Thread: Projectile that won't make a mess

Can someone suggest a .224 projectile that wont destroy my hares?

Head shoot them

No such thing unless you lower velocity or clean shoot them.
I have shot rabbits, hares and deer with several versions of military ammo expecting pencil thru results and was sadly mistaken.

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55gr GMX
Or anything made by Barnes

You'll have to bring the impact speed down to as low as possible.

Head shots is a very good suggestion too.

Originally Posted by R93

No such thing unless you lower velocity or clean shoot them.
I have shot rabbits, hares and deer with several versions of military ammo expecting pencil thru results and was sadly mistaken.

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Yup even my 17hmr makes a mess if I don't head shoot them, luckily it's accurate enough that's not an issue

Head shooting bunnys and hares is good practice and makes it easier on bigger animals at longer ranges.
Aim small miss small.

heavier pill for whatever 224 cal ya using possibly slower impact speed may help but head shot best bet
ill find out if i ever get out with my 22 hornet on hares etc 🤔😪

Originally Posted by quadhunter260

heavier pill for whatever 224 cal ya using possibly slower impact speed may help but head shot best bet
ill find out if i ever get out with my 22 hornet on hares etc

My hornet destroys bunnies and hares with every projectile I have used. Head shooting or close enough saves some of the back steak and wheels.

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Originally Posted by charliehorse

Can someone suggest a .224 projectile that wont destroy my hares?

204 and 17 hornet hydraulic nicely

shot one at a fraction under a km, made one hell of a mess...............oh wait that was 7mm RM

Originally Posted by nick

Head shoot them

Had a feeling that might be a common suggestion

But always striving for the head shot, just thinking more the longer shots but pretty resounding response. I'll settle for the satisfaction of a hit and then salvage what I can. Thanks guys

Nosler partitions but that would be a bit too expensive maybe?

@Friwi yea possibly getting past that dollar per projectile. But looking forward to loading all of these at some point. My wife is now calling herself a reloading widow after only reloading for 4 days

For this situation only( rabbits/hares), would fmj projectiles be less destructive or would they simply not kill efficiently enough still and pass through with insufficient damage?
Just thinking about how fast these things are going maybe it wouldn't matter if they were fmj.
I realise they are not specifically designed for hunting but . . .