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View Full Version : 165gr cast meets Rabbit



WCF3030
08-01-2006, 09:35 PM
I had posted this on a different site but this was my first "kill" with a cast bullet.

Had a feral rabbit (probably one of mine) loose in the back yard.
Not a big deal except that it attracts every male rabbits (I had guessed because the yard was full of them chasing her (found out after it was a she) and it also makes the buck rabbits go crazy in my pens and tear everything up.
She was to fast to catch on foot so i thought I'd see if a 165gr cast round at around 1200fps could do it.

Got her moving at about 1/2 speed being chased by one of her suiters.
.308 cal hole in and .308 cal hole out. no lost meat.
About 20-25lbs.

P.S. the pics were not taken were the rabbit was shot.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/Trails650/PDR_0872.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/Trails650/PDR_0873.jpg

JeffinNZ
08-01-2006, 10:23 PM
That's no rabbit. That's a small horse!:-D

jballs918
08-01-2006, 11:20 PM
whos makin the stew, good gravy that thing is big

David R
08-02-2006, 12:19 AM
And I thought snowshoe rabbits were big!

David

fatnhappy
08-02-2006, 01:10 AM
I'm glad to see your daughter is aquainted with the realities of nature. :)

The king wants hassenpfeffer!

dragonrider
08-02-2006, 11:47 AM
Damn thats a big bunny. around here they ain't half that size.

rigmarol
08-02-2006, 12:43 PM
Where's the antlers on that beast?
Nice pics.

WCF3030
08-02-2006, 01:01 PM
Where's the antlers on that beast?
Nice pics.

Its a big doe!!:-D

WCF3030
08-02-2006, 01:04 PM
I'm glad to see your daughter is aquainted with the realities of nature. :)

The king wants hassenpfeffer!

They have been taught that animals can be cute & tasty at the same time.:mrgreen:

kywoodwrkr
08-03-2006, 01:00 PM
Just gotta comment on this topic.
A friend of mine was driving his young (5 yr old) granddaughter home one afternoon in his pickup.
There was a dead rabbit on the road.
Out of the blue she say, 'Look, there's a f$%^&#g bunny'.
He almost pulled the sterring wheel off in trying to keep from laughing.
She'd never said anything like that before, or since(10 now).
And, I'm sure you know what all the adults say now when we see a rabbit carcass on the highway! :-)
Thanks for a memory jolt.
DaveP

1Shirt
08-03-2006, 01:53 PM
WCF3030, Would have made an even better story if the young lady had shot it, but regardless, makes a good story and great pics. If it had been a male, it would have probably have been at least an 8 point!
1Shirt!

Bucks Owin
08-03-2006, 02:43 PM
WOW!

Compared to the skinny jacks around these parts that's a monster! We only have "varmint rabbits" not "eatin' rabbits" sadly...

I'd like to send a photo "75 gr .243 J-boolit meets jackrabbit" but unfortunately by the time I get in range with a camera, the "fumes" have dissipated....:-D

Dennis

steveb
08-03-2006, 03:02 PM
CONGRATS!!![smilie=w: :drinks:



http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a199/steveb3006/tonguebunny2dk.jpg

Larry Gibson
08-03-2006, 05:51 PM
SSSShhhhhhuuuuuussssshhhh....It's Wabbit season!

Larry Gibson

WCF3030
08-03-2006, 09:20 PM
WOW!

Compared to the skinny jacks around these parts that's a monster! We only have "varmint rabbits" not "eatin' rabbits" sadly...

I'd like to send a photo "75 gr .243 J-boolit meets jackrabbit" but unfortunately by the time I get in range with a camera, the "fumes" have dissipated....:-D

Dennis


I've a pic of a Tree Rat that I decapped with a 110gr varmit round I had loaded in my 30-30 moving around 2700-2800 fps.
Big Mess!!!:twisted:

9.3X62AL
08-03-2006, 09:53 PM
That is one large critter--I see why you opted for the 30 caliber instead of some sissy-la-la 6mm or 25 like I use on jacks.

That said, the RCBS 6mm 95 grainer at 1600-1700 FPS doesn't tear things up too badly on jacks. It does start disassembly on ground squirrels, though.

Interestingly, in the 25-20 the Speer 75 FN j-words REALLY jack things up for squirrels and are kinda comprehensive on jacks too at 1800 FPS. The castings don't create near as much carnage at similar velocities--both #257420 and #257312 have caliber-sized entry wounds and exit holes about 2x-3x caliber size, which is what the 243 does as well. The jacks go down like a circus fatman on a camp stool with all such projectiles, but the castings make for far better table fare--if you were so inclined. Jackrabbit recipes are few and far between, but coyotes appreciate the boon--sort of a gratuity for their nightsongs in the desert.

