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Anyone culling rabbits or anything else for that matter, using a 6mm calibre?
Hoping to get some help on my research.
What bullets are you guys shooting?
At what speed?
How many bullets do you shoot/use annually?
Flat base or boat tail?
Would you shoot/use a lead tipped bullet or rather a hollow point?
Would you rather shoot a .224 calibre?
Im using 80gr sierra hollow points in a 243 i think they might be match kings. Havnt used it for a while.
Used to use a 6mmBR but switched to 22BR. Cheaper, and the special effects are similar on rabbits.
Was using Targex in the 6mm but currently 53gr V-max in the .22.
75gr or 87gr (for longer distance) Vmax would work pretty well i would have thought.
87g vmax 85g game king
You guys make me feel poor. 22LR for rabbits on my budget.
Using .22, .223 and 7mm08
The 6mm 87g Vmax is peachy on most pests in the right hands
.243 Tikka Varmint on Rabbits
started with 75grn. VMax then onto the 87grn. VMax
found the .243 took over where the .223 leaves off, very good in the wind.
longest hit 830 yards
great cartridge, low recoil . . . but hard on barrels
Your rabbits must be really big
Thanks guys keep it comming
53 VMax in the .223 for routine stuff but 6BR with 75 VMaxs if it's blowing or past 300. Might add 6x47L to the mix for 400+.
Rabbits must be gold-plated!
Tastier than paper targets and not as chewy as steel platesQuote:
Originally Posted by Jhon
Hi Jaco
6mm varmint shooting is one of my favouritist things and has been for many years. Rabbits, hares, foxes, wild dogs, cats, baboons, vervet monkeys, and various pest birds like peacocks and geese.
The 6mm calibre provides excellent longer range / small target training. When you're smoking bunnies at 500m+ with a bullet in the 70-90gr weight class, you know you're learning. And that learning directly translates to shooting larger quarry that needs precise shots to put them down quickly. In our NZ hill country conditions, where deer shots are routinely much greater than MPBR, that's very helpful.
And not just learning in the shooting sense either, but also in the reloading and ballistics sense. Loading your own ammo for long range bunnies, working out the ballistics, and then exploderizing them at improbable distance is a whole lot of skills coming together.
Currently I shoot 75gr V-Max @3400fps in the .243 Win, and 108gr ELD-M @2950fps in the 6mm Creedmoor.
Historically going back to the 80s and 90s in the UK and SA, I shot traditional Sierra and Speer hollow point and soft point bullets in the 75/80gr range, both flat base and boat tail. In those days I was scope limited and didn't have a rangefinder. A simple BDC reticle and gut feel on range (which was guesstimated using the reticle). When I moved started shooting longer with the .243 Win, it really sorted out your reticle ranging skills which were a bit iffy at first but you get the hang of it soon enough.
In Aus I shot mostly 70gr Sierra BlitzKings because I'd convinced myself they were better, but looking back I think the performance differential was minimal over the SPs and HPs. I was now using ballistic turrets.
Today I still use a BDC reticle and hold over with my .243. I enjoy the satisfaction of old school aiming, but now I use a rangefinder. I dial with the 6mm Creedmoor and have smoked hares and bunnies way out there, some of my most satisfying shots.
For me, the training is well worth the cost.
Great! Thanks Flyblown. Ive been shooting 70gr in a several calibres and their performance is mind blowing.
Thanks for the info shared
well IVE shot a fair few hares with the .270 over the years LOL
the .223 and 22-250 are great fun on hares n bunnies....the vmax/zmax projectiles are awesome....any really soft projectile that will group works well
same deal with wallabies,Ive shot hundreds of them over the years ,it was eye opening how much quicker deaths are when I switched to a really soft projectile...dead on spot without runners,shot placement becomes to some extent irrelevant....bunnies will crawl away no matter the calibre if your projectile doesnt open somewhat or transpher some energy...we have all killed them with FMJ....... Ive also seen one shot through both eyes sideon...that was with 222rem with target projectile...Ive seen them crawl away into borrows when hit with 30/30 but shoulder bones missed.
find a soft projectile that shoots accurately.
my old nosler manual says same thing..no use having 1/4" accuracy if animals crawl away wounded..1/2" is plenty good enough and a good SP will kill cleaner...
HeadCase and i use to go down to one of our local rivers.Shoot rabbits out to 400-500yds.Hc with his 243 and i with my 308.Gentlemans sport,spotting,rangeing and fire.Great way to get to know yr rifle for distance.The Hawks loved us.
Nah just really far away, could you get closer? ....of course......but it's a lot of fun shooting things a long way away.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marty Henry
I'm gonna try this. I am. I really am. Just have to ask Aunty to let me out of jail.Quote:
Originally Posted by GWH
I used a .270 once.
Pretty humane I reckon.
I have used a 243 for long range bunny busting for nearly 10 yrs now as a way to get the eye in for Long Range hunts & 2 of the properties we have to hunt on here want us to thin out the rabbit numbers every couple of months & after a few days getting hammered with everything up to the 223's they will not let you get close & down here the wind becomes a big factor .
So we practice dial up to do the final clear out on distant warrens , we bulk brought those cheap V-Max knock offs a few years back (we are both that old we are on probably our 8th Ammo Apocalypse by now ) , the 58 &75 grain Zmax back when from memory they were $105/500 ,so my go to Bunny Buster K.I.S.S loads are - the 58 grn Zmax pushed along by 44.5 g of IMR 4895 making 3780 fps
- When the wind gets up or in long grass l run the 75 grn Zmax pushed along by 44.5 g of Reloader 19 making 3290 fps
The loads were selected for accuracy rather than speed & both are mild in my gun ,the 58grn shoot 3 shot 18-20mm & the 75's 14-16mm,great thing is the 75's will handle any pigs,goats or deer we bump on the quads in the gullies on our travels on the properties as well if needed .
As always work up to what suits your gear.
Light fast flat based bullets in my experience..
55gr and 70gr Nosler Varmageddons, Sierra 70gr Blitzkings and varminter hollow points, Targex 70gr hps and Hornady 58gr and 65gr Vmax boat tails go well too.
Ive run them in a 6mmBr , 6mm dasher, 6x45rem and 6mm TCM, all cost about the same as a .223 to run.