Bullet Choice on Hares

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Originally Posted by bjp

I'm looking for a chance to try these on them next time. 55g RN .224 bullet, nose flattened with a small hollow point (using a small centre drill in the lathe), travelling at 1020 fps. Quieter than my 900 fps springer air rifle in a side by side comparison (son was shooting the air rifle), with the DPT suppressor on the rifle. Though now tempted to make some faster ones too, but pretty sure wouldn't want to exceed maybe 1800 fps.

Bullets are H&N 55gr RN, copper then polymer coated. The primer is the most expensive part of the cartridge, works out about 40c per shot.

Attachment 266944

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Guy I know used to do something similar with 180gr round nose .308 pills, the exposed lead on the round nose used to pretty much go straight through without expanding but open them up with a small center drill and the cavity and 45deg front end meant the things pealed open like nothing else. They were awesome sub pills, came out around 172gr or so I think after the front end was opened up to the jacket? Superseded now by better designed sub pills that don't require as much rework...

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Originally Posted by No.3

Guy I know used to do something similar with 180gr round nose .308 pills, the exposed lead on the round nose used to pretty much go straight through without expanding but open them up with a small center drill and the cavity and 45deg front end meant the things pealed open like nothing else. They were awesome sub pills, came out around 172gr or so I think after the front end was opened up to the jacket? Superseded now by better designed sub pills that don't require as much rework...

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Thanks, good to know I might be on the right track... I'll let you know how they get on, might be awhile before I get the chance to use them though

It is not .22 but I use a 17HMR on them and they never hop away......

The Browning 22 ammo went good in my jw15, 40 grain bullets at about 1400 fps. Kills hares no problem out to at least 100 yards.

I found a 3"12guage 34gm load at approx 15m range is a very effect ,if somewhat messy stopper .dont blame me I was stalking this guys cuzzy when he comes screaming in at high speed -hits anchors ,sits and looks ........rest was very bloody messy!tThe old yellow packet winchester in my original stirling .22 was bloody deadly onrabbits possums and hares!
in fact I can vividly remeber 3x possums who ended up with massive blowout holes in ribcages from this ammo.no possum guts&blood is not good firearm lube or bloody skin conditioner ,nor did my dog ewnjoy his "bath"

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Originally Posted by Rated M for Magnum

The Browning 22 ammo went good in my jw15, 40 grain bullets at about 1400 fps. Kills hares no problem out to at least 100 yards.

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And yet a couple of years back I tried some browning 22 ammo and it was naff.
Some went crack some went pfft and some didn't go at all. Didn't take it back but I shouldve

I never had issues killing a hare with a .22. Hit them, they die. I do miss good Aussie powerpont though.

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Originally Posted by csmiffy

And yet a couple of years back I tried some browning 22 ammo and it was naff.
Some went crack some went pfft and some didn't go at all. Didn't take it back but I shouldve

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This was about 6 to 12 months ago.

17hmr for head and neck shots out to 120m or so because hare is tasty.

When I do shoot them I only use the .22, but you need to be accurate, vital shots only. Basically I use anything that is accurate in my rifle - lately S&B or CCI.
It's probably easier to use a magnum rimfire as you'll get more power at longer distance than a .22, but a .22 can do it provided you shoot them well

Considering it `s big hare, and it will be a nice roasted spice hare, then I prefer use bullet with high velocity and penetration power, so for me I will use 223 FMJ and aim to body not the head since rabbit head is very tasty.

Related query. Any recommendations for shotgun ammo, regarding shot size etc?

Number 3's were always a good size back in the days of the North Canterbury NZDA high country hare drives. The branch would sell a trailer full of hares and get good money, about 2/6d each from memory. I often just used my Kea pistol which I reamed to a 3" chamber, used 4's and always bettered the drive average. Good times spoiled by Police and politicians!

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Originally Posted by gundoc

Number 3's were always a good size back in the days of the North Canterbury NZDA high country hare drives. The branch would sell a trailer full of hares and get good money, about 2/6d each from memory. I often just used my Kea pistol which I reamed to a 3" chamber, used 4's and always bettered the drive average. Good times spoiled by Police and politicians!

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I can't help myself, I somehow picture you looking like a buccaneer taking aim with your kea pistol at a running hare! Eye patch and scarf around your head?

many years ago @gundoc told me with hares its more about penetration than expansion. a solid 22 round seems more effective with chest shots for sure.
but dammit i have shot hares in the chest with multiple rounds and the buggas can still run 50m before keeling over.
in the words of barry (peter jackson) from the greatest movie he ever made "bad taste" he says " headshots the only real killer"

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Originally Posted by bjp

I can't help myself, I somehow picture you looking like a buccaneer taking aim with your kea pistol at a running hare! Eye patch and scarf around your head?

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Aaaargh Jim lad! Picture a tall skinny blond guy with a web belt and a foot long leather holster.

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Originally Posted by gonetropo

many years ago @gundoc told me with hares its more about penetration than expansion. a solid 22 round seems more effective with chest shots for sure.
but dammit i have shot hares in the chest with multiple rounds and the buggas can still run 50m before keeling over.
in the words of barry (peter jackson) from the greatest movie he ever made "bad taste" he says " headshots the only real killer"

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Shoot him in the head Barry

a couple of things i learnt re hares .using .303 180gn round nose softnose at 100m is very slightly overgunned -all i found was a back lag with tendon attached -rest compost!