When castings are run ~1400-1450 FPS, decisive stops still occur--and even squirrels aren't very messed up. This is the velocity range of the original 25-20 WCF loads from the 19th Century, and these results tend to show why the caliber was so immensely popular as a ranch and farm gun in years past. There won't be anything edible remaining if a factory 223 gets used on a cottontail or tree rat, but stock 25-20's or cast boolit reloads that duplicate their ballistics are fine game-getters for species of this size range.

Dale53
08-04-2006, 12:32 AM
Deputy Al;
I have used the Marlin Lever .25/20 (late issue) with great success on squirrels and other small game. It is quite probably the absolutely best tool for this purpose. I use the 257420 FP GC bullet exclusively. Squirrel load is 4.0 Unique, medium load is 11.0 grs of RL-7 and the high speed load is 14.5 grs of RL-7 (compressed load) that sends that feller out at nearly 2200 fps. All three loads will shoot possibles on the fifty yard NRA smallbore target at fifty yards.

However, for reasons not fully understood, I will be small game hunting this year with my new TC Carbine in .32 H&R Magnum. Makes a really neat 6.25 lb. package and has matching revolvers to go with it.

Dale53

PatMarlin
08-04-2006, 01:13 AM
Nice wabbit.

Your little girl looks just like a friend of mines daughter when she was her age.

She's a movie star now.. :drinks:

drinks
08-04-2006, 09:13 PM
I have done a possum and a nutria with a 90gr rn gc in .243, loaded to 2300fps with 24gr IMR 4198.
The alloy was wws and water dropped, does less than 1" at 50 yds.
The animals were dropped where they stood.
When I was in high school, my cousin had a Stevens SS in .32 20, we reloaded with bullets from a Colt .31 combo mold and a scoopable powder from the drug store, with primers from the Western Auto store.
No idea how fast, but the bullets, made from anything that would melt, would turn the big East Texas jacks into acrobats , if we hit them.
50+ years ago, my, my how time flies!

targetshootr
08-04-2006, 09:24 PM
I believe there's enough fur on that thing to make the girl a nice jacket with enough left over for some 'bunny' slippers.

WCF3030
08-04-2006, 09:27 PM
I have done a possum and a nutria with a 90gr rn gc in .243, loaded to 2300fps with 24gr IMR 4198.
The alloy was wws and water dropped, does less than 1" at 50 yds.
The animals were dropped where they stood.
When I was in high school, my cousin had a Stevens SS in .32 20, we reloaded with bullets from a Colt .31 combo mold and a scoopable powder from the drug store, with primers from the Western Auto store.
No idea how fast, but the bullets, made from anything that would melt, would turn the big East Texas jacks into acrobats , if we hit them.
50+ years ago, my, my how time flies!

I'd like to have a 32-20 lever. That would be a awsome levergun.

WCF3030
08-04-2006, 09:29 PM
I believe there's enough fur on that thing to make the girl a nice jacket with enough left over for some 'bunny' slippers.

:mrgreen: :mrgreen:

targetshootr
08-04-2006, 09:32 PM
WCF, I have an 1894CL 32-20 for sale if interested. But I bought it before the new ones came out so I paid more than I shoulda.

WCF3030
08-04-2006, 11:36 PM
WCF, I have an 1894CL 32-20 for sale if interested. But I bought it before the new ones came out so I paid more than I shoulda.

Thanks for the offer but my next purchase will be a blackhawk in 44 cal.
I'm surly tempted but I have to stay focused:???:

Bucks Owin
08-05-2006, 11:17 AM
Thanks for the offer but my next purchase will be a blackhawk in 44 cal.
I'm surly tempted but I have to stay focused:???:

Yep, stay focused. You'll be glad you did!

Dennis

who thinks everyone should own a big bore Blackhawk...

Ranch Dog
08-05-2006, 12:47 PM
Very nice rabbit and I understand why you had to go centerfire on the critter. Heck, that is as big as a Texas whitetail doe!

BigCheese
08-06-2006, 11:46 AM
It looks like there is a house and some sort of commercial building at the top of the photo that shows your yard. Do you have any problems with .308 in an urban area?
I live in a rather densely populated area and the best I can use on squirrels is my trusty Feinwerkbau .177 air rifle.

Exactly how bad is it here? About 1/2 mile down the street is Morton Grove, IL the first town to ban handguns, and about a mile the other way is Chicago which needs no further explanation. All this is in Cook county which is infested with liberal Democrats so you can't even have reloading components or ammo shipped in.

