Rabbit rifle for a windy day..

[ElvisThePelvis]

Currently have HMR which is cool until the wind blows. I have a slot for 243 and the ground is cleared up to 243, but as it stands I'm not convinced I want to go down the deer stalking route, it's is starting to feel like a load of hassle. I'm thinking of putting in for a variation for another rabbit rifle that will drift less on the wind, suggestions welcome.

[welshwarrior]

22 hornet 222

 

Or faster if you don't eat them.

[Squirrel73]

I can't see past the good old .22 rimfire with subsonic ammo but I am old school.

[ElvisThePelvis]

I can't see past the good old .22 rimfire with subsonic ammo but I am old school.

still wind affected though?

22 hornet 222

Or faster if you don't eat them.

. They all get eaten, thanks for suggestion though

[wymberley]

22 hornet 222

 

Or faster if you don't eat them.

The best answer is the one that you're most familiar with. The 22LR is marginally more affected by the wind. So if you want to keep to the same ranges in the wind as in the calm, as above is a better option. I know that you haven't mentioned it and may well not be interested, but if you ever fancy a go at Reynard, then reloading will get you out to 200 yards which takes care of some 99% of those shot.

[jam1e]

As already mentioned, I'd go for the .22 Hornet. More versatile, I found the .22 Hornet to manage half moa at 100 yards, especially if you take the reloading route.

But would the .17 Hornet buck the wind better at short distances? I've no idea, as I've never owned one. Perhaps a few who have one could help out with the stats, between bought rounds, and or reloading?

Jamie

[steve_b_wales]

.204 for head shots.

[jam1e]

.204 for head shots.

Can't argue with that. Wish i'd never sold it!

[figgy]

You want the most balistically efficient round to beat wind drift. Also a cheap to buy or reload round rabbiting uses more than deer shooting.

[Bangbangman]

I replaced my 17HMR with 17Hornet for longer range bunnies (my most used perm does not allow close approaches) and to avoid problems with 17HMR ammo.

 

If you reload, the 17Hornet is economical and the 25gr Vmax can be loaded to surprising velocity; it's better in the wind than 20gr Vmax, of course. 0.230 v 0.185 BC (G1).

 

The .22Hornet has a G1 BC of 0.221 for 40gr Nosler ballistic tip (my program auto-selected this bullet for "best wind drift") but initial velocity much lower than its 17 Cal brother, so drop and drift are worse but minimally so at 100yd (see below). Slightly better energy at these ranges but this is irrelevant to the decision.

 

.204ruger (and others) will obviously eclipse the above at any range but seems excessive for 100yd rabbits!

 

You could use a .243, if you already had one. My .243Win is very accurate, fast and flat with 55gr pills and could be used to head shoot rabbits but barrel life could be an issue if you shoot a lot.

 

Some numbers (100yd zero, 1.5" sight height, 10mph wind Drift at 100yd, Drop at 150yd):

 

.22LR 40gr subs: Drop 14", Drift 4.9"

17HMR 17gr Vmax: Drop 2.5", Drift 3.3"

17Hornet 20gr Vmax: Drop 0.5", Drift 1.3"

17Hornet 25gr Vmax: Drop 0.7", Drift 1.17"

.22Hornet 40grNosler: Drop 1.3, Drift 1.5"

.204ruger 39grBlKing: Drop 0.36", Drift 0.8"

 

Some points about the above:

1. 17Hornet 25grVmax results are using an MV of 3300fps. My homeload clocks 3430fps and gives drift of 1.13" but this is over book max

2. The 17HMR result uses "factory-quoted" MV; my chrono results suggest this is optimistic.

3. Likewise.22LR subs and 17Hornet 20gr Vmax (Slower over chrono than claimed). However, 17Hornet 20gr Vmax homeloads can equal or exceed the factory-quoted 3600fps MV quite easily.

 

My choice was 17Hornet; fits my medium range rabbit-rifle needs perfectly; I have other options for fox Etc.

 

However, if fox was a consideration and if you don't mind the extra expense for bunnies, a .20cal is clearly superior by the numbers.

