[CopperKnight]

.25 is going to be the closest, but I think .22 is better for plinking and miniature game hunting.

Reloading... .22lr is much cheaper that any cartridge to be reloaded. A .22lr round is cheaper than just the primer for a centerfire not to mention the powder, bullet and time spent.

 

[tflhndn]

.25 is going to be the closest, but I think .22 is better for plinking and miniature game hunting.

Reloading... .22lr is much cheaper that any cartridge to be reloaded. A .22lr round is cheaper than just the primer for a centerfire not to mention the powder, bullet and time spent.

+1

That's why .22's the best round for plinking - it's cheap!!!
And with what primers are going for, when you can find them, even the general ammo shortage doesn't really change that.

 

[heylin]

Hmmmmm

100 rounds of CCI .22 where I am $24NZ
100 rounds of reloaded 9mm $22NZ.

But then youve got the time factor, so yes .22LR is the way to go, and if youre gun can shoot the cheap stuff (ie not CCI) then even better.

Another option is a high power .22 air rifle, even cheaper again.

 

[Astute]

22 Hornet or 22 Jet is probably the closest.

 

[kellyII]

22 Hornet or 22 Jet is probably the closest.

22 horntet, now there is a hot little rifle:hand10:

 

[Frmboybuck]

Ya, .22 hornet or .22 Jet is not even remotely close to a .22lr. NO centerfire rifle cartridge is going to be close to .22lr. The .25 is close but the .22lr is a much better cartridge IMHO

 

[Rcher]

I would rather have a .223 or 22-250. Better availability than the .25 and a better selection of rifles. Both of these rounds shoot flatter and have a much better trajectory. JMHO

 

[Frmboybuck]

There is not a centerfire cartridge that will fit your needs. The .223 and .22-250 are great cartridges but are long range (100 yards and over). The most economical choice for your needs is the .22lr

 

[cvhoss]

Buy a 22lr and be happy in the knowledge that even if you could find a centerfire that duplicated the ballistics (none that I'm aware of) there's no possible way you could reload for it as cheaply as you can purchase 22lr ammunition.

Have fun.

Hoss

 

[orangevol]

I would rather have a .223 or 22-250. Better availability than the .25 and a better selection of rifles. Both of these rounds shoot flatter and have a much better trajectory. JMHO

The OP wanted to hunt small game with a .22. Using a .223 or 22-250 would cause you to hunt for the pieces of small game. :blink:

If you want a little more bang for your buck, try .22 magnum or .17 HRM

 

[Cuda66]

Is there one?

I am interested in buying a .22LR for small game hunting, plinking, etc. However, I cannot reload rimfire cartridges and was just curious if there was a centerfire cartridge well-suited to the aforementioned activities.

Thanks!

In a nutshell...not really.

Maybe, possibly one could consider a levergun chambered in .357mag, and use .38's in it...or maybe even something chambered in .32 H&R (if there is such a critter) and shoot .32's...fun for plinking, and a solid bullet wouldn't tear up small game too much.

But, really--if one considers the cost of buying the reloading components for the caliber, and then figured out how many .22 rounds they could buy for the same price...I would think it would be wiser to get the .22 and just stockpile a bunch of ammo for it.

It's really not that hard or terribly expensive to get a 50-100k round stockpile of .22 lr...

 

[McPatrickClan]

I would rather have a .223 or 22-250. Better availability than the .25 and a better selection of rifles. Both of these rounds shoot flatter and have a much better trajectory. JMHO

would the 223 round destroy a rabbit or squirrel at 100 yards?

 

[Cupcake]

would the 223 round destroy a rabbit or squirrel at 100 yards?

yup...well, it does a rabbit at 15 yards (witnessed rabbit kill) and the .223 doesn't lose that much at 100. One front quarter of the rabbit was literally nowhere to be found and the guts were mostly removed for us. One option might be to make some super-light loads that (using a chronograph) mimick the velocity of a .22, but I don't know that it would be chaper than bulk .22 rounds and most certainly would not cycle the action of a semi auto.

 

[orangevol]

would the 223 round destroy a rabbit or squirrel at 100 yards?

Either one in hollow point would be like shoving a stick of dyamite up it's butt!!! :gah:

 

[thylordjj]

Reloading can be cheap if you do all the work yourself. I hand cast this drops my cost down to around 5 bucks for 100 rounds of .45acp. although a .45 caliber hole in a rabbit would destroy the rabbit.

 

[Ram Rod]

Try an FN 5.7
FN 5
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FN_Five-seven

 

[Landric]

Are you looking for a handgun or rifle? The .38 Special in its standard velocity form, especially low velocity wadcutters, can be used quite well for those functions. For a handgun, I would suggest a .38 Special or .357 Magnum revolver loaded with standard pressure wadcutter handloads. While there are several .357 leverguns that would meet your needs, you would probably have to go with a little more oomph than is necessary out of a revolver to ensure the bullet makes it out of the 16"+ barrel.

The .32 H&R Magnum would be another excellent choice, but gun selection is more limited and both brass and factory ammunition is harder to find and more expensive than .38 Special ammunition.

 

[Siafu]

Can custom loading be done on rimfire with new brass? I was thinking of a fresh brass with a new rim-primer but loading your own charge and bullet. Do serious match shooters do this?

And to the OP: have you given any consideration to .22WMR?

 

[cvhoss]

would the 223 round destroy a rabbit or squirrel at 100 yards?

Not if you hit him in the head. A hit anywhere else and you wouldn't be able to find enough for stew meat.

WARNING!! Link is not for the squeamish.
This is a rabbit I shot with a .223 a few years ago while on a prairie dog hunt. Range was about 250 yards. If you see the burrow at about 2:00 from the carcass, he was down in that hole with only his head and neck showing. The bullet hit in his throat and where you see the carcass is where he landed when it blew him out of the hole. If you're going to meat hunt small game, any centerfire is for head shots only.

Hoss