Best Walk About Shot Caliber To Build- WHat Should I Build?

[uscra112]

The 22-15-60 Stevens might be a fun one to play with. I have the chamber reamer but don't know where you would find brass.

Well, for a price Rocky Mountain Cartridge will lathe-turn anything you want.

And I have a .25 Stevens reamer.

[Outpost75]

Update on the 10x25R, we switched to necking down Starline .44 Russian brass, which produces a 0.975" case in one pass with no trimming or neck reaming needed. John has the reamer and can make dies by annealing, shortening, reaming, polishing and rehardening .38-40 dies.

With 180-grain lead Accurate 40-182H .38-40 bullet 5 grains of Bullseye gives 1000 fps in a 5-1/2" revolver and 1080 fps in a 22-inch rifle barrel. An Accurate 40-224H 224-grain lead bullet with 6 grains of Unique gives 950 fps revolver and 1070 fps rifle. A lightly compressed charge of 22 grains Goex 3Fg with the. 40-224H gives 670 fps in a 5-inch revolver, and 1000 fps from the rifle. Accurate 40-252H with 16 grains of IMR4227 gives 1080 fps revolver and 1340 fps rifle. A fully adequate woods deer rifle.

[country gent]

I have a martinni cadet that been re-barreled to 218 bee with a 20" shilen light sporter barrel. The round is very good for small varmints and such. A little more than a hornet and a little less than a 222 rem

[JDHasty]

We have Conteder carbines in 17 Hornady Hornet. If it is varmints and not edible game that is the ticket. 22 Hornet hits harder at 150 for larger varmints and can be loaded down for edible game. We have both and stay with Hornet based cartridges for walking around rifles because the ammo is more portable than Bee or 221. A hundred rounds or more is what we pack along.

This is based on practical application, not theory.

I don’t even engage people who want to argue the point. It’s like talking to a wall or the bumper of a car. We shoot ground squirrels, rock chucks and prairie dogs and know from experience what works best for us.

If your application is similar you might want to consider either 17 or 22 Hornet. With modern range finders neither has any advantages we can see except in more densely populated rural areas the 17 never ricochets. Not that the 22 has either, but it’s a stone cold natural fact that your maximum potential ricochet with a 20 grain bullet is never going to result in a 30-40 grain ricochet.

22 Hornet 40 V-max @ 3,250 fps
17 Hornet 20 tipped @ 3,600

It’s pretty easy to see that the 22 Hornet is going to hit a lot harder. Those are real velocities taken through our Oehlers. I’ve never seen a 17 anything that was worth spit as an edible small game round. The 22 Hornet can be an outstanding small game round.

FWIW, we have Bees and 221/222 based rifles as well. Practical experience is what makes the Hornets what we prefer. YMMV

[uscra112]

O.P. posted:

- the more obscure cartridge the better as I do reload as long as brass and bullets are available or can be cast for.

Hornets do not qualify.

[JDHasty]

Nearly six decades ago when I was consumed with research and planning my future arsenal in the grade school library there were claims to the effect that the Hornet and 45/70 were obsolete. Dead and dying. Kaput.

We have both and wouldn’t ever want to be without them.

[uscra112]

He also wrote:

- I all ready have a barrels in 357 max, 9mm, and 22 hornet so those are out.

[M-Tecs]

I like the .25-35 Winchester. Somewhat obscure but not to the point that brass is a major pain.

[cumminsnut76]

I do like some of these ideas. What options are out there as a necked down 357 mag? Thinking at least 257 or bigger? Also what is involved in forming herret brass? I do have a 30-30 and a 30-30improved so they would be duplicates but anecked down version could have possibilities. All good ideas keep them coming!

[uscra112]

To make .30 Herrett you push the shoulder back by quite a way. I've never done it myself, but I imagine it would take at least one intermediate forming die. I once bought a box of .30 Herrett brass at an auction, (for peanuts), but after I got it home I started playing with loads in Quickload, and soon convinced myself that it wasn't as versatile as the .30-30 itself. I'd send it to you gratis pro deo if I knew where it was in this mess.