PatMarlin
08-06-2006, 12:08 PM
Well it's prolly onna acount of you gansters messing it all up with that Rattatatat of the 20's.. :mrgreen:

45's make heckofa big holes too.. :Fire:...........:mrgreen:

dk17hmr
08-06-2006, 12:37 PM
My dad has a 32-20 and a 25-20 in Savages model 23. I have been known to shoot squirrels and rabbits with both. I hit a big fox squirrel with the 32-20 and 115gr Factory Cast bullets. Brought him out of the top of a big Maple tree faster then with my 17hmr. Speakin of 32-20 a buddy of my dad had a lever action when he was a kid (now about 65) he clames, and there is no way I wouldnt beleive him, to have shot a huge 8 point with it and killed it with a shoulder shot.

I shot a little cotton tail with the 25-20 at about 30 yards in the head that made a mess out of it. Those little bolt action Savages and these two rounds are a deadly combo on small game in the back yard.

WCF3030
08-06-2006, 04:54 PM
My dad has a 32-20 and a 25-20 in Savages model 23. I have been known to shoot squirrels and rabbits with both. I hit a big fox squirrel with the 32-20 and 115gr Factory Cast bullets. Brought him out of the top of a big Maple tree faster then with my 17hmr. Speakin of 32-20 a buddy of my dad had a lever action when he was a kid (now about 65) he clames, and there is no way I wouldnt beleive him, to have shot a huge 8 point with it and killed it with a shoulder shot.

I shot a little cotton tail with the 25-20 at about 30 yards in the head that made a mess out of it. Those little bolt action Savages and these two rounds are a deadly combo on small game in the back yard.


I had thought E.K. used the 32-20 for alot of his hunting as a kid.:Fire:

dk17hmr where in Michigan do you live?

Bullshop
08-06-2006, 05:33 PM
dk17hmr
About 5 years ago after several days of rain I decided to go rabbit hunting late one evening. After a few days of rain the rabbits come out of the brush and sit in the dirt roads in the eveving to dry off I suspect.
I took a Marlin 25/20 loaded with the little 70gn Lyman. Cant remember the charge of WC-680 but I do remember the chronoed velocity of 2350 fps.
That little Marlin was a hummer with that load.
While crusing the edge of an oat field I saw a mid sized black bear enjoying the fresh sprouts. Look at the gun and bear and with some reservation thought well lets see what happens. Had to make quite a large loop to get down wind and when I emerged from the brush couldnt find the bear. Figured he must have thought something was up and lit out for safer parts.
Strolled out into the oped field and half way across as I topped a little rise there we was staring at each other. Mr. bear did a heavens to mergitroid exit stage left and headed for the tree line. I lined up on him and touched a shot before he got there. Didnt give quite enough lead and the tiny little boolit smacked plumb center in the liver.
Well he made it to the trees but wasnt fellin good enough to run much. I slipped into the trees and spotted him about 30 yards away swaying and daised. I put the next shot between the ear and the eye and that was the end of that. That little 70 gn of dinomite took the top of his head off.
It always plum amazes me the damage those little cases can do. Had that little Marlin set up with a peep sight and any small critter within 80 yards was in great potential danger.
BIC/BS

9.3X62AL
08-06-2006, 07:18 PM
Dan et al--

My Marlin 94CL in 25-20 is set up with a receiver sight as well. It has always done very fine work with the Speer 75 FN's, but only recently started coming around with the castings--this after 600+ rounds down the tube to get things ironed and pressed, I suppose.

I do have a 32-20, also a Marlin 94 variant. Its bore is about 400 rounds deep into getting conditioned, and it shows signs of liking cast #311316's during recent work.

Pistolero 451 and I plan on strafing some jacks tomorrow afternoon--I think one of these old-school cast boolit rat zappers needs to make the trip.

Doctor Sam
08-06-2006, 09:58 PM
When I lived in West Texas we only ate jack rabbits when the democrats were in office!

dk17hmr
08-06-2006, 11:13 PM
WCF3030,
Saginaw Bay Area pretty much where your trigger finger comes into the knuckle of your hand.

lar45
08-07-2006, 12:20 AM
We have some pretty big bunnies out here by the Southern Butte. They look like a cotton tail, but weigh in around 15-20#. You can't tear the skin and peel it off like a cotton tail, you have to cut and skin it. They are horribly tough, but 30 min in the pressure cooker leaves them ready for the grill and a little sauce.
I picked up a CZ 527 223 and have a bunch of 22 Bators cast up, but I'm waiting on gas checks from Midway.

WCF3030
08-07-2006, 07:53 AM
WCF3030,
Saginaw Bay Area pretty much where your trigger finger comes into the knuckle of your hand.

I have some relatives over there.
I live in Newaygo county.

:coffee: