Thread: Your cartridge of choice.

Originally Posted by Hugh Shields

@Jt89 Correct! The other dusk I was out shooting rabbits at long ranges with the triple two. Then I spied a tiny baby rabbit, about the size of your hand, sitting front on sunning itself at about 15 metres. I shot it and all that was left was a hole in the ground!

Which brings me to the subject of bullet placement. Basically, with either calibre, if the rabbit is sitting front on, there is no point in picking it up, because the bullet passes straight though and it is just a shitty mess!

222 Remington, bunny side on; with a head shot the head is basically gone, irrespective of range. Shoulder or chest shot, the other side is gone and you get the back have to eat. Reserve side shoulder damage does get a bit less with longer range, but you still only get half a rabbit for the pot. Gut shot, it's just a fricken mess!

22 Hornet is a bit less destructive. Head shot, half a head is left! Gut shot, is still a fricken mess! Side on shoulder, total internal destruction, with an exit hole about the size of a golf ball.

The joy of the 22 calibre family is both Hornet and 222 take exactly the same .224 dia projectiles, primer and powder, so no need to buy another type of powder, unless you go to 223 which likes a faster burning powder.

.224 Projectiles are available in weights from 30grn to 90grns.

22 Hornet will fire 30 - 55 grn projectile with 40 or 50 being optimal with 10grn of ADI AR2207. Currently loading Win 40grn HP W/C Fbx CJ which is very good on rabbits. I also accidently bought, to get something else, 6 x 50 boxes of Hornady #83028 45grn SP Match. I think this is the #2230 Hornet projectile with a BC .202. @ 2600ftps. Very accurate, but an absolute bunny splutterier!! It just unzips them from the arse to the elbow! I don't load HOT or MAXIMUM loads, but a HOT load with push a 30grn projectile at over 3000 feet per second.

222 will fire 35 to 60grn projectiles with 18.5grn of ADI AR2207. I'm currently firing Hornady 55grn #2266 BTSP W/C BC.235 which I'm finding very accurate. I bought 2000 of these for 25c - 28c - 36c each. Very good on long range rabbits and very good on goats. No deer yet....

What you get for the pot is very much a matter of bullet placement, projectile type and powder load.

I can't seem to get any small game for the pot with my 220 swift no matter what the range.