[Don McDowell]

25-35 is simply done by sizing 30-30 brass, the 22 Hi power and 225 winchester pretty much the same thing based off of 30 wcf brass.

30 Herret needs forming and trim dies along with fire forming.

There were a number of wildcats in the 60's and 70's based on 357 brass, but none of them really grabbed a hold. Unless you have a good supply of 357 brass on hand, anything based on that is going to be a problem as the component brass hasn't been available for several years. Maybe that'll turn around , hopefully..

[rockrat]

I was going to suggest the 357max. but since you have one, then the 327 Federal.

[rbuck351]

256 win should be perfect for your requirements.

[TomAM]

Or 6mm Bullberry

[uscra112]

Unless you have a good supply of 357 brass on hand, anything based on that is going to be a problem as the component brass hasn't been available for several years. Maybe that'll turn around , hopefully..

You're saying even .357 magnum isn't available now???? What is the world coming to?

edit: Nah, Duck Creek has Starline in stock.

[Don McDowell]

They are finally getting some loaded rounds available, not much real serviceable unless you're into fmj stuff, but component brass is scarce at best.

[JDHasty]

O.P. said small critters, so anything above .25-20 is overkill. And I'd go for .25-20 Single Shot myself. In its' day it was the small game cartridge, but was also considered a viable number for target competition when the wind was light. Brass is hard to get, but once you've got it it lasts forever. Another obscure possibility is .25-21. Or for really obscure, go for the .25 Harwood, which is a centerfire version of the .25 Stevens rimfire. Making brass from .22 Hornet is easy. Since you will use a strong action it can be loaded to 1800 fps using a 65 grain gas checked bullet.

Not knocking Outpost75's suggestion of .32 S&W either, but it doesn't meet the "obscure" criterion.

I would surely like to see the 25-20 Single Shot become less obscure that good brass was available at a price that obtaining 700-800 was a price I could justify. The brass is the parent round for a number of cartridges that I have had a long term interest in. I have seen one, and only one, rifle in the field that used that brass. It belonged to a gentleman who moved to the Spokane area from New England as a youth in the 1960's and his his father had brought along his battery of varmint rifles which he inherited. He was pleasantly surprised to meet someone who had a clue about the rifles he owned. The rifle was chambered in 170 Landis Woodsman, he had four rifles with him and another three or four at home. Mausers, Stevens, Winchester single shots.

[dverna]

So I have a Contender frame just itching to be built and I am thinking a small light weight walk about rifle would be just the ticket. What I dont know is what to chamber the little bugger in? I want to know what you would do. My only parameters are
Contender based (obviously)
-lightweight 4-6 lbs
-used mainly for small critters inside of 150-200 yards but could be used much closer
-must be centerfire
- the more obscure cartridge the better as i do reload as long as brass and bullets are available or can be cast for
-light recoil and light report if possible
- I all ready have a barrels in 357 max, 9mm, and 22 hornet so those are out

what do you guys think? use your imagination lol

Why is the .22 Hornet you have unacceptable for your needs? That may help determine a better choice of calibers. Yes, I understand it is not "obscure", but is that its only "fault"?

[TurnipEaterDown]

I’ve never seen a 17 anything that was worth spit as an edible small game round. The 22 Hornet can be an outstanding small game round

I like my 17 Ackley Hornet TC Contender as a Squirrel round.
I load the 25 Hornady HP over 12 gr H4895 for a reduced load (2800 fps, down from 3200 fps) and take head shots. Not too loud to be obnoxious, much flatter than a 22 RF.
Last black squirrel I shot this way I flubbed a little and took a front leg off, but so did the 22 RF that my hunting buddy used when he shot another 5 min later.

Back to the subject: Flexible small/mid game round on TC Contender -->
How about a 6.5 Bullberry or 6.5 Waters?
Light bullets available (85/90) or vermin, a 100 gr Nosler BT for a coyote or similar, or 120 gr Partition if you want to plug a deer a bit out there.

[cumminsnut76]

There is nothing wrong with the hornet. It’s a sweet little oversize BB gun lol. I just have the itch for another little game getter lol. Something between that and a 30-30 realistically