Looking to blast some wasp nests...

[cynthialee]

So I wanna blast some hard to reach wasp nests with a sand load so I don't have to poison them.
What would a good sand load be with a .56 smoothbore?

 

[satx78247]

I'm NOT sure BUT don't poison them, as they make GREAT fish bait for all sorts of fish.
(I once took an over 6# rainbow on a red wasp larvae & a trout-weight fly rig.)


yours, satx

 

[azmntman]

Never shot sand but due to my excessive respect errr FEAR :shocked2: of wasps I would load all you think will shoot well and then run like he!!

Gonna save the nests for wads? If not I want em!! :grin:

Do keep us posted

 

[theoldredneck]

I shoot carpenter bees with course builders sand. It is cheap and I keep a pile of it to level the ground after yard work. Any sand will work, don't pack it. The powder and sand load I use will vary with the gun. Two guns if the same caliber or gauge will shoot better with different loads. For a .50 I use about 1/4 less powder by volume than a regular ball load and about 1/4 more sand than powder. Over powder I use a thin card, or wad. Pour sand in and use a thin card or wad pushed down just enough to level load. Long barrel guns give a longer range but none are very far. Shoot a few loads to play with it and see how it patterns. With a long gun start at 20 ft on some old tin or metal. With a handgun start at10 ft. When you shoot the wasp do it at night when they are all on the nest. On a painted surface if you are close enough to kill the wasp the sand will mark the paint. In a barn or shed with a tin roof we have made some shiny spots when shooting carpenter bees but no holes in the tin. We keep enough distance not to have to worry about it. Shoot enough to figure your best load and distance. Sand to powder by volume usually works best with 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 more sand than powder. Heavy loads of powder usually shoot worse patterns than light. Have fun

 

[Eric Krewson]

I would think the sand would be abrasive on a barrel.

 

[BillinOregon]

Agree with Eric. How about Kosher salt?

 

[Rifleman1776]

I would think the sand would be abrasive on a barrel.

:shocked2: Yes. My thought also. Won't be going in any of my barrels. :shake:

 

[Juice Jaws]

I would not shoot sand out of my guns. If you can reach them with a long pole, wait for night and just knock them down.

 

[theoldredneck]

Sand is abrasive to a barrel. I shoot a lot of it playing around home shooting things like carpenter bees. I do not use it in a good gun with a good barrel. There seems to be an abundance of folks that like to shoot and put guns up without cleaning. I have bought several guns with rusty, pitted barrels. Some we have shot a lot for a couple years that the sand has not worked down to bare metal. I don't really care what kind of shape the barrel is in if it is cheap enough and works mechanically. Eventually I can line or replace the barrel or just ream it larger as a smooth bore. We played with sand of different course grains down to powder. B Bead blasting materials of different types. And small plastic beads. Cheap builders sand works and even though it is abrasive when starting with a rusty barrel I don't worry about it.

 

[BrownBear]

More than you want to pay for whacking wasps, but a bud once gave me a double handful of #12 shot, essentially the same thing they load into 22 shotshells, as I recall. It would be just dandy, giving you a real cloud of shot in not much weight.

If you really want to finish the job with the nests, wait till the coldest part of the night and whack them down with a long stick as someone suggested here. Bag em in a plastic bag and stick them in the freezer. Won't kill the wasps, but they're so dormant you can just shake them out of the nest.

Most of them anyway. Leave the nests in the plastic bags once you THINK you've shaken them all out and want to let them warm up. Betcha missed at least two! :rotf:

 

[Chilidog]

Just mix up some dish soap/water in a spray bottle and spray the nest real good in the late afternoon or evening. When they exit they will just fall to the ground because the soap makes their wings slippery where they cannot fly. Stomp em good with your boots and be done with it.

 

[Sandan027]

That was hysterical

 

[tozzybum]

we had one in our caravan and evening time when they go sluggish ,i went one step further and loaded my pressure washer with tar remover and blasted it to bits.as stated the soapy water does them so they cant fly.the nest dissoles in water so no wadding but the wasps die so no stung grandkids -result

 

[cynthialee]

my better half got wind of my plans and forbid me to shoot sand at the wasp nests
She is getting me some poison.

 

[rwiliff]

I wonder how the poison will pattern from a smoothbore?

Warmest Regards,

Robert

 

[hanshi]

If you can get within about 10 feet or so, a simple blank powder charge will knock the nest down and kill everything in it. I've done this with big wasp nests and my .32 rifle; if that tiny charge will clear out a big wasp nest a .50 or .54 will work as well as a cobalt bomb.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Rice?

 

[Rifleman1776]

She is getting me some poison.

It's been nice knowing you.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I prefer doing it with a .50 cal. Barrett rifle from 1,000 yards.

 

[azmntman]

+1 :thumbsup: