Trapping pistol opinions

Been carrying a ruger single six for years loaded with shorts for dispatch and snakes looking to carry something lighter shorter barrel 22 needs to revolver for shorts looking at a high standard sentinel 4 inch barrel. I also have big hands fingers wouldn't fit in a Bearcat thoughts---opinions ??

I wear large to extra large gloves and my hands fit a bearcat just fine.

Small enough to drop into front pants pocket.

Cimarron, Plinkerton, well made, very reasonably priced.

I carry a Ruger LCP 2 I think it’s called, semi auto, little gun. Smaller than my phone. I think with that short of barrel you don’t get the velocity of a longer barrel. Never have issues with pass thru, never cutting wire in cages and cheaper to shoot long rifle, and easier to get.

I have been using a European Arms single action 6 for 25 years or more. I have tried several different loads to minimize exit wound but have jut decided to use long rifles and clean the coons up. It also came with a magnum cylinder which I don't use very often. I paid $99 for the pistol a holster and a case. It gets treated pretty roughly which is one reason I opted for a lower priced firearm to start with.

Bryce

Got mt Ruger, Cub Bearcat back in the mid 60's still working find.

Maybe a Ruger SR22. Pretty small, easily fits into a back pocket.

But any semi-auto will not function correctly with shorts. You may need to load one at a time.

Jayme, prove me incorrect.

You're right for the most part but that Beretta 950 Minx is .22 short only. Mine functions great. They are not sold anymore, so availability and price may make it not an option for most guys.

Is that a Tomcat?
I've been fairly certain that I need one lately.

Bersa Thunder 22, stainless with rosewood grips. I still have to apply for a wilderness carry permit though…lol. Worth a shot. Worst they can do is say no.

Taurus stainless .22 revolver. Doesn't get used much. Only carry when I am hoofing it in a ways.

Beretta 950 Minx, .22 short only.

I used to have an Astra revolver that was about perfect for trapping as well, but someone tinkered with the trigger and it just wasn't safe.

I missed the shorts in the photo.
I don't recall seeing a Minx's before.
Thanks!

Here is one, buy it now price $499.... https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1015855106

My mom has a Beretta like that, unsure of the model but it looks very similar, that her dad gave her when she was 16. But hers shoots only 22 longs. And it won't function properly with the subsonic longs, you have to get the regular power longs. Longs are harder to find even than shorts. I would think some of the subsonic long rifles would be very similar to shooting shorts and probably cheaper and easier to find. Again though they won't function in most semis so you are back to a revolver (which I prefer anyways). If you are really interested in light weight, you should look at the Taurus 942, only 17.8 ounces and an eight shot revolver. You're looking at around 400 bucks though new.

I have a Hi standard Sentinel with the 4 inch barrel. That nine shot revolver has worked great for me over the years. I always put rat shot in the first 5 holes for snakes and long rifle or shorts in the last four holes for dispatch.

I had a 4” New England Arms 9 shot revolver for years and like it . The only thing I didn’t like was it’s weight . I have been using a Ruger LCRX 22 with a 3” barrel the last two years and really like it . It is half the weight and has adjustable sights . Nice rubber grips.

thanks for all the input------ where the heck is Savell on this topic ?

Paul did yours seem fussy about ammo brand or type ? Going to pick it up next week

I have a high standard that is probably the best revolver I've ever used for trapping, but this little thing is so easy to carry and conceal. The ones with the swing out cylinder are worth the extra money IMO. I'd hate to have to remove the cylinder every time I reload.

I have a 9 Shot H & R revolver .
Basic, still does the job.
Most of my animals are killed with a air rifle or a .22 rifle using .22 shorts (lung shot on a coyote).

I have never shot a fox in a trap.

( although Johnny Thorpe claimed he always did and I never understood by.
You shoot an animal in the head, you have bloody mess)

I Carried a Ruger Bearcat for 50 years. Retired a couple years ago and thought I'd buy me a new revolver. It's a S&W Airlite. Spendy little bugger, but it's small, extremely lite and amazingly accurate. It would be Hard to justify one now with today's fur.prices.

I didn't notice it being choosy about what ammo it shot. But my shots were generally within 5 - 15 feet. The four inch barrel worked better with the rat shot than the six inch barrel on my H&R. I reckon it's because the barrel being shorter doesn't cause it to not engage the rifling as long. It doesn't spread so much from the centrifugal force as it travels down the rifling and comes out of the shorter barrel. I don't know if that's why, but it makes sense to me.

Does anyone ever feel the need for more gun than a .22 on the line?

