Sanity check - 5.56x45/.223 low power loads?

[Certaindeaf]

Just a point of view but I don't believe it's worth the time and the cost. Fmj bullets are abought 8 cents and other bullets run up from there. Add powder and primer and it gets worse. 22lr is 5 cents a round. Yes it cost to buy another gun but you have a gun for that money and your shooting is only 5 cents a round. Time and money together I believe your reloads will run you 20 cents each.

Plus are you going to be able to hit with the gun sited in for full power when you use those light loads?

I load 190gr lead 30-06 @ 1400fps for about $.05/ea.
It's a hobby, much like golf, gambling etc. is for some, so I don't factor in my "time".
And that's a good, long standing point about reduced ammo.. not blasting a grouse to smithereens while out with your bigger rifle. It's an easy matter to hold off to hit your target if that's necessary.

 

[Colts4me]

Really it's all in fun so if it makes fun for the shooter then why not play around. Grafs has a heck of a lot of 223 bullets to play with so let the fun begin.

 

[2Wheels4Ever]

A good friend of mine that lives out of state uses his .22mag as deer medicine. I have seen him drop a good sized buck at 30-50 yards with a .22mag to the neck.

After that I got really into .22mag. I had a Henry .22mag and a ruger single six in the same to accompany it. I absolute loved shooting it. Accurate out to 150 yards and enough power to take game in a pinch. Then it hit me; the price does not justify the cartridge.

.22lr stingers gets pretty close to .22mag, and for 25-30 cents a round, I could buy 556. Another poster talked about how you would loose the flat trajectory with loaded down 556. That may be the case at distance, but not at the 30-40 yards that the OP mentioned. If you wanted a little flatter trajectory all you have to do is bring up the powder level a bit.

 

[The Heretic]

A good friend of mine that lives out of state uses his .22mag as deer medicine. I have seen him drop a good sized buck at 30-50 yards with a .22mag to the neck.

After that I got really into .22mag. I had a Henry .22mag and a ruger single six in the same to accompany it. I absolute loved shooting it. Accurate out to 150 yards and enough power to take game in a pinch. Then it hit me; the price does not justify the cartridge.

Exactly. IMO the only advantage a .22 mag has is that there are a number of conventional handguns, including revolvers, that are chambered for it. That and it is a bit lighter and it is more compact. But in a handgun it loses a lot of its velocity.

Another poster talked about how you would loose the flat trajectory with loaded down 556. That may be the case at distance, but not at the 30-40 yards that the OP mentioned. If you wanted a little flatter trajectory all you have to do is bring up the powder level a bit.

I think a 35 gr. projectile from a 5.56 rifle at 1500 fps is going to have the same trajectory as a 35 gr. projectile from a .22 mag at 1500 fps. So it will just depend on what the load is.

 

[Therifleman48]

Im playing with sub loads of hand cast lead from my 6 gang 55gr mold and 4gr bullseye in my 223 hr handi rifle varminter. So far its just shooting out my kitchen window at magpies to scare em off. Cheap fun. 4cent primer and 2 cent powder.

 

[DirectDrive]

I know how to load light loads - I've done it with .44 mag and .308. I am just wondering if there is a reason why I should get a .22 WMR rifle when a .223 rifle can be loaded to the same velocities with my versatility and selection of ammo, not to mention cost.

It isn't about recoil, it is about subsonic quiet loads, and about light hunting loads (squirrel, rabbit, etc.) where one does not need 3000 fps - indeed, one does not want that kind of velocity for really small game.

Just saying that if a person has a single shot or bolt action rifle in .223 (I have both), having low power loads can be very useful.

If I wanted a reloadable replacement for .22WMR I would get a .22 Hornet.
And namely in a CZ527 Mini Mauser.

Good, free advice right there IMO

 

[aasbra]

If I wanted a reloadable replacement for .22WMR I would get a .22 Hornet.
And namely in a CZ527 Mini Mauser.

Good, free advice right there IMO

I have a cz 527 in 22 Hornet, along with several bolt actions in 22 mag and .223. I like the hornet. Between the 22 mag and 223 in noise and recoil. Although decent, I haven't found any of the 22 magnum rifles to be as accurate as the Hornet. Nice little package. Also like the other two calibers, just depends on what one wants to do. Do like CF rounds for the ability to load your own ammo, especially when RF ammo supply gets tight, but haven't tried developing light loads for the .223.

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

What about .22WRF? I bought 2,000 rounds of it cheap before 2012 thinking on buying a rifle for it as at the time they weren't going for the prices they are today. They are a less powerful round than .22 mag but are still deadly and don't destroy as much meat as the magnum. Also they have less muzzle flash and noise than the magnum. What I need to do is buy one of the new Henry .22 mags with the 24" barrel as most of the .22 WRF or mag rifles sell for 2 to 4 times what a new Henry .22 mag would cost me.

 

[American123]

Shoot whatever varmint you are hunting in the brain through the eye with a .22 lr and call it good.

.22 mag is a redundant caliber in my opinion.

But there is no reason why you couldn't make a super low velocity .223 out of a bolt gun. I have 60gr subsonic .22lr, so I suppose you would just follow the same method and go heavy for caliber .223 with a lighter load.