Lyman #225438 on squirrels

[Hickok]

Been working with the Lyman #225438 in the CZ .22 Hornet for a good squirrel load. Cast from ACWW+ 2% tin, and 6 gr 2400, it takes a squirrels head off. I did use the Lyman gas-check seater and a flat top punch to put a small flat meplat on my hunting boolits in the Lyman 450 sizer. It is a little too destructive for body hits, but great for headshots.

I was surprised at how "nasty" this little boolit performed!

[FLHTC]

You can tone it down a bit with three grains of RedDot

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Any guesses on velocity?

[Hickok]

Any guesses on velocity?When I get a chance I will chronograph the loads and post the results.

[JWFilips]

Got a photo a the little buggers?
What are you shooting them out of?
Thanks

[runfiverun]

you can harden the alloy up.
I run a 4/6 alloy and it will zip right through a squirrel.
your meplat is also doing a great deal of the work here too, transferring energy to the target.

[Hickok]

Shooting a CZ527 Hornet with these boolits. Top boolit is RN, bottom boolit is with meplat added with aid of Lyman gas-check seater in Lyman 450.

[trail troll]

Yah you could load it down a bit, took my first red squirrel of the season a couple days ago in Maine. It was a Crosman Premier out of a 1971 Blue Streak with a Williams peep. One shot kill too![smilie=w:

Actually was pretty good snack, just the legs, fired up in salt, pepper, and Montreal Steak seasoning with a little parsley, cause that was all I had at the cabin.

Gotta love em boolits. Are pellets boolits?

:mrgreen:

Oh yah the load was 8 pumps

[too many things]

you cant shoot them in head that's the best part, and you don't need the check and lube they are faster than the tree rat

[Hickok]

For whatever the reason, maybe some voids in the boolits, a little too soft WW blend, too much velocity, or the added meplat, my #225438 boolits were violent on squirrel head shots. Maybe a combination of all the above.

Went to an alloy approximating Lyman #2, left the boolit a roundnose, (not adding a meplat) and the boolits penetrate a squirrel head leaving a .22 cal size hole, and drop the squirrels nicely. Still using 6 gr/ 2400. Need to chronograph the load, but having too much fun shooting grey squirrels right now!

[Cactus Farmer]

I shoot the 225415 with 8 grns of 2400 and it fairly destroys jackrabbits. I've tried some lighter loads of Unique and Blue Dot and they just make a clean hole. The 8 grns and 225415 is akin to a bomb. Not for hunting food unless you like bits of bone and hair mixed in with the hamburger.

[Hickok]

Chronograph results; CZ 527 .22 Hornet, Remington brass, CCI small pistol, Neck sized with Wilson neck die, #225438 with GAtor check and Tac 1 lube, Lyman #2 alloy, 6gr/2400 = 1691fps for average of 4 shots.

[roverboy]

Hickok, that sounds like it should be good. The RN boolit and moderate velocity should work great.

[C. Latch]

Here in TN we can't legally use centerfires for squirrel hunting.

If we could, I would imagine that virtually anything would work well. I shot some 30-30s the other night with 2.5 grains of 700-x and they penetrated 12" of water then went on into the backstop. I'd think they'd do well enough on squirrels.

[roverboy]

Yeah, I wish we could hunt with centerfires for small game. I've shot a few 55 gr. round nosed cast handloads in my .223 that shot pretty good.

[JWFilips]

Yeah, I wish we could hunt with centerfires for small game. I've shot a few 55 gr. round nosed cast handloads in my .223 that shot pretty good.

roverboy In tenn. You can't use CF's for small game? Here in PA they are pretty strict but if you read the rules "Small game" is limited to .22 cal ( they do not specificly specify Rimfire) but then again they also list "Fall" Turkey as small game and All "rifles" including muzzleloaders are allowed in many of the "districts" ( no caliber or primer type specified) Gosh I would think Tennessee to be more open with the rules. Guess you never know

[dualsport]

Yah you could load it down a bit, took my first red squirrel of the season a couple days ago in Maine. It was a Crosman Premier out of a 1971 Blue Streak with a Williams peep. One shot kill too![smilie=w:

Actually was pretty good snack, just the legs, fired up in salt, pepper, and Montreal Steak seasoning with a little parsley, cause that was all I had at the cabin.

