Good morning all, in my second year trapping. Have used a 22LR for my first two seasons, I’m wondering if you have any recommendations for a better caliber to dispatch on my trapline. 17HMR, 22-250. Not a firearms expert so really hoping for some feedback from you fellas.

For stuff in traps a revolver with regular velocity long rifle 22 and solid 40 grain bullets is great. If your pistol is a semi or your using a rifle load 22 shorts. You can load them into the chamber like you would a single shot firearm if shorts wont cycle. That wont damage the firearm.

If want something to shoot out there aways a 22 hornet is a great fox gun. 22-250 works for bigger stuff

Thank you very much i appreciate the info! Have not considered a pistol but that seems like a great way. Lot easier to tote around.

I use a Heritage Rough Rider .22lr for all non-pole dispatches. Works awesome on coyotes, very quick. If you are set on something bigger maybe .22wmr but I feel it's a bit too much for most critters in a trap. It's ballistically like a .38 special.

I appreciate that! Going to do some research on 22 cal pistols!

Get yourself a cheap ol heritage rough rider 22 revolver.

If you're using it on your line it's going to get abused, no need to tie a lot of $$$ up in a gun that takes the beating a trap line will give over the years.

You cant go wrong with a ruger single six in 22 rimfire. Not cheap but you wont regret buying one. Single action so very safe. Safe to load six rounds. VERY durable firearm.

Ruger wrangler 22 is what I use. They make a super wrangler now, 22lr plus 22mag in 1 pistol

X2

i bought a heritage not long after they came out. 5 years of hard trapping it would keyhole bullets when I could get it to fire. Returned to the manufacturer and they repaired it. For fee. 60 bucks if I remember right. Ruger wont charge you. Heritage is cheap for a reason. Dont waste your money. My single six has had at least twice as many rounds through it. Still accurate. Never had a problem with it.

I have had this gun probably 20 years. You can see from the wear how much use its had. Don't waste money on a heritage.

1959 still kickin’

I'm using an old Cooey single shot with open sights, takes a beating and no scope to get banged around. I usually use CB Longs for everything from coon to wolf. If I could carry my little 22 Bersa Thunder I would. The CB Longs don't have the jam to operate the slide, but that'd be OK, single shots fine.

My handgun is a 22. I use it if I am a foot checking traps, less to carry. If I am on my Atv or in my pickup I use a .177 caliber pellet gun which works on everything I have used it on.

My heritage is not good enough for a dispatch firearm. The cylinder and bore of barrel are so out of line it loses to much energy driving the bullet through the barrel it won't consistently penetrate a heavy furred coyote for a chest shot and isn't accurate enough for a head shot. Hate that gun.

Heritage Rough Rider. You can get the WMR cylinder to swap out if you want, although I have both cylinders I only use LR for dispatch. Don't use shorts out of it though, it won't have enough powah. I have the version with fiber optic adjustable sights.

I use a ruger mark II I've had since I was a boy for trapped critters, have shot many snakes, rabbits, snow shoe hares, coons, ptarmigain, grouse, foxes with it that I chanced upon while trapping. While running a line by snowmachine, I also carry on a sling a AR 15 I made for snowmachining, it's light weight and works well in subzero temperatures.

This was dad's trapline gun, and the first gun I ever fired. It's an H&R 9 shot made around 1953. Dad always shot shorts in it, as do I.

CCI Stingers?

heritage rough rider .22. Mine has worked for 20 plus years.

I have used an old 22 cal. Arminius revolver for many years. I always use shorts for dispatch of coyotes and coon. No problem with coyotes at all. It has a 22 mag. cylinder also but I rarely use it. Don't think I have shot that many mag. shells thru this gun.





This gun has seen lots of the country and has been my partner for many years.

