The non lead is good at VERY short range only. Would recommend good high velocity ammo.
40 gr minimag HV would be my preference.
Is non lead mandated? If so, a shotgun.

 

Non lead is mandatory in my section of the state.
I reload all my other calibers with non lead.
I can't reload 22lr.
I have plenty of regular lead range rounds, so no issues there.
Any recommendations for a good accurate non lead ammo?
Also where to buy them every LGS I have been in in out of stock on the non lead.
I have a bolt gun and a couple of simi autos to shoot them in.

 

Federal 525 rds. Bulk Pack, Copper Plated, 8 cents per round before shipping added.
Not cheap, but available. Read their "AMMO RESTRICTIONS" prior to ordering, they
ship to CA, but not to certain cities or areas. CCI AR Tactical Copper Plated Round
Nose (1200 fps) is decent ammo if you can find it. All three of my 10/22's like it.

http://palmettostatearmory.com/catalog/product/view/id/1091/

http://www.natchezss.com/22-lr-tactical-40gr-cprn-300rd.html

 

I use a shotgun for squirrels and rabbits. Steel shot is widely available. Might be hard to find in size under #2, though.

 

It looks like there is some confusion. The copper clad or copper washed or copper plated bullets are still lead underneath that coating of copper.

The issue here is that the OP needs bullets containing absolutely no lead at all. The copper clad or copper washed bullets aren't going to do what he needs to do.

 

I have shot the Winchester 26 grain Tin hollow point bullet. Accuracy is not that good. I concur 25 yards would be max distance.

I have no problem understanding the difference between lead-free bullets and copper-washed bullets.

 

I was wondering when someone would say something about those are not lead free bullets.

 

Team
Sorry I wasn't clear on this but they have to be 100% lead free.
I believe Silas got it right about the CCI and Winchester being the only brands available.
I have shot the Winchester tin hollow points and they don't hold POA past 25 to 35 yards.
It just seems that when a bullet drops into subsonic speeds it start to tumble and it can't hold the POA after that.
I am going to Bakersfield on tue so I will take a look at a couple of LGS there.
Thanks everyone for you info.

 

I had never seen or heard of .22 LR that were not lead or copper washed bullets, learn
something new every day...

 

Non lead .22's

I had never seen or heard of .22 LR that were not lead or copper washed bullets...

And you don't want to neither. IME accuracy sucked irregardless of the weapon fired out of. Better off learning how to use a slingshot.

noremf(George)

 

Alloy pellets in a pellet rifle?

 

The condors are laughing with the squirrels.

Be nice if the condors would just hurry up and go extinct and leave the gut piles and dead rodents for the vultures like evolution intended. Only CA could screw up evolution and go overboard for such an ugly creature. They'd be a lot more room for para-gliders off the cliffs if they'd go away.

Try glueing a steel BB into the tip of the tin bullet to see if that helps.

 

If I were faced with the reality of having to use lead-free ammunition for small game hunting I believe it would be time to switch to a rifle chambered for 17Mach 2 and use the Hornady 17Mach II 15.5 gr NTX cartridge. I realize that this means an entirely new rifle (or at least a new barrel or liner) and a cartridge that is probably even harder to find than the lead-free .22LR ammunition but until a manufacturer comes out with a heavier lead-free .22LR cartridge (bismuth, tungsten, gold, etc..) that performs better at longer distances you're pretty well screwed. It is highly unlikely that California is ever going to back off of the lead-free ammunition kick, heck they'll probably ban bismuth because one of it's isotopes (bismuth-209) is weakly radioactive.

 

12 ga 2 shot steel will kill rabbits and such with authority out to 35 yards or so.
My experience with the compliant .22 is that it is all but useless.
Not mandated here, but shot some for fun at jacks and it was lousy.

 

Lead Free... has to be lead free... jacketed is not lead free. So the 17M2 won't cut it

The NTX projectile is non-toxic and California compliant: http://www.hornady.com/store/NTX

 

The Winchester lead free 22's, were available in the past. Don't know about nowadays? The bullets were solid Tin. Quite expensive! For S & G, I bought a couple of 50 round boxes. Set me back $14.00!

I was PO'd. Accuracy was terrible from various handguns.

 

Have used the Winchester tin HP which are hyper loads.

They come in 250 rnd mini bricks. Might be able to spare a box or two but would not really know what to ask for them. Already promised a box to another member when I get to their neck of the woods.

Accuracy out of Biathlon Basic, Volquartsen tension barrel, and Annie 54.18 are all rabbit head out to 100yds. I do most on my rabbit hunting central California (Ft Hunter Liggett) Jolon area Los Padres. Does not make MOA at just over half inch at fifty. But other guns open up faster and would be unsuitable for for the mandatory head shots for rabbit and squirrel.

Have shot the HM2 NTX and have POI same as Eley at 75yds with goups being sub MOA out of 1702DHB Classic.

1717D Classic is also sub MOA with CCI Green ballistic tips.

The aforementioned rifles will routinely shoot into the .2's and teens with thier favorite lead based ammo.

Federal 30grn lead free is about 1.5 MOA at just over .75 inch at 50 out of A-bolt MicroMedalion.

If you reload and have a hornet that would be the best way to go for squirrel and rabbit.

Best bet is to find NTX or Green.

Good Luck finding what you need.

