Thread: Rabbit culling with a 6mm.

Anyone culling rabbits or anything else for that matter, using a 6mm calibre?

Hoping to get some help on my research.
What bullets are you guys shooting?
At what speed?
How many bullets do you shoot/use annually?
Flat base or boat tail?
Would you shoot/use a lead tipped bullet or rather a hollow point?

Would you rather shoot a .224 calibre?

Im using 80gr sierra hollow points in a 243 i think they might be match kings. Havnt used it for a while.

Used to use a 6mmBR but switched to 22BR. Cheaper, and the special effects are similar on rabbits.
Was using Targex in the 6mm but currently 53gr V-max in the .22.

75gr or 87gr (for longer distance) Vmax would work pretty well i would have thought.

87g vmax 85g game king

You guys make me feel poor. 22LR for rabbits on my budget.

Using .22, .223 and 7mm08

The 6mm 87g Vmax is peachy on most pests in the right hands

.243 Tikka Varmint on Rabbits
started with 75grn. VMax then onto the 87grn. VMax
found the .243 took over where the .223 leaves off, very good in the wind.
longest hit 830 yards
great cartridge, low recoil . . . but hard on barrels

Your rabbits must be really big

Thanks guys keep it comming

53 VMax in the .223 for routine stuff but 6BR with 75 VMaxs if it's blowing or past 300. Might add 6x47L to the mix for 400+.

Rabbits must be gold-plated!

Originally Posted by Jhon

Rabbits must be gold-plated!

Tastier than paper targets and not as chewy as steel plates

Hi Jaco

6mm varmint shooting is one of my favouritist things and has been for many years. Rabbits, hares, foxes, wild dogs, cats, baboons, vervet monkeys, and various pest birds like peacocks and geese.

The 6mm calibre provides excellent longer range / small target training. When you're smoking bunnies at 500m+ with a bullet in the 70-90gr weight class, you know you're learning. And that learning directly translates to shooting larger quarry that needs precise shots to put them down quickly. In our NZ hill country conditions, where deer shots are routinely much greater than MPBR, that's very helpful.

And not just learning in the shooting sense either, but also in the reloading and ballistics sense. Loading your own ammo for long range bunnies, working out the ballistics, and then exploderizing them at improbable distance is a whole lot of skills coming together.

Currently I shoot 75gr V-Max @3400fps in the .243 Win, and 108gr ELD-M @2950fps in the 6mm Creedmoor.

Historically going back to the 80s and 90s in the UK and SA, I shot traditional Sierra and Speer hollow point and soft point bullets in the 75/80gr range, both flat base and boat tail. In those days I was scope limited and didn't have a rangefinder. A simple BDC reticle and gut feel on range (which was guesstimated using the reticle). When I moved started shooting longer with the .243 Win, it really sorted out your reticle ranging skills which were a bit iffy at first but you get the hang of it soon enough.

In Aus I shot mostly 70gr Sierra BlitzKings because I'd convinced myself they were better, but looking back I think the performance differential was minimal over the SPs and HPs. I was now using ballistic turrets.

Today I still use a BDC reticle and hold over with my .243. I enjoy the satisfaction of old school aiming, but now I use a rangefinder. I dial with the 6mm Creedmoor and have smoked hares and bunnies way out there, some of my most satisfying shots.

For me, the training is well worth the cost.

Great! Thanks Flyblown. Ive been shooting 70gr in a several calibres and their performance is mind blowing.

Thanks for the info shared