The SHRED-ER from BUG-A-SALT.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
This report covers:
- Targets change as time passes
- And we’re off
- How large?
- SHRED-ER shot count
- Store boughten ammo
- The SHRED-ER is a bug killer!
- Summary
Today is a report I actually thought might never happen. I told you in Part 2 of the report on the Bug-A-Salt 3.0 that…well, let’s see exactly what I said.
Targets change as time passes
The time of the crane fly will pass and, here where I live, the June bug will arrive. June bugs are similar to or perhaps even are what some call Japanese beetles. They are very slow and really don’t require the Bug-A-Salt. With them, though, also come houseflies, wasps, spiders and other creepy crawlers. BB is ready for all of them!
June bugs are armored all over and perhaps impervious to the Bug-A-Salt. But those insects I just mentioned are not. Wasps have somewhat hard bodies, but the Bug-A-Salt will put holes in their wings, making them fall to the ground which makes them easier (and safer) to stomp on. They are another reason for the new sights to be put on this insect weapon, because they like to hover and move around like the crane flies, if they are somewhat less hectic.
Flies, spiders and creepy crawlers, on the other hand, do stop to rest, which makes them fair game. I live alone, so nobody tells me not to shoot in the house. But when she was with me my wife Edith was a bug killer extraordinaire. In fact she is the one who bought our first Bug-A Salt 2.0, which I told you is still going strong 9 years later.
And we’re off
So I’m walking through my kitchen last week when I saw this guy.
This picture was taken with my phone from about seven feet distance. I obviously had to enlarge it greatly to this size.
He was a wolf spider. A “guy” he probably was, because at this time of year female wolf spiders have large egg sacks on their backs. They carry them there to regulate the temperature of the eggs.
This is a better picture of a wolf spider. You might be able to see some resemblance to the guy in the first picture, but you’ll definitely see it with the next one.
How large?
You might be able to tell how large this guy is in the first picture because you have the baseboard to compare to. I will tell you he was almost an inch and a half long.
SHRED-ER shot count
Fortunately I had just installed the SECOND CO2 cartridge in my Bug-A-Salt SHRED-ER just a day before this encounter. That would be about 60 shots over 18 months on one cartridge! So there’s your shot count. Yep, I keep the SHRED-ER loaded and charged all the time. As Rooster Cogburn said to the judge after he killed a murderer, “Well, a gun that’s unloaded and cocked ain’t good for nothin’.” So, when I saw this guy on my floor it was open season.
I shot him from 5 feet away. On the first shot all his legs curled in and I thought he was finished. About 30 seconds later he started unfolding his legs, so he wasn’t gone yet. I didn’t want to hurt him. I wanted to kill him! So I got within three feet and shot him again. That finished him. Wanna see what he looked like?
That’s an American quarter dollar coin next to the dead spider. Quarters are 0.955-inches (24.257mm) in diameter. That’s close enough to one inch for me. This guy still has his legs curled in, and would be around 1-3/8-inches (34.925mm) in diameter when alive.
Store boughten ammo
Back when I started this series we all talked about reloading the empty salt cylinders. Why? Because we are airgunners and cheap is what we do. But since I’ve been using the SHRED-ER I’ve come to realize that ammo bought from Bug-A-Salt is the only way to go. You don’t plink or shoot targets with the SHRED-ER. You kill pests. I’m still on the first card (12 cylinders of 10 shots each) of salt cylinders I bought with the pistol back in 2021. And like I said earlier, I just loaded the second CO2 cartridge. This puppy is cheap to shoot!
The SHRED-ER is a bug killer!
This wolf spider is the third big critter I have taken with my SHRED-ER. The first two were crickets and both were one-shot kills. I know the domestic resistance to salt on the floor, but I’d rather have that than crickets and spiders in my house.
Why?
Why am I telling you this? I’m telling you this because the northern hemisphere is warming up and critters are beginning to emerge. We airgunners are the first line of defense and we need to be ready.
The Bug-A-Salt long guns are perfect for houseflies and similar pests, but they are not nearly as destructive to larger bugs as this SHRED-ER revolver. It’s the CO2 power that makes the difference, not the barrel length or anything else.
