beaver?

The triple deuce (222) is going to be around for may years to come, its too good to slip away and has become very popular in europe this last few years as well.
 
Beavers can get up to 60 lbs or so, almost twice the weight of coyotes. I'd think you would probably want to use a .22 hornet or .223, though a .22 mag should work if placed in the vitals, and probably work better than a .17hmr. For head shots, .22lr will work. I hear they're good eatin - I intend to find out for sure next time I kill one.
 
beavers where i live can reach 90 pounds. they all die with a .22lr to the body. there is nothing tough about a beaver (again, where i live). i have also killed them with a 17hmr from a taurus 12" barrel. you don't need head shots in my experience. just hit them in the guts and they will thrash and throw a fit, then die. i gather them up in the morning when they float to the surface.
 
222 Again

Yes that was the main point in my argument against the .222 was because of ammo; I usually see only Remington's brand on the shelf. If you look at other caliber's -aka .223, .22, etc., you see multiple brands and yes the availablity of cheap ammo by the case alone is a very persuasive argument if you just like to plink and take a shot here or there at something that can run from you.

Also when I was on the range I did notice how wind affected this bullet. It was very difficult trying to zero in my scope when it was blowing the bullet around. If you like the .222, great, good for you. I don't. There's no need to start a flame war as everyone has their own opinion as per the best rifle/scope/round in every single posting on every single thread of this entire website.:barf:
 
Ian, I agree. If you're not a handloader don't pick the .222 as .223 stuff is cheap and can be bought everywhere.

But if you do handload, .222 cases are readily formed from the .223 case if needed. So you don't need to worry about "how long it will last".

Either one will sure handle a beaver.
 
Ian, not flaming anybody here, just I have most of the calibers mentioned and use them regularly, all the 22s have the wind problem, the 223 as much as the 222,the 22-250 does better with 55 or 60 gr bullets but still drifts off with any serious amount of crosswind. The 6.5 swe with 140gr bullet bucks the wind great but is a bit over what kirbymagnum is after I think. I seem to remember too that he has a 223 already but wants something a bit less power and noise, I may be wrong on that though. Lets face it there are no really bad rounds now and as Ive said before any excuse to buy another rifle has to be good!!! :D
 
any excuse to buy another rifle has to be good!!!
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I like that. I have a 243 but it is to much just to shoot stuff so i think the 223 would be good. Cheap ammo and is smaller but still has a bang? Is that a good reason?
 
I'm amused with the way this thread has drifted. It originated with the .17 HMR, and now we're recommending 6.5 Swedes and .243s. I suppose that .270s and the .30s will be next... :)


Kirby, if you're concerned about report and recoil, look into .22 Hornets. They're far quieter than any of the other centerfire varmint rifles. With the 45 grain bullet, you ought to have no problem with a beaver. They're quite accurate, and moderately priced. Savage offers a combo gun in the Hornet and a shotgun barrel which would be great for a trapper, and NEF makes a nifty Handi Rifle in .22 Hornet for cheap, and can utilize multiple barrels for inexpensive caliber variation. Accuracy can be quite good. I also like that you can put 10 .22 Hornet cartridges into a 35 mm film canister; they're quite handy.
 
Recoil or the level of noise isnt a problam i just dont want somthing really loude and shoots flat and of course accurate. How flat does the hornet shoot compaired to the .223?
 
unless you just want another rifle i see no reason to not use the 22lr. it works right? and the ammo is cheap and report is low. it seems to be what you are looking for.
 
+1 for Midway. They get a LOT of my money.:)

Re:
50BMG legal in Canada?
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As far as I know. It's sort of expensive, though. Rifles cost upwards of US$2000. Ammo costs about US$2.00/round to reload with decent bullets.
 
Recoil or the level of noise isnt a problam i just dont want somthing really loude and shoots flat and of course accurate. How flat does the hornet shoot compaired to the .223?
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Low noise is a nice thing in a varmint rifle. Some semi-rural areas are completely inappropriate to touch off a .220 Swift or even just a .222 or .223, but a quiet .22 Hornet or .22 WMRF (and of course .22 LR) would be fine. The Hornet is far flatter than a .22 LR or WMRF, but is a little less flat than a .223 or .222. There's not enough difference to worry about: With Remington loadings, the drop for a .22 Hornet .45 grain zero'd at 150 is 4.3" at 200 yards, while the drop for a .223 55g zero'd at 150 is 2.1". MV for the Hornet 45g load is listed at 2690, and MV for the .223 load is 3240. Trust me: the beaver (or coyote, or muskrat, or other small critter) won't know the difference at under 200 yards.

Price on the Hornet ammo is really quite cheap. While it is about $15 a box, that's a box of 50, not the 20 rd boxes you usually get with other rifle cartridges. And it's about the cheapest cartridge to reload for, with almost a thousand rounds possible per pound of powder.

Accuracy at 100 yards is quite good. My NEF Handi Rifle only gives me an inch at 100 yards, but I have a pretty bad trigger on that sub-$200 rifle. I'm sure that there are better rifles giving much better accuracy than that.
 
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