20-222 Wildcat need some help with Reamer design

[Sammy]

Hi...

Wanting to build a 20-222 as a matched rifle to a straight .222Rem. Looking at the 20-222 as a walkabout varmint,rabbit/pest) spitting out 32g V-Max projectiles.
The .222Rem will be used as a heavier small game rifle with 53g Barnes TSX for wallabies, goats and fallow deer.
The issues that I need help with concern the 20-222.....In my searching on the Internet I cannot find much information on the round....I expect that every gunsmith that has a reamer has a slightly different design and I want to make sure that I cannot chamber either round into the wrong rifle.
I also want to use the same approach as that used in the development of the .20 Practical, with the .222 case using bushed dies, no fire forming of the brass etc..

Can anyone help with a suitable reamer design and any other assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[457ciSBC]

Hi...

Wanting to build a 20-222 as a matched rifle to a straight .222Rem. Looking at the 20-222 as a walkabout varmint,rabbit/pest) spitting out 32g V-Max projectiles.
The .222Rem will be used as a heavier small game rifle with 53g Barnes TSX for wallabies, goats and fallow deer.
The issues that I need help with concern the 20-222.....In my searching on the Internet I cannot find much information on the round....I expect that every gunsmith that has a reamer has a slightly different design and I want to make sure that I cannot chamber either round into the wrong rifle.
I also want to use the same approach as that used in the development of the .20 Practical, with the .222 case using bushed dies, no fire forming of the brass etc..

Can anyone help with a suitable reamer design and any other assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

If you search Clymer's site under RIFLES-RIMLESS you will find a 20-222 print

http://www.clymertool.com/design/index.html

Mike

 

[Fireball]

Sammy, I am the guy who wrote the .20 Practical article. I have also done two .20-222 rifles on the Tikka M595 platform. One is a lightweight stainless sporter I use as a truck/walking rifle. The other is a heavier Continental bench rifle. I took the same aproach with the .20-222 that I did with the Practical. I used all of my existing tooling and brass. I found the perfect reamer dimensions on a reamer from Dave Kiff at Precision Tool and Gauge. It turns out one of my friends had spec'd out the perfect reamer with him and I didn't even know he had done it. The reamer print is marked "20-222 Richard Nelson". It is a .232" neck for a close fit but no-turn neck, and a nice short throat for the 32s. If I were to spec out a .20-222 reamer mine would have been just like this one. It is working perfectly with my Winchester .222 brass,which is of very high quality BTW).

I have uploaded an Excel file of the reamer print for you. You can use Microsoft's free Excel viewer to open it if you don't have the full Excel program.

Necking the .222 case down to .20 caliber totally changes its characteristics. It becomes a 400 yard cartridge instead of a 250 yard cartridge. I shoot a light load of 23 gr. of N133 in mine with the 32 gr. Vmax to get slightly over 3800 fps and one ragged hole accuracy at 100 yards. I also shoot the little 30 gr. Berger with the same powder charge and get similar results. The two bullets behave differently in their terminal effect. The Vmax vaporizes small targets, while the Berger opens them up and spills their guts like a surgeon would when laying them out on the operating table. I like the cartridge so much I am going to have my gunsmith do a barrel for my small bolt face Panda.

My forming steps for new Winchester .222 brass are:

1) run through an old Redding .221FB neck die to obtain a nice round .241" neck

2) run through a .235" bushing

3) run through a .230" bushing

4) run through a .226" bushing

As I mention in my .20 Practical article I like to reduce my necks in small increments. This gives more consistent results.

Good luck on your project. You will love the .20-222. Another "Practical" .20 caliber cartridge.

 

[Sammy]

Thanks Fireball for your time and assistance...

I read in the article on the .20 Practical that you had done a .20-222 and was hoping that you might contribute...

I am intending to build the rifles up on mini actions..rather than a Medium length like the Tikka. What are the choices apart from a small sako and the CZ. I am looking for a repeater action in stainless. Are there any custom actions that would suit?

Thanks

 

[Fireball]

The only dainty stainless repeater that I can think of is a Sako 75. It has the small bolt diameter like the Cooper. ULA makes a very nice dainty action in a repeater but it is not stainless. I can't think of any customs with a small diameter bolt except for the original Nesika, but I don't think they ever offered it in a repeater. There are lots of stainless actions that would work fine if you don't mind a bolt with a bigger circumference, like the Tikka M595 for example.

The other thing you could do is get an older Sako A1, L461, or ULA hard chrome plated. Looks nice and is an extremely durable finish.

 

[Sammy]

What do you think of the Tikka T3, had a look at some .223 actions today. They appear to be the same size as the .243/.308 actions. but it sounds like I don't have much choice.

T3's seem to be a bit lighter and slimmer that the 595, but reports from around here indicate good accuracy and actions are nice and smooth?

Can't get Sakos here at the moment..Beretta has taken over the distributorship from locals and don't appear to be interested in supplying our small market.

Cheers

 

[Fireball]

The T3 is a great rifle. I have one and love it. The same quality as the M595/M695 seires. The action is only slightly longer than an M595 but the overall weight of the rifle is much less. I think it would be perfect for what you want to do.

 

[Sammy]

Found an outfit called Montana Rifleman on the web...they are planning a mini action repeater for next year..anybody have any experience with their other larger actions??

Cheers

 

[Sammy]

Thanks for your help guys..

