Recommend a .22lr bullet for small game?
Question:
CCI makes a .22 round specifically called the "Small Game Bullet", or SGB. I’ve generally preferred hollowpoints because (in my experience) they shoot straighter, but some people complain about meat damage due to the hollowpoint expansion (I have not observed this myself). The SGB’s are a solid flat nose instead of round, and they seem to be as accurate as a hollowpoint, but, of course, they won’t expand. However, they cost more, so I don’t practice with them much. For squirrel hunting especially, accuracy is the most important thing, so find a round that shoots best in _your_ gun and stick with it. Don’t use reply….. Above email address is invalid to defeat robot spammers! If replying by email, remove the exclamation points (!). Resist militant "normality" — A mind is a terrible thing to erase.
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > <snip> > The Cheaper rounds from most of the manufacturers are o.k the > cases/bullets and powder charges are usually less uniform than the Higher > graded (more expensive stuff). If you do a real lot of shooting you might > notice fluctuations in accuracy/performance if you use bricks from > different lots. > The BEST rounds (IMHO) are the Winchester Power-Point H.P (Orange Box). > This is a standard Velocity load (1280 f.p.s). Performance just has to > be seen to be believed. They are extremely accurate in most Firearms. > And terminal performance resembles something a lot bigger than a .22Lr. <snip> > I guess being a full weight 40gn Bullet the driving band is longer and > lends itself to better accuracy as there are a lot of people using this > bullet for Pistol matches here as well as out door small bore events (The > solid version). > I have found the Winchester Ammuntion cleaner than a Lot of the European > Stuff (Lapua RWS Eley). Which is a plus with an Auto. I found that that > you get a lot of Gummy residue in cold weather with Lapua Ammunition. > The other bullet you might consider is the Winchester Sub-Sonic Hollow > point. These feature the same bullet as the Power-Points but at 1050 > f.p.s. Except for the reduction in noise Terminal performance is nearly > the same. This bullet kills better than about 95% of ALL the major > hunting rounds.
<snip> I just wanted to share a recent experience of a hunting trip a few weeks ago. I was up by the OR/CA boarder where there was a depravation permit allowing a few friends of mine to take care of a ground squirrel (parie dog?) problem. In total, each of us shot 500 rds a day…with a bolt action. All I have to say is that by the end of the first day, my middle finger was raw from working the bolt as well as my thumbs sore from loading ammo in the clip. This was my first trip and to the other two, their 2nd. They mentioned that this year has been particularly "slow". The ammo we used were Winchester, Remington, and Federal. All three brands shot exceptionally well on three different guns (Anshutz 54, Winchester 70, and my Marlin 880SQ bull barrel). The Remington and Federal were a pack of 550 rds from Walmart for under $10, a bargain to say the least. We did not do any accuracy test on the rounds since we were fairly successful in connecting with the varmints. But the bottom line I want to point out is that all three guns were very accurate rifles and even with "cheap" ammo, it still did the job very well. The bullets were all hi-vel HP which IMO, is definitely the best. Hypervelocities we did try (about 200 rds through out about 3 days) Stinger and Remington Yellowjackets. Unfortunately, they were not as accurate as we thought, but when hit, was extremely devastating on them. Just wanted to share the info, Andrew Leung
Response:
> This may sound dumb, but what kind of .22lr round would y’all > recommend for rabbit and squirrel hunting? I’d assume some sort of > hollowpoint, but aside from that I’m clueless. > The gun in question is a tube-fed semiauto Marlin rifle, which isn’t > meant for hyper-velocity rounds if the manual is to be believed.
I shot Stingers for years in my Marlin 60, and had no problems. Recently decided to switch to the "Power Point" loads with 40-grain hollow-points. They are very accurate in my Marlin (one-hole 10-shot groups at 25 yards) and I have been told they are very effective on rabbits by someone who has good reason to know–he lives in Australia and shoots upwards of 80-110 bunnies A DAY with these. He describes them as "..the .416 Rigby of .22 rimfires." I got a good price on a brick and so I’ll use them for a while. I’m not a rifle hunter for squirrels, I much prefer a shotgun because I don’t like lobbing bullets into the air, and also because squirrels are so small anything but a head hit with a .22 LR hollow point really messes them up. BUT, I recently bought a bunch of CCI .22 SHORT hollowpoints, as I have used Short HPs on squirrels in the past with good success. My squirrel gun is a break-open type, and clearly this isn’t a viable solution for your situation, with a Model 60. If you must shoot squirrels with a .22 LR, I suppose the garden-variety high-velocity hollowpoints, the ones with 36- or 37-grain bullets, are your best bet. Try a few types and whatever shoots the best groups is the one to use. if your Marlin is like mine it won’t much care what you shoot in it. Don’t use Stingers or other hypervelocity HP’s on squirrels, they are much too destructive. Even on rabbits they will mess them up something awful, based on what I have seen in groundhogs. Big chunks and shallow holes. You need penetration and decent expansion, and the HV-HP’s will give you both. The Elitist
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>Hi, >This may sound dumb, but what kind of .22lr round would y’all >recommend for rabbit and squirrel hunting?
