Small calibre recommendation

[Hoppy]

Looking at getting a small calibre rifle for shooting crows, rabbits and other smaller vermin at ranges out with a .22 or 17 HMR, thinking of 17 Hornet or maybe a .223? Looking for something flat that is cheap to reload for. Anyone with any recommendations would be appreciated.

 

[Will the chippy]

I’d look at a 223 with 40grain vmax.

 

[stubear]

I went .222 and .22 hornet - both are superb.

 

[andy R204]

Try a .20cal,there's a few flavours.
However the Ruger .204 is pretty straightforward for reloading or factory fodder.
Terminal velocity devastating,no recoil & reloading components readily available.
This is my "Grey Lady",26" 1 in 10 twist Walther barrel,GRS stock & Wildcat Evolution.Topped with Kahles 418TT sending 40gr Vmax @ 3700fps

 

[Liveonce]

.17 hornet for me, cheap to run, hits hard and similar report to the hmr.

 

[Bramble]

17 Hornet, as long as its not windy.

 

[Klenchblaize]

22 Hornet

Half the powder charge of a 223 and Hodgdon Li-Gun is not a banned powder, unlike H322.

K

 

[Liveonce]

17 Hornet, as long as its not windy.

I have not found that to be an excuse to miss not that i go out in a hurricane.

 

[Donkey Basher]

.222Rem - will shoots ticks off a dog all day & if you happen to come across a Muntie then still legal to shoot it

Edit: just seen where you are - unlikely you’ll come across a Muntie but 222 legal for roe deer

 

[eldon]

A Tikka in .204 takes some beating.
Mines a supervarmint and although heavy, especially when wearing a C50, the combination is great especially in the dark.

 

[Lee the Gun]

Can’t recommend .22 Hornet highly enough. Easy to reload from .22 LR speeds to just under 3000fps. A very overlooked calibre.

 

[Jagged77]

I’ve always had a .223 for general vermin control use however I also have had .17 HMR, .22 Hornet and latterly a .17 Rem. Out of those three the Hornet was my favourite both to shoot and reload for. The .223 however still rules in my book.

 

[the prowler]

I been shooting for over 35years, I thought I saw a few of the small caliber rifles. But after buying a 20vartarg. Am now convinced it's about the best. Accurate ,Hard hitting, no recoil and pretty quiet.

 

[billy_boyle_2010]

17 hornet is wonderful and will give you an easy extra 50-75 yards past what an HMR will do.

If that's not enough- and you want to buck the wind better etc- then 222 or 223 will do the job. But it's a fair bit more expensive in powder and makes a louder bang.

 

[Hoppy]

thanks for everyone's replies, i have a deer rifle so not worried about it being deer legal. think i am going to take a look at the .204 Ruger seems very flat shooting which will mean i wont need to faff about with fancy scopes.

 

[the prowler]

Here's my two twenty cals. Vartarg and Ruger.

 

[Cyres]

204. Agree with all that's been previously said. If you put a Zulus on it then becomes a 24 hr weapon. Only issue is decent .204 brass is a bit difficult to come by. With 50 gn bullet roe legal in Scotland but you would need a tight twist.
D

 

[old 30-06]

If you have enough money, and are just adding a calibre specifically for longer range varminting, then I would think the 204 Ruger is the one for you. If you also need it to be a general purpose rifle, then the 223 Remington would be the one.

 

[Sonicdmb73]

I have had the opportunity to shoot quite a variety of cartridges over the years and owned a few different ones too.
My current stable consists of 22lr, 20 Tactical, 222 Rem, and a few deer legal ones.
I am soon to change the 222 for a 223 (to get all cartridges in Sauer 202’s) and add a.17HMR.
To answer your question some of the smaller .17 and .20 cartridges are fairly frugal powder wise. Performance wise I have found mine doesn’t quite match the stated US speeds but, I can still get a 32gn bullet well over 4000fps. If I was starting from scratch I’d go with the 20 Practical which is 223 necked down to 204. So you just use a 223 bushing die. As it was I got dies, brass and bullets as part of the deal, although I have found I can form brass with the dies I have too.
It does depend on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go, but there’s a lot of small calibre cartridges to choose from. They are popular over the pond for the likes of Prairie Dog shooting where long range and lots (hundreds in some cases) of shots are fired per day. Low recoil and heat in the barrel are a couple of the reasons for the popularity.
I have a book called Terrific Twenties by Richard Kindler (iirc) that covers many of the 20 cal chambering’s available. It’s interesting reading, with some fairly wild ones in there too.
I am not going to tell you which one is best, I haven’t tried enough to make that choice myself. However I would think VarTarg 20 Practical, Tactical or 204 Ruger would fit the bill.

 

[Twodogs]

If your’e into home loading and would like something a bit different then look at .20BR and .22BR, both wildcats so no factory ammo available.