I am a Ruger wrangler , I used to use a colt new frontier clone

the Wrangler is a cheaper metal copy of the Ruger Single 6 that you see several of the guys here are using.

the wrangler is well made for a cheap gun coming from a well proven design.
I use CCI 40gr subsonic hollow points 1050 fps is what the box claims

I know they seem to work on both dispatches where about anything works , they also work on targets of opportunity I have been setting around barns and had the opportunity to shoot a few racoons that crawled out of places while I was looking around.

and since I am in and around buildings they make a little less pop I still bring my hearing protection when actively trapping buildings I run electronic so I can hear yet


the revolver is caried on my belt and then I keep the Ruger 10/22 in the truck, the ammo works equally well in both so one ammo for either I have some 25 round mags that I keep loaded so I don't have to fumble with little ones if I want the rifle in a hurry. if I want it there are probably multiple targets of opportunity

I have pulled into a farm to a pair of coons running across the yard , stop get out with rifle and take care of those. we don't have to case rifles so it just lays on the seat

I also seldom get exit with the hollow points

X2 on the Ruger Single Six with the LR and Magnum cylinders.

Ruger Wrangler is what my son uses, but not the big heavy full sized revolver. The shorter barrel and birds head grip makes it light and it's plenty accurate for dispatch.



Myself I use a semi-auto Beretta Minx in .22 short...

I used a Ruger 6 for years, now I carry a Taurus TX 22 its lighter and goes bang. I use the CCI segmented in the highest velocity coyotes to lions. Shot placement is everything!

the reason you have Heritage rough Ryder Lovers and Haters is that the quality control day to day , year to year covers every spectrum of the love and hate they get.

I have seen both ends of the spectrum very accurate and the barrel isn't even screwed on tight and when it is the sight is 5 degrees left they are cheap enough they aren't worth a gun smiths time to log them in let alone work on them.

the Wrangler gets into that a little more money gets a lot more QA

the single six is great if you have the coin , buy once and run it for a lifetime.

When I used to use a firearm for dispatch it was a .22 single shot bolt action.

CCI CB 22 shorts. Sub-sonic, pretty quiet, about like a pellet gun. One shot every time.

Dang
An essay every comment?
Some people have to take into account price as well. How many heritage can you get for the same price as Ruger single six

Got one of these recently.light and short.holds 8 and fits right in my pocket to where I eaven forget its there like a good pocket knife.no holster to hang up or dig into my side riding in the truck.no Interference with my hip boots or waders neither

Only drawback I have found is its ugly.but its a tool

.22 youth model stainless marlin single shot....45-70 stainless marlin when the bears are out....303 british carbine wolf medicine

I carry a Smith and Wesson .22 cal auto in a shoulder holster inside my coat. Very light, deadly accurate, holds 10 rounds, I carry 2 mags. Model is MP22.

Savage LIL Rascal single shot .22. Short, light weight, and very accurate. That little rifle has been underwater in the rat marsh, in the bottom of the canoe in water and sludge and on the 4 wheeler dispatching coyotes. Goes bang every time and they are relatively inexpensive. Been using it for many years.

160-180ish for a heritage

200-220 for a Wrangler

250-270 for a Super wrangler

620-640 for a Single six

.22 Crickett , recommended to me by Leftlane.

It makes me look rad, he says

Those short break barrel pistols don't fare well on dispatch in my experience.

Been carrying a S/W 422 for 40 years thin, not heavy rides nice in the truck runs like a dream never found anything better yet.

Heritage at Dunham for 119 with 22 mag cylinder. On sale as low as 109. Black Friday had them for 99 bucks

I second the Criket. More affordable and quieter than any pistol. And dare I say more accurate when dispatching trapped critters. I also use an HR exactly like dobbins’ that my Dad gave me. Have dropped it on the road checking bridges, cracked the wood grip. Have dropped it in the water. Take the cricket

There’s a reason the more expensive guns are still on the line but get what you can afford I bought a cheap German import years ago it fell apart and was not worth fixing that was a expensive lesson in cheap imported pistols. Would I pay $500 for a pistol to beat up heck no a couple hundred maybe.

I bought a Henry 001 for trapping I like the gun so much I leave it in the gun cabinet I don’t want to scratch it. LOL

The price on the taurus i posted is off there website.they can be had brand new for under 400

I found when I carried a rifle I set it down lean it against a tree , remake a set and get 20 yards out carrying stuff and was like got to go back for my rifle

pistol comes out of the holster , right back in the holster always there

6 rounds without reloading , reload every time I get back to the truck to be topped off I do carry a dozen rounds in a pocket but usually just reload at the truck

also in my state pistol stays loaded on belt in the truck , rifle must be unloaded every time it goes in the truck

I've heard this before but have not experienced it myself.

