Favorite small rifle cartridge(s)?

[doubleh]

22 LR for small critters.

 

[lightman]

Many come to mind but the 22 Hornet would be one and the 30 Carbine would be another. And the 222 as an honorable mention.

 

[tark]

Two rifles I have in the category are .22 Hornet and .32 WCF (.32-20). Someone mentioned the .30 Carbine round. It strikes me as a rather updated 'answer' to the .32 WCF. Too bad no one makes a decent bolt gun in said caliber.

Savage once did, the 23B. They are old, hard to find and were made as an "inexpensive" gun. But they are good shooters.

 

[Bwana John]

30-06....

Loaded with 70 gr 32acp projectiles.

 

[ECVMatt]

I am going to go with the .256 Winchester out of my Levermatic, the 17 Hornet, and the 22 Mag as my top three. I also love the .357 Mag, 9mm, and 17HMR as well as the 22 LR. Well I guess I love a lot of them.....maybe I am polyamorous for the pygmies.

 

[dh1633pm]

Why 45-70 of course. I like 223. Nice for plinking.

 

[Archie]

Savage once did, the 23B. They are old, hard to find and were made as an "inexpensive" gun. But they are good shooters.

I have a Savage "Sportster" (Model 23 c) in .32-20. It is what occasioned my entanglement with the .32WCF cartridge. The comment about a 'good bolt rifle' was regarding the .30 Carbine cartridge. Probably not enough commercial interest.

 

[tark]

I have a Savage "Sportster" (Model 23 c) in .32-20.

Darn! Did I get the letter wrong? Lol.

 

[DM~]

My fav small rifle cartridge is the 22LR!! Second in line would be 22 Win. Mag...

My fav "center fire" small rifle cartridge, is by far, the .222 Remington! What a great cartridge!

DM

 

[Gordon]

I pulled a few ranch rifles out of Monterey California ranches the last almost 50 years. They seemed to like .25-20, 32-20 .22 wrf ( which is a .22 mag at 1400fps with a 45 grain flatpoint), and of course .22 with a few.22 short and the odd .25 Stevens rimfire which I stay away from because zero ammo !
A good .25-20 in a Remington model 25 pump gun is just too sweet and apparently kept deer out of the gardens an orchards around here.The .32-20 seems to be a turn of the century favorite in things like my Marlin 27 pump gun in Southern Monterey county and Big Sur where I got my Winchester 92 32-20 rifle.
The .25-35 was the hot rod deer gun around this small deer and a lot of predators like Mt. lion and Coyotes but few if any bear left Los Padres Forest area early in the 20 th century. I used my.25-35 in Big Sur on a several thousand acre ranch I was foreman there 1973-78, before moving to town and finishing my degree.

 

[Sniper66]

While I love the .22lr, there is a huge spectrum of small rifle cartridges on the market. What's your favorite small rifle cartridge? NOTE: When I say "small" I'm referring to a cartridge that is relatively low power that would (typically) be used for small game.

Mine would have to be the .17 WSM. To me, it can do everything a .22 WMR can do and more. If it weren't for the lack of availability (not just now with the shortage, but in general), I feel that it would be even more popular than it is.

Favorite small calibers are as follows, 22LR, 17HMR, and 22 Hornet, in that order. 22LRs are just too much fun for the others to compete. The 17HMR adds oomph and distance, not to mention exceptional accuracy. My 22 Hornet is a fine shooter and reloads very cheaply. I have a Savage Model 25 that has killed lots of prairie dogs

 

[cfullgraf]

I'll admit that the last critter around our farm, a ground hog who took up residence under one of our barns, was killed with 22 RF from a S&W M317 revolver.

While the M317 worked, it took several shots to kill the ground hog. So, I pulled my Ruger 4" 327 Magnum from the safe for the next ground hog. I'll be using 32 H&R magnum level loads but I figure they will be more efficient than the 22 RF ammunition from a 3" S&W M317.

 

[JCooperfan1911]

7.62x39mm is a light, but useful, small game cartridge.

 

[Rexster]

I will nominate .357 Magnum, which can also shoot .38 Special wadcutters, for small targets. I have a Ruger No. 1, and a Browning B-92.

 

[Oldman11]

.22 lr
.22tcm
.32sw
.32 swl
.32-20
.32 hr mag

 

[Pivot Dr]

I like my Sako Vixen 222. I can load it down with 35 gr bullets and Blue Dot to Hornet performance if I want to.