Gotta love em boolits. Are pellets boolits?

:mrgreen:

Oh yah the load was 8 pumps

Nice work. That's a .20 cal? I have the same set up and also a scope base for the Sheridan.

[C. Latch]

roverboy In tenn. You can't use CF's for small game? Here in PA they are pretty strict but if you read the rules "Small game" is limited to .22 cal ( they do not specificly specify Rimfire) but then again they also list "Fall" Turkey as small game and All "rifles" including muzzleloaders are allowed in many of the "districts" ( no caliber or primer type specified) Gosh I would think Tennessee to be more open with the rules. Guess you never know


http://www.tn.gov/twra/huntweapons.html

[bgokk]

Here in TN we can't legally use centerfires for squirrel hunting.

If we could, I would imagine that virtually anything would work well. I shot some 30-30s the other night with 2.5 grains of 700-x and they penetrated 12" of water then went on into the backstop. I'd think they'd do well enough on squirrels.
AR also has the .22 rim fire restriction.:cry:
"Squirrels may not be hunted with rifles or pistols larger than .22 caliber rimfire or with muzzleloaders larger than .40 caliber unless a modern gun or muzzleloading deer season, bear season or coyote season is open. Squirrels may not be hunted with shotguns using rifled slugs or shot larger than T shot."
Same rule for rabbits.[smilie=b:

[FLHTC]

roverboy In tenn. You can't use CF's for small game? Here in PA they are pretty strict but if you read the rules "Small game" is limited to .22 cal ( they do not specificly specify Rimfire) but then again they also list "Fall" Turkey as small game and All "rifles" including muzzleloaders are allowed in many of the "districts" ( no caliber or primer type specified) Gosh I would think Tennessee to be more open with the rules. Guess you never know

I never could understand any of the firearm restrictions during hunting season. Since centerfire is legal for squirrels, 25 caliber should have been the cut off point with the 256 and the 25-20 being popular. I guess those .025 were too dangerous.

[C. Latch]

I never could understand any of the firearm restrictions during hunting season.


It usually boils down to protecting deer from people carrying deer rifles and claiming to be hunting varmints or small game. I don't like it, I especially don't like it on private lands, but I'm not likely to see it changed.

[bgokk]

It usually boils down to protecting deer from people carrying deer rifles and claiming to be hunting varmints or small game. I don't like it, I especially don't like it on private lands, but I'm not likely to see it changed.

+ a bunch!

[starmac]

Me thinks they may not want people shooting squirrels out of treetops with 300 magnums. I can kind of see the thinking, not saying I like it, even more so that 22 ammo went extinct. lol

[richhodg66]

I've been working on a squirrel load for my .22 Hornet but have focused on lighter loads with a Bator bullet sans gas check and also a 45 grain WFN group buy which I had made as a plain base. I think it'll work out well, 1.8 grains of Bullseye seems to be the sweet spot with the WFN group buy bullet.

[Dale53]

For a number of years, I used the .22 Hornet with a Lyman cast 225415 bullet ahead of three grains of Unique. It is an excellent squirrel load. Then, I moved to a .221 Fireball rifle with the same bullet and 4.0 grs of Unique for similar results. The flat point is notably better than .22 rimfire. It'll bring them right out of a tree whether you shoot them in the head (my preferred shot) or in the body (like the classic deer shot, right behind the shoulder) when they won't give you a head shot. Later, I bought one of the "new" Marlin 25/20 lever actions and worked up the best load, ever, a Lyman cast 257420 bullet ahead of 4.0 grs of Unique.

Squirrel hunting with a rifle is about as good a hunting sport as there is. I rank it right up there with deer hunting with a handgun and quail on the rise with a sweet double (an over/under Beretta Silver Snipe in my case). Centerfire handgun bunnies, both cotton tail and snow shoe rank up there, too!:drinks:

FWIW
Dale53