Short shells for barn rats

We seem to have an ongoing problem with rats in our barn. Are .22 short shells for

.22 rimfire rifles any good to shoot them with?

These small cartridges are a bit of a specialised item, in my view. They usually seem to appeal if you have vermin problems in barns or areas where a normal .22 rimfire, or airgun, may over-penetrate and cause damage to equipment.

They are expensive to buy and there is not a lot of choice. I have used both Federal and CCI short shells with mixed results — the maximum range is 10ft.

I tested Federal Game-shok by shooting 136 pellets of No.12 shot. The result was 106 pellet strikes at

5ft and a spread of 12in. At 10ft the spread had doubled and I was down to 79 pellet strikes.

By contrast, when I tested the

CCI Mini Mag No.12 shot, out of 165 pellets just 74 hit home at 5ft with a spread of 15in. At 10ft the spread was more than 24in and only 35 pellets hit home.

The CCI fed better due to the plastic capsule acting like a conventional bullet; Federal, by comparison, has crimp closure. BP I am keen to get a working dog but my wife is allergic to them. A friend has suggested a labradoodle because they are hypoallergenic. Various more experienced members of my syndicate have said that this is an absurd idea. What are your thoughts?

While I am sure there are those who will say some labradoodles with the right mind-set, upbringing and training can achieve a certain level of gundog work — the poodle was originally a French gundog after all — I would not advise them as an option to counter your wife’s dog allergy. A shorthaired breed might be suitable but it depends what type of work you had in mind for your dog. Some breeds, such as the German shorthaired pointer, are not going to be as versatile as a Labrador, but I know several that are good dual-purpose gundogs.

Some may suggest you could keep the dog kennelled outside and out of contact with the household, but any dog that is ostracised in this way will inevitably lead an isolated life and that’s not in the dog’s best interests.

Dog allergies are not uncommon, so it may be worth speaking to authoritative breeders of several breeds and ask if they know how their own dogs rate as “allergy inducers”. JH

The high-energy labradoodle can make a good gundog, but it depends on their breeding