But if I read the regs right we are not limited to lead free rimfire even in the "Condor Zone" yet. Just at Liggett due to specific base rules. (Thanks Wally):bash:

 

Wow I am impressed with the generosity of the respondents to this question.
Great news the youngest son came through for me late last night and he gave me a box of the CCI,s.
They are product number 0952 and they are listed at 1650 fps.
We will see how they work this afternoon.
Just an FYI for Cali condor zone hunters.
Regular 22 lr lead can be used for target shooting only and the DFW dose not have any issues with it. You can target shoot in any national forest or BLM in the condor zone.
Here's where it get touchy, if you are hunting you must have lead free rounds only in you possession. If you hunt with lead free rounds and take an animal and you are stopped by DFW you cannot even have any lead rounds of any type in your car/truck if they can chamber in your gun you hunted with. You can have lead round for other guns with you if you do not have that other gun in your passion at that point in time.
If you do you will get a citation and possible confiscation of gun and maybe a night in jail before your court hearing.
If found guilty at count you will lose your hunting license and be fined along with posable jail time.
It's just not worth it to hunt with lead rounds in the Cali condor zone.
However all is not lost as I do have a 223 bolt gun for longer distance shooting and there are plant of lead free round for that caliber.
BTW Barnes make fantastic 100% copper rounds for almost all other calibers if you need them.
I reload them for my other guns and they shoot a great POA and penetrate deep.
Only issue with copper is most of these round need to be at 2000 FPS at point of impact to get them to open up and take advantage of the flowering petals on the bullets.
Thanks for the help everyone have a Merry Christmas

 

The condors are laughing with the squirrels.

 

What are you supposed to do if you have a good stash of lead .22 ammo?

-G-

 

Could always sell it for 3x the buying price on Gunbroker. Seems to be the popular thing. What amazes me is that if they are consistently pricing it that way, someone must be willing to pay that for it...

 

I use my lead ammo for range rounds and tin can picking at the range when I because I live in the condor zone.
Outside of the condor zone you can still hunt with the lead ammo in Cali.
That will be changing soon also as the entire state is going to non lead ammo for hunting by 2019.
I do travel outside of the condor zone to hunt on occasion and then it's CCI velocitiers for all my 22 lr guns.

 

Another more practical suggestion than the HM2 is the a 17HMR and the 15.5gr NTX ammo. HMR ammo is far more available than HM2.
That is, after you find out that tin 22 ammo is as accurate as a slingshot.

 

Hunters in Cali should refuse to follow the "no lead ammo" rule/law. Then when the state fins someone that case should be challenged in court. People in this country need to start standing up for their rights and stop letting the government push their liberal agendas on the people.

 

There have been 23 confirmed Condor deaths from ingesting lead from bullets or shot in carrion.

A challenge would be lost in court, and I think the ban (within the Condor range) makes sense.

For the record, California has NO PLANS to ban lead bullets for target shooting.

 

Just to play devils advocate here. On small game such as rabbit and squirrel I have never found a projectile in the body, all rounds are through and through with rimfire even on rabbit out to 200 yds. So what has been recovers from the Condors that have succumbed to ingested lead? Shotgun pellets?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

Just to play devils advocate here. On small game such as rabbit and squirrel I have never found a projectile in the body, all rounds are through and through with rimfire even on rabbit out to 200 yds. So what has been recovers from the Condors that have succumbed to ingested lead? Shotgun pellets?

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Mumbo jumbo costing untold millions, IMO.
Though I did find a lead shotgun pellet in a ducks gizzard years ago.
He decoyed just fine, horrific plumbism and all.

 

OK so I shot the CCIs item 0952.
21 grain bullet at 1650 fps out of a single shot Winchester 18 inch barrel open sights.
It blow a whole through a 55 gallon steel drum and dented the other side at 25 yards so it has plenty of killing power at the shorter ranges.
I could consistently hit a 4 inch group out to about 35 to 40 yards.
After that it was opening up and I think half of that was me and not the bullet.
I did not hit any 4 inch targets at 50 yards.
I may try them in one of my other scoped guns as I am dead on with them at 75 yards when using regular lead ammo.
Another issue is the scooped guns will not cycle these round consistently.
We will see what happens if I can get some more free time this week to try them on live game animals.

 

I could consistently hit a 4 inch group out to about 35 to 40 yards.

That is truly hideous performance. Unless your squirrels are the size of wildebeests good luck hitting them in the head.

 

I believe the majority of the lead poisoning has been due to the birds eating big game gut piles that contain lead fragments. It's possible that some of the cases of lead poisoning were caused by eating varmint type critters left in the field that had been shot with varmint type bullets that are designed to fragment. In all likelihood there probably isn't one documented case of a bird being poisoned from eating tree squirrels or rabbits harvested for human consumption with a .22LR but firearm prohibitionists aren't known for letting science, the truth or common sense stand in their way.

 

I tried the Winchester tin rounds and found that they patterned rather than grouped. I think non-lead .22 offerings currently on the market are a joke.

How about a different caliber? I popped some rabbits this Fall with a .38 special carbine and it worked great. I will actually spend time this summer looking to perfect a .38 or .357 that is truly accurate and suitable for small game. Surely there are a bunch of centerfire calibers you could download and use lead free?

 

People this lead ammo ban in the Condor range isn't about the Condor at all. What's it's about is Cali's push to ban ALL lead ammo they are just using the Condor to get the ban started. 1st it will be in the condor range. 2nd it will be all hunting ammo in Cali. 3rd will be ALL ammo used for Sport,hunting & target shooting. Inch by inch they are moving to ban anything and everything related to guns and hunting. Just remember once they take away your rights those rights are gone forever.