I wonder how many people ever practice with their dispatch guns to see just where they are hitting at a few feet away. I know on mine I need to use about 1/2 the front sight to hit right on the flat area I want it to. I've had others that you needed the whole sight in the back sight and some, just the very tip. Even 2-4' way it'll change. 1" too high or too low can change things a lot.

I left a ruger 10-22 in the woods over night one time leaned up against a tree lol.found it the next day running the line.bad part was I needed it way before I got to it.

That's some kinda cool Mr. Paul.

Heritage rough rider here. 10 years and still doing just fine. And my pocket piece is an American arms cx22. 8 shot 22lr semiauto. It's close to 30 years old.

I use a lcp2 by Ruger. .22LR, it’s just a bit bigger than my phone. Has a pocket clip like a pocket knife. Have mark 2 and 3 also but prefer the little one.

wws

Yep, used mine today and does a good job and I don't need an expensive pistol.

Depends on what's at hand. We have 2 ruger marks 2s, single 10 and h and r. Our H&R was a gift given to my oldest boy if mine i would toss it out. The cylinder lock up is not correct and it shaves lead off the bullet and it hits out the sides at the cylinder gap. I had to tighten up the barrel it would move left and right some. It shoots high left not point of aim. Only good for trap line distance and for something you dont care if you loose out of a boat.

Have used .22 rifles and .22 air guns as well. Not really particularly .

Put me in the camp of the Heritage RR haters. I had a couple over the years, they are very heavy, very slow to load, and feel like you're carrying a brick on your side. They shoot most all the time but they suck to carry and load.

I had an old Astra that I wish someone hadn't messed with the trigger because it was a perfect trap line gun if it were safe. It held 9 .22lr or shorts, light, and double action so the cylinder folded out for fast easy reloading.

This has been my trapline gun the last two seasons. A 1956 I frame Smith and Wesson 22/32 Kit gun. Very light and comfortable to pack. I keep it stoked with the CCI Quiet segmented rounds and use them primarily for dispatching coyotes. Most other animals I use my death ray catch pole. I haven’t had good success with the death ray on coyotes so I heart shoot them. Very little blood and lights out quickly. I save the skulls but even if I didn’t, I’d still heart shoot them. Head shots just make too much of a mess. Especially when you use the high velocity hollow points.

The mess is why a friend i know used a .17 to heart shoot coyotes. Small hole no exit and job done quickly.

Beretta Minx on the water line. 22 rifle on the land line.

I’ll chime in since no one has mentioned it… I handled a Heritage and was not impressed. My single six is too nice to put through the abuse and mud my trapline gun experiences. I have 22 revolver made my Chiappa. Same price point as the Heritage but a much better made gun. I liked the new one I bought so much I bought a beater used one on gunbroker and that’s my go to dispatch tool.

I use the ruger single six with 22 shots. It has killed piles of critters in the past 50 or so years and is well worn like Dannys.

A 30 year old Taurus stainless .22.. 4 inch barrel.. 9 shot. 5 .22 short hollow points and 4 long rifle in the cylinder. Easy to index to which ever round I needed. Double action . This pistol has been thru it all and still looks good. It doesn't much matter what you buy, just remember what you pay for it today will be money well spent in 15 , 20 years down the road. That's why I bit the bullet and bought a stainless steel pistol. I have big hands and even thou that Taurus isent a big pistol it fits my hand nice. Good sights on it also.

If you want a fancy for the rest of your grandkids life gun, a Ruger Single Six is hard to beat. A Ruger Wrangler is a MICH cheaper option and is a FINE gun. A heritage USA fine gun also but mine keeps giving me fits.

If I didn't already have a Single Six, I'd buy one of those bird's head grip Wranglers.

