varmints with a 22PPC?

[nockhunter]

I just got a Sako 22PPC, dies en route and would like to know if anyone here uses a 22PPC and the bullets being used? Do you use bullets designed for 22-250/220 swift speeds or 222/223 rem speeds? Used for woodchucks in western NY.

Mike

 

[Sniper338]

I dont have a 22ppc, ill get that out of the way. BUT if it were me, jmo, Id focus on flat based bullets only, and Id lean real hard towards berger 52gr FB varmint, or something around about that weight, no heavier. After all its a ppc case, we all know the ppc is not a long range case, AND flat based bullets perform very well at shorter, inside 300 yards than vld bullets.

Jmo, nothing more.

 

[ReedG]

Mike, I think the .22 PPC is a great cartridge and lots of fun to load for and shoot. What makes a cartridge "long range" is its powder capacity and the .22 PPC has a larger volume capacity than the .223. What will be the biggest concern is the barrel twist. My Sako is 1:14 and that will make it best for 40-gr. through 55-gr. bullets and any of the excellent varmint bullets available will give you lots of enjoyment. IMR8208XBR is hard to beat in this cartridge, but many other powders work fine.

 

[dedogs]

Do you use bullets designed for 22-250/220 swift speeds or 222/223 rem speeds?

As stated above, it will depend primarily on the twist rate of your barrel. I second the 52 Berger FB Varmint. VERY ACCURATE in my .221 Fireball with a 14 twist. dedogs

 

[357Mag]

NOCKHUNTER -

Howdy !

Hornady's 50gr SX and especially their 55SX would work great on
" Soybenus Digestus ", from a 1-14.....@ the vel's you'd be looking at.

I say this after using them in .22BR, .222Rem, .223, .22-250, .220 Swift; and my .22-35 wildcat . Also, had a friend that shot SX from his .225Win. They are " old school ", but lethal ( example:
NE Indiana groundhogs ).


With regards,
357Mag

 

[drover]

40 gr Nosler ballistic tips will be your friend. You can drive them relatively fast out of the 22 PPC, they have been very accurate in any rifle I have ever used them in, they have a slightly thicker jacket and hold up well on PD's, rockchucks and coyotes, and they have a high ballistic co-efficient.

Edited to add - I had a Sako sporter in 22 PPC a few years ago (one of the rifles I should have never sold) and it performed extremely well with the Nosler 40 BT's, so I am speaking from actual experience.

drover

 

[Tommie]

I'd concentrate in the 40-50 grain bullet range.

 

[AckleymanII]

I shot untold thousands of p. dogs and ground squirrels with various 14T Custom barrels. I made brass from PMC 7.62x39 brass which is as tough as Lapua brass, all other brands of the brass is soft and worthless for high pressure ppc loads.

If you can find any WC844 which is a military surplus version of H335 you will hit a home run in terms of speed, accuracy, and length of shot strings in between cleanings.

AA2230 would be the first on my list of powders to try today, and H322 is awesome, but is not as clean. I shot a few cases of T32(LT 32 today), but it is not as clean as 2230.

As a varmint rifle, you want outstanding accuracy with a bullet that just pole ax's a chuck, DRT with no crawlers. We shot from 20-24K rounds a year, tried all bullets, and I also made bullets.

For a cheap bullet that is super accurate, the 50t Speer Tnt is excellent, about as explosive as the Nosler ballistic tip. Next would come the 50g Hornady tipped, but the most explosive is the Sierra Blitz king, which also uses a "match" grade of jacket. I shot a lot of the 50 and 55g Sierra lead tip blitz bullets which are very accurate also. 25g of IMR 4198 with a 50g Sierra is extremely accurate if you like stick powder. I agg'd 0.189 in a Max heavy varmint rig with this load using 50g Sierra blitz, and the Warm up match was .069.

I stick with thick cup primers, always.

I shot the 50's at 3550 fps and the 55's at 3450 fps and you will achieve that with AA2230 with long shot strings. AA2230 burns extremely clean compared to other stick powders. I do not believe that the 55g Sierra blitz king will stabilize in a 14T, but the 50g does it in spades.

I shot Berger and Watson 52g bullets in the 22 PPC and they shot quarter size holes in chucks.

If your Sako has a long throat, then go with a 55g Sierra Blitz lead tip, they are very, very accurate and their flat base and ogive will help get you out closer to the lands. At 3450 fps, the 55g Sierra lead tip blitz will blow up the chucks very well.

Good luck!

 

[RussellJ]

I just got a Sako 22PPC, dies en route and would like to know if anyone here uses a 22PPC and the bullets being used? Do you use bullets designed for 22-250/220 swift speeds or 222/223 rem speeds? Used for woodchucks in western NY.

