Mouse fart recipes

[kodiakjack]

Hey gang.

I was hoping some of you would share your mouse fart recipes (reduced loads for picking off grouse and small game while big game hunting). I know a lot of folks do it, so I thought it would be good to compile a cook book of sorts for various chamberings.

I'm personally interested in .308, but the more the merrier. If there's enough content, I'll edit the OP to keep things on the front page for easy reference in the future.

Thanks folks!

KJ

 

[kodiakjack]

The Mouse Fart Cook Book
Use at own risk

Recipes arranged by caliber.



.223, by Hoytcannan, Ar180shooter, and me!

... 45 grain Hornet bullet... 4.0 gr. TB.

Interesting tidbit, with 20" barrel, and the scope zeroed at 100 yards with full power loads, the POI of the reduced load is bang on at 20 yards... makes hunting eyeballs a breeze.

I have a similar load i worked up using 55gr FMJ's and Winchester Autocomp in a .223. 4 grs of autocomp seems to do just fine. At around 3.5 grs I did have a bullet lodge in the barrel so i'd stick to the 4 grs.

three grains of Universal. 35gr Varmageddon. A little tuft of Dacron. Tight little 1/8" groups at 25 yards.

.22/250, by Hoytcannon

... 45 grain Hornet bullet and 10.0 gr. TB.

With 18.5" barrel, and the scope zeroed at 100 yards with full power loads, the POI of the reduced loads is bang on at 20 yards.

.243 Winchester, by Sniper58

Single #4 buckshot pellet, 2.5 - 3.0 grains of Bullseye in a .243.
No filler. The Bullseye burns fast enough that I don't need filler.
I find buckshot that's about .244- .245 in diameter. Put 10 or 12 of them into a pill bottle with some Lee Alox lube, coat them well and let the lube dry overnight.
I prep my brass by using my Lee case-flaring tool to give a very slight flare to the case mouth. Use a standard LR primer. Press the ball into the case mouth with my thumb to start it. Finish by pressing the loaded round against the edge of the loading bench to push the ball flush with the case mouth.

I've chronographed them with 3.0 grains of powder and they're doing 1380 fps. They hit 2" low & 2" right at 25 meters. Usually, I can cloverleaf 3 shots.

I don't need to resize the brass. I use a .223 decapping rod from my die to knock out the old primer. Seat a new primer, scoop of powder, press a new ball in and you're ready to go again

7mm-08, by chrismc

Trail boss
12gr in 308 slinging 165gr, and 13gr in 7-08 using 130smk's.
Tumbling at 125yds, but accurate 80-100yds, shooting 1-2MOA...perfect for practise!

30-30 Winchester, by John Y Cannuck, and kjohn

I've used 6 grains of bullseye under a 32 caliber Hornady round ball in a 30-30 Winchester for grouse with success it's a very short range load, but effective.

I have fired a good many 30-30 loaded with 5gr of 700X and a 93 gr Lee cast bullet. Mostly just shooting at targets, maybe the odd gopher. Only thing I've noticed is with the light bullet, you need to slow down a bit when loading another round with a lever gun, in my case a 94. I usually don't have to resize, just maybe bell the mouth a wee bit.

I haven't used a filler in any of my light loads. Care needs to taken when loading any kind of ammunition.

.308 Winchester, by ML

Even more versatility may be derived in .30-caliber rifles by substituting a single 0-Buckshot round lead ball for a more conventional bullet. (A single 0-Buck round lead ball weighs is .32-inch in diameter and weighs 48 grains.) A charge of 3.0 grains of Bullseye powder is usually suggested, topped by a tuft of Dacron of Kapok fiber and then the lead ball. This comes close to replicating what the old Lyman handbooks called "the ideal cellar and small-game load," and is suitable for most of the major .30-caliber rifles (including the .30-’06 Springfield, .308 Winchester, .30-30 Winchester, .300 Savage, and .30-40 Krag).

See post 52 for how this recipe turned out

7.62X54R by Saafire

7.62x54R with a 90gr full wad cutter over 5grs unique or 3.6grs 700x. tested to 25yrds worked well, easy to identify and deadly on grouse. cheap quiet and no fuss. did not need any filler even when powder was front loaded. mind you my 25yard zero had the rear sight set to 500meters on the mosin.

when I tested these out, I fired over a dozen and had no leading issues.

30-06, by jethunter, rosebute

5 grains of titegroup pushing a 170gr lead cast, 923fps

My old small game load with the 30-06 is a speer 100gr plinker half jacket bullet with 14 gr imr 4198 & a cci 250 primer. This load came from an old speer manual from the late 1960's. I used hundreds of them on rabbits, grouse & beaver.

Thanks to jethunter and posting a link to a myriad of info. I've just selected a few of the common loads and powders to include here


300 Win Mag, by jethunter

6 grains of bullseye pushing a 170gn lead cast, 923fps.

338-06, by Al Bear

Sold my .22 a few months ago. If I see a hare or grouse while sitting for big game, I use a mouse-fart load* in my 338-06 to pop it in the head.

