22GT vs 22BRA vs 22 Dasher and non lead bullets

[Kiba]

Was just getting ready to order a 22GT barrel and then started to consider bullet selection for my intended use... which leads to this post.

This build is going to be primarily a coyote and long range ground squirrel blaster. Unfortunately I have the added complication of being in CA, so I have to use non-lead bullets for hunting; it makes things way more expensive and harder to find components that will work well, as well as needing faster twist barrels for a heavy non-lead bullet.

In my 223AI's I run Lehigh 72s for ground squirrels which are extremely accurate and expand much better than I expected on such small targets, but they're currently not available (Lehigh told me they weren't discontinued, but since the 72s weren't a big seller they're currently concentrating on making more popular bullets.) I still have a stash left but would prefer to save them for the 223AIs. They used to be rather reasonably priced for monos at about $45/100, but that's not the case anymore.

IMO the 22GT is ideal with a bullet around 80-90gr to take advantage of all that case capacity, but there not many options for non-lead bullets in that weight range, and also that weight of non-lead bullet would require a somewhat uncommon 6 twist. Most lead-free 224 bullets seem to be in the 70-77gr range to run in more commonly available 7 twist barrels. I do have a gain twist 7.5 to 6.8 twist bartlein on my shelf, but 6.8 still isn't fast enough for the heaviest .224 non-lead bullets available from Hammer.

Bullets I'm considering for this build:

Cutting Edge 78gr MTH which is supposed to work in a 1:7 twist but cutting edge still hasn't published the BC on it

PVA 75 Seneca at .261 G7, supposed to work in a 1:7 but it probably won't expand well

PVA 77 Cayuga at .235 G7, supposed to work in a 1:7, also more hunting oriented than the Seneca

Lehigh 72 at .181 G7, work very well and are very accurate in my 223AIs, expand well on meat targets, but are currently not available and I don't know if they will be again.

Hammer makes 83s but they require a 6 or 6.5 twist and they're advertised at .236BC... makes more sense IMO to use the lighter but nearly identical BC 77 Cayugas in a more commonly available 1:7 barrel

While I was initially thinking of going 22GT so I could send 85-90gr lead bullets at targets from time to time and also for out of state varmint hunting, but since this rifle is primarily going to be a hunting rifle here in CA primarily using non-lead bullets so maybe I'm thinking about this all wrong. Given the non-lead bullet restriction for hunting here and the lighter weights the non-lead bullets are available in, maybe a 22 BRA or 22 dasher makes more sense than a 22GT as their smaller case capacities might be better suited to bullets in the 70-80gr range and more efficient overall. Of course the 22GT will send the 70-80gr lead frees down range too, but faster than the 22BRA / 22 dasher.

The other silly option would be to get a slow twist 22GT barrel and send 40gr or 50gr nosler ballistic tip lead frees around 4000fps... a friend has a 22-250 sending the nosler 40s at 4100fps and they are absolutely spectacular on ground squirrels, LOL.

Thoughts?

 

[4O6shootist]

There's also the badlands 70gr super bulldozer aluminum tipped solid, believe it needs a 7tw as well.

 

[MustangGreg66]

I know this is an older post, but I'm curious what you went with and what distances you're shooting at. Also, why the heavier bullets?

I also shoot ground squirrels in CA. The area I hunt has some spaces where I could shoot fairly far, but mostly I keep it to 200 yards and in, or stalk closer.

Over the years I've shot 22LR, 17HMR, and 223. The HMR seems about perfect for most of the distances I shoot, but past 130 yards it seems to fall off for me. With ammo prices going up and other guns I like to shoot more, I've settled on shooting my Rem 700 223 with a reduced Blue Dot load. I got the load from an old varmint hunting article "To Bee or 223" and it's really working well.

I bought a bunch of these 35gr Nosler BT Lead Free seconds from Shooters Pro Shop when they were 20c each and worked up a load. 14gr of Alliant Blue Dot under these bullets gives me 3250 fps, which is plenty to have a satisfying pop on squirrels. The low powder charge has the additional benefit of extremely low recoil, low muzzle blast, and puts a lot less heat into the barrel. With a typical 223 barrel, it would get hot after 10-15 rounds, with the blue dot load, I can continue to scan for and shoot squirrels as I see them and not really worry about barrel heat.

22 Caliber 35gr Ballistic Tip Lead Free (100ct) (BLEM)

22 Caliber 35gr Ballistic Tip Lead Free (100ct) (BLEM)

www.shootersproshop.com

With a conventional powder, you can push these bullets much faster. I've shot the 36gr Barnes Varmint Grenade up to 3600fps with H335. With the options you listed, it seems the 22-250 would be the easy button for a speed demon and the lighter weight bullets.

 

[Salinas]

I'd go for the Dasher. Mine is an 8 twist and love it....it pops hogs and coyotes "way out there". My 22 BR is a 14 twist, and it's for shooting PD's with 40 grain pills.

 

[Kiba]

I know this is an older post, but I'm curious what you went with and what distances you're shooting at. Also, why the heavier bullets?

I also shoot ground squirrels in CA. The area I hunt has some spaces where I could shoot fairly far, but mostly I keep it to 200 yards and in, or stalk closer.

Over the years I've shot 22LR, 17HMR, and 223. The HMR seems about perfect for most of the distances I shoot, but past 130 yards it seems to fall off for me. With ammo prices going up and other guns I like to shoot more, I've settled on shooting my Rem 700 223 with a reduced Blue Dot load. I got the load from an old varmint hunting article "To Bee or 223" and it's really working well.