Second was a WTF incident -mate and i out for a wee sneaky in a likely spot for deer -he used an immaculate 7x57 mannlicher schoaneur scoped with a 4x81pecar me with trusty striling.22with 4x40 scope.
Anyhow wed seen a hind poke her head out of some scrub and it was on.after20mins of fruitless search ,realising shed got one over us we spied a hair .seems this bloke was just waking up .Anyhow I decided a snapshot was in order and sent a round down the tube .bugger me he did a couple of backward flips and that was it .
went to pick him up -bugger me Id knocked the top[ of his skull off like a boiled egg!!! he was used for dog tucker .
To this day ive never been able to repeat that shot .

mind you im often tooled up with the trusty 12g if I come across hares etc these days usually on the prowl for geese.

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

Waaay back in the 80s before Winchester put out the PowerPoint loading.we used to open out nose cavity with a twirl of a 3_4" nail poked in there. Works as well today as it did back then. The crappy harder projectiles we getting now aren't helping your cause. Keep shots forward will help a LOT.

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Back in the day these were the business for a 22lr. Are they still sold? Heavy slug ( 40grn ) with a good hollow point. The other ones were called Predator I think, which went the other way with a light projectile going super fast. Remember them? They were good too.

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Originally Posted by kotuku

a couple of things i learnt re hares .using .303 180gn round nose softnose at 100m is very slightly overgunned -all i found was a back lag with tendon attached -rest compost!


Second was a WTF incident -mate and i out for a wee sneaky in a likely spot for deer -he used an immaculate 7x57 mannlicher schoaneur scoped with a 4x81pecar me with trusty striling.22with 4x40 scope.
Anyhow wed seen a hind poke her head out of some scrub and it was on.after20mins of fruitless search ,realising shed got one over us we spied a hair .seems this bloke was just waking up .Anyhow I decided a snapshot was in order and sent a round down the tube .bugger me he did a couple of backward flips and that was it .
went to pick him up -bugger me Id knocked the top[ of his skull off like a boiled egg!!! he was used for dog tucker .
To this day ive never been able to repeat that shot .

mind you im often tooled up with the trusty 12g if I come across hares etc these days usually on the prowl for geese.

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Ha ha...reminds me of when I used to do drives with the Nth Canty Gameshooters club years ago, we had been on a Hare & Rabbit drive somewhere, 8 guys sat down for lunch on a stinking hot summers day beside a brilliant wee creek.....nek minute this poor wee wabbit comes hopping around the corner minding his own business - 8 12G shotguns came up, not a good day for Mr wabbit!.

one suspects mr wabbit knew very little about it and thered be very little remaining of him!

I reckon the .22WMR or 22 magnum is the ultimate hare caliber. Flat shooting from 30-120m. Perfect.

Though I've tried everything from a .177 target airgun (97yard kill) to a 45-70 (5m, and he 100% disintegrated and floated off in the wind).

Never shot a hare with the 357. Tried and missed on one running.
Can't comment on hares but it does do an impressive job on possums with the 125 winchester hollowpoint.
I'm sure it would work well on hares too

well here is a hare hit by a 357 cal 158gr HP XTP pistol bullet at rifle velocities.

Really does not matter where you hit them with something like this.
Nothing left to eat either. So very wastefull but also very emphatic.

Attachment 268658

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Yeah, that seems adequate!

Yeah that's what it did to possums too lol

+1 for the orange box powerpoint. Never had much trouble killing hares with that. They would run like a deer hit with the 303: up to 30m. That was 25 yr ago but I remember it well. Shooting only up to 50m.

17 HMR seems better. Easier to get good hits at all ranges . Possibly more emphatic for on the spot kills but I havent had the opportunity to use it much.

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Originally Posted by Tahr

Leave the hares alone ya vandals. :)

They are the most fascinating creatures. If they aren't causing any trouble I leave them in peace.

When I was young and reckless that orange pkt Winchester worked a treat. If I was to shoot them now I would use my 17HMR.

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@Tahr the difference here is you perhaps have never seen hares take out 1000 newly planted tree seedlings in a single night! The appeal of the animal wears off quickly when you're out replanting trees you've grown through the farm nursery and looked after everyday for 8 months.


As for bullet choice on hares, I find 22lr a little light in general but one solution is to practice using a semi auto and always pulling the trigger twice very quickly. I use this technique on hares and the bullets usually end up very closely spaced and it seems more than twice as effective as a single projectile. Two 22lr rds cost less than a single round of any other calibre I know of so it is not a waste of money. When you experience hares wrecking multiple thousands of dollars worth of tree planting in a single night the second round seems very cheap... although this is also a good excuse for those people who want to hit them with big calibres too... anyone shot one with a 50bmg?

For a 50 to be effective on our light thin skinned game you would have to use the 750g amax

Any .22 ammo will kill hares cleanly. You just need to hit them in the head or chest. Gut shot hares will occasionally escape.

Not all .22 ammo shoot to same point of impact, particularly if the target is beyond 20 meters.

Just make sure the rifle is zeroed for 50 meters and you know how much it drops at 100 meters.

Have used subs for close shots,cci velocitor for anything close to 100m,never any problem killing hares,they bleed prolifically once hit due to no clotting agent in their blood apparently.the dog never has trouble finding them once hit usually don’t go more than 20-30 m

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Originally Posted by Nakihunter

Any .22 ammo will kill hares cleanly. You just need to hit them in the head or chest. Gut shot hares will occasionally escape.

Not all .22 ammo shoot to same point of impact, particularly if the target is beyond 20 meters.

Just make sure the rifle is zeroed for 50 meters and you know how much it drops at 100 meters.

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Completely agree.
If you are a good shot, a 22lr should be fine no matter what ammo if you get a clear head shot, but ive seen it take several shots to take a hare down when no care is given.
Rabbit would be a different story.