I'm looking for a good small cartridge for precision plinking purposes. Heres a list of things I want: - Reloadable - recoil akin to .22lr - accurate and flat shooting - not so obscure that manufacturers don't make guns chambered in it What would you all recommend? I thought about .17 hmr but saw that the base is like a .22lr so reloading is out the window. Then I looked at .17 hornet and it seems awesome and reloadable. Does anybody have any experience with it? Also 5.7 is really interesting but does anybody even make a bolt action chambered for it?
Howa makes a bolt action in 6.5 Grendel but honestly I would just do 223
Cooper Robinson
I'll get the boring answer out of the way. .223 seems like the best bet. Super common, super cheap, tons of data. It's cheaper and more powerful than the 5.7 and there are many bolt action .223's. And with the 5.7, if you're reloading it you have to be careful of the that polymer brass coating. You can load up 80gr or 90gr (if you have the twist) .223 and push out to 900 or 1000 yards or you can load 40gr V-max for high velocity varmint rounds.
Jayden Allen
SMALLER
Joshua Robinson
.22 tcm?
Jack Hernandez
Though about this alot. The answer is .223
Bolt action 5.7 would be neat
Ethan Cox
Anything smaller with a primer will be too obscure
Is there a point in getting a bolt action in .223 if I already have an AR?
Carter Jackson
>.22tcm (yes there's a boltgun in it, takes 17rd pistol mags) >.22 hornet >.17 hornet >.17 remington fireball >.17 hornady fireball >.222 rem spl >.22 remington jet >.218 bee >.219 zipper .17-223 is technically a wildcat but has achieved enough popularity there's a fuckload of people making barrels for it.
.218 bee is one of my favorite tiny calibers. It's a .32-20 necked down to .223 (actually .223" but most people that still shoot it will squeezebore a .224 bullet and don't have issues). Capable, but quiet and with basically no recoil. The ancestor of .22tcm.
Ethan Baker
If you reload you don't have to chase brass. Other than that? They're easier and cheaper to accurize and ammo for them can usually be loaded hotter before you start manifesting signs of pressure.
Jaxon Jackson
.22 hornet
It's centerfire. Has more umph than a .22lr but is still soft shooting. It's as small and soft as you get if you still want it to be reloadable.
I hear you can reload .22lr and other rimfire stuff but you're only supposed to do it once and getting the primer in there takes special equipment. If you want a reloadable round in the classic sense the .22 hornet is as small as you get.
Adrian Powell
22 hornet.
necked cartridges are for gays
Eli Powell
/thread
James Reed
Your best bet is .22 CCM It is a reloadable .22 magnum. Cooper makes rifles chambered in it.
I have literally 5k rounds through a CZ-527 Varmint in 17 Hornet. Wonderful little cartridge. Blows the shit out of a sage rat at any range up to about 250yds. Drps are comparable to a 223 out to that range. Cheaper to shoot than a 17hmr if you reload. No felt recoil, you get to watch the show in your scope. I haven't been able to get great accuracy out of it but it will hold about 3/4moa with handloads, and actually a little better with Hornady factory loads at $20/50. Love the hell out of it, it was the answer to my rat-killing prayers.
Jaxson Bailey
Don't know what I was thinking on that price. More like $19/25. Still about as cheap as it gets for factory centerfire except for steel-case and 223.
Nicholas Murphy
This, boomers were right all along, youngins are killing this perfect classic do anything cartridge. Basically .223 with less blast, and it can work in revolvers. If only they made a rimless version, it'd kick 5.7s ass from a carbine.