No, not for trapped critters. I've been packing a 22 mag pistol this fall, but not because I feel I need the magnum, but because I bought it off my cousin seven or eight years ago because it was a good deal, and it hadn't been out of the safe since I bought it. Figured I really should use it, so started packing it this fall. Dispatches wolves good, seems a little bloodier on coyotes, but I wash them all anyways, so I don't care. Shoots grouse good also, but the magnum is always a lot louder than a long rifle.

I have been carrying this K22 in a chesty puller harness this season. Eley subsonic HP makes short work of a coyote.

Trapping pistol update. Picked up the hi standard sentinel 22 revolver it has a 3 inch barrel and can put all 9 rounds in a fifty cent group at 25 ft Looks like it gonna work good and rides in a custom pancake holster I made years ago for a police positive I feel like it is a great score for 275 $ and will dispatch a bunch of coyotes with it after deer season. I was using CCI Quiet rounds

I carried a 357 Blackhawk trapping in Lion and Bear country

I have one of those and love it, the only problem is the mags are hard to find and when you do expensive

I love 22 pistols and if I told how many I have would probably get some odd looks, frankly I have everything mentioned and a few others as well, if your looking for a semi in 22 short good luck, I don’t think and company currently makes one so your stuck with the used market

If it was me I would look for a Astra cub it a copy of the Colt junior but doesn’t carry the premium for the colt name or for the Berreta for that matter




Frankly I use my Bersa Thunderer and run CCI CB Longs through it, or the CB quiets neither cycle the action but that’s not a problem

Ruger lcrx 22 for me. Very happy with it.

NAA Black Widow.

Browning Buckmark with 5" barrel. Loaded with Remington Subsonics, it's very accurate out to 25 yards and relatively quiet with those loads.

I have a Taurus 992 Tracker in 22LR and really love it. In PA we can’t use semi-auto pistols.

Heritage .22 pistols are on sale around right now, not bad for $99. They do have a safety and a .22 mag cylinder for about $30 extra.

S&W 63. Most every 22LR round are subsonic from a short barrel.
This is my second small Smith. The first one got used to death over 23 years of use. I think going in the ocean a few times might have accelerated the date of retirement of the 34-1.

I have. It had to do with a sow brown bear with two cubs out on New Year’s Eve. Not fun.

Bearcat for me.

Dad has a JC Higgins 22 revolver that sent many a critter over the rainbow bridge

I carry a Ruger 22/45 stainless

I use a Ruger SR22.

Ruger Mark II, 4 1/2" barrel. Very accurate.

My comments are going to get into dispatch a little bit, which seems to be a touchy subject on the internet with some people - which I can understand - but I remember when I was first starting out, it was actually impossible to find a good answer on calibers for this purpose and I actually think it was a detriment to me as a beginner. I think it’s sort of important to address. If it’s going to be an issue, the mods can delete this comment and I won’t protest. At the time, I knew a lot of guys were using .22 WMR (let’s just call it a 22 Mag) for coyotes, I didn’t have a 22 Mag but I had a 22 (.22 LR) and I figured - how big can the difference really be. So I took the standard 22 out in the beginning.

Now. Maybe a standard 22 is just fine for some eastern and southern coyotes, they’re a lot smaller and I’ve trapped on the east coast, too. But out west they’re pretty big dogs and I had a very negative experience using a standard 22. I’m not talking about one bad experience, I’m talking about one full season with multiple dispatches and the 22 was not enough punch and I knew I needed to plus up to a 22 Mag.

Long story short, I now own the above revolver and LOVE it. It’s the Heritage Rough Rider (4.75” barrel, there are multiple options), it retails for $209 now but I got it for $179 a few years back, and it has interchangeable cylinders for both standard 22 and 22 Mag (price comes with both cylinders). I now carry the one revolver with both cylinders, and rounds for both. What I’ve found is that the standard 22 isn’t big enough to put a big coyote down quick, and the 22 Mag is too much gun for raccoons, etc. I like to run mixed lines and always will, which is why I carry both cylinders and use the appropriate one for the respective critter. The 22 Mag is perfect for coyotes - dispatches them quickly, quietly, and ethically, which is what we should all be aiming for (and I know we do). If I catch a coon or something similar, I swap cylinders, toss in a standard 22 round and it also gets the job done quickly and effectively. I love this gun, it’s a phenomenal little revolver, looks great, runs great, and is a fair price for what you’re getting (even with the small price increase over the years) and I’ll always have it handy.

I grew up in bear/cougar country and if I was running lines in the backwoods and was concerned with bear protection, this is not the option. I carry a different handgun when I’m hunting. This serves a different purpose and most of my lines are on Ag land within 400-500y of my truck, at most. I highly recommend it.