I bought a bunch of these 35gr Nosler BT Lead Free seconds from Shooters Pro Shop when they were 20c each and worked up a load. 14gr of Alliant Blue Dot under these bullets gives me 3250 fps, which is plenty to have a satisfying pop on squirrels. The low powder charge has the additional benefit of extremely low recoil, low muzzle blast, and puts a lot less heat into the barrel. With a typical 223 barrel, it would get hot after 10-15 rounds, with the blue dot load, I can continue to scan for and shoot squirrels as I see them and not really worry about barrel heat.

22 Caliber 35gr Ballistic Tip Lead Free (100ct) (BLEM)

22 Caliber 35gr Ballistic Tip Lead Free (100ct) (BLEM)

www.shootersproshop.com

With a conventional powder, you can push these bullets much faster. I've shot the 36gr Barnes Varmint Grenade up to 3600fps with H335. With the options you listed, it seems the 22-250 would be the easy button for a speed demon and the lighter weight bullets.

Haven't actually got the 22GT build out to test yet (it's assembled and ready to go except I'm waiting for the scope, and I don't feel like pulling a scope off something else) but I'm still planning to use either the 72 Lehighs or 77 Cayugas. I have a good stash of the 72 Lehighs and will pick up some of the 77 Cayugas for testing.

This is going to be the longer range squirrel blaster (300-650Y) or for use on windy days, so I want something with a higher BC than the light bullets. It will also get used for coyotes at longer ranges. The bullet choice is also a side effect of barrel availability, I ended up going with a 7 twist on the 22GT so that pretty much rules out the lighter 40-50gr stuff being sent at 22GT velocities as the lighter jacketed bullets will probably come apart with the 7 twist unless I use light monolithics-- and I don't feel like paying monolithic prices for low BC light monos, seems like a waste of money.

If was going to set this up for 40s or 50s in the 3800+fps range I would have gone with probably a 10 twist so the bullets hold together; I might do a slow twist 22GT barrel for the light bullets later on. I'm hoping for 3300fps with the 72s out of the 22GT which should do nicely in the wind.

For the closer in stuff I have my 17 HMR (it's fun out to 200Y as long as there is no breeze, with breeze I try to keep it at 150Y or even closer) and for stuff further than that I have 2x 223Als slinging 50gr Nosler BTLFs and 72 Lehighs. The 50gr Nosler BTLF @ 3500 out of my primary 223Al does the job just fine even beyond 350+ but those 50s obviously get pushed around more when the wind picks up. I've been running both the 50 BTLF and 72 Lehigh out of my 223Als and just dialing for the zero offset and dealing with the couple of rounds needed for the barrel to settle back down after the ammo change, but having the 22GT dedicated to the heavies and the 223Als dedicated to the 50s on the squirrel blasting trips will be nice. Also, my 2nd 223Al which was built mostly for sending heavies for target use has a progressive 7.5-6.8 twist barrel and unfortunately it blows up the 50 BTLFs above 3420fps or so... oops. Shoots 72gr+ fantastic though. That's the bad thing about trying to get one barrel to send both the light and heavy bullets, sometimes things don't go as planned.

Now that the 22GT is together I'm now thinking about building a 20 practical or 20-223AI for my next squirrel blaster, but there aren't many choices for non-lead 204. If I built one I'd probably try the Nosler 32gr BTLF first based off my very positive experiences with the 223 40 & 50 BTLF, but the 32gr .204 BTLF's have been unobtanium for probably 2+ years now. Not in a big hurry for that build though because with the 17 HMR, 2x 223Als, 22GT, and 6 Dasher I already take up too much room in the truck on the squirrel blasting trips, LOL!

Regarding the varmint grenades since you mentioned them... they absolutely suck in everything I've tried them in, which has been 7 or 8 different rifles now. They just don't group worth a damn no matter what I try for powder or seating depth. I keep a box of them on the shelf to try every time I spin up a new barrel just to see if they'll finally work, only to put the box back on the shelf when they still group like crap in a new build/barrel. The 40 and 50 Nosler BTLFs on the other hand have been laser beams in everything I've tried; the 40 Noslers at 4200fps in a friend's 22-250 have managed multiple 1.25" 5 shot groups at 500 yards, which absolutely blows my mind for a lightweight non-lead varmint bullet. That 40gr BTLF over AR comp combo just works exceptionally well in that rifle; Mark at Spartan Precision put that one together, and whatever he did, he did very well...

Another update since my initial post, the Lehigh 72s are once again available. That makes me happy as my 223AIs and a friend's 22BR love those bullets.

 

[MustangGreg66]

@Kiba - Excellent. Sounds like you have quite the stable of rifles to pull from and very specific goals for this one. Let us know how it works when you get a chance to shoot it.

I don't like the Varmint Grenades either. They were one of the first lead free bullets I found and they did ok, but like you said, the Noslers are way better.

 

[Kiba]

@Kiba - Excellent. Sounds like you have quite the stable of rifles to pull from and very specific goals for this one. Let us know how it works when you get a chance to shoot it.

I don't like the Varmint Grenades either. They were one of the first lead free bullets I found and they did ok, but like you said, the Noslers are way better.

Yep, the nosler BTLFs, while having published bc's that are a bit optimistic (pretty standard for nosler stuff, lol) group fantastic in everything I've tried them in with minimal load development.

My 6 dasher sending the nosler 55s at 3840 is very, very accurate and results in pretty spectacular squirrel acrobatics.