Mike

I have a 22PPC with a 1:12 twist Pac-Nor barrel that shoots the 53grn Hornady V-Max Bullets at 3400fps with IMR-8208XBR powder. Very accurate combination.

 

[wapiti25]

I would try the 53 gr V-max is you have a 12 twist barrel.

 

[AckleymanII]

I have a 22PPC with a 1:12 twist Pac-Nor barrel that shoots the 53grn Hornady V-Max Bullets at 3400fps with IMR-8208XBR powder. Very accurate combination.

RussellJ, I shot this case with about any and all medium powders I had on hand, it will shoot just about anything well, Various versions of 322, various versions of 4198. IMR & H 4895, BallC2, H333, 4198's, 233's, all of the 2015's, 3031, 2460, Win 748 w/ 55's, does not take long to work up a load but 55's will work better in the slower powders. Don't be scared to try a cci 450 with some of the ball powders.

My first 22 ppc was a 700 with a 28" hart barrel, 14T 40x pillar bedded wood stock. I had the gunsmith make a bullet seater with the chamber reamer. The bullet seater would not work because fired cases would not go in the bullet seater...too tight.

So, I took the seater stem out of the Wilson type of seater, held a bullet on top of the case mouth, my shooting partner tapped the bullet in the case mouth with a small raw hide mallet that I had.

That day using this Hammer/seater stem bullet seating technique, I shot 18 five shot groups, the agg was .285. Then I went to 200 yards, shot a .197 and a .219...five shot groups...still remember that from 1984. That day I was shooting 52g Bergers and H322 with fed 205's.

 

[Frankr]

Back years ago I had a Sako 75 Varmint HB Single shot in 22 PPC.. My favorite powder back then was AA2460
I don't remember what bullet I shot as I shot most of them I think a 50 GR NBT around 3,500 ish with the AA2460
I shot it's barrel out and had it rebarreled with a CM shilen and when the throat was sore in it I went to the 6BR and never looked back. If its a 14T and more than likely is a 50gr V-max or NBT or the 55gr

 

[snert]

I shoot a retired 22PPC bench rifle. It is a 14 tw, 21 inch barrel on an old custom Superior action. I run 50 grain vmax and 8208 or varget. Both shoot well and will cleanly take a chuck to 500 yards.

 

[nockhunter]

Thanks for all the info. I have Varget, H322, and H335 on hand, I may have an old can of RL7. I have a bunch of 50g TNT's which shoot real well from my Rem 788, 222. My 788 also liked the Hornady 50g spsx, but I haven't seen them around for a while. I wasn't sure if the PPC would push them too fast, but I guess not I'll have to give them a try. I was also considering the 50g Blitzkings, 50g B-tips, 52g Hornady ELD, Or whatever I can get my hands on in the 40g-53g range.
I'll post some pics once I get it up and running.

Mike
Oh, I almost forgot,,,,,the Sako is a 14 twist heavy barrel single shot, A1 action built in the 80's. It has the "Axxx" serial number. Someone ditched the walnut stock for a McMillan.

 

[JLT]

Thanks for all the info. I have Varget, H322, and H335 on hand, I may have an old can of RL7. I have a bunch of 50g TNT's which shoot real well from my Rem 788, 222. My 788 also liked the Hornady 50g spsx, but I haven't seen them around for a while. I wasn't sure if the PPC would push them too fast, but I guess not I'll have to give them a try. I was also considering the 50g Blitzkings, 50g B-tips, 52g Hornady ELD, Or whatever I can get my hands on in the 40g-53g range.
I'll post some pics once I get it up and running.

Mike
Oh, I almost forgot,,,,,the Sako is a 14 twist heavy barrel single shot, A1 action built in the 80's. It has the "Axxx" serial number. Someone ditched the walnut stock for a McMillan.

Mike, the Hornady SX bullets are out there. Graf & Sons has them in stock. I've found them to be quite accurate so long as you don't push them too hard and they're hard to beat for the price.

It's also hard to go wrong the the 50 gr. or 53 gr. V-Max.

If you decide to shoot up your supply of the TNTs, you won't be handicapping yourself. They're not the slipperiest bullet out there, but I've found that they shoot well and the terminal performance is great. You can also push them harder than the SX bullets.

 

[ken158]

I have the same Sako you have with A prefix... no need to get too fancy with it. 50 gr Zmax over 26.0 / 26.5 H322 and 7 1/2 Remington primer puts them all in the same hole.

 

[nockhunter]

Thanks for all the info, I just loaded up 100 rounds to fire form with 24g H335 and 50g sp Hornady bullets I had laying around. I haven't been able to get out but hopefully within the next few days. I will work up loads from there. Ken, good to know about those Zmax bullets, fairly inexpensive by the 500.

Mike