Summary
This revolver gets the job done every time. And that is all I ask of a bug killer. It’s accurate, powerful and always at the ready. Pyramyd AIR doesn’t carry the line of Bug-A-Salt products — YET. But they are airguns and they belong in our arsenal.
B.B.,
My Crosman 357 6″ barreled revolver, with home-made salt loads is OK, but just OK.
I can see how this airgun is a big improvement. 🙂
Thanking you for all you do,
dave
Dave,
This SHRED-ER is the bomb! It really takes care of pests in the house. But whatever you have to do the job, I find that CO2 is the right way to go against the bigger guys.
BB
Tom Gaylord (B.B. Pelletier), I think I know the answer [ 🙂 ], but I’ll nevertheless ask for your confirmation:
unlike the Bug-A-Salt, does the Shred-Er leave a mark on, for example, furniture polish?
hi3,
So far my SHRED-ER has left no marks on anything except bugs.
BB
Thanks Tom Gaylord (B.B. Pelletier), that’s good to hear. I admit that I had expected a different answer… 🙂
Yep, B.B., I concur CO2 is the way; the wasps I got with th3 357 went down hard!
B. B. and anyone kind enough
Sorry for hijacking but I would like some info please. I saw a nib Walther Classus, a low power and weight beautiful springer. Obviously discontinued but with the LW barrel and a Minelli stock seems like a very nice alternative against the HW 30.
Does anyone have first hand experience, EU readers probably?
Thank you all in advance.
Bill,
I have no experience with the Classus, but I wish I did. It did show up on this side of the pond very briefly, but because of the low power, did not sell well. I myself would really like to have one. If the price is right (for you), I would suggest snatching it up before someone else does. It is well built enough that with proper care, it should be around as long as any Weihrauch.
R. R.
The price is 230 euros and it’s the 7.5j version. Now, this power level, along with the, threaded for a moderator, LW barrel and the black sights looks to be a very neighbor friendly every day trainer.
Thanks for the enabling.
Bill that’s a good price! 🙂
But I would buy it because of it’s looks. 🙂
I would also buy it, purely for it’s “nib” new-in-box condition.
I would buy it, knowing production has seized and this opportunity saves having to wait for the next.
I would buy it, knowing how nicely it cocks (like your Walther LGV).
I would buy it despite it being heavier than the HW30S, because I would buy that one afterwards as well! 🙂
But most of all, I would buy it for it’s quality! 🙂
PS Also, if you don’t then I will! 🙂
Hi3
I believe that there are two available. Let’s go.
Ok Bill, I failed to find those two Walther Classus airguns but I came across another and bought that instead! 🙂
Mine was only about a hundred more and not new-in-box but I found it here in France and, though used, it’s looks to be in good condition. 🙂
I’m not sure how a more powerful 5,5mm will behave but, I guess I’ll find out, hurrah! 🙂
Bill, I received my new toy today, yep, my Classus has arrived. Had to try it out straight away, of course! 🙂
Because of it’s powerful shots, I think mine would be too loud for your needs, ie I think close neighbours would notice.
However your wise choice of a 7,5 Joules Classus, should be just the ticket! 🙂
Have you a quiet target for yours yet?
Thanks Bill, for your help in getting me this great little plinker. 🙂
Shootski
I tried to send this yesterday but it doesn’t show:
Shootski
Not sure you will see this due to website rules. Thank you for very helpful details about regulator, slugs in the Sig ASP20 and the 3 settling down shots.
Deck
Decksniper,
I hope your barrel is at least as good as the ones I have. The ASP20 is a really great rifle. What a shame it will be mostly a collector curiosity instead of the shooter’s break barrel of the century.
I’m not a collector of things unless they work really well for me and they got me to buy my first .177 adult break barrel and then a second one in .22 caliber with a synthetic stock. I really never expected to buy even one non PCP as an adult and now I have two of the SIG ASP20 and shoot them regularly!
