Centerfire handloads for Small Game?

[clem]

I like to hunt rabbits with a rifle. I find it way more rewarding than a shotgun. I 100% understand that the .22LR is king of rabbit hunting, BUT here's my conundrum: out here in CA, there's a lead ammo ban -- which in every other cartridge, I'm 100% on board with because mono's are the tits -- but lead-free .22LR ammo suuuuuuuucks. Doesn't matter the brand, they're all "accurate" out to about 50yrds max, then it just turns goofy. So I'm looking for an alternative that I can use to take shots up to about 150 yards.

I'm one of these sickos who loves reloading, so I'd like to find a chamber that I can reload to get the appropriate energy and accuracy (probably using Hammer projectiles). Anyone have any experience trying something like this?

 

[Reddish]

.22 Hornet? Not sure how OAL would work with longer bullets, but Barnes makes some lighter ones.

.221 Fireball has also been a favorite of mine. I used to push it fast with LilGun and 40gr VMaxs, but you can use a bit heavier bullet and slow it down and it may not blow a bunny apart.

 

[Dented]

I load 30 06 to stupid low velocity for this very thing. Works like a charm. Pick a caliber. Any caliber. There's a ton of data available for this type of application. I have a load i use for pigs/ rabbits/ small game that's perfect. Mono bullets. It's complete crap past 125 yards. I don't care, it works exactly like I want it to inside of those distances

Pushing pressure and velocity can get dangerous. Downloading generally isn't.

Now, let's see how many "but what if a bullet's stuck in the barrel" replies we get...

 

[Wrench]

Fireball is good...but pay attention to the twist. Most are very slow and that doesn't play well with monos.

A good ol' 223 or 223ai is always a great choice.

 

[wowzers]

Patrick Smith wrote about developing different purposed loads for one cartridge.

Hand-loading For All-purpose Use of Big Game Rifles (Written in 2000)

HANDLOADING Discussion: the usual condition of starting well below the following Big Game and Dangerous Game loads should be observed; some of them are a mite hot. My approach is to make my rifles into tools that feed me and protect me, wherever I roam. I use three parameters to do this...

kifaru.net

 

[Marbles]

I'm looking at downloading my 223. 18 grs of H4895 is giving me 2034 average fps from a 16.5 inch barrel using 75 gr BTHP. My hope is that at the low velocity and the longer neck length for expansion the bullet never expands and meat damage is minimal. The heavy bullet is because I don't want to stock other options, for non-expanding and minimal meat damage, a TSX leaving at about 2000 would be great, but hard to pay $0.70 for a single bullet before including powder/primer just to shoot squirrels. Theory is I should get damage about like a 22 mag, but have significantly better range.

I have the H4895, and velocity's for full power loads were low compared to VV N135/N140/N150. As Hodgdon lists it for down loads, I figure that will be a good use for it. Once I run out, I will look into Blue Dot and other reduced loading technique's.

I'll be giving them a try on ptarmigan tomorrow. Nice thing is I'll throw some full power TMK loads in my pocket and if I see a wolf/coyote/wolverine be able to take it at longer ranges than I could with a 22LR.

I know this is blasphemy, but I'm actually trying to limit the number of rifles I own. Functional things that don't get used are sad to me, like caged animals. So, that is another advantage of downloading.

 

[Bert01]

I have downloaded 223 and used some 30 or 35 grain hornet bullets to duplicate 22lr loads. They weren’t monos but there’s no reason you couldn’t make it work. I kept a dope card and just dialed the difference when switching back and forth.

 

[omegahunter]

Don't believe I've ever even heard of a lead-free 22lr round.

I know a guy that has played around with starting loads of H110 and 52/53 grain bullets in his .22 Hornet and has had stellar results. Tight groups and long shots on squirrels.

You may be able to do the same with some Barnes bullets.

 

[joeharold]

20 practical is a blast. 223 brass is all over the place..

 

[johnnyboots]

What about something like 5.7 or .177hmr(whoops this is rim)?

 

[Danny Hoey]

Would a 25-20 fit your needs?

 

[maxp]

17 Remington...shot one abit out to 400 lot of fun

 

[farmermail]

.22 Hornet? Not sure how OAL would work with longer bullets, but Barnes makes some lighter ones.

.221 Fireball has also been a favorite of mine. I used to push it fast with LilGun and 40gr VMaxs, but you can use a bit heavier bullet and slow it down and it may not blow a bunny apart.

.221 Fireball is my favorite as well. Have not tried a mono projectile, but I would think one could work up a load easy enough. 40grn NBT with #7 is what I currently use, really fun load.

 

[Jlamb]

223 with Barnes varmint grenades is my go to

 

[Northern-Nomad]

I don’t have much firsthand experience with this but I’ve spoke with my grandpa some on the topic and I think any of the “mini” action cartridges would be great for this. 5.56 would probably be the most straightforward but a case could be made for 6 arc, 6.5 Grendel, or even a 300 blk. From a factory perspective though I think a 22 hornet would be perfect for this and federal makes a lead free loading already. Similarly, a 5.7x28 would be another factory option that would seem to suit your needs well.

 

[Don Fischer]

When I lived in Montana a friend had a 22 Hornet we shot a lot with cast bullets, probably wouldn't work in California! But at the same time I had a Rem 788 in 222 Rem, most accurate rifle I ever short! Nice 222 Rem in an accurate rifle using 50gr bullet's probably take the heads off rabbits at 150yds pretty easy. I used to shoot sugar cubes with that rifle a 100yds and seldom ever miss one! Longest shot on a gopher was 300 yds, dead right there! haven't hunted them in years now but I do again and thinking I'll use my S&W mod 19 in 32 long with cast bullet's!

 

[pbroski]

CZ 527 in .17 Hornet loaded with Hornady lead-free 15.5 gr. NTX bullets and N120 or CFE-Black. Very accurate and easily good to 150 yards and beyond.

 

[North River]

I have worked up and used reduced loads for 458 Winchester, 416 Remington and Rigby, 450/400NE 3”, 375 H&H and Ruger, 35 Whelen, 30-06, 308, 7mm-08, 6.5x55, 6.5 Grendel, and 243. Have also used adaptors but in general reduced loads are a lot easier to deal with. Besides working great on birds and small game, it is a great way to practice with your rifle.

Personally I would take whatever your centerfire rifle of choice and load it with the lightest monos you can get. Used a reduced load charge of Trailboss, H4895, Unique, Red Dot, Blue Dot, etc…. Tailor load to your rifle and velocity desires. Should be able to make a popgun load that shoots just as accurate as an average 22 without too much fuss.

 

[Steve300xcw]

have you ever been checked for lead free ammo?

 

[meta_gabbro]

I've been looking into 5.7 for similar reasons. Hammer makes some 33 and 35gr monos that should be good to around 200yd out of a 16" barrel. Biggest holdup for me so far has been finding a rifle for it since almost everything out there is a semi-auto and kinda hefty. Might have a look at the Dark Mountain Stowaway, nice and light at 3lb but it's a single shot with no cock-on-bolt-lift which kinda bites. Would love for someone to make a bolt gun in the same style that feeds from Ruger or PSA Rock mags. Perfect handy little woods gun.