Purpose, Range, and Safety
The main intent of these shotshells, be they rimfire or centerfire, is pest control. In certain circumstances, that can overlap with personal defense, but that largely refers to defending oneself from the occasional venomous snake or aggressive varmint. The limiting factor, especially with rimfire shot, is always accurate and effective range.
Gone is the traditional wad found in a shotshell holding the shot string together. There is no choke at the muzzle to constrict or otherwise control the pattern. Rather, these loads are meant to spread quickly, do their work at close ranges, and dissipate equally as rapidly so as to mitigate damage to surroundings.
Some common uses might see shots around bird feeders, barns, gardens, and other areas where the shooter needs to eradicate pests or threats while protecting their environment from undue damage.
Rimfire Offerings
Rimfire shotshells are fairly affordable, low-recoiling, and readily available. The rimfire selections usually sell in 20-count boxes, though some are sold by either 50-round boxes or even 500-round bricks.
- CCI .22 LR: #12 shot; 31 grains; 1,000 FPS
- Federal Small Game .22 LR Birdshot: #12 shot; 25 grains; 1,000 FPS
- Winchester Super X .22 LR Pest Control: #12 shot; 25 grains
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CCI .22 WMR: #12 shot; 52 grains; 1,000 FPS
Centerfire Offerings
The array of centerfire shotshell offerings includes what are most often handgun rounds but work equally well or better in long guns. The list of chamberings includes: .38 Special/.357 Magnum, .44 Special/Magnum, .45 Colt, 9mm, .40 S&W, .45 Auto, and new for 2024, 10mm Auto.
Some rounds use a plastic capsule that contains the shot, while others are more of crimped brass casing design. It’s worth noting that CCI has also shown a special run of Hevi Bismuth handgun shotshells. Though we’ve yet to see or try these, the properties of non-toxic bismuth are appealing.
Though a handful of other companies have worked in this space over the years, including Doubletap with some interesting bigger bore loads, CCI currently has the clear corner on the market with the only such loads we available at the time of this writing. These rounds typically sell in 10-round boxes.
- CCI .38 Special/.357 Magnum: #9 shot; 100 grains
- CCI Big 4 Shotshell .357 Mag: #4 Shot; 84 grains
- CCI 9mm: #12 shot; 53 grains
- CCI Big 4 9mm: #4 shot; 45 grains
- CCI .45 Colt: #9 shot; 150 grains
- CCI 10mm: #9 shot; 105 grains
A quick glance at these centerfire selections shows loads, not surprisingly, with considerably more potency than the rimfire cousins. Upgrading to CCI’s “Big 4” rounds packed with #4 shot is as serious as these loads get, though of course the pellet count is lower to accommodate the larger size.
Special Considerations
For the most part, rimfire and handgun shotshells are not built for specific firearms, and unless stated otherwise by the manufacturer, are safe to use in most weapons. It’s worth noting that such shotshells are more commonly used in revolvers where feed reliability isn’t a concern.
Semi-automatic pistol shooters are far more likely to encounter cycling issues. We’ve found some such guns and loads will run normally, but many will need to be manually cycled. The same can occur with semi-automatic rimfires. It’s not the end of the world but something of which to be mindful.
Rifled barrels are notorious for scattering shot like mad, not a surprise, as that’s not the purpose of their design. Special care should be taken to clean the barrel well after firing, especially when using shells with the plastic sheathing.
Specialty shotshells are not cheap, but frugal – and patient – reloaders can roll their own with some combination of gas checks, roll crimps, homemade stoppers, or pre-manufactured shot capsules.
Firearms for Specialty Shotshells
One current production rifle stands alone in any discussion on rimfire shotshells. We recently spent some time with the Henry Repeating Arms Garden Gun, a rimfire lever gun purpose-built for shot. The Garden Gun is not your run-of-the-mill .22 LR, but rather, a smoothbore rimfire long gun. In fact, Henry has actually stamped the barrel “.22LR smooth bore for use with .22LR shotshells only.”
The lever-driven Garden Gun wears an 18.5-inch smoothbore barrel, meaning no rifling to stabilizing a bullet, but making it ideal for shotshells. On the range, we found effectiveness to beyond 25 yards, depending on the target, with an ideal range of 15 yards for maximum success. A number of other manufacturers have produced smoothbores over the years, including Remington, Stevens, and Savage.
While any number of rimfires can be used for LR and WMR shotshells, the same can be said for their centerfire kin. In the handgun world, Bond Arms double-barreled snubbies and other derringers are commonly loaded with snake shot and carried in areas where venomous snakes roam.
A Practical Addition to Your Existing Firearm
As much as we’d encourage every gun owner to buy more guns, that’s not always practical or feasible. Some folks don’t have or often need a shotgun. In those cases, adding these uncommon shotshells expands the capabilities of what you already own.
Still others will opt to buy a gun like Henry’s Garden Gun or a Bond Arms derringer with the sole purpose of firing shotshells. The key, regardless of your ammunition selection, or firearm platform, is practice. Fire those shotshells at different distances, starting inside of 10 yards, and learn how it patterns. Know your ethical, effective range, which may be 7 yards, 25 yards, or somewhere in between.
Conclusion
As the saying goes: use the right tool for the job. Sure, an actual shotgun in .410 bore or 20 gauge may better manage the task at hand, but the collateral damage may be less than ideal. That’s where these uncommon shotshells shine, some of them putting out hundreds of pellets.
Birds, rodents, reptilians, vermin, and nuisances beware. Though uses and ranges for rimfire and handgun shotshells may be limited, when they are needed, not much else will do.
