222 Appreciation

[dgeesaman]

It seems fitting that the 5,000th thread in this sub forum be about one of the all time great small calibers: 222 Remington.

I finally got my first: a Tikka T3X originally in .223 but rebarrelled in 222 with a Bartlein by Bob Green.

Low recoil, outstanding accuracy, forgiving tuning windows, availability of reasonably priced match grade bullets, excellent barrel life, and varmint capacity out to 400 yards give or take. Factory ammo is available but this is the perfect cartridge to begin reloading for.

So if any of that appeals to you, you need one.

 

[mac86951]

Agreed! I had some problems early on when i was learning to load for my 788. Finding an abstract reference to similar issues from the past i found some rifles prefer flat based vs boat tail bullets; and voila the 222 magic was back. Maybe time for a rebarrel; maybe just a good cleaning first.

-Mac

 

[Bottom Fodder]

Fully agree, far more easy to tune than 223

 

[Bob3700]

400 yds? what do I need a 22/250 for when the Duce can accomplish what it does!

 

[dgeesaman]

400 yds? what do I need a 22/250 for when the Duce can accomplish what it does!

Not really a fair comparison, but I think a lot of shooters overkill their target and roast barrels unnecessarily with 22-250 and the like.

 

[JEFFPPC]

My first centerfire rifle 61 years ago was a .222 Savage 340 with a 6x Lyman All American. I killed a lot of groundhogs with it and it started a lifelong passion. I still have a 700 BDL sporter on its second factory barrel. I though the barrel was a lemon until I tried 4895 in it with Barts 52 fb. A great little cartridge, maybe not as versatile as the .223 but accurate, quite, no recoil, and nothing not to like.

 

[mikeinct]

I'm a fan. it is easy to shoot well. I've had maybe 4 over the decades. A nice old semi-customized sporter was a great little truck gun back in the day. I just Consigned my 1970's vintage Rem 700 Varmint to my gunsmith in Pa. for sale. Don't hate on me. I'm getting old & I'm down to like 3 GH swatters now. mikeinct

 

[BoydAllen]

I have two .222s. One is a bench rifle, the other my favorite varmint rifle. Neither is for sale. Outstanding caliber.

 

[Bob3700]

Not really a fair comparison, but I think a lot of shooters overkill their target and roast barrels unnecessarily with 22-250 and the like.

I have had my share of 222's along with 22/250s and they are both excellent cartridges. My "Tongue in Cheek" comment was made to question the 222 being a 400 yd cartridge. It is NOT. 250 yds is more it's wheel house for reliable varmint kills and certainly no more than that when shooting in the wind out West on Prairie Dogs.
I don't think there is such a thing as overkilling when it comes to varmint shooting. Prairie Dogs with a 22/250 , that is where the term "Red Mist" came from.

 

[Pawnee Bill]

A lot of Bench Rest records were held by the 222 for many years.

 

[dgeesaman]

I have had my share of 222's along with 22/250s and they are both excellent cartridges. My "Tongue in Cheek" comment was made to question the 222 being a 400 yd cartridge. It is NOT. 250 yds is more it's wheel house for reliable varmint kills and certainly no more than that when shooting in the wind out West on Prairie Dogs.
I don't think there is such a thing as overkilling when it comes to varmint shooting. Prairie Dogs with a 22/250 , that is where the term "Red Mist" came from.

Totally understand and I figured it was tongue in cheek. Midwest winds and numerous tiny targets certainly reward a hotter round. 400y there is optimistic for 222.

Here in the northeast, overkill means more risk of ricochet and winds aren’t severe. 222 @ 400y with accurate ranging device is sensible.

For practice on steel swingers I’m sure 400y is easy. At some point I’ll take my 222 to a long range and see how far it stretches out and reliably bangs steel. Still different situation.

 

[Kittitas George]

I got my first 222 in May, 40X, composite factory stock and 12X Leupold scope. In the last 60 years I've had a 22-250, 223 and 204R. It's been either to windy or too hot, lots of days in the 90s, to take it to the range. I'm hoping it will shoot consistantly further than 250, I shoot a Ruger #1 17 Hornet at that distance. I'm looking forward to working up some accurate loads, I have a good variety of bullets and powder, 300 rounds of new brass and Redding dies. I hope I can make it shoot. I also have a 'top secrete' resource with a wealth of information, years of knowledge willing to be shared with others, it's called Accurate Shooter. I have a new manufacture Low Wall 17HMR that needs shooting also. I'm going to hang in there, cooler weather, hunting and a trip to Montana is just around the corner. I think grouse, archery deer and elk open in about a week here in Washington.
































