry (even down the arms and legs to fingertips or ankles and such). That means you would have to be accurate enough to hit your bird with a bullet, in the first place, because the round will not spread in the air. Secondly, you may find fragments throughout the meat. I frankly do not know how suitable MagSafe or Glaser are for birds, but I have never seen them recommended for that use by the manufacturers or by any review I have read. And again, the fragments are smaller than usually recommended for a turkey or pheasant round. I'd suggest sticking with a shotgun, frankly, and some #5 or #6 shotshells. I certainly do not have the last word on the subject, but I wouldn't do this myself without a lot of evidence from those in the know that it would work, and be humane -- which I do not have. [This message has been edited by offeror (edited 04-10-2002).]

mcneely77

Thanks guys,I was just reading the hunting guide, and here in Michigan we have to use #4 or smaller. It doesn't say anything about using a handgun, just that it has to be shotshell, #4 or smaller, or bow and arrow. Time to dust off the 12 guage. I am going to look into some of those rounds though. I would like to see what the shot patterns are and at what distances. For future use.

Iconoclast

I've loaded a bunch of homegrown shotshells in various handgun calibers (wheelguns only) over the years. I have some wad cutting tools I picked up from an estate in several diameters and have used gas checks for over-powder and over-shot wads. You need to do a little more cleaning because the shot is softer than the typical lead projectile - to say nothing of a jacketed bullet - but they do a nice job on assorted pests.

S&W Man

I load "snakeshot" for my 38 and 357. Never had any problems, but like others said, the softer lead shot requires some extra cleaning. Amazing what those things will do to a rattlesnake in the swamp at 10 yards.

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