Large-bore centerfire small game

[vincecyr]

Handguns, rifle or both?

Handgun, primarily, but rifle is still interesting.

[Duckiller]

Have shot cottontail with factory load in a 257 Roberts. be sure to hit them in the head. removed head very nicely. A body shot would have made bunny disappear. My experince was a long time ago when I was deer hunting. If I were to do it now I would use a standard velocity 22LR. Not sure why anyone would use a big bore. a down loaded 38 Special being the exception.

[PositiveCaster]

The OP wants information on .36 caliber and up cartridges. Rifle/pistol doesn’t matter, velocity and bullet shape do. I have used my .45 LC BH with the 255 Lee RNFP at ~800 fps on grouse and hare. Punched a hole through the hare with minimal damage - unless I hit the shoulder.



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[Cary Gunn]

Howdy Duckiller,

Your admonition to stick to head-shots on cottontails is generally good advice, but I once watched a buddy place a 130-grain jacketed spitzer through the ribs of a 20-yard cottontail with the .270 Win. he was carrying on a Wyoming pronghorn/mule deer jaunt. After the shot, a big cloud of dust erupted behind the rabbit.

But the bunny initially seemed oblivious to the commotion. He sat unmoving for several long moments as we looked on with awe. Then he took a couple of short, unhurried hops -- and fell over dead.

Rather than disintegrating the little fellow, the speedy, sharply-pointed .270 big-game bullet, with velocity probably close to 3,000 fps, just punched an "ice-pick" hole though his air bags.

That evening, we simmered his virtually undamaged carcass for about 20 minutes in a pot of spicey tomato sauce and enjoyed him along with our campfire spaghetti.

The morale of the story is, I guess, that broadside passage through a tender, two-pound rabbit won't even begin to cause expansion of a tough, jacketed spitzer big-game bullet.

That said, though, I'll still advocate head-shots on small game.

Happy trails,

-- Cary Gunn --

[country gent]

I spent the better part of a summer hunting wood chucks with a 338 win mag ( getting ready for a hunt that fall) Used the same load I had worked up for the hunt. Small game with big bores isnt a problem and for efficiency and comfort they can be loaded down even. Less powder less recoil and less report.

[Wolfer]

I have killed many head of grouse, rabbits and squirrels with a 45 colt revolver. Load is the lee 452-255RF pushed to just under 1000 fps.
This boolit cuts a clean 45 cal hole whether it be small game or large. Grouse shot through the breast can be sliced right across the hole. No bloodshot meat whatsoever.

I prefer the same type boolit made by NOE with a cup HP for deer. Penetration is still good and I tend to get a little better blood trail.
The lee is the most accurate boolit I shot in my gun.

[MT Chambers]

For the 45/70 I'd recommend the Collar Button mold and some trail boss powder.

[Larry Gibson]

What boolits(and what velocities) tend to be favored for use on bunnies and similar sized fare. I'm just curious, especially in the larger calibers.......Sorry. Should have specified. Say .36 cal and up, but especially interested in .44 and .45...Handgun, primarily, but rifle is still interesting.....

With handguns or rifles I prefer a light weight for caliber cast bullet of WC, SWC or TC for head shots on small edible game such as rabbits and squirrels, etc.

For birds such as grouse, ptarmigan, turkeys, chucker, huns, etc. I prefer a cast RN bullet as it slips through the body w/o much or very little meat damage. Velocity for both uses runs 750 - 900 fps +/- with both handgun and rifle.

[brewer12345]

I have killed many head of grouse, rabbits and squirrels with a 45 colt revolver. Load is the lee 452-255RF pushed to just under 1000 fps.
This boolit cuts a clean 45 cal hole whether it be small game or large. Grouse shot through the breast can be sliced right across the hole. No bloodshot meat whatsoever.

I prefer the same type boolit made by NOE with a cup HP for deer. Penetration is still good and I tend to get a little better blood trail.
The lee is the most accurate boolit I shot in my gun.