Edited May 1, 2017 by Bangbangman

[wymberley]

I replaced my 17HMR with 17Hornet for longer range bunnies (my most used perm does not allow close approaches) and to avoid problems with 17HMR ammo.

 

If you reload, the 17Hornet is economical and the 25gr Vmax can be loaded to surprising velocity; it's better in the wind than 20gr Vmax, of course. 0.230 v 0.185 BC (G1).

 

The .22Hornet has a G1 BC of 0.221 for 40gr Nosler ballistic tip (my program auto-selected this bullet for "best wind drift") but initial velocity much lower than its 17 Cal brother, so drop and drift are worse but minimally so at 100yd (see below). Slightly better energy at these ranges but this is irrelevant to the decision.

 

.204ruger (and others) will obviously eclipse the above at any range but seems excessive for 100yd rabbits!

 

You could use a .243, if you already had one. My .243Win is very accurate, fast and flat with 55gr pills and could be used to head shoot rabbits but barrel life could be an issue if you shoot a lot.

 

Some numbers (100yd zero, 1.5" sight height, 10mph wind Drift at 100yd, Drop at 150yd):

 

.22LR 40gr subs: Drop 14", Drift 4.9"

17HMR 17gr Vmax: Drop 2.5", Drift 3.3"

17Hornet 20gr Vmax: Drop 0.5", Drift 1.3"

17Hornet 25gr Vmax: Drop 0.7", Drift 1.17"

.22Hornet 40grNosler: Drop 1.3, Drift 1.5"

.204ruger 39grBlKing: Drop 0.36", Drift 0.8"

 

Some points about the above:

1. 17Hornet 25grVmax results are using an MV of 3300fps. My homeload clocks 3430fps and gives drift of 1.13" but this is over book max

2. The 17HMR result uses "factory-quoted" MV; my chrono results suggest this is optimistic.

3. Likewise.22LR subs and 17Hornet 20gr Vmax (Slower over chrono than claimed). However, 17Hornet 20gr Vmax homeloads can equal or exceed the factory-quoted 3600fps MV quite easily.

 

My choice was 17Hornet; fits my medium range rabbit-rifle needs perfectly; I have other options for fox Etc.

 

However, if fox was a consideration and if you don't mind the extra expense for bunnies, a .20cal is clearly superior by the numbers.

Somewhat off topic here, but a word of caution. The Nosler bullet is not of the Hornet variety and is somewhat long for the calibre at 0.7" (will it fit in your mag'?). I tried them because as has been said they do have a high BC. However, I hit a problem which I never got to the bottom of regarding pressure with Lil'Gun. If you do use these, watch out for the signs from the word go. As Said, I never found out why for sure, but because of the length and bullet profile, I always wondered if the area of rifling land engagement was such that a higher pressure was required to drive it. The rifle was a new Weirauch but I spotted a Ruger No 1 which I then bought, selling the JM and had no further need for the 40g bullet weight.

[ElvisThePelvis]

ThAnks guys, this is great!

[Dougy]

308.

 

Anything will be affected by wind. The art is judging the windage, I'm sure you want to improve your shooting Mr Elvis practice with what you have will give you the results your after. There isn't a caliber out there that won't be moved by the wind.

[Tford]

.22wmr for rabbit in wind. Similar enough to the HMR but with more weight and punch. I've had mine 4 years and although I keep thinking about an LR I can't bring myself to do it. It's cheap enough to use for rabbit bashing but also good on reasonable range foxes whilst out rabbiting.

Edited May 3, 2017 by Tford

[spready]

Defiantly the .22 hornet, great all round calibre

[Fisheruk]

308.

Anything will be affected by wind. The art is judging the windage, I'm sure you want to improve your shooting Mr Elvis practice with what you have will give you the results your after. There isn't a caliber out there that won't be moved by the wind.

There speaks experience

[Scrumbag]

.223 Rem

[beanieboy]

+1 for the 223. I used 40g Vmax with 26g of Benchmark.....goes like a laser.