Carpenter Bees?

[OBXPilgrim]

Well, a little off topic - not exactly a CB load.

I read someones' instuctions about making shot loads for 44 Mag & I remember seeing an old friend years ago make shot loads for 45 ACP using the RCBS form dies, #12 shot, a .311 ball, & 410 shotshells. I decided I needed something with a little 'reach' for killing carpenter bees around the house. I did not want to blow holes in my gutters or do any other damage or even give the neighbors any reason to complain. To be easy to load, I thought I'd stick with using my S&W 625 Revolver (Model of 1989 4")

At first, I thought I'd get by with using a 45 acp case, drill out the primer hole to keep the primer from backing out, seat a styrofoam "wad" against the bottom of the inside of the case, fill the case with bird SEED, seat a styrofoam wad on top & go hunting.

My tests showed the bird seed would cut paper at 10 feet, but the pattern went wild. Seed was too light and too large in diameter - not enough of it. Then, I thought about the walnut hull media I use for tumbling brass cases. What I use, thanks to someone here for the tip, is Walnut Litter for bird cages. It's crushed walnut hulls, a little smaller diameter than I usually used, but works great for cleaning brass even though it isn't treated with a media polish coating. That worked much better, but still didn't give me the volume of hits I wanted on the target (It did work on some bees that got too close during testing though).

I kept looking at the 45 acp shells sitting in the cylinder and all the unused space between the top of the case and the end of the cylinder - looked like it was only 1/2 full (or empty for you pessimists).

Well, .45 acp is about the same as .30-06/.308/.243/.270 on the case head. Grabbed a couple old military .30-06 cases and after measuring the cylinder length again, cut them off at 1.610-1.650" with a tubing cutter. After flaring the mouths of the brass back out straight, I trimmed them to 1.600" (the length of my cylinder). Looking through my loading manuals, it looked like the .44 mag case OD was about the size of my chamber throats in the 625 cylinder, so I ran the '06 brass into the 44 mag sizer die just enough to get the OD of the brass at the case headspace step in the cylinder to drop in. It kind of looks like an oversize 44-40 without a rim.

Next step was to drill out the primer hole to stop the primer set-back.

The styrofoam wads I used were from the packing plate the you buy steaks on from the grocery store. The styrofoam that the t-bone steaks & ny strips comes on works best I cut the wads using a 45-70 case that was sharpened on the edge and a couple teeth filed into it. Turning it backwards from my intended cutting style works much better.

Packing a wad into the bottom of the case , a full case of walnut 'litter' and a wad on top, worked ok, and was very quiet, but wouldn't even break surface of the paper at 15 feet. I tried 1.0 gr of W231, and it got it back into the killing power range.

I've dusted about 4 of the little jokers so far, and it won't hurt the gutters or any of the woodwork.

Can't tell of any damage to the rifling in the barrel, but I'd be sure to use the UNTREATED walnut hulls/media. Also, I haven't tried any more powder than 1.0gr of W231 because of two things - the drilled out primer holes & the roughly formed step to clear the chamber edges in the cylinders. I guess if you had an old Colt 1917, you'd be home free - they were straight cut cylinders with no headspace shoulder in the cylinder - Smiths did - you can use 45 acp without the star clip with a Smith.

Hope that helps someone - have fun - happy hunting - keep out the 'wood-cutting-bees' from you house.

[Ricochet]

That's a smart idea for making .45 shot shells!

Lots of 7.62 NATO brass gets left on the range where I shoot. Good starting material for those.

[quasi]

7.62 nato cases make great free 460 Rowland/45-08 cases. Lots of work though!

[PatMarlin]

Whoa-

This is a subject close to my heart. We bought a fixer upper last year, and this is the first time I have ever seen carpenter bees.

They are some dustructive little devils. They bored through beam to beam, and rafter end through stud end and made swiss cheese out of a shed up there.

Now they're into the side fascia rafter on the house..

[beagle]

Sounds good. Have to try that. I have a good population in the barn and that sounds like "sport" to me./beagle

[Wicky]

OBXPilgrim-magic idea - I have a couple of hundred spare 308 cases so a couple can be sacrificed to give this a try. A good job for today instead of moving furniture!!

Thanks for the ideas.

[BCB]

Yep, I have them at my shooting bench and they have holes all through the roof joist. I have shot them with #12 shot, but you must be VERY careful not to shoot holes in the roof that covers my shooting bench! I had to wait for them to be at an angle so the shot went past the roof—very tricky! Now I will try the walnut media. I made a Styrofoam cutter (I am using styrofoam picnic plates) from a 7mm Remington Magnum case. Cut it off, annealed the end, sized it in a 45 LC die, neck expanded, and then used and RCBS case mouth chamfer tool and sharpened it. I also drilled-out the primer pocket with a 1/4" bit so I could punch the styrofoam disks out. Works great. I will load a few up later and head to the bench tomorrow. It does seem sort of like a sport!...BCB

[Lead melter]

I started making these years ago to shoot grasshoppers and such. To me, my method seems a little easier.

