The small game/ plinking loads thread

[Bruce Cartwright]

With iron sighted hunting rifles and 250-yard zero with 180 grain softpoint the small game loads are CLOSE at 50 feet to 25 yards. Scoped rifles I don't know.

When shooting lighter loads I just shot them and figured out the POA/POI difference at useful ranges without changing the sights. With a scope on the 338 it was generally a little low with a 200 gr Hornady flat point @ around 1500 fps.

Gents:

Thanks for the data. I'll get a load worked up and try it but both of your experiences suggest a good option that doesn't require re-zeroing my rifle.

Bruce

[revchuck38]

Now y'all have me thinking about my Winchester M94 in .30-30...I don't remember the last time I shot it. Suggestions for a cast bullet load? Looks like there are 170-ish-grain bullets out there.

[revolvergeek]

Nice, this thread could be fun.

Just found this thread and want to comment on some of my experiences.

The bullet's wider meplat should be better for critters than my current options and I hope it will have enough ogive to feed in the fussy Marlin. Those cast from soft lead at moderate velocity should do a number on crow, grouse, squirrel, 'coon, fox (I bump into ones not acting right more often than I like), or charging dog. Once I tweak the powder charge for the carbine, it should be easy on the old fragile thing and not chew up the pot meat too bad.

If anyone has done similar with a 9mm PCC, I'd love to hear about it.

I have shot that bullet more in 9mmP than .38 or .357. I have loaded it with Red Dot mostly. Out of a S&W 39-2 3.5 grains / 956 fps and 3.7 / 1044. With some brass that just about fills up the case. I have shot that 3.7 grain load out of just about every 9mm I own, including a 9mm AR. No velocity data out of the AR.

I also loaded it into .380 with 1.7 grains of Red Dot that gave 603FPS out of a Sig 238. Shot rather high over POA but functioned of.


I'm also working on a 380 ACP project. A Lee 95 grain roundnose flatpoint with wide meplate and soft lead over 3.1 grains of Unique. That load averages 789fps from my LCP but 950fps in my ported Shiel EZ. It has proven itself on tree rats and I just need serrate black sights for the Shield EZ to have a very handy little trail gun. Driving the dot with the stock tritium sights just is not precise enough for the application. Something like a set of Defoor sights as made for GLOCK pistols would be about perfect.

I like that bullet a lot but found that I have to seat it pretty deep for some of my pistols. The chamber throats are too tight on my UL380 and MP380 to use the same loads that my LCPs gobbled up. Both of them will wedge bullets in tight What depth are you seating it to?

In 38 Special, I had played with Lee's 105 grain SWC to save lead and it showed a lot of promise. Getting POI close enough for small game across all my revolvers was a bit much, though. So I've since settled on a moderate charge of Unique under Lee's 158 grain RNFP with wide meplat. It still kills small game dead with a minimum of fuss, loads more smoothly from a speedloader, and hits a bit harder if my trail gun has to be pointed at something a bit bigger. A friend kept himself fed through a homeless stint living in a tent on the side of a mountain with a Lee whack-a-mole loader, mere 3.9 grain of Unique (what his scoop threw) and a wide meplate mail-order 158 grain lead RNFP which was scary accurate in his daily carry 4" Colt Police Positive Special out to at least 50 yards.

I never had great luck with that 105 SWC in anything with Red Dot but I know several people that have with other powders and load it for .38 spl, 380 and 9mmP. It did ok for me in .38 spl but not enough to make me keep experimenting. I have shot a ton of those 158 RNFP Lee bullets over 3.4 grains of Red Dot which did 720 FPS from a 2" barrel.

I messed with the Ace chamber adapter in 32 auto/30-30, it actually works fairly well to around 30-40 yards, but....you still have to have 32 auto shells for it. I used to buy partial boxes at gun shows for fairly cheap, but i don't think thats a winner in todays environment. I decided it was simpler and cheaper to just make small game or light loads in whatever caliber i wanted, and theres no risk of losing the chamber adapter adapter. It was sort of fun ejecting it from a Winchester 94, the adapter spinning out, the 32 shell spinning out of the adapter, catching the adapter in my hand.

I bought one of those for 32 Mag in .30/30 and it is super quiet with .32 Long target wadcutters. Lots of fun.

[revolvergeek]

Not sure how many times I’ve almost bought a Hammond game getter and/or 32ACP chamber adapter... 30/30, .308, 7.62x39.

I keep coming back to the idea what I actually want is a .32 H&R mag chambered “bunny gun” like @Outpost75 has. Already have the pre-WW2 .410 to use as the donor.

https://www.hensleygibbs.com/edharri...gamerifles.htm

That was my plan also, but I just lucked into a T/C Custom Shop 20" stainless Contender barrel in .32 mag. I would have rather is was 24-26", but for the price I couldn't pass it up. Now I just need to track down a stock.

This is a timely thread.

Finn Aagaard said that 14 grains of Unique under a 158-grain pistol bullet was the most accurate load in his 35 Whelen. I bought a 35 Whelen late last year, I have a jug of Unique, and a few hundred 158-grain pistol bullets arrived in the mail yesterday.

I should have results in a couple of weeks.


Okie John

Good to know! I have been wanting to work up a lead bullet load for .35 Whelen. I was thinking of the Lee 205 RNFP and Red Dot, but I can start with this and play around.

If it were me, I'd get a bunch of coated LSWCs and use enough Universal to push them to about 900-950 fps.

I have done a bunch of 357 mag loads in this range with Bayou Bullets coated 158 SWC over either roughly 5 grains of Red Dot or 6 grains of Unique.

[jandbj]

That was my plan also, but I just lucked into a T/C Custom Shop 20" stainless Contender barrel in .32 mag. I would have rather is was 24-26", but for the price I couldn't pass it up. Now I just need to track down a stock.

If you ever want to sell that barrel… PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

[Borderland]

32 Long is making a come back. I'm fooling around with some loads now using a S&W model 31-1. Not a good round for SD but for shooting 4 legged critters it has it's advantages. It will put your eye out.

[revolvergeek]

If you ever want to sell that barrel… PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

Probably won’t happen anytime soon, but they do have a similar barrel in .30 carbine if that would be of use….