.300 Win Mag on Small Game

[Trafficdiver]

I've seen some proof of it right here on my own property. A few years ago, there were a lot of feral cats running around the area because people were dropping unwanted cats off to a neighbor and the rabbit population was dropping off very noticeably. Since the cat population has been all but eliminated, (that neighbor died and the new one has no cats), the rabbit population has more than doubled.
Every time I go in and out of my driveway, I see a dozen or so along 1000 feet of drive. When all the feral cats were around, I might see three or four.
Given the choice, I'd rather have wild rabbits around than cats.

Hold on...more anecdotal evidence?!?

So a place with far, far more feral cats than average has fewer bunnies? Shocking!

 

[Agnotology]

I have 2 rifles in 22-250. Don't push the rounds so fast and the barrel will last longer. Accuracy suffers at higher velocities as well. My preferred speed is 3200fps.
I handload.

So you've detuned your rounds to AR levels.....

So at that point, why are you loading that .224 diameter bullet into that brass over a .223 / 5.56 bolt gun? Why buy .22-250 at all? You aren't making use of the additional space the case leaves for powder.

 

[Agnotology]

Hold on...more anecdotal evidence?!?

So a place with far, far more feral cats than average has fewer bunnies? Shocking!

What's your point, apart from the snark? Do you genuinely believe feral cats don't have an impact? A predator, protected by humans, doesn't kill?

 

[Fritz the Cat]

So you've detuned your rounds to AR levels.....

So at that point, why are you loading that .224 diameter bullet into that brass over a .223 / 5.56 bolt gun? Why buy .22-250 at all? You aren't making use of the additional space the case leaves for powder.

The Rem 721 is a bench gun, weighing in at almost 18 lbs. I bought it in my younger days while I was obsessed with speed, pushing just past 4k fps. Accuracy started falling off the faster i went and eventually settled in with the lower 3k range.
Larger case capacity gives better options for powder choices, using slower burning powder to take advantage of the 26" barrel. In my opinion that also helps with barrel life.
As for cats, i do not like them much, especially the feral kind.

 

[drgrant]

I'd never bother with owning that chambering. too expensive, too short of barrel life.

Nobody normal will ever shoot one enough that they're going to wear it out.

 

[Realtor MA]

Nobody normal will ever shoot one enough that they're going to wear it out.

We are on NES. What is this 'normal' you speak of? LOL

 

[Mountain]

Some of the most fun I had as a kid was rounding up a family of feral black cats with my dad and a neighbor. Dunno if rabies was involved or if they were just demented, but a couple of them began to chase people. Combination of homemade pole nooses (pipe w/ rope loop), baited live traps, and a tough little dachshund that would corner them. They were all mean as piss and once caught did their best to get loose and try to kill you. Within 2 days we sent all of them to animal control for a permanent attitude adjustment. Last house I lived in that was within city limits, so pew pew wasn't a good option.

 

[Mountain]

So, this popped up, and I re-watched it.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxUTl_xd9u0


4:20 time stamp, he talks about using a 180 grain soft hollow point out of 300 win mag with usually no over-pen, and good mushrooming, and humane [over] kill. I believe the mushrooming with a soft HP. I call bullshit on "usually don't overpenetrate". 180 grains delivering 4,000 ft-lbs of energy is going to through and through a cat, every time, even if it you shoot it in the head, down the entire length of it's spinal column and out it's ass.

Even the .308 130 grain HP they show is going to exit a cat.


Or am I completely off base?

LOL this reminds me of Spinal Tap. This is the feral cat hunter discussing his 300 Win Mag ammo:

Surely no one is taking this cat video seriously?

 

[Agnotology]

Some of the most fun I had as a kid was rounding up a family of feral black cats with my dad and a neighbor. Dunno if rabies was involved or if they were just demented, but a couple of them began to chase people. Combination of homemade pole nooses (pipe w/ rope loop), baited live traps, and a tough little dachshund that would corner them. They were all mean as piss and once caught did their best to get loose and try to kill you. Within 2 days we sent all of them to animal control for a permanent attitude adjustment. Last house I lived in that was within city limits, so pew pew wasn't a good option.

I don't know if "fun" would be the way I'd describe that.

I'm highly allergic to cats so I've never developed any attachment to one, other than weighing the cost/benefit of giving a few head scratches for 15 seconds versus the next hour of itchiness.

But that's more the solemn kind of 'do what needs to be done'.

Surely no one is taking this cat video seriously?

Seriously how? Seems serious to me.

 

[Mountain]

I don't know if "fun" would be the way I'd describe that.

I'm highly allergic to cats so I've never developed any attachment to one, other than weighing the cost/benefit of giving a few head scratches for 15 seconds versus the next hour of itchiness.

But that's more the solemn kind of 'do what needs to be done'.


Seriously how? Seems serious to me.

I like animals in general, take good care of my pets, and do my absolute best to make clean, ethical kills when hunting only for things I'll eat. Those feral cats were the meanest, most vile creatures I have ever encountered. Something wrong with their brains and they had to go. They had attacked a neighbor's dog, tried to attack another kid, and chased adults. Trying to capture them was actually not the smartest move, but it kept the peace in the neighborhood despite everyone knowing was was going to happen once animal control had them.

I guess the 'fun' part was the challenge and excitement of how to capture them without getting bitten or scratched- they were wild as hell and unpredictable.

 

[Coyote33]

I'd think for a regular cat, a .22 Mag or .17 HMR should do the trick. Heck, a .22 would also.

 

[Fritz the Cat]

I'd think for a regular cat, a .22 Mag or .17 HMR should do the trick. Heck, a .22 would also.

I have killed plenty of woodchucks with CCI stingers and they are tougher than any feline domesticus.

 

[Dennis in MA]

and why are they killing poor kitties, again? are they attacking poor aussies at night and shredding them to pieces?

A-ussies hate P-ussies.

 

[MisterHappy]

On almost his last deer-hunting trip, my dad took two partridges with a .30-'06.

Both through the neck. Not bad for a 80+ year old dude.
'

 

[MAGA99]

When I read the thread title, my thought of small game with 300 WSM was a small northeast deer.