What fun even IF THEY ARE MAGNUM GAS SPRINGERS; they shoot ;^)
Let me know how your path feels shooting with boolits with yours.
They shoot pellets well too; almost as far of course!
shootski
Shootski
FYI my ASP20 in .177 caliber currently likes either JSB or AA 8.44 grain pellets and shoots 1/3 to 1/2 inch 10 shot groups at 25 yards so at least holds its own compared to my other gooduns. Prior to a gas spring failure I was using heavier pellets (10.34 and 10.65 grains). H & N Baracudas were very tight fitting but got some groups near 1/4 inch. Then the gas spring failed but thankfully Sig quickly repaired it at no cost. This was after they had quit selling but still serviced. I suspect the very tight fitting heavier pellet upset piston bounce timing and caused the failure. This rifle enjoys a place in my airgun rotation and I intend to shoot it til one of us drops. So there is a little bit of hesitation to shoot the much heavier slugs but not enough to stop me from doing it. At least they are easy to load.
I too find the ASP20 isn’t very hold sensitive and I usually hold it the same way I shoot a .22 firearm rifle.
Happy shooting.
Deck
What is going on now? What is this “Your comment is awaiting moderation.” stuff? Do not tell me that we have been kidnapped by Zuckerburg. Are we not allowed to talk about airguns now?
ROTFWL!
Whoever the moderator is, they are going to be busy! LOL!
RidgeRunner,
Now, now. It’s not a moderator. It’s a lead dust collector! ;^)
Michael
LOL! It serves the same purpose. It is used to “silence” us.
Ridge,
Hey, hey! That’s a good one!
Michael
That “moderation” could be a function of the browser one is using? Dunno, but if it has been built into the WordPress system, it needs disabling. Tom oughta be “the decider” when it comes to reviewing comments made here. But, who asked FM?!
On the current topic, FM is confused. Seems the original CO2 cartridge was in the Shredder for months with no adverse effects, yet thought the general advice was to NOT leave cartridges in to avoid leaks. Which is probably why a certain 38T is leaking…so what is the right thing to do? Leave in, or exhaust it and remove it?
Just posted this comment and no messages about it being “moderated” came up; have been using the Freespoke browser rather than Google, Bing or other Usual Suspects to access all favorite websites, but have no idea if this makes any difference. Do like there is another browser choice available; choice and competition are good. They help deny the trash.
FM,
I used to use (?) google’s browser, but it had hiccups with a few of the sites I frequent, so I switched. This was quite a while, though.
Michael
FawltyManuel, one should ALWAYS leave the CO₂ cartridge in the gun until it’s empty! 🙂
But, on a more serious note, I think, removing the cartridge as soon as possible has to best for maintaining the seal’s shape. 🙂
So, in the case of the Shred-Er, that could work out as one CO₂ cartridge per shot, depending on the frequency of use, of course. 🙁
Basil,
Well, THAT’S a blog all by itself.
BB
FM,
As hihihi noted, I always shoot up all the CO2 in the cartridge, generally in a matter of minutes, and then immediately take it out of the gun. Per B.B.’s advice, I also always use a drop of Crosman Pellgun oil on the top of each CO2 cartridge. Yet I have had a couple of CO2 revolvers (one 357 and one 38T) where the seal took a set from leaving the exhausted CO2 cartridge in the gun; hence, I now exhaust them on the same day I put them in (generally, within a few minutes; I shoot 50 pellets with the 357 to use up a cartridge…that doesn’t take long), then remove them. That has worked well for my Umarex Peacemaker as well as my Crosman 357. Both are doing great. 😉
Blessings to you,
dave
FM
I don’t completely empty the C02 Carts. If not empty, I unscrew it to bleed most of it out, but leave a little bit in it (hardly any pressure left). That way no dirt enters. It’s like leaving a pump up gun with just one pump in it. Am I wrong? Who knows but I am ok with it.
Doc
Hank,
I am with your wife! Though in college I did let a tarantula walk up my arm. Didn’t wanna scream in front of the girls!
