Franklin Armory's Rabbit Rounds spin-stabilize shotgun-style pellets in an AR
Every hunting season, the ammunition industry rolls out a fresh batch of "revolutionary" cartridges promising to change the way you hunt. Most of them are marginal tweaks on existing designs — a slightly different bullet profile, a new powder blend, a flashy name. Every once in a while, though, something genuinely different shows up on the shelf. Franklin Armory's new Rabbit Rounds fall into that second, much smaller category, and they deserve a closer look from anyone who hunts small and medium game out of an AR-platform rifle.
The original writeup on this round comes from Athlon Outdoors, and it does a solid job breaking down the basic concept. We wanted to dig a little deeper into the engineering behind these rounds, and — more importantly for our readers — talk about exactly when and why a hunter would reach for a box of Rabbit Rounds instead of a standard .223 or 5.56 hunting load.
What Exactly Are Rabbit Rounds?
At their core, Rabbit Rounds are a multi-projectile cartridge built on the 5.56x45mm platform. Instead of sending a single jacketed bullet downrange, each round fires four spin-stabilized lead pellets, roughly BB-shot sized at .180 inches in diameter, out of a self-discarding, multi-piece thermoplastic sabot. A copper gas check sits behind the projectile stack, helping manage pressure and ensure consistent velocity as the payload travels down the barrel.
Once the round clears the muzzle, the sabot petals peel away and fall off, leaving the four pellets to continue on their own spin-stabilized paths toward the target. This is the part that makes Rabbit Rounds genuinely novel. Shotgun shells rely on a smoothbore barrel and shot cup to disperse pellets in a pattern, but they don't impart any spin to the individual pellets — accuracy and effective range are limited as a result. Rabbit Rounds take a completely different approach by using the rifling of a standard AR barrel to spin-stabilize each of the four projectiles independently, which is a genuinely clever bit of engineering for a sporting round.
The Numbers Behind the Design
On paper, the specs are impressive for something fired out of a rifle most people associate with single, high-velocity bullets:
- Caliber: 5.56x45mm (runs in .223 Remington, .223 Wylde, and 5.56 NATO chambers)
- Projectile count: Four lead pellets per round, .180-inch diameter each
- Total payload weight: 45 grains
- Sabot material: Thermoplastic, self-discarding
- Gas check: Copper
- Muzzle velocity: Approximately 3,150 feet per second from a 16-inch AR barrel
- Muzzle energy: Roughly 992 foot-pounds
- MSRP: $67.99 per box
To put that velocity figure in context, Franklin Armory notes that Rabbit Rounds generate more than double the speed and power of a typical shotgun shell. A standard field load shotgun shell is doing good work if it clears 1,200 to 1,300 feet per second at the muzzle. Rabbit Rounds are nearly reaching 3,150 fps — a velocity more commonly associated with varmint-hunting rifle cartridges than with shot-based ammunition. That extra speed translates directly into flatter trajectories, more retained energy downrange, and — according to Franklin Armory — an effective pattern that holds together out to 40 yards or more.
Why Spin Stabilization Actually Matters Here
It's worth pausing on why the spin-stabilization angle is such a big deal. A traditional shotshell pattern opens up quickly and loses energy fast because the pellets aren't stabilized in flight — they're just along for the ride, buffeted by air resistance with no spin to keep them tracking true. That's fine at 20 to 25 yards on a rising dove, but it becomes a real limitation when you're trying to reach out further or need more consistent terminal performance.
By running each of the four pellets through a rifled barrel, Rabbit Rounds impart spin to every individual projectile before the sabot separates. In theory, that should mean tighter, more predictable patterns at extended range compared to a shot cup dumped out of a smoothbore. Franklin Armory's own claim is a usable pattern beyond 40 yards, which — if it holds up in the field — would put this round in a different performance class than shotgun ammunition for small-game work.
When a Hunter Would Actually Choose Rabbit Rounds
This is the question that matters most if you're deciding whether to add a box to your next order. Rabbit Rounds aren't trying to replace your go-to deer load or your long-range varmint ammo — they're filling a very specific niche, and understanding that niche is the key to getting the most out of them.
