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22 LR bullets are seldom recovered from rabbits and possums. Here's one that traversed the full length of a small hare and came to rest just at the front of the pelvis (the backsteak had to be cut short).
Retained weight 38.1 grain
Expansion max diameter 0.435"
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This is the ammo box. CCI Subsonic Hollowpoint 40gr.
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No dead animal photos.
What range was the hare shot at?
Did you have a look at the internal wound cavity by any chance? A while back I recovered a CCI sub from the haunch of a bunny I shot in the chest face on at 90m or so iirc, a reasonable range for a .22 subsonic. I was surprised that the bullet didn’t exit out the back but when I thought about the trajectory, it was dropping quickly at that range.
When I gutted the rabbit the vitals were surprisingly clean, in that they were more torn than pulped. It was killed instantly.
I’ve got a photo of the bullet somewhere cos I remember sending it to a mate, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I’ve still got the bullet in my collection as well.
I have had Winchester PowerPoint subs bounce off the wings of standing Turkeys. Then found the projectiles on the ground
if you take nail...say 4" and twirl it in cavity /hollow point so it is more open...you will find more inside animals and find they kill faster..we always did this in days before powerpoint was made.a bit of trial and error will tell you what is best.
Hi @Flyblown,
It was about 43 m, the hare was crouching flat, facing straight on and I allowed 1/2 mil dot when it should have been a full dot.
It hopped away 20m and I put a couple more shots into the dirt before I got the right elevation and killed it.
So, I didn't do a full post mortem. The first shot must have hit low, then traversed upwards through the body to the lower back.
I have used .22 CCI subs on bunnies for years now and had great results but every now and again the odd rabbit would get away on me. For the last 17 years I'm the only person shooting on one particular small lifestyle block in the region and I often grab a couple of headshot rabbits to take home for the cats. I typically peel the skin up towards the head and just whip the back wheels and backsteaks off.
On three separate occasions I have recovered pills which have been sitting between the skin and the flesh, or lodged just in the flesh but these are old pills from historical hits. Healed wounds. To recover old pills from the year before is kinda bizarre and most unexpected.
I have about a dozen perfectly mushroomed up Winchester subsonic projectiles I have found over the last couple of years. Also a found a few .17hmr projectiles to, they have proven to be very rare.
Never ceases to amaze me how a little 40gr hollow point going so slow can mushroom up so effectively.
The Winchester seem to hit a tad bit harder than the cci.
I have numerous 22 projectiles recovered from all sorts of pests from the Pest Board days. The Winchester 40 gr subs generally mushroomed very well, and the Power Point supers were pretty good. The other brands mushroomed but not as perfectly as the Win Subs.