BB
B.B., lockdown and load up – seems that Wolf spider’s mama is on the way to your house! You’re gonna need at least your .50 DAQ…
Tom,
In college I knew a girl who HAD a tarantula, as a pet. I do not have arachnaphobia (not sure I can even spell it), but I still decided to give her a wide berth as the spider was not the only thing a bit creepy about her.
Michael
Micheal
My oldest daughter now 25 and married and with (my grandson now 3).
She actually told me this at the beginning of the month. She let 3 large tarantulas crawl across her hand. She said the last stopped for a split second. She said she worried a bit when that happened.
And to say she was the one that had a 5 inch long praying mantis on her arm when she was 5 and even younger probably 4 years old a walking stick in her hand. Both times I saw her playing with them and she goes. “Aw pop they are so friendly” I just rolled my eyes and said we need to let them go. She cried.
But she is definitely not afraid of them. And in some way knows them. I told her after the tarantulas don’t push it. You just never know. Whell guess what I got. A big eye roll and a pop/dad. You just really don’t know do you. And a wink and a smile.
Well that’s my daughter that still baits her own hook with a worm or cricket Bluegill fishing. 🙂
Gunfun1,
Man! She is brave.
We’ve seen Walking Sticks and Praying Mantises on our window sills (on the outside). They are fascinating to look at, really incredible looking. As far as I know, the Praying Mantis is deadly to other insects and crawling bugs, but not harmful to humans. Of course, the Praying Mantis female is always deadly to the male she mates with. (I once had a girlfriend who might have been like that.) I’ve read that Walking Sticks are herbivores.
The Walking stick my wife and I saw was probably about six inches long, but certain varieties can get up to two feet! (See below.)
Michael
BB.
I’m not arachnophobic but for decades after finding a large spider in my sisters crib and freaking out on killing it, I was uncomfortable with them.
I decided to address my unreasonable reactions to these little predators and proceeded to befriend those curious little jumping spiders. It took quite a while but now (unless startled) I’ll escort spiders out of the house (my wife is afraid of them) rather than squashing them.
Living in a swamp (ok, really, it’s a beaver pond – but “swamp” sounds way cooler 😉 ) we have all kinds of critters including large spiders. Locally called “dock” or “river” spiders they like man made structures and I have a couple that I hand feed (crickets) living in my tool and wood sheds.
Though not quite as large the one in the picture their leg span is over 2 inches and they are heavy enough to notice their weight in your hand. Not surprisingly, there are no other insects in the sheds. 🙂
Hank
Hank,
I’m with you; my wife is a gardener; so most of the house spiders, and ones by the front porch, get moved to her garden area, where they beneficially keep her plants free of other destructive insects. 🙂
Blessings, an end to the cold weather (it’s 27F even here today!),
and happy Spring-time shooting to you,
dave
Hank
If I see them far enough away I’m ok.
But when they surprise attack you and pop out of no where then I don’t like that at all. Especially the wolf spiders I have seen them Jump 2 feet high easy. And what I still don’t like to this day is when I see a big long legged yellow and black banana spider web stretched across a trail in the woods with the big ole spider setting right in the middle to wrap around you when you hit it. Yep spider to the face with no escape till you stop what your on and scrape it off and untangle yourself out of it.
Hank,
“Living in a swamp (ok, really, it’s a beaver pond – but “swamp” sounds way cooler ) ”
You live in a beaver lodge in a beaver pond!
So you and your spouse spend your summer nights slapping your tails on the surface of the water?
I’ll be right over with my kayak as soon as it is mostly ice free!
Went out to scout the Cherry Blossoms along the Potomac and on the War College perimeter today…looks like a few more days to peak bloom…if they don’t get damaged by a hard freeze, rain, winds, or the million visiting folks picking them or stomping their roots; delicate blossoms. Luckily the wind was out of the East at 10 or so Knots so i got to ride some smallish 2′ (1/2 meter) wind waves ;^)
shootski
B.B.
I once heard that no matter where you are in this world, perhaps not in the middle of the ocean, there is a spider within 6 feet of you. I understand airplanes are the worst.
-Y
Yogi,
While researching what kind of spider this was I actually read that it was only 5 feet. Yuck!
