No lead .22 LR choices???

15 May 2008, 10:38

Kyler Hamann

Has anyone heard of any "no lead" .22 LR (or 17 HMR) loads being developed? Rimfire ammo versions of the Varmint Grenade or Sinterfire bullets?

I'm sure they'll be pricey but I really hate to completely give up shooting rimfires when we have to start saving the condors here in July.

Thanks,
Kyler

15 May 2008, 15:19

Skinner.

Federal made a non lead .22 round under their Ballisticlean line, it was a 29gr. zinc alloy bullet. Got some. They discontinued it several years ago but the technology is there.

CCI has a .22 WMR 'Green' loading out that is lead free.

I am in need of a lower velocity rimfire to dispatch gray fox and bobcats in cage traps, CCI's Green 22 WMR load is around 2000 fps. at the muzzle, way too fast.

But in experimenting I can pull the bullets with a collet type bullet puller, modify the powder charge and reseat the bullet. I want about 950 fps.

Handgun silhouette shooters were handloading 22 WMR's with 50 gr centerfire bullets for better accuracy and they reliably knocked over the rams.

CCI did state that their 22 WMR Green load was an initial offering, I don't see what the problem would be with making a non lead, compressed powder core for the .17 Mach2 or .17 HMR. Other than the cost increase from $1.50 per 50 .22LR to $12.00 per 50 .17HMR.

Matter of fact a 15 gr. .17 Mach2 at 1200 fps would be a great dispatch round. Pinprick entrance, scramble the brain, dead as a doornail and no exit. Therefore no richochet, which can be an issue with lead projectiles when shooting a gray fox in the head at 8".

29 June 2008, 08:50

Atkinson

All that over a prehistoric chicken. Whats the world coming too...

01 July 2008, 17:49

IronBadger

Skinner, if it were not for the fact that you said "cage trap" I would suggest .22 snake shot loads.

There are some low velocity .22 rimfire loads out there from Aguila, but I have not had much chance to check the actual performance.
(I have some boxes of their so-called subsonic sniper, hummingbird CB caps and other low power loads.)

Growing up, I used plenty of .22 shotshells- CCI blue plastic capped and crimped federal and winchester I think they were, for game up to the size of porcupine and opossum for headshots at close range. (under 25 or so feet.)
They were quite lethal and I never had to shoot anything twice so long as I was not out of the effective range.

14 August 2008, 10:48

Kyler Hamann

Update:

I emailed every .22 LR manufacture I could think of to see if they have any "green" ammo on the drawing board. The answer was "no" in all cases.

In fact the only legal rimfire ammo in this area now is the one green CCI .22 Mag. load. (Too bad of all my rimfires I never got a Mag.).

Boy, do I miss getting to pack one of my many .22 LR's for squirrels when I'm out and about. They sit in the safe now...

Really sad. Make sure you fight and fight hard WHEN (not IF) the lead bullet ban heads your way.

I get the feeling I'm one of the few in this area complying with the lead bullet ban but if the game wardens get serious about enforcing it things are going to get ugly.

Kyler

14 August 2008, 18:06

butchloc

quote:
Posted 29 June 2008 08:50 Hide Post
All that over a prehistoric chicken. Whats the world coming too... pissers

05 September 2008, 23:22

ca_reloader

Kyler:

It is still legal to hunt small game with lead 22's, but not non-game. Here is a link to Fish & Game FAQ's on the subject.

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/condor/docs/LeadInformation.pdf

28 October 2008, 21:28

Duckear

One of the reasons to buy a 'lifetime' supply of .22LR now.

It is cheap and available.

28 October 2008, 22:26

tom`

quote:
Originally posted by Kyler Hamann:
Update:

I emailed every .22 LR manufacture I could think of to see if they have any "green" ammo on the drawing board. The answer was "no" in all cases.

In fact the only legal rimfire ammo in this area now is the one green CCI .22 Mag. load. (Too bad of all my rimfires I never got a Mag.).

Boy, do I miss getting to pack one of my many .22 LR's for squirrels when I'm out and about. They sit in the safe now...

Really sad. Make sure you fight and fight hard WHEN (not IF) the lead bullet ban heads your way.

I get the feeling I'm one of the few in this area complying with the lead bullet ban but if the game wardens get serious about enforcing it things are going to get ugly.

Kyler

I busted and balanced wheels for cars up to semis as well as done quite a bit of casting from bullets to vise jaws. I reckon I've got more lead exposure than the little woodland creatures from the tire work alone. Do they have "green" wheel weights now too?

30 October 2008, 02:00

delloro

yes, they are zinc alloy.

21 July 2014, 16:59

mete

http://www.sciencedaily.com/re.../07/140718114541.htm

Are you getting enough zinc in your diet ??

One visible sign of a deficiency is white spots on your fingernails !

21 July 2014, 20:03

TomP

Our local rifle shop had some Winchester 22 LR with 29-grain tin bullets. Accuracy was not the finest, I still have most of the box left.

22 July 2014, 19:17

SR4759

Remington used to manufacture a sintered iron .22 short load for use in shooting galleries about 50 years ago. There are bound to be a lot of those still around.

quote:
Originally posted by Skinner.:
Federal made a non lead .22 round under their Ballisticlean line, it was a 29gr. zinc alloy bullet. Got some. They discontinued it several years ago but the technology is there.

CCI has a .22 WMR 'Green' loading out that is lead free.

I am in need of a lower velocity rimfire to dispatch gray fox and bobcats in cage traps, CCI's Green 22 WMR load is around 2000 fps. at the muzzle, way too fast.

But in experimenting I can pull the bullets with a collet type bullet puller, modify the powder charge and reseat the bullet. I want about 950 fps.

Handgun silhouette shooters were handloading 22 WMR's with 50 gr centerfire bullets for better accuracy and they reliably knocked over the rams.

CCI did state that their 22 WMR Green load was an initial offering, I don't see what the problem would be with making a non lead, compressed powder core for the .17 Mach2 or .17 HMR. Other than the cost increase from $1.50 per 50 .22LR to $12.00 per 50 .17HMR.

Matter of fact a 15 gr. .17 Mach2 at 1200 fps would be a great dispatch round. Pinprick entrance, scramble the brain, dead as a doornail and no exit. Therefore no richochet, which can be an issue with lead projectiles when shooting a gray fox in the head at 8".

22 July 2014, 21:29

waterman

Remington Rockets and Peters Thunderbolts, they came in a 28-round "Chiclets" box. I shot lots of them at rats in the town dump. At 25 yards or so, they were deadly. Now they are collectors items, too pricey to shoot.

The whole process could probably be revived for .22 LR