I'd guess 45 ACP at similar velocities or less would do well, too.

[skeettx]

S&W Model 25-2, 45 ACP, 200 grain Semi-wadcutter (Lyman 452460), 3.7 grains of Bullseye.

Why, because they work and that is also what I load for Bullseye Matches.

Mike

[KCSO]

I have used gallery loads in the 45-70 for years to hunt small game. Use head shots only. For other calibers use the gallery load section in Waters PET LOADS. All will work fine for small game and are quiet enough for deer camp.

[warren5421]

For .45 I like 18-20 gr FFFg by volume with filler behind 200 gr by weight RNFP. Works great on Tree Rats, Rabbits, Coons, Opossum, and Coyote within 25'-50'. Very little meat damage, just a big hole that stops small game running away.

[carolina sorillo]

I have just recently been doing this. Although I'm not using a large caliber but it is a large case. I'm shooting Lee's 135gr .277" from a Savage model 111 .270win. over a light charge of Trail Boss. I got a decent group, minute of squirrel head, at 1075fps. My alloy is 3:1 salvaged plumbing lead:WW and I lube with LLA. It's really nice to be able to shoot the .270 w/o ear protection. I call it my .27 long rifle load.

I also used to have a .454" rb .45 Colt load that I used to dispatch backyard pests. From the 24" Marlin CB barrel it sounded like someone spitting out tobacco juice. But @25yds 5 shots left a ragged hole. The Marlin's have an insane 1:38" twist which actually works out great for round balls.


CS

[smithnframe]

I once shot a ring neck pheasant with a 45/70 405 grain cast bullet on top of 48 grains of 3031.......it did the trick!

[veeman]

I shot a crow once with a 45/70. went "poof", a few feathers floated down. Best case of spontaneous combustion I ever did see.

[6pt-sika]

I wrote an article for “The Fouling Shot” about fifteen years ago about this type thing for squirrels . I used all Marlin lever’s one chambered first 32 Long Colt , several for 32-20 , a couple for 25-20 , one for 218 Bee and last but not least one in 357 MAG . All were downloaded to around 1000 FPS well that is except the 32 Long Colt 2 grains of Unique only pushed the 90 grain bullet at 900-950 FPS . Killed a squirrel or two with each rifle all with iron sights I might add and all were shot at less then thirty yards . Cast bullets in all .

[trapper9260]

I have came up with from some place on here about use of 00buckshot size to .310 and use alox water down and use for 30 cals. I use it for 30-06 ,308 win,30-30 .I do not have the card I have for the data. But it works good. also use the 32 cals boolits in the 30 cals.

[Tripplebeards]

Here’s a nuisance rabbit that was robbing my garden. I shot it at 136 yards with a Lyman devastator Hollow point. It was shot out of my Ruger 77/44 Around 1750 FPS with a 100% ac COWW alloy. Believe it or not I still had a lot of meat for the stew pot with the front and rear legs. I would want a solid boolit pushed with trail boss Powder loaded at the absolute minimum velocity if I were trying to save meat. I put the two halves closer for a picture. They were about 15 to 20 feet from each other.

[onelight]

I have used .36 .44 and .45 wit black powder mainly revolvers but also single shot in .36 , and .44 and .45 in cartridges for squirrel and rabbit round balls in the BP guns and 429421 in .44 and a 250 swc in 45 colt loaded to 700 to 750 FPS , almost all head shots and they way I shoot I have to be close
With the big handguns the critter had to be on the ground or low enough on a big tree to have a back stop. My favorite kind of hunting could pack my stuff on the motorcycle and head out for a few hours or a day or two with next to no expense and time in the woods . Makes me want to go just reading and talking about it.

[CastingFool]

I've shot woodchucks at 65 yds with my Henry BBS chambered for 45 colt, using the lee 452-200 rf