BB
Around here (3,100 ft ridgeline on the “Blue Wall” of the southern Appalachians) we get swarms of “carpenter bees”.
https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef611
They are like bigger bumblebees, and they seem to come from all around to drill holes in my white pine soffit and fascia boards, and pine beams. At times, there are hundreds around. They are even pretty noisy, and their nesting holes are very annoying, if not destructive.
I have traps that sort of work, not sure what they key on, I have several and only one of them traps any.
When hunting them with my Bug-a-salt 2, they seem to fly at you. My brother says he has seen them counterattack a BB in mid flight, but that’s difficult to prove. I have also been able to knock them down with wing shots, and close in for a kill when grounded. I may have to go for more power.
When you empty the trap with the dead bees, put a few dead bees in the other traps. I read that the dead bees give off a scent that attracts other carpenter bees.
How very odd that today I should come across a spider, dining on a carpenter bee.
Pictured is what is going on just outside one of our wooden door frames. At first I thought, what a huge fly this little spider managed to catch and then I remembered a few instances in recent days of those big black beetle like shiny bumbles flying about. Looking closer I realised this is too fluffy for a fly.
Well, whatever, that spider’s sorted for some time now! 🙂
All Bug-A- Salt owners: As far as the bug-a-salt 2 and 3 go, wondering if anyone has tried sugar for ammo (would have to be kept dry due to caking). Also maybe sand? Something else? Just wondering if anyone has tired didn’t things in their gun. Why? Because some air gunner will always try, looking for something better 🙂
Doc
Have not tried any of the above – might buckyballs work? Guess the person to ask is a molecular scientist airgunner with an insect problem. 😉
FM,
Let’s see, buckyballs are a similar density as salt, but they’re very, very small; would be like needing a cannonball but shooting table salt.
BB has said that pneumatic guns tend to impart more energy to heavier projectiles. If that is the case with these Bug-a-salt guns, then what do we have around the house…
That no-sodium salt substitute, Nu-Salt, is about the same density (funny, I though the potassium would make it more dense, but no). It has less size options than table/kosher/rock salt.
Epsom’s salt, magnesium sulfate, is a little denser than table salt, and has big crystals, like kosher to rock salt sized.
Rust, iron oxide, is a lot denser, but irregular. There is a garden product called Ironite that has kosher salt sized granules that are dense, twice that of salt. That might be fun to try outside in the garden.
Sand, glass beads, pigeon grit, oyster shell, driveway de-icer and all that are only a little denser than table salt.
How about seeds? Shoot bugs and re-seed the lawn at the same time. Put some more poppy seeds on that whitefish salad picnic bagel while you blow away an annoying yellow-jacket wasp! Seeds come in consistent sizes and are regular shapes, but would be a little lighter than salt.
Yes, if PA carried these Bug-a-salts I’d get one. (And by the time I tested the above, I’d probably need another one).
Mike
Mike,
I really like the idea of seeds. Poppy seeds or some other very small seeds (Sesame seeds). Rice too big?
Doc
Mike
Missing in the thought.
What does salt and the other things mentioned do to the Bug.
Maybe when the salt contacts or penetrates the bug it does something other than just making a hole in the bug.
GF1,
Good point, it wouldn’t take much salt to poison a bug quickly. How much and how quickly? Well, a “grain” (crystal) of table salt weights around one-thousandth of grain weight (as in a steel BB weighs 5.1 grains), and a kosher crystal might be a hundredth of a grain weight. A fat housefly weighs 1/3 grain, or hundreds of times more than a grain of salt. Put in the perspective of, “I am Jack’s Kafkaesque bug”, it would be like a human getting shot with crystals a few hundredths of our weight, each say a hundred grams or fractions of a pound or several ounces. The lethal dose of sodium chloride for most animals is a less than a percent by weight, so it wouldn’t take many crystals to deliver enough salt to poison a fly.
How long? As the salt that contacts wet tissue starts to dissolve, the sodium and chloride ions poison ion channels on the surface of cells, “shorting them out”. I’d guess many seconds but less than a minute.