Drill the flash hole of one case large enough to accept a #6 mail [point dulled].

Chamfer the case mouth to a sharp edge as it will be made into a "cookie cutter".

Use the cookie cutter to stamp out cardboard wads. You will need at least 2 wads per cartridge.

Resize and prime any straight walled pistol cartridge, add powder, [I use 6 grains Win 231 in 44 mag, 41 mag, or 45 Colt], insert a cardboard wad atop the powder with a pencil, making sure to seat the wad against the powder.

Add #9 shot to about 1/8" from the case mouth, then seat another wad atop the powder.

Crimp with a standard roll crimp die and add wax as a sealer if you desire.

I have never made these for 38/357 so I can't say what the powder charge would be.

These work wonders on rats, snakes, insects, and so forth. The drawback is the soft lead shot will REALLY lead up a barrel, so be sure to give it an extensive cleaning after a cylinder full.

[Mumblypeg]

I used to make shot shells for 45acp like that too, then along came Speer shot shells...
About those bees. It's a rite of spring around here but I use a BB gun, Red Rider to be exact, BB's are alot cheaper than primers. I shoot them out of the air. They just can't stand a shot to the head. takes the meaness out of em. The first time I told my wife what I was going to do she said "Yea, right". I showed her, wacked one one of them suckers on the fly. Well then you know she had to try it too so once she figgered it out the competition was on. Then some friends came over... well you know the rest of the story, it really caught on. It'll make you a better shot and you'll learn to watch your shots so as not to hit the windows, cars,dogs and other things you don't want holes or dents in. The dog even gets in on it, she gets the ones close to the ground although she doesn't use a BB gun. Lots of fun but now I'm wondering if we should kill them. We might need them to pollenate the crops with what's going on with the honey bees. Oh well... they are pretty tough critters, they will bore into treated lumber and the heart of red ceader. Termites won't mess with that stuff.

[Dark Helmet]

All that is too easy, just swat them down to the ground with the palm of your hand and stomp'em before they can fly away!

[Baron von Trollwhack]

This has got me inspired to take action against the bee menace threatening to to chew my casting palace to a pile of .358 holes. I'm loading up my equalizer with GRITS! will report soon. BvT

[Scrounger]

I wonder if dried coffee grounds would work instead of shot?

[madcaster]

An old tennis raquet works wonders,but not so "scientifically" and CB related correct-which is MUCH more important than being politically correct!

[encoreman]

It is so nice to know that there are "rednecks" all around the globe. We have had a chimney sweep problem at work and I ran across an old box of 22 bird shot. Took my trusty Hi-Standard revolver and shot 2 on the fly. Had to be careful not to shoot out the lights. Now I can claim to be a paid hunter, cause I did it on the job. LOL Mac

[DLCTEX]

To keep birds from nesting in unwanted places I just hang up a stuffed toy, we have a raccon one, and after a few trips the birds decide that the place is unsafe. DALE

[kjg]

I too hate them things what i did was useing .38 bras not drilling out flash holes,but 1/2 grain bullseye a card wad punched out of a cereal box and #12 shot and another cereal box wad and slight crimp, it raised hell on them at real close range, another method I've found what really helps in my shooting ability is my daughters red ryder, after a whole tube of bb's my daughter and I can wak'em, for every one we take we miss 30x, great father and daughter team sport hehehehe, hey she's only 8. kjg

[Morgan Astorbilt]

I use a badminton racket. They're lighter and faster than a tennis racket. My tractor shed's beams, rafters and purlins are pockmarked with those darn 3/8" holes, and my equipment covered in sawdust. I'm waiting for something to fall down.
Morgan

[sav300]

What in hell is a bloody carpenter bees???
Pictures please.
Lionel

[Mumblypeg]

Well mate, I'm not a entomologist but a carpenter bee is like a Bumble Bee(hope you know what that is?), black and yellow, about the size of your first joint on your index finger. He bores in to wood to lay eggs. In doing so they will start at the surface, go in about half to three quarters of an inch turn 90 degrees and follow the grain of the wood then travel another 6 to 12 inches and lay eggs. Now this hole that he made is about 3/8 of an inch in diameter, so you can understand what that does to the structual integrity of your board, shovel handel,post or house. And when they start sometimes there many of these holes all over your building. All that boring also leaves little piles of sawdust everywhere. They will just eat your house up. And that is why we wack em and stack em!

[Mumblypeg]

Oh, sorry I don't have a picture right now but someone will get you one.