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[Rocky Mt High]

Several years ago when I began lurking here and other sites, I got all jacked up about getting a triple deuce,
so I bought eight.
The first bought and only one I shoot ,is an original Remington 600 that looks as if been kicked down the stairs a few times, ugly but had to have it. It shot great w my reloads rite from the start.
Now I have 4 Sakos, 2 REM 600s, a 722, and a Savage 842.
I am convinced that this situation is alll your guys’ fault and I just wanted to say thank you!

by the by, of all of them I like to finger the Savage most of all, go figure…

 

[JSH]

Been reloading and shooting longer than I want to admit. I am fairly new into the 222, maybe 3 years now. It is an old outdated cartridge and anemic I heard from many, yet more than one I looked up to said it was an accurate easy to load and tune cartridge.
Well I bought a brand new one, Howa Mini, restocked it with a Boyd’s varmint stock. I have tried numerous powders and numerous bullet weights and designs. The tough decision was which one was enough better to choose. One of the last bullets I tried was the varmagedon 36 grain. Superior speed and as accurate as any of the other great load combos.
Powders, I chuckle as I can’t say which one is any better than another. I found the mid range to upper midrange to be a sweet spot. I honestly plan on using up a bunch of odds and ends and discontinued powders in this one.
Brass is spotty but can be found. I got PO’d and just made a few hundred out of virgin 223, problem solved.

 

[AWS]

It is hard to find a load with the appropriate bullet that doesn't shoot. Another favorite coyote rifle is a Sako Fullstock Vixen. 52gr Speer FB HP over some Benchmark. Great rig for packing in to places where the coyotes still have virgin ears.

Model 70 222, another that was hard on coyotes 52gr Speer FB HP.

 

[nakneker]

I feel like the 222 gets forgotten about then it’s back on the radar, its a cycle, at least that’s my opinion. I grew up in a family that didn’t spend money, ranchers and loggers, it’s a hertiage I thank God for everyday. I had an Uncle who was like a father to me and he owned a Sako 222 vixen. It wore a low budget 4x swift scope. It was his favorite rifle and me and his sons, my cousins, held that rifle in high esteem. It was always on the dash of my Uncle’s 76 highboy when we were in the woods or on the ranch. We watched him make some incredible shots with it. Once in awhile he would allow us to handle it. It lost it‘s accuracy when I was in my early twenties and my Uncle offered it to me for trade, he wanted to trade for an Anschutz 22 mag I had but I knew if I traded for it that his sons wouldn’t appreciate it so I didn’t make the trade, the next weekend he traded it off at the local gun show and that was that. I wish I had a do over on that one.

As I got older and my budget grew I started buying rifles I always wanted, the 222 has been a favorite. I‘ve bought and sold quite a few of them and currently have several. I guess it’s a sentimental thing but I really enjoy the 222 and I like many of the older rifles it was chambered in, modern rifles too.

There are many 22 caliber cartridges that will outperform the 222 but it fits a niche. It’s easy to tune, many powders can be used and it has the potential for itty bitty accuracy. It has very little recoil, it’s a cool little case and it has a lot of history. Everyone should try at least one. Long live the triple deuce.

 

[X Count]

Been reloading and shooting longer than I want to admit. I am fairly new into the 222, maybe 3 years now. It is an old outdated cartridge and anemic I heard from many, yet more than one I looked up to said it was an accurate easy to load and tune cartridge.
Well I bought a brand new one, Howa Mini, restocked it with a Boyd’s varmint stock. I have tried numerous powders and numerous bullet weights and designs. The tough decision was which one was enough better to choose. One of the last bullets I tried was the varmagedon 36 grain. Superior speed and as accurate as any of the other great load combos.
Powders, I chuckle as I can’t say which one is any better than another. I found the mid range to upper midrange to be a sweet spot. I honestly plan on using up a bunch of odds and ends and discontinued powders in this one.
Brass is spotty but can be found. I got PO’d and just made a few hundred out of virgin 223, problem solved.

I heard there was issues with Howa mini 222s having very slow twist barrels. Like 1-16 so they only liked short / light bullets usually designed for the 22 hornet.

 

[Laurie]

Well I bought a brand new one, Howa Mini, restocked it with a Boyd’s varmint stock.

I think Howa only produced the Mini in 222 for a short while on its original introduction - certainly it's not been listed for a long time as far as I can see. As the then new rifle design received some magazine reviews 'down under', I always wondered if this early build had the Australian / New Zealand markets in mind where I understand the triple-two still has a considerable following.

Sounds nice - pleased for you that it shoots well. (I like the 1500 Mini - have a 6.5 Grendel in an Oryx stock.)

 

[JEFFPPC]

I heard there was issues with Howa mini 222s having very slow twist barrels. Like 1-16 so they only liked short / light bullets usually designed for the 22 hornet.

I started in the IBS with a factory Winchester .222 that according to the hangtag on the trigger guard was a 16 twist. For 2 years I shot against custom ppcs usually finishing about the top of the lower third. 50 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips and 748 powder.

 

[X Count]

I think Howa only produced the Mini in 222 for a short while on its original introduction - certainly it's not been listed for a long time as far as I can see. As the then new rifle design received some magazine reviews 'down under', I always wondered if this early build had the Australian / New Zealand markets in mind where I understand the triple-two still has a considerable following.

Sounds nice - pleased for you that it shoots well. (I like the 1500 Mini - have a 6.5 Grendel in an Oryx stock.)

The one I refer to was imported by OSA into Australia and apparently is was a common problem with the early batch sent here. I think it has a following because of the price of fox skins in the 70s so there ended up being a large amount of nice sako's and Bruno's floating around that people still admire and families earnt a living from. May also be that there isn't as much cheap surpless 223 brass floating around so there isn't as much incentive to re barrel or buy a new rifle in 223.