* 145 grain wadcutter, 5 grains of 700X, mag primer.

.350 Winchester, by bat119

I run 000 buck through a .358 Lee sizer die, 4.5 grs. Titegroup gives me 1" groups at 50 yards 2" low with my 350 Rem mag. Doesn't mess up a grouse too bad.

358 Winchester, by mquigley

3.5 grains of trail boss with a 150gr pistol bullet produces speeds of 700-800fps. A wad of toilet paper can be used to keep the powder by the primer.

.444, by dnepr.

My favourite is small game load is for my .444 marlin . It is 12 grains of unique, a cereal box wad the rest of the case filled with#4 shot and an upside down 44 cal gas check crimped over the shot . The pattern gets pretty thin by 20 yards but it works well up close

45-70, by Prolific

I stumbled across this on the Internet a couple years ago and played with it. Can make a round for 22 ammo prices.
Take a .490 round ball, squeeze it through a .458 bullet sizing die. If you set it on a gas check before you size it it comes out with a gas check (go figure ) Tumble lube in Lee liquid alox. Loaded with 12gr unique it penetrates through an 8" round of fir firewood, 7gr penetrates 4", 4gr bounces off but makes a 1"deep dent. They're comfortable and quiet to shoot. They hit the same point as normal loads in my buffalo rifle but high in my marlin. The 12gr load shoots a 178gr projectile close to the speed of sound, placed in the lungs would kill any deer but I'm not recommending trying. I've shot hundreds of these rounds, they're fun, cheap and very easy on brass.

 

[FromTheNorth]

tag

 

[Cleftwynd]

I can't imagine anyone having recipes for mouse farts, probably the hardest part would be collecting and storing them. Maybe carbonate something with them?



;-)

 

[sniper58]

Single #4 buckshot pellet, 2.5 - 3.0 grains of Bullseye in a .243

 

[Gatehouse]

There are dozens of light loads that have been worked up with all sorts of powders and fillers and potions...I've done it myself many times.

But now, since we are almost into 2016, we may as well use the simplest route. Get some TrailBoss and follow Hodgdons directions.

 

[Cleftwynd]

Doesn't Blue Dot work in many rifle cartridges for powder puff loads? I can't remember where I read that.

 

[kodiakjack]

Single #4 buckshot pellet, 2.5 - 3.0 grains of Bullseye in a .243

Do you use a filler for the extra space? If so, what do you use?

 

[sniper58]

Do you use a filler for the extra space? If so, what do you use?

No filler. The Bullseye burns fast enough that I don't need filler.
I find buckshot that's about .244- .245 in diameter. Put 10 or 12 of them into a pill bottle with some Lee Alox lube, coat them well and let the lube dry overnight.
I prep my brass by using my Lee case-flaring tool to give a very slight flare to the case mouth. Use a standard LR primer. Press the ball into the case mouth with my thumb to start it. Finish by pressing the loaded round against the edge of the loading bench to push the ball flush with the case mouth.

I've chronographed them with 3.0 grains of powder and they're doing 1380 fps. They hit 2" low & 2" right at 25 meters. Usually, I can cloverleaf 3 shots.

I don't need to resize the brass. I use a .223 decapping rod from my die to knock out the old primer. Seat a new primer, scoop of powder, press a new ball in and you're ready to go again

 

[camster]

One of our own has dedicated lots of time and effort for reduced/gallery loads. I'd like to give credit where it's due, but can't recall their name.
Search this forum for cronhelm and a few instances that include this ht tp://members.shaw.ca/cronhelm/DevelopSubsonic.html will pop up.

I'm just getting into reloading with sole intent being gallery loads for m' favs. Haven't reloaded a thing yet, so can't offer experience.

 

[tiriaq]

I've used the buckshot pellet + small charge of shotgun powder in a .303. Don't know why something like this wouldn't work in a .308.

 

[Silvertip13]

Trailboss powder is the easiest way to build light loads for most hunting rounds. Hammond gamegetters is what I pack hunting though as it takes up less space, weighs less and is cheaper.

 

[kodiakjack]

Anyone make a reduced load with factory powder? Pull the bullet, dump the powder, measure X grains back in, then seat a buckshot bullet?

 

[LUTNIT]

Anyone make a reduced load with factory powder? Pull the bullet, dump the powder, measure X grains back in, then seat a buckshot bullet?

It likely wont ignite or will have terrible ignition. You use faster powders for light charges because they ignite better and burn at lower pressures. The slower the powder the higher the pressure required to burn it properly.
I'm currently having serious ignition issues (hang fires and FTF's) with H4198 (a fast rifle powder) trying to get 20-24k psi loads to work. I'm giving up and switching to pistol/shotgun powders exclusively for these loads.