1. You Already Hunt With an AR
If your small-game or predator rig is a .223/5.56 AR-platform rifle, Rabbit Rounds let you use that same gun for a completely different style of hunting without swapping uppers, barrels, or optics. Instead of carrying a dedicated shotgun into the field for rabbits or squirrels, you can load a magazine of Rabbit Rounds into the AR you already trust and already have zeroed for other tasks. For hunters who value a simplified kit — one rifle, multiple roles — that's a real practical advantage.
2. You Want a Shot-Pattern Option Without the Shotgun
There's a reason shotguns remain the standard for rabbits, squirrels, and similar small game: a spread of shot increases your odds of connecting with a moving target compared to a single projectile. Rabbit Rounds attempt to bring that same forgiving hit probability to a rifle platform. If you've ever flubbed a shot on a bolting rabbit because a single .223 bullet needed to be dead-on, a four-pellet spread gives you more margin for error while still benefiting from a rifle's accuracy and higher velocity.
3. Coyotes and Hogs at Moderate Range
Franklin Armory specifically points to coyote and wild hog hunting as additional applications, and the energy numbers back that up. Nearly 1,000 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle, combined with a spread pattern, could make Rabbit Rounds a useful option for hunters dealing with pest or nuisance animals at moderate distances, where a precise single-shot placement isn't always guaranteed, especially on fast-moving or skittish targets.
4. You Hunt Where Non-Expanding Shot Loads Make Sense
Because the pellets are non-expanding, lead BB-sized shot rather than an expanding rifle bullet, Rabbit Rounds behave more like a shotgun load in terms of terminal performance on small game. That's a meaningful distinction for hunters who specifically want to avoid the pelt or meat damage that a high-velocity expanding .223 bullet can cause on something as small as a rabbit or squirrel. If preserving the hide or minimizing meat loss on small game is a priority, a multi-pellet, non-expanding design is a more sensible terminal ballistics choice than most standard rifle ammunition.
Where Rabbit Rounds Aren't the Right Call
To be fair to hunters evaluating this round, it's not a universal solution, and nobody — including Franklin Armory — is claiming it should replace every other load in your safe. For true long-range varmint work, where you're reaching out past 40 to 50 yards with precision, a conventional single-projectile .223/5.56 load is still going to be the better tool. For deer-sized or larger game, this round simply isn't designed or intended for that job. And because it's a newer, patent-pending design manufactured by a single company at this point, pricing per round is understandably higher than bulk shotgun shells or basic FMJ rifle ammo — something to factor in if you're planning to put a lot of rounds downrange for practice.
Availability and What to Watch For
Right now, Rabbit Rounds are available in 5.56x45mm, which means they're compatible with rifles chambered in .223 Remington, .223 Wylde, and 5.56 NATO — covering the vast majority of ARs already in hunters' hands. Franklin Armory has indicated plans to expand the Rabbit Rounds lineup into additional popular hunting calibers down the line, so this may be the first entry in a broader product family rather than a one-off novelty item. At an MSRP of $67.99 per box, it's priced as a specialty hunting round rather than a plinking load, which lines up with its intended role as a purpose-built tool for specific small- and medium-game scenarios.
The Bottom Line
Franklin Armory's Rabbit Rounds represent a genuinely creative piece of ammunition engineering — spin-stabilized, multi-pellet projectiles fired from a standard AR platform, combining the forgiving nature of a shot pattern with the velocity and reach of a rifle cartridge. For hunters who already run an AR and want a dedicated small-game option without buying a second firearm, or for anyone looking for an effective way to manage coyotes and hogs at closer ranges without over-penetrating or over-damaging a pelt, this round fills a real gap in the market. It won't replace your primary big-game ammo, and it's not meant to, but as a specialized tool for a specific job, Rabbit Rounds are one of the more interesting releases we've seen in a while. Keep an eye on AmmoWinner as more retailers pick up this line — when it does become more widely available, we'll be tracking the best prices so you can add a box to your next order without overpaying.