CCI Stingers are the best I’ve found. Don Z.
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>> This may sound dumb, but what kind of .22lr round would y’all > recommend for rabbit and squirrel hunting? I’d assume some sort of > hollowpoint, but aside from that I’m clueless. > The gun in question is a tube-fed semiauto Marlin rifle, which isn’t > meant for hyper-velocity rounds if the manual is to be believed.
Anything with .22Lr on the box (save Ratshot possibly?) can be used in your Marlin Semi-Auto. I have used everything From T22’s through RWS high velocity on rabbits (We Don’t have Squirrels here In AUS). The Cheaper rounds from most of the manufacturers are o.k the cases/bullets and powder charges are usually less uniform than the Higher graded (more expensive stuff). If you do a real lot of shooting you might notice fluctuations in accuracy/performance if you use bricks from different lots. I am referring to Bushman Hollow points (Made By Winchester Supposedly for the Australian Market). This round works quite well and they physically look like Super-Speeds. For Rabbits I would rate the bullets quite Hard. Rounds like Lasers work much the same but for a lot more money, the Extra speed is not really noticible at the longer ranges (around 90yds and beyond). The BEST rounds (IMHO) are the Winchester Power-Point H.P (Orange Box). This is a standard Velocity load (1280 f.p.s). Performance just has to be seen to be believed. They are extremely accurate in most Firearms. And terminal performance resembles something a lot bigger than a .22Lr. They are very Emphatic killers with chest type shots and even head shot rabbits sound give that Gut shot "whomp". This bullet really expands. I guess being a full weight 40gn Bullet the driving band is longer and lends itself to better accuracy as there are a lot of people using this bullet for Pistol matches here as well as out door small bore events (The solid version). I have found the Winchester Ammuntion cleaner than a Lot of the European Stuff (Lapua RWS Eley). Which is a plus with an Auto. I found that that you get a lot of Gummy residue in cold weather with Lapua Ammunition. The other bullet you might consider is the Winchester Sub-Sonic Hollow point. These feature the same bullet as the Power-Points but at 1050 f.p.s. Except for the reduction in noise Terminal performance is nearly the same. This bullet kills better than about 95% of ALL the major hunting rounds. If your not fussed about Noise: Power Point H.P If you want to be quiet: *Winchester* Subsonic H.P Buy a box of all of them, and see what your rifle likes best. Regards, Mark.. — –Mark Przybylowski
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> This may sound dumb, but what kind of .22lr round would y’all > recommend for rabbit and squirrel hunting? I’d assume some sort of > hollowpoint, but aside from that I’m clueless. (I’m not new to > hunting, but it’s been so long since the last time I bought ammo for a > .22 that I still plead clueless newbie status)
I’m using Federal 36 grain copper plated hollow points and am quite pleased with it. The Remmington .22 ammo sucks in my experience (duds). With this gun, I’ve been pretty unhappy with CCI as well. Shooting woodchucks with some of the CCI ammo has taken several rounds to kill the critter. Accuracy wasn’t consistent either. With this dirt cheap Federal though, the gun’s a little tack driver, and I kill the woodchucks with one shot usually.
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>Hi, >This may sound dumb, but what kind of .22lr round would y’all >recommend for rabbit and squirrel hunting? I’d assume some sort of >hollowpoint, but aside from that I’m clueless.
Subsonic will be more accurate than supersonic, but … >The gun in question is a tube-fed semiauto Marlin rifle, which isn’t >meant for hyper-velocity rounds if the manual is to be believed.
You may find subsonic doesn’t reload that well. I suggest you try Eley’s Extra Hollow Point subsonic as I have found these to be the most accurate (in several rifles) in a test of 10 different brands. The Eley lead bullet is coated with a sticky wax which picks up grit very easily, so keep them in their original box – don’t carry them loose in a pocket. These go at at 950fps and are nice & quiet. Another brand to consider is CCI HP subsonic. Slightly less accurate than the Eley but still quite acceptable. These are copper washed bullets (no wax coating). They go at 1050fps but are louder and less accurate. The Eley expands nicely and doesn’t do excessive damage. The CCI hits harder which isn’t necessarily a good thing. Both of them kill [our large European] rabbits easily enough and should be fine for you. FWIW, RWS subsonic ammo flies at about 850fps and is *very* quiet. And expensive. –Jonathan Jonathan Spencer — forensic firearms examiner Mountjoy Research Centre, Durham, England, DH1 3UR tel: +44 191 386 6107 fax: +44 191 383 0686
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Yes to hollow points for cottontails and squirrels! Hit a rabbit in the jaw with a LR solid bullet and the death is a hard one. Tag him in the same place with a hollow point and it’s lights out. It’s not just energy you’re delivering but shock. If it’s not a head shot, why take it? Also, try the "short" HPs. When sent from a rifle barrel they have plenty of power yet are VERY quiet. Cottontails for dinner tonight!!! Jim C.