The factory powder used in a .308 Win load likely wont work well at all if reduced much. If it's around 4895 in burn speed (a medium rifle powder) it'll likely burn well reduced by 30-40%. If it's a slower powder (something close to 4064, Varget, BL-C(2), etc.) it may run into problems if reduced more than 10-20%. If the lightened the bullet significantly (like swapping a normal bullet for a buckshot pellet) the issues will become compounded and much worse. Best case scenario, the powder will burn but the lead pellet will be pushed much too fast and pattern like a shotgun instead of a rifle. Worst case scenario you can have hangfires, squibs lodging the pellet in the bore, or just loads of unburnt powder left in the barrel and case making a mess of things (and possibly jamming your action).

I don't see a SEE (Secondary Explosive Effect; a detonation blowing up your rifle) happening with a .308 reduced load because the powders aren't slow enough. The only laboratory confirmed SEE's I know about were done by Norma and they needed to use very slow magnum rifle powders in large volume cases and reduce the charge significantly (to like 30% case volume or something). Even then it wasn't a guarantee to happen every time. Pretty much all SEE's are unconfirmed anecdotes and the plural of "anecdote" is not "data".

 

[camster]

Anyone make a reduced load with factory powder? Pull the bullet, dump the powder, measure X grains back in, then seat a buckshot bullet?

again...having never done it; This sounds like hinky science. Ideally you'd know what you started with, and go down marginally from there. Rifles powders tend not to be the best for gallery loading.

...best advice I've ever seen reading these threads/on this forum was to buy a chrony. Published data is exactly what it is. If you wanna get freaky, do your own

 

[LUTNIT]

For reduced loads I usually use normal weight cast bullets but have been meaning to try buckshot pellets sized down. I'd run a 00 buck pellet (.330") through a Lee push-through sizing die bringing it down to .309". I'd try loads of most any normal shotgun or pistol powder starting at 6-7gr and going up to maybe 12-15gr. Find something that works well and load up a bunch, write down what it is. Keep things consistent and redevelop the load if anything is changed. For the loads on the lighter end I'd check the bore after each shot for either a lodged pellet and to see how dirty the bore is. At low velocities there are various reports online of it working well without lube but I'd likely throw some Lee alox on there because it's easy to do.

I've been meaning to try this for .30 cal cartridges and haven't but have done it for others. I shot 00 buck pellets sized down to .323" for an 8x57mm Czech mauser and it worked decently well (5-6" groups at 50yds if I remember correctly; easily take a grouse at 10-25yds). Also works well for .435" round balls sized down to .430" for very light loads in a .44 mag (below .44 special loads). It worked, but not as well, with .461" round balls sized to .458" in a .45-70. I may have been pushing them too fast for such a small bearing surface though; need to do more testing with the .45-70 loads.

The Hodgdon data site has data for subsonic loads using Titegroup for many rifle cartridges. They use conventional rifle bullets, not round balls or buckshot pellets, but could serve the same purpose as a small game cartridge. Some guys say you need to use lard or shortening to lube the bullets with these loads but I've shot many subsonic rifle bullets and my only squibs that lodged bullets in the barrel were my fault when seeing how low I could go; I didn't have issues until I went below 700fps.

 

[macpowa]

Hammond game getter, available in almost every caliber

ht tp://www3.telus.net/gamegetter/Calibers.html

 

[LUTNIT]

I understand the appeal of the gamegetter to those who don't reload, but to me it seems easier and cheaper to just load up some reduced loads and mark the brass. With the game getter you either carry multiples (expensive), carry the small components to reload it (multiple tiny components to lose; difficult with freezing fingers or with gloves on), or only get one shot.

You can carry a single ultra-light load in the same volume or multiples which are easier to use even if they do take up more room. Full sized cartridges are also harder to misplace or have fall through a hole in your pocket than .22 blanks and component bullets.

If someone doesn't reload or is looking for a retail product solution to small game rounds, it seems like a great solution, but I honestly can't see myself ever using one if I am loading my own ammo.

 

[nowarningshot]

I looked into doing this with my 45-70 handi rifle. People were using a smidge of powder, a cut down 410 wad, #8 shot, then sealing it with a mixture of #8 shot and wax. Sure you can google fu a recipe. It is a 30 ft grouse load.

They called them forager rounds.

 

[Northman999]

As has been stated, easiest is to use Trail Boss, if it is available. When you want to get really, really low velocities, you can use very little and a dacron filler; just be sure the dacron stays up at the bullet end and does not compress back into the Trail Boss charge. Great for larger cases.

Unique, Red Dot, Green Dot and Blue Dot can also be used with filler. The internet will get you some starting recipes. Unique seems to be the most versatile powder for this stuff, and has a long history of being used this way. If you can actually find any....

Personally I prefer to use the same, or similar bullet I normally use in whatever cartridge I am loading for. All this buckshot, gamegetter, shotgun wad, wax sealing stuff seems like a whole bunch of unnecessary work. Same brass, same primer, same bullet, same seating depth, just change powder and maybe some dacron and you're done. I use a jiffy marker to blacken the base of my subsonic ammo so I can quickly tell what is what.