{"id":1228,"date":"2026-09-30T09:23:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T13:23:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/slavguns.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/30\/franklin-armory-rabbit-rounds-ar-small-game\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T09:23:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T13:23:29","slug":"franklin-armory-rabbit-rounds-ar-small-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/slavguns.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/30\/franklin-armory-rabbit-rounds-ar-small-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Franklin Armory Rabbit Rounds: AR Shot for Small Game (5.56 Multi-Projectile)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Product news: Franklin Armory\u00ae just entered the ammunition business with Rabbit Rounds™ \u2014 patent-pending multi-projectile 5.56x45mm loads aimed at small-game hunting from AR-pattern rifles. Specs and quotes below are from Franklin Armory\u2019s Sept. 30, 2026 announcement and product page. This is not a SlavGuns range T&E; we have not shot these loads yet. Always verify current availability, local hunting regs, and what is legal for your game\/season.<\/em><\/p>\n

Squat Squad \u2014 coyote or pig hunt going well\u2026 then a rabbit or squirrel pops up and your magazine is still stuffed with single-projectile hunting loads. Franklin Armory\u2019s answer (announced from Minden, NV on September 30, 2026) is simple on paper and weirdly overdue: give the Modern Sporting Rifle a spin-stabilized \u201cshot\u201d option<\/strong> that still lives in a.223 Rem \/ .223 Wylde \/ 5.56 NATO chamber.<\/p>\n

Meet Rabbit Rounds™<\/strong> \u2014 and yes, this is Franklin Armory\u2019s first time in the ammunition business<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Shop \/ product page: franklinarmory.com\/rabbit-rounds<\/a> (direct \u2014 Franklin is not on our AvantLink merchant list yet).<\/p>\n

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What Rabbit Rounds actually are<\/h2>\n

Per Franklin Armory, each cartridge launches four spin-stabilized projectiles<\/strong> in a multi-piece, self-discarding sabot<\/strong> (patent-pending). Think \u201cshot pattern,\u201d but engineered so the pellets keep spinning after the sabot sheds \u2014 not a loose cloud of random BB chaos.<\/p>\n

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  • Caliber:<\/strong> 5.56x45mm for AR-pattern firearms chambered in .223 Rem, .223 Wylde, or 5.56 NATO<\/li>\n
  • Projectile assembly:<\/strong> 45 grains total (four projectiles)<\/li>\n
  • From a 16\u2033 AR-15 rifled barrel (FA claims):<\/strong> 3,150 fps muzzle velocity and 992 ft-lbs<\/li>\n
  • Pattern claim:<\/strong> spin-stabilization helps maintain an effective pattern beyond 40 yards<\/strong> (product page also talks effective pattern out toward ~50 yards)<\/li>\n
  • More calibers:<\/strong> planned soon<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Franklin\u2019s sporting pitch is clear: harvest smaller game more effectively with the MSR\/AR you already own \u2014 and give coyote\/pig hunters a magazine swap when smaller game shows up, using non-expanding, shotgun-like pellets<\/strong> instead of a single expanding bullet.<\/p>\n

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    \u201cRabbit Rounds allow your AR to fire super-velocity, spin-stabilized shot\u2026 This ammunition greatly expands the sporting capabilities of .223 Remington and 5.56 NATO firearms.\u201d \u2014 Jay Jacobson<\/strong>, President, Franklin Armory<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    FA also notes the velocity\/power is more than double<\/strong> a typical shotshell \u2014 which makes sense when you remember these are leaving a rifled 5.56 barrel at rifle pressures, not a 12-gauge cylinder bore.<\/p>\n

    \n\"Franklin
    Official Franklin Armory product imagery \u2014 Rabbit Rounds™.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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    Who this is for (hunting \/ sporting lens)<\/h2>\n

    If your \u201cdo-everything\u201d gun is already an AR, Rabbit Rounds are aimed at the gap between:<\/p>\n

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    • Single-projectile .223\/5.56 hunting loads<\/strong> \u2014 great on medium game \/ predators, easy to miss or over-penetrate on tiny, fast targets<\/li>\n
    • Actual shotgun birdshot \/ ratshot<\/strong> \u2014 pattern-friendly up close, but you had to bring a second gun (or a weird .22 ratshot load that runs out of steam fast)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Franklin\u2019s use-case language is sporting: smaller game on the same hunt, higher hit probability on fast movers, cleaner harvest \/ less meat damage vs a full-power single bullet (their claim \u2014 we\u2019ll want range data before we treat that as gospel).<\/p>\n

      Legal reminder:<\/strong> small-game seasons, projectile rules, and \u201cwhat counts as a legal hunting firearm\u201d vary hard by state. An AR with specialty ammo can be legal for some species and banned for others. Check your regs before you mag-dump cottontails.<\/p>\n

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      Multi-projectile ammo isn\u2019t new \u2014 the context matters<\/h2>\n

      Hunters and plinkers have seen cousins of this idea for decades: .22 ratshot<\/strong>, specialty birdshot loads in rifle\/handgun cartridges<\/strong>, and various \u201cshot from a rifled barrel\u201d experiments. Most of those trade pattern density for velocity and useful range \u2014 fine for snakes in the woodpile at 10 yards, not great at chasing a running rabbit past 40.<\/p>\n

      What\u2019s interesting about Franklin\u2019s approach (on paper) is the spin-stabilized sabot package<\/strong>: keep rifle-level speed, then try to hold a useful pattern farther than classic ratshot ever could.<\/p>\n

      You\u2019ll also hear multi-projectile \/ shot-style concepts come up in open-source reporting around drone warfare in Russia\/Ukraine<\/strong> \u2014 improvised or specialty loads discussed as a way to raise hit probability against small, fast aerial targets. That\u2019s a useful technology parallel for why \u201cmore than one projectile leaving the muzzle\u201d keeps getting reinvented. It is not<\/strong> what Rabbit Rounds are marketed as. Franklin is selling a legal sporting\/hunting product<\/strong> for AR owners who want small-game capability. We\u2019re noting the parallel the way you\u2019d note that APCs and pickup trucks both have four wheels \u2014 same broad physics conversation, totally different product and purpose.<\/p>\n

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      We\u2019ve covered Franklin Armory gear before<\/h2>\n

      Ammo is new for them; innovative firearms hardware is not. If you want channel context on Franklin Armory products we\u2019ve already looked at:<\/p>\n

      Franklin Armory Prevail TRC<\/strong> \u2014 Shot Show 2026 first look:<\/p>\n