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>For cottontails and squirrels, I recommend solids over hollowpoints in >the .22 rimfire. It has been my experience that the hollowpoints are >too destructive to these critters unless head shots are made — and if >you make head shots there is no difference in lethality.
That depends on whether you hit them in the brain every time. If you miss the brain but hit the face, the HP will be a better bullet since it will do more damage. Also, the solid is more prone to ricochet and so not to be used in populated areas. –Jonathan Jonathan Spencer — forensic firearms examiner Mountjoy Research Centre, Durham, England, DH1 3UR tel: +44 191 386 6107 fax: +44 191 383 0686
Response:
> Hi, > This may sound dumb, but what kind of .22lr round would y’all > recommend for rabbit and squirrel hunting? I’d assume some sort of > hollowpoint, but aside from that I’m clueless. (I’m not new to > hunting, but it’s been so long since the last time I bought ammo for a > .22 that I still plead clueless newbie status)
-snip Not a dumb question at all. I prefer the lead round nose rounds. The hollowpoints will often damage a lot of meat. Try a variety and use the ones that shoot best in your gun.
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> > Hi, > This may sound dumb, but what kind of .22lr round would y’all > recommend for rabbit and squirrel hunting? I’d assume some sort of > hollowpoint, but aside from that I’m clueless. (I’m not new to > hunting, but it’s been so long since the last time I bought ammo for a > .22 that I still plead clueless newbie status) > -snip > Not a dumb question at all. I prefer the lead round nose rounds. The > hollowpoints will often damage a lot of meat. Try a variety and use > the ones that shoot best in your gun.
I am an avid squirrel hunter. I only use a scoped .22. I believe a shotgun ruins more meat on the average than a .22 hollow point does. For small game, you can use any of the available .22lr ammo to some degree of success. I have experimented with them all. I have found that for rabbits, a solid bullet will do the job. Squirrels, on the other hand, are hardy creatures. While they are not big, they are tough. I have seen them run off after taking a fairly good hit with a solid. I avoid the hyper-velocity rounds as there is no need for them but ALWAYS shoot hollow-points. My old remington bolt action prefers winchester ammo. When using a .22 for squirrels, always aim for the head and always aim only when there is a branch or tree trunk directly behind the critter and never shoot at a squirrel hanging off the trunk of a tree at human or animal level. My two cents worth of rambling thoughts… Randy
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|> This may sound dumb, but what kind of .22lr round would y’all |> recommend for rabbit and squirrel hunting? I haven’t done much small game hunting these past few years, but if I did the first rounds I’d think about would be the CCI SGB (their flatnose Small Game Bullet) and the Remington (or other) sub-sonic hollowpoints. $0.02 —
Response:
For cottontails and squirrels, I recommend solids over hollowpoints in the .22 rimfire. It has been my experience that the hollowpoints are too destructive to these critters unless head shots are made — and if you make head shots there is no difference in lethality. I hunt squirrels (at least, I did for almost 20 years before I moved up to the Pacific Northwest, sigh…) with a Remington 541-S, using .22 LR standard velocity solids. I choose to let bullet placement make up for lack of energy, but there really isn’t enough difference in bullet energy between the standard velocity ammo and high velocity ammo to matter. Pick whichever solid shoots most accurately through your individual rifle. John Clifford Weapons Safety, Inc. 13215 SE 30th Street Bellevue WA 98005 phone: 206-649-8623 fax: 206-644-5302 url: http://www.weaponssafety.com Disclaimer: Who needs ‘em? I represent myself now!
Response:
Hi, This may sound dumb, but what kind of .22lr round would y’all recommend for rabbit and squirrel hunting? I’d assume some sort of hollowpoint, but aside from that I’m clueless. (I’m not new to hunting, but it’s been so long since the last time I bought ammo for a .22 that I still plead clueless newbie status) The gun in question is a tube-fed semiauto Marlin rifle, which isn’t meant for hyper-velocity rounds if the manual is to be believed. Post or email, whichever is best for you, and I thank you in advance for your time and effort Mike S. Medintz|"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the Remove my X- | shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for I rating to reply| survived working for KU Student Housing." http://falcon.cc.ukans.edu/~medintz