Looking back at BBs shots into tin foil, the density of pattern and impact (some grains look like they almost penetrated the foil), I’d think the penetrations alone would be enough to kill a bug. One penetration might not kill a bug (think of live-fly fishing or those wasps that paralyze other bugs to lay eggs in them), but ten penetrations would; they have a nervous and circulatory system and shock out kind of like people do. Perhaps the ones that die immediately do so from impacts and the ones that wiggle around for a minute might be dying from salt?
Sorry for the morbidity, but I had thought about this, to feed Bug-a-Salt shot bugs to pets. I wondered if they would be too salty to use as food. (I guess I’ll just have to taste a couple to see!) Shooting with sand or seeds or something like that would provide the heart healthy option.
Mike
Thank you all who weighed in on FM’s gas leak – well, let’s rephrase that to avoid arched eyebrows – the Crosman 38T gas leak. Once that problem is sorted out, will heed the advice to shoot until all the CO2 is gone then remove the cartridge. Like the idea of leaving an empty just touching the seal with a dab of oil on the neck to keep dirt out and hopefully keep the rubber parts pliable.
OK, here we go. let us see if I get the moderator post.
Quite a few years ago, when driving a back road across a “mountain”, I saw a spider crossing the road. That had to be a pretty good size spider for me to see it while I was driving.
Hey! No moderator posts! Yeah!
RR,
That was probably a tarantula. I was riding my motorcycle up Mount Hamilton near San Jose in 1968 when I ran into a tarantula migration! There were hundreds of them crossing the road and I was trying to miss them because who wants to lay a motorcycle down in a tarantula migration?
BB
That was certainly a good occasion for some moderation!!
I think it was a wolf spider or a close relative. I am in the Appalachians.
There’s a very nice trail going thru the Appalachians. 🙂
FM,
Yes indeed. I have been on part of it. My dog and I went up on Dragon’s Tooth and I go by MacAfee’s Knob all the time. It runs through my “neighborhood”. I drive across it every time I go to “the big city” (Roanoke).
BB
Yikes. Creepy crawly’s turned into slippy slidies. Then laying down in them.
No thank you. Not for me.
Tom,
All the spider stories reminded me of something I experienced perhaps eight or nine years ago. I was asleep in bed with my open hand on the pillow, above my head. In my sleep/dream a spider crawled across my hand. I snapped my hand shut on the imaginary spider. Thing is, the spider was real! I sat up, turned on my bedside lamp, and there was squished spider in my palm.
Michael
Uuuuu!
That is probably worse than drinking a stink bug, though not as tasty.
RR
Yuck.
Really.
Michael
Yipes.
BB
Out of the box the Shredder is a well put together package.
But us air gunners loading our own shot isn’t always about being able to accomplish cheap. It’s about reloading or own stuff without relying on the suppliers to supply. Plus we like to customize our loads. And this isn’t about air gunners. You know BB and I’m pretty positive it’s about how us firearm owners grown up and grown throughout time. It’s just what happens ya know.
Well then Gunfun1, the bugblaster is your friend. You don’t just get to choose the ammo (I’ve yet to try anything other than table salt) but you have to decide on the gun too! 🙂
I have some really cheap co2 BB guns that you can find at Wally World in blister packs. I think they are Daisy branded, but I’m not sure. They work great at close range on those tiny fruit flies that seem to come one dozen to the banana, at the store I shop at. No salt needed. The blast make them just disappear.
I don’t kill spiders, other than black widows and brown recluse. Most spiders co-exist with the wife and I and, since we have allowed them to live with us, we have never seen a roach in the house. We grew up in homes and apartments where roaches were always present, so we like a good “No Roach” zone. The largest Wolf Spider I’ve ever seen was half again too big to be caught in a Rocks glass. Maybe 4 1/2″ across the legs.
I never kill crickets, unless they are helping me catch Bluegills. In Asia they are kept in little cages as pets because they are good luck. The wife, on the other hand, stomps every one she sees. The very aggressive nature of the jumping Cave Cricket turned her to the dark side.
Half