Winchester 22 – Is It Any Good For Use In Pest Control?
If you’re looking for a suitable cartridge for keeping those critters around your home under control, then you’ll likely have given the once over to Winchester 22. It’s a tricky subject, as there are many different types of pests, so it’s obvious you can’t use the same round on a fox and expect it to have the same effect on a rabbit.
In most cases, when dealing with smaller pests like rodents, you will probably be able to get away with using an air rifle. However, that’s not what we’re asking in this blog – rather we need to see if the 22 calibre round is a good substitute.
Winchester 22 Ammo Rimfire
The short answer to the question is yes, but we can’t simply provide that answer without any kind of explanation – so let’s try and do that. 22 calibre rimfire rounds are ideal for this kind of purpose, with a range of different loads offered by different companies.
For instance, conical ball and bullet breach 22 rounds are single-shot cartridges that are ideal for taking down rats and mice, with a very small effective range of around 30 metres. After that, the accuracy does suffer. If this is an issue for you, then .22 shorts are your best option, with reduced velocity loads being good for errant squirrels.
Rabbits and Larger Prey
When taking down rabbits and larger prey, a great, versatile option is Winchester 22 with subsonic loads. In this particular scenario, a hollow point will guarantee a good rate of expansion for a clean and humane kill, although you should really go for shots to the head to make it nice, quick and as painless as it can be for the animal.
Going After Foxes
Anyone who’s ever kept chickens will know what a pain foxes can be and the damage that they can cause. A 22 cartridge shot from a rifle will typically be lethal at short range when going for a headshot, partly because of the high velocity. Go further out, however, up to around 50 yards from the prey and you’re going to struggle to kill humanely.
The Ideal Round to Ensure Suffering Is Minimised
To sum up, we have to say that Winchester 22 is a good choice for anyone wanting an effective way to deal with animal problems that doesn’t cause unnecessary suffering. Even the most ardent of hunting fans wouldn’t want an animal to suffer, so making sure that you get a quick and painless kill is something that most of us would desire.
So, the advice we’re giving here should come with a caveat or two. Sure, it’s a good round for this kind of purpose, although that’s only when it’s in the hands of a responsible rifle owner. What we mean by that is you should do what you can to ensure your kills are humane and not drawn out.
Always aim for the head and even if you think your shooting skills make you sniper material, try to limit your shots to when the varmints are within 50 yards. If you don’t, then the likelihood of injuring the animal and it dying unnecessarily slowly goes up a great deal.
