I live in South Dakota where suppressors and thermals are legal for varmint/predator hunting at night (mainly looking at coyotes). The laws state if a thermal is used, you can use rimfire, shotgun or centerfire equal to or smaller than .224 diameter. A couple friends and I started talking about this and we'd like to use bolt guns and since we shoot matches, we all have available .473 bolt face short actions for builds. Our goal would be to shoot subsonic to remain as quiet as possible and shoot heavy for caliber bullets for as much retained energy as possible. One of the guys also has a 22br reamer which could potentially be the perfect starting point for a build.
Our thoughts:
16" 7 twist barrels
80+ gr bullets
Questions
- Since all shots on coyotes will be under 200yds, what .224 bullet above 80gr would you suggest to get expansion at subsonic velocities?
- Can you think of another .473 bolt face cartridge that would be better than the 22br?
- Have any of you done this and have experience to share?
Thank you!
Our thoughts:
16" 7 twist barrels
80+ gr bullets
Questions
- Since all shots on coyotes will be under 200yds, what .224 bullet above 80gr would you suggest to get expansion at subsonic velocities?
- Can you think of another .473 bolt face cartridge that would be better than the 22br?
- Have any of you done this and have experience to share?
Thank you!
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