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smaller BR cartridges

Im wanting a smaller quieter BR design cartridge for hunting. Anyone have any suggestions? How quiet are PPC's?
Some sort of short BR, PPS, fireball AI???
 
i have a number of 221 fb, standard chamber and find them very effective to 250 on pd with 50gr, at about 2975. a friend in Wy uses the 40's out to 300+ with good results, tho more wind sensitive

quiet, dont scare other dogs like my 22-250

Bob
 
Have you considered a 20 VarTarg? Very accurate, quiet, mild recoil, and you can see impacts. Just take a .221 Fireball case and neck it down. Only draw back is only Remington offers cases, which is what is holding me back. If only Lapua would make cases for it.
 
Another option would be a K Hornet. I know it's not a BR based round, but it's rather quiet compared to most and is still effective if used at sensible ranges. The .218 Bee is another small round that won't be loud.

The .221 fireball and the .20 VarTarg are good options as well.

Even the 5.7x28 would work well on small game, and it should move along pretty decent as well considering it will clock 2350fps from a pistol with 28gr bullets. FN states it has a 200m range, and will penetrate a level 3 vest at 200m with AP ammo, so it should do well on small critters with the right bullet. I have seen it loaded with 40gr V-Max bullets @2034fps and 367ft/lbs of energy in Sportsman's Guide, so decent loaded ammo is available. I have considered having a barrel made to shoot these myself. Considering you can buy 500 rounds of the V-Max ammo for $210, it won't cost much to feed. And with such a small amount of powder, I would think the barrel would last quite some time as well.

What do you plan to hunt with it and how far? That will make it easier to figure out what will work.

And while the 6BR and 6PPC are not earth shaking, they aren't exactly quiet. But like I said, knowing what you plan to use it for and what you are comparing it to will help a bit.

If ranges are to be 200yds or less and used on small game, the 5.7x28 would be on the top of my list. It's different, it's reloadable, it headspaces on the shoulder, and the barrel should last nearly forever.

Other than the 5.7x28, the others that have been mentioned are good rounds as well.
The more I think about it, the more I want a 5.7x28 barrel for myself! I wonder what you can get for velocity from a 18"-24" barrel and hand-loads?
 
Inquiry

I have come into possession of a beautiful custom rifle with the barrel marked ".222 Remington BR".

What is it? Can't seem to find any reference to such an animal.

Neil
 
Have you considered a 20 VarTarg? Very accurate, quiet, mild recoil, and you can see impacts. Just take a .221 Fireball case and neck it down. Only draw back is only Remington offers cases, which is what is holding me back. If only Lapua would make cases for it.

Lapua does make 221 Fireball, Sinclair has it in stock for $71.99, just search for 749-013-937WS on their site.
 
You might consider working with Blue Dot powder for a quieter, accurate load. You will want to be very careful not to overcharge as this can lead to disaster and you can definitely double charge if you don't pay attention. The upside is that for the distance mentioned (150 yards) you can get excellent accuracy and very good noise reduction. I have a friend, who may read this thread and comment, who has shot prairie dogs for years using a 221 Fireball, 40gr VMax and Blue dot. IIRC correctly his charge is around 12.0-13.0 grains. You will want to be careful as you move up, paying attention to the noise level you want and pressure signs. It can get out of hand quickly. I have personally downloaded to about 22 Magnum (rimfire) noise levels with good accuracy.

YMMV,
Rick
 

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