Lucky me, I have been invited on a hunt for black grouse (Birkhahn, for you German speakers) in the spring. This is a mountain hunt in the "rut" (do birds rut? mating season, anyway).

I'm looking for a sensible bullet for my .222 Rem for this purpose. It needs to be something which does not tear the bird apart, and yet it can't be a FMJ because the grouse have been known to "sail" off (and never be found) when hit with those..

My host says he has shot grouse with a hollow point match bullet in .222, and it worked fine. Have any of you shot small game/birds with the Sierra (BT)HP Match bullets (52-53 grs), and what was your experience in terms of damage and lethality??

I have very limited experience with shooting birds with a rifle. I once shot a capercaille with a .22 Hornet using a regular soft point. There were feathers all over the place after the bird fell out of the tree, but the mount looks good. Sadly, I don't own a Hornet I would trust enough to take on a once-in-a-lifetime hunt like this. I also shot snow grouse with a rifle, and we had to use a .22 LR to ensure low damage. Sadly, the distances black grouse are hunted at, preclude the use of a .22 LR...
So I'm pretty much limited to my .222 or .223s.

- mike

(cross posted to Small Bore Forum)

Thanks JKKP, much appreciated.

I know you guys hunt both capercaillie and black grouse a lot. It would be interesting if you could tell us a bit about how this is done in Scandinavia?? Sometimes I hear about hunting on skis, sometimes with dogs, sometimes by waiting at the locations the birds are known to frequent (much like they are hunted here in the Alps). It would be interesting to understand a bit more about hunting common species in another environment.

- mike

Mike,
I'm evalauting a hunt in Sweden next year in January using ski and rifles. I found an offer on an elctronic magazine, possible to hunt white hares, capercaillie and black grouse.
I have already read an article on it, it seems that can be fine

I have shot a lot of birds using 22PPC at about 3500 fps. Mostly cormorants, geese and seagulls. I have found the FMJ bullets to be the least destructive. I´ve used the Sierra Matchking HP quite a lot as well as Bergers, Speer and other HP. These have all been highly destructive unless the range has been very long, so speed could be something to consider. I have no idea at what range you´ll be shooting but a reduced load might be an option.

JKKP,
in one of the Sissy Princess films, the first one, there is a capercaillie hunt scene. In thi sscene the hunter, the father of the princess did not shoot because she make the capercaillie escape making some noise or movement. In few words the hunter nust approach the capercaillie while it is "singing", and stopping immediately, whatever is the position taken in that moment, as soon as it cease to sing.
The hunter can move again when the capercaillie restart to sing.
When it is visible and at the right distance ....is the momento to shoot.

As Steve explains, this is actually one of the more interesting parts of hunting capercaillie in the rut (I still use that questionable term, the German term for a bird "rut" is "Balz" - which my dictionary translates with "courtship"). The caper is an extremely alert animal, but during the second part of his mating song (German: "Schleifen"), he is practically deaf and blind. So during this period you can move in towards him, but must remain ABSOLUTELY motionless when this part is over. You never know exactly how long it will last 5 or 30 seconds... You are often left with one foot hanging in the air when he suddenly stops...

On the other post I made about this subject, I described a bit about hunting these birds in the Alps... Small Caliber Forum Thread

- mike

Mike,
once I found a .224 50grains FMJ bullet by Sako.
By my opinion if you have enough time you can buy a Cz 22Hornet and test some load using taht bullets. Doube or triple your amusment and pleasure.

Of course I understand the old "my wife doesn't understand nothing about guns but she is very able in counting them"

RWS has a very good 224 bullet, 45 gr FMJ RN.
It has some knockeffect, and it will not explode, usually it shows excellent precision. I use it in my 221 fireball (downloaded to 800 m/s) for Black grouse and caper .

/Eric

MHO,
I would of thought that the any of the monometal bullets like barnes or gs custom would be superb. With minimun expansion these should be suited for your needs..

regards
griff