I didn't try any lightweight bullets, but I'd wager that they'd be a called-in coyote's or a cross-canyon
rockchuck's worst nightmare.
When that full flat-faced relatively slow moving bullet hit a rabbit, badger, or
rockchuck, the resounding "thwack" sounded like a wet towel slapped against the side of the bathtub.
The Bee has a
rockchuck and a coyote on the cylinder, with a jackrabbit and a squirrel on the mainframe; while the Mashburn is a little more flamboyant, with a coyote, squirrel and javelina on the barrel.
The last time (hopefully, literally) was on a
rockchuck hunt up in Idaho.
With a 50-grain bullet at 3,800 fps, the .22-250 carries more than 500 ft-lbs of energy to 400 yards--a knockout blow to any coyote or
rockchuck. That bullet starts as fast as a 40-grain spitzer from a .223, but it bucks wind better and at 400 yards outpaees the .223 by 270 fps.
I don't live in prime
rockchuck country but it's within a day's drive.
As we proceeded Joe pointed out a
rockchuck, it may be called a groundhog in your part of the country, sunning himself on a very large rock about 300 yards out.
Getting away from the crowds is what
rockchuck hunting is all about.
I know how very accurate a BPCR with good ammo can be, but a black-powder-powered, home cast, bullet being accurate enough to consistently hit a
rockchuck at 1,000 yards?
It carries especially easily in a pick-up truck or jeep rifle rack always at the ready should a suitable target such as
rockchuck, badger, coyote, or jackrabbit present itself.
What we found was another pursuer of the groundhog, also known in other parts of the country as a
rockchuck, using what was then a brand-new rifle and cartridge.
In the upper Yellowstone Valley we had some immense gopher fields, a bit of
rockchuck shooting and prairie dog towns galore not too far away.