16ga.com ~ View topic - No. 2 buckshot and beaver control/ load ideas?

I picked up a 5lb box of Hornady no. 2 buckshot(.270dia.) and I am going to try to work up a suitable load for summer beaver control. Haven't done ANY homework yet, but am thinking of starting with Fed. purple hull and maybe bluedot powder.

Anybody have any experience along these lines?

Rooster

Don't do it.

Shotguns are terrible for beaver, unless they're out of the water and close. If they're in the water, you're going to wound or cripple more than you're going to kill.

A .22 Mag and a head shot would be much, much better.

Finding a local trapper would be the absolute best option.

Member Joined: 09 Jun 2005 Posts: 885 Location: Wisconsin

Agree with Hunter&Hound. When I shot them on damage complaints I used a .22 rf HP rifle, never had any escape. Preferred to shoot them in the head on shore, that way I didn't have to wade to retrieve. By the way they are good eating, roasted for adults, Webber grill for small ones.

Member Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 451 Location: La-Tx

I've killed dozens of beaver with a shotgun. I would recommend #2 lead bird shot not buckshot. But a .22 does work much better if you can shoot one in the area safely or even legally.

As usual I didn't make myself to clear on my first post and was a little brief.

I have trapped beaver for a number of years and have shot many. I agree that headshots with a .22 or .22 mag work well, however, not what I am looking for.

I am on a lease of about 9000 acres of river bottom land with about 150 to 175 culverts. Beaver are giving us fits and keeping a lot of timber flooded, both plugged culverts and little dams on creeks and sloughs.

We have 4 or 5 guys trapping as their work schedule allows and we can't keep up. I plan to use the buckshot loads at relative close range just at dusk or later when the little critters come out to replug the culverts or repair the dams. I'm not worried about the legalities of shot size but I don't want to use a light. Just put a pattern in the front of the wake as they swim up.

I have a supply of no2 buckshot and would like to work up a load of these for my sxs 16. 17 pellets of this Hornady weigh up to 1 1/8oz. I thought somebody might have had some experience with no2 buck and the 16bore.

Thanks,
Rooster

Joined: 23 Jan 2008 Posts: 224

#2 buck is not your best choice of buckshot for the 16 gauge. It stacks 3x3 in a 20 ga shell. You are going to have to use a 3x3 stack in the 16 shell as well...but they will be loose in the shell. In most cases, this means you patterns will not be great.

You are going to need to use either 15 pellets or 18 pellets to make your stacks come out right. Don't try and dump the pellets in loose...there isn't enough volume for that.

My first thought is that a Remington Hull with an SP-16 wad would work great. The pellets should stack 3x3 nicely inside that wad, and the smaller volume due to petal thickness should hold your pellets closer together. (This is a guess, and needs to be verified.)

You might also try the new Claybuster WAA16 wad to hold your stacks of pellets.

You might run into a shell volume problem. 18 pellets might not fit. It will depend on your powder choice and wad.

Bluedot is a good powder choice, as is Longshot. The bluedot may be too volumous for the shell, and you may have to use longshot. You will have to see what component/powder combination works best.

Start by using an existing recipe from either Hodgdon's, Alliant, or the LPG for a lead equivalent weight for the amount of pellets that will fit. If 18 pellets ends up being an odd weight...choose a load with a weight that is higher than the #2 buck weight. DO NOT use a Ballistic Products load to try this. Their loads are not right for even what they have published.

If you use a load from the powder manufactures website and sub an equivalent weight amount of buckshot for leadshot you will be doing ok.

Try the 1 1/4 oz load Alliant has listed for the 16 ga using bluedot with 18 pellets (weigh your pellets first to make sure it is 1 1/4oz or less). If the buckshot fits, you should be in business.

Just remember that without buffer, your buckshot will spread much more. With buffer, you have no idea what pressures are doing.

Hope that helps.

A better choice for the job would be lead T-shot or even BB...but since you have #2 buck...use what you have.

Thanks, Bowbuilder. I have an ample supply of RGLs and sp16 wads.

This particular shot weighs just under 1 1/4oz for 18 pellets. I will look at both longshot and bluedot and see what shakes out.

Thanks again

rooster

Joined: 23 Jan 2008 Posts: 224

Rooster,

The 1 1/4 oz load on the alliant website is for a Federal hull and the SP16 wad with bluedot. That should be a good combination.

I'm pretty sure that poor hygiene and lack of a job are all you need for beaver control.

Sorry, couldn't resist. Laughing

Member Joined: 08 Nov 2005 Posts: 3438 Location: Illinois

UDF-You are right on the job thing and please stand corrected they are"lot lizards"now Shocked

Rooster -Buckshot needs to be staggered in the wad--stay away from buffer--Would like to hear your results but my bet is you will end with a .22 rifle to eliminate your problem-A quiet pop wil not notify the ones down the road while they are rebuilding--Trapping is out of the question-you are down to eradication--

UDF=====Thats beaver CONTROL, not PATROL!

Rooster

Member Joined: 06 Oct 2007 Posts: 2350 Location: West MI

[quote="Rooster"]I picked up a 5lb box of Hornady no. 2 buckshot(.270dia.) and I am going to try to work up a suitable load for summer beaver control. Haven't done ANY homework yet, but am thinking of starting with Fed. purple hull and maybe bluedot powder[/quote]

Rooster, on page #270 of the Lyman 4th edition they list 7 buckshot recipes for the Fed hull, 1 using Bluedot in the 1250fps 7800psi range.

All the recipes are designed to use 12 pellets of #1 which would equal around 1.13oz. Since 15 #2's should equal around 1.2oz, 14=1.12oz, 13=1.04oz and 12=.96oz maybe load up some using the #1 recipes as a starting/reference point and have Tom A. test them for preasure. Are you shooting a modern gun? 7800psi leaves alot of headroom until you hit the ceiling.

Also while researching your homework I would think any recipe that includes the BPI MM16 wad would keep a swarm of buckshot nice and tight out at the point of impact. With this in mind I think your on your way to developing a nice Yote/varmit control load. Keep us posted this sounds like it could get interesting. Mike

Member Joined: 13 Feb 2007 Posts: 129 Location: Alabama

B&P has #3 lead loads on clearance right now....I'd say they'd be a might better than a pellet shy buck load?