I did see a ruger bear cat with adjustable sights at a gun shop in KY last year I would have bought had it been in my state of residence and not had the hassle and added cost to ship it to an in state ffl. It was all ready pushing waht I would spend on yet another .22 pistol I dont need another one of. But I have always really liked the bear cats reduced size but they used to not offer them with adjustable sights. Always said i would buy one if they had adjustable sights and probably will if I run across one in state.

I also had browning 1911 in .22lr catch my eye. But didnt want to spend 600 on it at the time. Again I don't need another gun the rest of my life. Geting my brain to register that is a different thing though

I have several of the models in this thread. All reliable. My single six was carried in a bad holster for awhile. Thinking with the cost of used ones today I ought to send it to ruger for rebluing.

Savage rascal using CCI quiet ammo. The blaze orange stock makes it easy to keep track of

Don’t waste money on a Heritage rough rider - poor quality and hazardous.

.22 is best for dispatch.
The best ammunition i have found is CCI segmented hollow point. During penetration, the bullet splits / fragments into three petals that each make their own wound channel. It is offered in different speeds - 1,640, 1,235, 1,050, and 710fps. From a handgun i prefer the 1,640 for good bullet performance. From a rifle, choose a slower speed.

A good trapline gun does not need to get beat up.

A list of good trapline handguns that i use:
Browning Challenger II
Ruger Single Six
Ruger Mark II
Ruger SP101
Ruger Mark IV

A good, small, light rifle is a Chipmunk. Or any single shot .22 rifle - I used to have a Winchester model 67 that was light and reliable.

that picture is troubling , do you see it ?

the firing pin protruding into the gap between frame and cylinder , this is how my old Colt new frontier clone worked as well , which means you can only load and carry with 5 rounds safely

and in the dark , load one skip one load 4 more hammer back , hammer down . if you do that you get the hammer and depressed firing pin on the empty chamber

the Wrangler and Single Six are true load 6 guns , with a the transfer bar safety so that the transfer bar is only in place when the trigger is pulled

almost every gun that needs halfcock to load , lacks a transfer bar and thus needs to be carried on an empty chamber.

Prior to my I frame S&W, I carried this Ruger Single Six. It’s old enough it was before they offered a 22 mag cylinder with them. Someone added King sights to it. It’s been with me a very long time.



Then there’s my 1902 single shot rifle. I found it in a little gun shop 35 years ago. It had a broken stock. I bought it for $35. The stock was complete, just broken. I was able to use it at a template and made a replacement from maple. I carried it for years when I was able to drive by every coyote set. Saved me having extra weight on my hip and has killed hundreds of coyotes. Along with scores coon, badger, rabbit and grouse. I always used the CB longs or shorts. I still keep it around though I haven’t had it out in years.

I left my gun laying in the limbs of a cedar as I drug a deer out one time when I was young, I was going to run right back for it , then stuff happens , it's 9pm I realize my gun isn't where it belongs and get a sick feeling , then remembered and I had to toss my boots and coat on and go for a hike in the dark in a foot of snow so I would have my gun for hunting in the morning made it easy to follow my drag track back to the tree at least.

now everything has a sling even my shotguns have slings , because when you run out of hands I don't want to set the gun down.

I watch friends go to tie a boot and lay the gun down in the wet grass , I just don't like that.

I've got a 22 lr revolver, a Ruger Single Six knockoff import from the 70s-80s called a Buffalo Scout, made/imported by FIE. Not much to look at but it works every time.

One of these years I'll replace it with a Ruger Wrangler. Couple buddies have them and they seem to be a perfect trapline gun.

I'd love a real Ruger Single Six or a Buckmark or Mark IV, but I fall down, forget and bang into stuff too much when trapping to have nice things.

Heritage was on sale for 89 bucks at local fleet farm recently. Regular 120 I think

I came across a new model Ruger Bearcat a couple years ago traded some MJs for it it was too nice to carry around the river breaks ended up giving it to a buddy of mine that took me on a hog hunt.

I still us emy Grandfathers High Standard .22 which he bought form a magazine so who knows when that was, post WWII.

Also used my daughters Henry Accu-bolt mini (small small gun) for a decade

I shoot .22 short and CB caps or subsonics - worked fine for everything from squirrels and rabbits to beaver and coyotes