Small game centerfire cartridges

I tried trailboss in the 223 but I just not seeing the accuracy under 1800fps. Surprisingly 69gr tipped match kings shot straight to 100 yards in my 1 in 9 twist at 1800fps. No keyholing but gave about 3" group
 
brybenn said:
What's the smallest cartridges ppl are using for edible small game?
I ask because I'm curious about a centerfire rifle for squirrels and bunnies and the odd coon or coyote. Basically between 22mag and the 22 Hornet ballistically. Ideally 25/20 would be perfect with cast bullets but the rim makes things more difficult.
I tried the 223 with trail boss but consistent accuracy proved difficult to obtain
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Another thought/consideration is that the only problem with this approach is that you will need a big game license in your possession as Ontario MNR COs will assume you are hunting that species if you get stopped with a centrefire. It may not be an issue, but could be a shocker if you don't hunt everything that walks, crawls and slithers.
 
I've shot alot of grouse with Primer charge .22 cal pellets from .22 Hornet cartridges. You would be surprised at how much accuracy and energy you can get from the Primer charge alone. Just size the neck, prime the case, press the pellet fully into the neck and you are done... Beeman Kodiak 14.2 grain pellets worked best for me, but others work as well... I tried about 15 different pellets... Beeman Silver Arrows worked good too and are a little heavier... no great trick to head shoot grouse and rabbits at 10-15 yards. I used a scope with multiple stadia lines so that there was an actual aiming point and avoided the hold-over guessing.
 
P.S - shot lots of Trail Boss loads aswell in many Cartridges, including the Hornet and .223... they also work and got heads hot accuracy at 20 yards, again with a multiple stadia scope.
 
patricksbb391 said:
Another thought/consideration is that the only problem with this approach is that you will need a big game license in your possession as Ontario MNR COs will assume you are hunting that species if you get stopped with a centrefire. It may not be an issue, but could be a shocker if you don't hunt everything that walks, crawls and slithers.
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No big game centerfire season in my area so other than hunting during the 3 controlled deer seasons in my area there's no worrys. I hunt in the 90s
 
.298 Minex (or .300 Sherwood; same bullet diameter & weights with same case capacity) 78 grain for small game, 140 grain for deer.

6.6 grains of powder gets ~1,400 fps. [~1,000 loads per #]

1# of Pb yields 90 78 grain bullets or 50 of the 140 grain.

Bonus is that it takes regular & available SP primers and uses .32-20 brass.
 
hoytcanon said:
I've shot alot of grouse with Primer charge .22 cal pellets from .22 Hornet cartridges. You would be surprised at how much accuracy and energy you can get from the Primer charge alone. Just size the neck, prime the case, press the pellet fully into the neck and you are done... Beeman Kodiak 14.2 grain pellets worked best for me, but others work as well... I tried about 15 different pellets... Beeman Silver Arrows worked good too and are a little heavier... no great trick to head shoot grouse and rabbits at 10-15 yards. I used a scope with multiple stadia lines so that there was an actual aiming point and avoided the hold-over guessing.
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Neat trick. Never tried that in the Hornet. Did experiment with #4 buck pellets in a couple CF .224s, with very acceptable results, they’re a bit bigger than the neck and need a couple steps not to collapse or expand the neck on seating. Was too much work and gave it up, found some US 29gr .22 cap and ball bullets that were available for a time to us that made it easy, but can’t order them anymore, I’m sure a mold could be commissioned.
 
Ardent what is the rimmed cartridge furthest to the left in your picture

Edit: nevemind I misread the other posts. Thought they said TCM, which if I’m not mistaken is the one to the right of the hornet?

Edit no 2: I have no idea what the cartridge to the right is, it looks like it has a rim?
 
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.25-20 Win. with a cast bullet is just what was a good choice in the old days.
Still OK today !!
I reload it with an RCBS cast bullet # 25-85-CM . It is a Cowboy Mold with plain
base & flat point @ 85 grains. I use wheel balance weights. I load it with 8 gr. of
4227. Sighted @ 100 yds. it hits 2" high @ 50 yds.
 
My old Martini 310 Cadet and Swiss 1882 revolver shot extremely well with the following handloads, which I called: "7.5x33R".

3.1 grains IMR Trail Boss
Deep seated .314" H&N 100 grain LWC
32-20 WCF Starline brass resized in a 30 Carbine die
Bullet seated with a 30 Luger die
Approx. 841-866 fps

Squirrels don't stand a chance.
 
brybenn said:
I tried trailboss in the 223 but I just not seeing the accuracy under 1800fps. Surprisingly 69gr tipped match kings shot straight to 100 yards in my 1 in 9 twist at 1800fps. No keyholing but gave about 3" group
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Far be it for me to talk anyone out of picking up a new rifle and cartridge, but have you considered (in the mean time) using a much lighter bullet in your rifle to potentially negate any keyholing issues? I've tried 50-55 grain bullets with Titegroup in the past in the 223. AFAIR, it was very accurate. Bluedot can also work well in these situations for dial a velocity.
 
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Ardent said:
A FP lightweight .224 bullet, 45grs or under, or the 33 Vmax, will shoot much better at Trail Boss velocities indeed. All about stabilization.
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My Rem 700 BDL in .17 Rem using 8.2 gr of Trail Boss under Hornady 25 gr HP's averaged a tad over 2700 fps and shot inside 1" @ 100 yds on most days.
The Marlin & Savage bolt guns I had in 17 HMR back then shot about as tight but I liked the 17 Rem best. Brain shots being the best on meat critters with
the 17's fer me.
 
I'm surprised no one has mentioned these yet. But there is a small collection of tiny centre fire wild cats thats from what I gather, were designed for squirrel and small game hunting, performance would be similar to what the 17wsm cartridge would offer, but in a centre fire offering. Brass forming and loading is a nightmare, but doable. 17 squirrel, 17 mink, 22 squirrel, 22 mink and if you can dream it up, either the squirrel or mink brass could be necked to 6mm, .224, .204 or .17. Cooper Firearms did chamber a few of them and redding offers dies. I knew a guy who had one in 17 squirrel, really wasn't worth the effort to load for it imo, but also cool just to say you have one.
 
saskgunowner101 said:
Far be it for me to talk anyone out of picking up a new rifle and cartridge, but have you considered (in the mean time) using a much lighter bullet in your rifle to potentially negate any keyholing issues? I've tried 50-55 grain bullets with Titegroup in the past in the 223. AFAIR, it was very accurate. Bluedot can also work well in these situations for dial a velocity.
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I've tried 40gr to 77gr. Never got decent enough accuracy
 
Think I found a good candidate in the 22tcm. It's higher velocity than what I want in a rifle but I'm sure I could download it and use a heavier bullet. It's on the .223 case so rifles are everywhere and I can live with a single shot so that solves any feeding issues. There are rifles chambered in it using 1911 double stacked mags
 
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