Every avid outdoors-person has probably seen birdshot shells for a centerfire or rimfire, or may have some at the bottom of their dad’s old supply of ammo that’s been passed down. I recall seeing .22 shells with the clear blue tip loaded with bird shot. I even recall using it to shoot at critters. I don’t recall if I ever harvested anything with it, but it was a neat concept. If my memory is on point, those shells were #9 shot; and while #9 is a very small pellet, I don’t think there were enough pellets to cause much damage unless I would’ve been 3’ from a ruffed grouse in a tree…
Jump ahead to 2016, when CCI decided to ramp things up, and rolled out the new CCI Big 4. Centerfire handgun loads packed with #4 lead. They made them available for the most common handgun calibers, 9mm Luger, 38 Special/357 Mag, 44 Special/44 Mag, and 45 Colt. The #4 payload was intended to be much more effective at much longer ranges than the #9, and was intended for use on large pests and small varmints.
I was lucky enough to get my hands on a couple of boxes early in 2016, and had the chance to do some patterning and eventually some hunting. The patterns were good out of my Smith & Wesson 65-5 in 357/38. At 5 feet the pattern density was to be expected, pretty dense and surprisingly even considering the load was being projected from a short barrel. At 10 feet there were some pellets outside of the effective range, but not many. The pattern was still dense enough for me to feel comfortable on anything from a raccoon or snake, to shooting squirrels or dispatching a trapped critter. At 15 feet there were still enough pellets to be effective, but the density was much looser, and there were more wasted pellets. At 20 feet the effectiveness appeared to dissipate. While there were still pellets in the center ring, it was much fewer, and the density wasn’t enough for me to feel comfortable on a critter to make a clean kill. 15 feet was the range I felt comfortable with, and inside of 10 feet was ideal.
These results will vary from gun-to-gun, however, from several reviews and CCIs info on the ammo, it seems that the 15 foot effective range is pretty accurate for all calibers with most barrel lengths.
I can tell you that a chirping squirrel in a moderate burr oak doesn’t stand a chance, and a 6’ prairie snake can be dispatched at 7 feet. The new Big 4 from CCI proved to be not only fun to tinker with, but was a great carry ammo while spending time in the prairie grass and whilst walking the winter woods with my son on a squirrel hunt. At less than $20 a box, it’s worth every penny.
Learn more about CCIs Big 4 at http://www.cci-ammunition.com/products/pestcontrol_specialty.aspx .
Photos by author.
