wadcutters for pesting

wadcutters and crow magnums are all i use when pesting in the barns. i found any type of domed pellet will pass thru rats and small birds at close range with 12 fpe.

I’m down with it. Like being smacked with a hammer vs a sharpened stick. They may not go out the other side but it’s life force is sent flying.

I recently bought some 'Clear Ballistics' reusable ballistics gel to conduct pellet and slug testing for various loads and situations. The main thing I did as opposed to most people was to match the ballistics gels block weight to to pest I intended to shoot and placed it down range. If you use a full or heavier block you will get unrealistic mushrooming and less penetration. One test I did was shooting a block that weighed the same as a starling and shot it with my .22 caliber Leshiy with 13 fpe with the Hades and RWS wadcutters. The Hades zipped right through while the RWS starting out with the flat head stayed within the gel. As mentioned for inside barns where you do not want to put wholes in the roof the lighter the pellet and flatter the nose as in the wadcutter is the way to go. I went out today and took out half a dozen sparrows, three starling and two pigeon with that combination. By the way I am catching my pellets in a wood box filled with fine ground walnut like you use for polishing rifle brass. Shooting into it has very little impact on the pellet or slug. Bill

Have shot the soft lead RWS HOBBY wadcutters for years doing such ... Flying Frying pans they are !!

Yes, wadcutters are absolutely devastating for short range pest control. Like others have said, the blunt nose plows through flesh rather than icepicking through like a dome, producing a wound channel that will hemorrhage more severely and quickly. That's the mechanism by which it dumps more of its energy. A shot that is slightly off the mark is therefore more forgiving.

The energy level you describe is more than plenty for any kind of small pests and game like squirrels (gray or fox) or pigeons at any distance you could reasonably anticipate shooting...meaning accuracy will fall apart before it loses enough energy to become ineffective.

There's a recent thread here dealing with knockdown power in which I posted this demonstration taking a gray squirrel at 31 yards with a wadcutter at 8fpe muzzle, 4.6fpe terminal energy. No doubt this is at the low end of the spectrum so it wouldn't be a good idea for common field conditions, but shows how devastating it can be when the placement is good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMC04JPmWns

I used to shoot squirrels with wadcutters before I got into PCPs.

.177 springers tuned to about 14FPE.

Out to 20 yards they just anchored them with heart shots.



Beyond that distance, they weren't very accurate for me.

You'll want to do some accuracy testing to determine what your max range is with the wadcutters.

I think you'll like them

Good luck!

Matt

As a farmer with four barns to take care of, pesting with an airgun is a very good solution. The barns ( 2 x tobacco; one feed; and, one mule/horse) are all oak with good quality tin roofs. I do not like to puncture the tin - and have found that a 12fpe (or less) air rifle or pistol and wadcutters to be a fine combo. My pellets of choice are RWS SuperMags which weigh in at 9+ grains in .177. In fact, they are my go to pellet for new gun testing at 25yds to get a rough zero. Co2 guns really like them and are generally my choice in warm weather. They dump energy and don't overpenetrate.

As Matt said, the flat meplat does reduce effective range. However, I have found the SuperMags ( presumably because of their weight) to be accurate out to 40 yds in some platforms. You might want to include them in your testing regime. The .22s are also heavy for caliber and perform the same.

x2 on the Supermags. May be some luck involved but I got a batch that shoots great in several rifles ranging anywhere from 6fpe - 16fpe. In my LW-barreled QB79 HPA, they flirt with MoA at 30 yards. Last squirrel outing, they made perfect brain shots at 35, 22, and 38 yards. Same pellet in the short clip posted above using a different rifle. Definitely recommend giving them a try.

Thanks for asking this question and thanks for the replies. I’m new to this hobby. I’m shooting rats in my yards. Using the Benjamin Prod. And H&N FFT. I have to be very aware of what is behind my target. (Neighbors). The average distance is 20 yards. Just this last week I’ve had two rats that should have been hit. Run off. My guess is the were body shot. And not head shot. I will eventually order some JSB Hades but I know I can pick up RWS pellets locally. I’m going to go see if I can find some of their wad cutters. 
Thank for all the info.

In the past I’ve used RWS Supermag in .177 from a RWS 34 P. Probably around 12fpe. All except one were headshots. All except one DRT. The one heart lung shot went about 15yds before expiring. That Supermag hits them like the hammer of Thor. My 34 didn’t like the Meisterkugeln. 

The 34 does like the H&N Hunter Extreem but have not yet tried them on critters. They are about the same weight as the Supermag. Could be worth a try.

I’ve since switched to a Talon SS in .22 and using Polymag shorts at about 23 fpe. They tend to expand to about a .28 average for the ones i’ve checked and usually stay in the critter.

I get exactly the same post impact reaction from the rats I shoot, all head shots at 10-25yds shooting with Umarex 7.4gram Mostquito flat heads from my sub 12 LGU .177 springer.

Ive used the same pellets inside barns on rats and doves without damage to the roof, the flat head target style pellet remaining inside the target.

yep. used to use them all the time in my old benji 392. worked great inside of 30 yards for pest birds, chipmunks and squirrels.

Wad cutters are great for lower power guns at shorter ranges.at distance and speed they are rubbish.

try putting pellets backwards in you gun, out to 25 yards they are more accurate than you might think. I use them often for close range pest control within buildings.



Bb

I do most of my backyard pesting (sparrows, chipmunks grackles and starlings) with a scoped FWB 300SU and wadcutters for all the reasons above plus one - I tie fishing flies. Like the wadcutters because they dump most if not all of their energy on target and don't make a major mess and ruin the feathers. I can keep 1/3" groups out to 20-25 yards so if I catch one sitting still headshots aren't a problem.