subsonic reloads for a .223

[leebut]

Hi, I can give you a subsonic load I use for quiet target practice,but not sure about goose shooting? It groups just about MOA in my .223, it's 7.5gr N32c or Tin Star, with a 62gr bullet,twist is 1 in 9. Hope this may help?

Hi

Thanks for the load data, I can try a few loads at the range first and see what MV it’s running before I try it in the field

 

[leebut]

Being wildfowl I should use 410 moderated with bismuth . No major ricochet risk ( care still needed ) and you can run subsonic even use felt wads
Slug ? No not for me , get tgem in the head and high neck 20 yard numberv6 bismuth loads

Field is to open to get close enough to other than when they’re coming in to land but you only can clear one or two birds hence the rifle instead of shotgun

 

[Bowland blades]

Field is to open to get close enough to other than when they’re coming in to land but you only can clear one or two birds hence the rifle instead of shotgun

Ever seen layout blinds ? 22 rf etc can even get 22 rfvin none toxic now

 

[Colonel]

When I did pest control with a 22lr for many years I used Eley standard which IMO where no louder than sub sonics and head shot rabbits out to 150yds.

 

[Sonicdmb73]

I forgot to mention earlier. I had a discussion with someone who had 223 on his FAC to control geese on a reservoir. He applied for one of those 30 cal air rifles I forget the make/name. However his variation was turned down (not sure why exactly). But it did seem a plausible solution to lobbing a big lump of lead accurately.

 

[Bowland blades]

I forgot to mention earlier. I had a discussion with someone who had 223 on his FAC to control geese on a reservoir. He applied for one of those 30 cal air rifles I forget the make/name. However his variation was turned down (not sure why exactly). But it did seem a plausible solution to lobbing a big lump of lead accurately.

Possibly in the word pellet over bullet , a lead pellet would be illegal on wildfowl! Nevervcan figure with the cops though

 

[Sonicdmb73]

Possibly in the word pellet over bullet , a lead pellet would be illegal on wildfowl! Nevervcan figure with the cops though

I don’t know exactly, but personally I think that it would have been preferable. Certainly from a safety perspective in the particular location. However I have only heard one side of the story so there’s probably more to it.

 

[Bowland blades]

I don’t know exactly, but personally I think that it would have been preferable. Certainly from a safety perspective in the particular location. However I have only heard one side of the story so there’s probably more to it.

Yep thats always likely " missing pertinent info " but you cannot use lead pellets on wildfowl

 

[Sonicdmb73]

Yep thats always likely " missing pertinent info " but you cannot use lead pellets on wildfowl

To be fair I don’t think “pellet” is an accurate description of the projectile fired from those guns. They are as far as I recall a bullet rather than your typical pellet. But that might well be semantics.
I seem to recall he said something about safety. But it seems a bit ironic if that was the reason.

 

[Bowland blades]

To be fair I don’t think “pellet” is an accurate description of the projectile fired from those guns. They are as far as I recall a bullet rather than your typical pellet. But that might well be semantics.
I seem to recall he said something about safety. But it seems a bit ironic if that was the reason.

I fail to understand how a bullet is less dangerous fired with a charge of air instead of hot gases from combustion .
I realise there's a big move towards higher energy pcp airguns firing bullet like slugs but I fail totally to see any difference with powder burning metallic cartridges if energy is similar.
Just seems an expensive way of doing gge job

 

[Sonicdmb73]

I fail to understand how a bullet is less dangerous fired with a charge of air instead of hot gases from combustion .
I realise there's a big move towards higher energy pcp airguns firing bullet like slugs but I fail totally to see any difference with powder burning metallic cartridges if energy is similar.
Just seems an expensive way of doing gge job

The thing is that the energy is not the same. As far as I know there’s a lump difference between the 223 full power and the 30 airgun. They were definitely higher than your usual slug gun but nothing like a centre fire.

