9mm shotshells

[Ack]

I'm thinking about getting some shot shells for my M&P 9mm for critter control around the house. I've never used shotshells before and hoped you guys could answer some questions for me.

Are they bad for my gun?

Are they powerful enough to cycle the action on my M&P 9mm properly when shot?

Are there any certain types or brands of shotshell ammo that I should look for or stay away from?

What's the effective "danger zone" behind my target when shooting shotshells? Is it safe to shoot towards a highway that's 1000 feet or more behind my target with no backstop? Or course I'd never dream of doing this with real ammo, but I'm wondering if it's safe to assume the shotshells always stop before 1000 feet.

 

[initseven]

I recently did a little research on 9mm shotshells for reptile control. I can no longer find the link, but I found a comparison someone had done between the 9mm and the 38/357 shotshells. It came down to the 9mm having smaller shot and less of it. Because of that, the comparison questioned if the 9mm could do the job. I really didn't find anything that made me feel real good about the 9mm shotshells. I ended up going with the 38/357 shotshells. I hope that helps some.

 

[nobuttbrian]

i ave tried them in a m&p and they would not cycle correctly.they won't feed i guess because of the soft nose cone that holds the shot.I just went back to the 38 shot shell, however, the taurus judge does a much better job than anything else pistol wise.

 

[Shriner]

1.no-hard plastic non maring cup
2.no-may not feed in semiautos
3.CCI-better design
4.12 foot range for best shots-patten opens up -loses engery

 

[Soulman]

1.no-hard plastic non maring cup
2.no-may not feed in semiautos
3.CCI-better design
4.12 foot range for best shots-patten opens up -loses engery

Agreed.

I like the 44spl/44mag loads or the 38spl/357mag loads. In fact, I have a little S&W 49 Bodyguard snub that I load up with the 38spl/357mag CCI shot-shells when I go fishing or walking around where snakes might be possible.

 

[44minimum]

Are they bad for your gun? No, if you shoot a lot of them you might have some extra leading in the barrel to clean out that's about it.

They will cycle through some guns, some they won't. Just try it and see.

The only ones I've tried are CCI. They work fine.

For critter control? I think maybe snakes and rats are about all that I would want to shoot with one. And they are strictly for short range. Probably 10 to 12 feet would be the most. If a snake is 10 or more feet away it is no danger to you.

Those tiny shot pellets shouldn't pose a danger for very far. Certainly a little less than shotgun range.

 

[Shriner]

I just picked up some CCI 44 spl shotshells for snake control at the lake in my charter bulldog 2.5"

 

[Ack]

Thanks everyone. The only question I have left is what is the safe clear distance that I need behind my target when using these? I understand that the effective range is around 12 feet, but how far beyond that is it possible for a stray pellet to travel and hurt someone?

 

[44minimum]

Maybe you could get a big refrigerator box or a few large pieces of cardboard or poster board and set them up at 50 yards. Shoot at it a few times and see if there are any hits.

I'm not saying that I would do this but if I was standing 100 yards away and someone was shooting at me with a pistol and shot shells, I don't think I would be very scared. Maybe there are some ballistic experts here that can convince me that I should be.

 

[bigcountryok]

I'm not saying that I would do this but if I was standing 100 yards away and someone was shooting at me with a pistol and shot shells, I don't think I would be very scared. Maybe there are some ballistic experts here that can convince me that I should be.

That's where Murphy would kick in and one round would be a SD round.