Again, I know we avoid dispatch talk like the plague around here and if I’m out of bounds, I apologize. But, truly, when I was a beginner and was trying to figure out what to use - there was almost NO info at all on it, I made the wrong decision, and I had some awful experiences using standard 22s on big western coyotes and - never again. This is a great handgun at a price point that I think is more than fair, I love carrying it, and it works phenomenally well.

Thank you for everyone's input. Concerning dispatch I have been using 22 shorts for fifty years------dang that makes me sound old ---- don't take this in a wrong way but it is imperative to put that 22 short in exactly the right spot my grandfather taught me to create a visual x from eye to ear left to right right to left. A 22 short there works good . I know they are more expensive but I like the low noise level AND they have worked many hundreds of times for me. Again in large predator country I do not carry a 22 then its a 357 with a few low power loads in pocket for dispatch

I recall when I went with dad, all he ever used was 22 shorts.

As noted above, I have been carrying a 22 mag this year, but I'm going to disagree with Ryan, a 22 mag is totally unnecessary for coyotes, in fact it is unnecessary for their larger brother, the wolf. I have had excellent success with a regular long rifle on both and have used longs on coyotes with good success, though I have not used shorts I would not hesitate to use them with solids on coyotes.
I have hound hunted my whole life and carried a Ruger single six with swappable cylinders for many years, then switched to a Rossi Circuit Judge rifle, also with swappable 22lr/22mag cylinders. I like the option of switching cylinders, and prefer the magnum for cougars, although again with proper shot placement and a good round the long rifle will work fine. And while it wouldn't be my preferred self protection gun, I would not hesitate to shot any animal in North America with the 22 magnum, were it legal, it is an absolutely deadly round that performs much better in the real world than the ballistic numbers on paper would indicate.

I suspect Ryan's problem with 22 long rifle was the ammo he was using, some of the ammo I have tried over the years just does not perform well.

That’s quite possible and, actually, I don’t disagree with you. 22 Mag has always seemed like it was overkill but it does put them down in short order and I’ve always been pleased with the results when it comes to hide damage, entry/exit, etc. And once I found something that worked, I just continued using it instead of searching for a better standard 22 round.

If you have suggestions for better standard 22 rounds to use in this occasion, I would be interested in hearing your opinions as I’m always trying to expand my options.

If anything, the experience opened me up to the world of 22 Mag, which I actually really like now, and I do enjoy that revolver with swappable cylinders.

I know a government trapper that uses a 22 pellet gun. Bout like a 22 short. He kills 500 plus coyotes a year. MANY with a 22 pellet rifle So 22 short is plenty IF proper shot placement is made

I have dispatched several coyotes with my .22 short Beretta. Big boar coons have harder skulls than coyotes and I have killed loads of them with it.

I wore out 2 H&R revolvers and got a Smith and Wesson last. It's wearing just fine and shoots any .22 just fine form CB's to .22 long rifle. I have a small Pheonix .22 pistol that fits in my pocket I have used but it needs hot loads to cycle reliably. Shorts and subsonics work fine in the smith revolver.

It's so bloody when skining if shot in the head.

I've got a 25 caliber pellet rifle I've killed a ton of bobcats with. Hadn't shot it in years, since the scope on it broke. Just put a new scope on it yesterday and sighted it in this morning. Maybe I'll pack it and dispatch a wolf with it, just to say I did.

I use a Ruger 22/45 because it is super simple to take apart.

I use the Glock44

I use a $114.00 heritage 22LR pistol. Bought the 22 mag cylinder too in case I catch something big. Go with the shorter barrel one like 4 3/4 inch.
Shorter barrel will not drag in creek water. You cannot beat these for the price. Drop it in mud no big deal. Or even loose it no big deal. Accurate to 15 yards maybe 20 with right ammo. MD

Only thing I shoot anymore are skunks.
Everything else gets a Ketch All Pole or a Death Ray.

Pistol update. The old ( 1959) new to.me high standard sentinel 22 with a 3 inch barrel loaded with shorts dispatches coyotes nicely. And is great to pack in a pancake holster.

I have a Browning BuckMark. It's old. Shot it enough to have to replace the firing pin. LoL! That's a lot of dead predators and a lot of fun target shooting ! LOL!

I'm amazed the Smith and Wesson airlight 317 in 22lr hasn't came up. Its is a great option. Light and very accurate.

May be the 800$ price tag. I have other smith's but the 2-300 $ revolver makes sense bumping around in a pickup or 4 wheeler for me

A 44 is case you meet up with a wolves.