 

[308tikka]

^^^This

When culling Canada Geese, we use .223 Rem with lots of DPT suppressor baffles, from a good distance. It’s a big bird and not difficult to hit cleanly. You have to tune your load to account for the extra suppression but that only takes a few minutes POI adjustment. Shoot in pairs, get yourselves properly sorted out before you take your first shots and it’s not too difficult to take half a dozen between two of you, just gotta be fast.

If you observe them for a while you can see which direction they fly when they take fright. Put three or four guns under their flight path in cover and collect a few more on their way out. Couple of hard out sessions on the geese and they don’t want to come back anymore. Driving geese with dogs towards shotguns is quite common now.

We have terrible problems with these bird smashing spring pasture, and fouling the paddocks and dams, particularly in the low pastures reserved for ewes with triplets or twins. They are now a nationwide pest on a massive scale. On flat pasture with dams or lakes, public enemy number one.

We also have big problems with feral peacocks, which scratch open our wrapped haylage bales, causing the bale to rot. They get the same treatment. Wiliest birds I hunt, peacocks.

Are the peacocks / hens nice to eat ?

 

[Mark23576]

We get massive problems with Canada geese. I find after shooting a few we don’t see them for a few weeks. It doesn’t seem to matter what I use 22lr 223 or shotgun.

 

[sharkbait]

As already said I would use 22lr for closer work and .223 at range and I would try to take ones and pairs when they are on their own rather than shooting into groups of birds and educating them!

 

[Lancaster]

As already said I would use 22lr for closer work and .223 at range and I would try to take ones and pairs when they are on their own rather than shooting into groups of birds and educating them!

Sorry, but that's not a great way of doing this, you want to educate them, and quickly.
I have cleared a fair bit of land of problem geese, I started with the OP's idea, it was a waste of time.
I ended up lying a long way out, setting up way before dawn and shooting the sentinels with their heads up at the far side of the flock with either a 22-250 or .204.
After doing this for a couple of weeks the geese were gone, I bumped into one of the farmers that I did this for in Summer, the geese still haven't returned 7 years later.

 

[User00033]

Are the peacocks / hens nice to eat ?

Like tough chicken if you just cook it as you would a roast chicken. So I soak the breasts and leg meat in brine for three days, then slow cook curry it. Very good like that. Big birds!

 

[sharkbait]

Sorry, but that's not a great way of doing this, you want to educate them, and quickly.
I have cleared a fair bit of land of problem geese, I started with the OP's idea, it was a waste of time.
I ended up lying a long way out, setting up way before dawn and shooting the sentinels with their heads up at the far side of the flock with either a 22-250 or .204.
After doing this for a couple of weeks the geese were gone, I bumped into one of the farmers that I did this for in Summer, the geese still haven't returned 7 years later.

Ahh! see what you mean if your just after keeping them off! Then educate away I was more thinking of picking as many off as you can before they realise what's happening!

 

[Lancaster]

Ahh! see what you mean if your just after keeping them off! Then educate away I was more thinking of picking as many off as you can before they realise what's happening!

No problem, on a few occasions I've been asked to dissuade geese from golf courses, winter wheat, barley and OSR etc, and I tried the quiet and not so efficient close range route, but they didn't get the message.
When I switched to the long range, "where the f*** has that come from, Fred's dead", they got the message!!!

 

[Bowland blades]

The thing is that the energy is not the same. As far as I know there’s a lump difference between the 223 full power and the 30 airgun. They were definitely higher than your usual slug gun but nothing like a centre fire.

Speed and bullet weight the same and the energy is the same . I don't know how either is set up but for some reason folks are building very powerful airguns , ok most are running say 30 ft lb
Being honest I don't get it passed that point , was having this conversation with a pest controller very recently he had a big stiff over his hp fac airguns , frankly I see them as expensive toys . Given tge availability of different rf ammo. I continue with reloading specials in cf
I do what's going to happen when we can no longer use lead in airgun though

 

[ChrisPCarter]

I’ve shot plenty of them with a .17hmr but I wouldn’t bother with subsonic as people have said you might as well use a .22LR but it’s quite a big bird for that. Step back and use your .223 or .243