 

[Eddie Harren]

The excellent but, now discontinued, Shilen DGA actions were cast. The Farley action is cast as well. No bolt slop in either of these fine actions.
To get back to the original thread topic, I recently chambered a rifle for a customer in 20 Javelina AI. This is a shortened 222 case with a 40 degree shoulder. This is a great looking little case which may be the best capacity yet, for the 20. I'm waiting for a report on velocity and accuracy.

 

[Sammy]

Interested in the 20 Javelina AI..please post your results when you have them thanks..

 

[wb243]

Hi Warren from Canberra in Australia

I am keen on getting a 20 Practical rifle but have a couple of questions regarding your article from 6mmbr.com

When you are forming your 20 practical cases, at what step in the sizing process do you start using the 20 caliber size button?

Also, where do I get a 17 Remington Type-S decapping assembly? I have only checked MidwayUSA so far.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Fireball]

Hi wb243, you can just leave the button on during the different neck sizing steps. It will only make real contact with the inside of the neck during the last step. Or you can just leave it off until the last neck sizing step. If your necks are consistent enough, or if you clean up your necks by neck turning then the button isn't needed at all.

I have ordered the various small caliber stems from three places, Redding directly, Sinclair, and Midsouth. There are two ways to order the stem. Just the stem from Redding, or the stem "assembly" from Sinclair, Midsouth and others. Now that the .204 Ruger is popular, probably the best thing to do is to order a .204 Ruger stem assembly. That way it comes with the .20 caliber button already installed. On my very first one two years ago I had to order the .17 Rem stem and a seperate .20 caliber bushing. Much easier these days to just order a .204 Ruger stem assembly. Good luck!

 

[Sammy]

Hi Fireball...have decided to go ahead with the 20-222 and am going to build it on a Sako Model 75 small action using the reamer from the print that you provided...thank you..

I have Redding Competition dies,Bushing neck size and seater) and a body die for the .222Remington. Obviously I will be able to use the neck sizer and seater for the 20-222. The question that I have is about getting FL sizing capability for this round. I presume that I won't be able to neck size for ever. Do I have to source a custom body die for the 20-222 from Redding, or can I ream a standard body die in another calibre using the reamer that is coming?

Thanks for your help...

 

[Fireball]

Sammy, your standard Redding body die will work great. That is the beauty of these "practical" 20s.

 

[Sammy]

Presume that you mean the standard .222Rem body die, but won't there be some of the shoulder cloest to the neck that won't get touched with that....?

Is that an issue?

 

[Fireball]

Not an issue. The body die will bump enough of the shoulder for the case to fit perfectly in the chamber.

 

[Sammy]

Cheers...thanks very much for that..

 

[ChemE]

Sammy, I am the guy who wrote the .20 Practical article. I have also done two .20-222 rifles on the Tikka M595 platform. One is a lightweight stainless sporter I use as a truck/walking rifle. The other is a heavier Continental bench rifle. I took the same aproach with the .20-222 that I did with the Practical. I used all of my existing tooling and brass. I found the perfect reamer dimensions on a reamer from Dave Kiff at Precision Tool and Gauge. It turns out one of my friends had spec'd out the perfect reamer with him and I didn't even know he had done it. The reamer print is marked "20-222 Richard Nelson". It is a .232" neck for a close fit but no-turn neck, and a nice short throat for the 32s. If I were to spec out a .20-222 reamer mine would have been just like this one. It is working perfectly with my Winchester .222 brass,which is of very high quality BTW).

I have uploaded an Excel file of the reamer print for you. You can use Microsoft's free Excel viewer to open it if you don't have the full Excel program.

Necking the .222 case down to .20 caliber totally changes its characteristics. It becomes a 400 yard cartridge instead of a 250 yard cartridge. I shoot a light load of 23 gr. of N133 in mine with the 32 gr. Vmax to get slightly over 3800 fps and one ragged hole accuracy at 100 yards. I also shoot the little 30 gr. Berger with the same powder charge and get similar results. The two bullets behave differently in their terminal effect. The Vmax vaporizes small targets, while the Berger opens them up and spills their guts like a surgeon would when laying them out on the operating table. I like the cartridge so much I am going to have my gunsmith do a barrel for my small bolt face Panda.

My forming steps for new Winchester .222 brass are:

1) run through an old Redding .221FB neck die to obtain a nice round .241" neck

2) run through a .235" bushing

3) run through a .230" bushing

4) run through a .226" bushing

As I mention in my .20 Practical article I like to reduce my necks in small increments. This gives more consistent results.

Good luck on your project. You will love the .20-222. Another "Practical" .20 caliber cartridge.

Fireball,

First, thanks for all the information on the 20-222 and other practical 20’s. I’m taking the plunge with the 20-222 and have most of what I need but I have a few questions and hope you can help.

I was planning on a no-turn neck and using the PTG reamer (.232 neck) but I bought.222 Lapua brass and now wonder if the .232 neck will be too tight. What do you think, should I go with a .235 neck reamer?

This is actually the first time I will be reloading brass and while I understand the concepts and your directions for using multiple bushings to resize the neck, I’m not sure what to order from Redding. I know I will need a .222 body die to resize after several firings but does one order a .222 Rem Bushing Full Die or just the .222 Body Die? Will the 204 Ruger stem assembly for decapping work in either die?

For sizing the neck, do I pick .222 Remington as the base die? Which die would you recommend? The catalog has several options: die only, die set, Match bushing, Competition bushing, and Elite bushing.

How about the seating die, do I pick .222 Remington as the base die with a .204 sized bushing or do I pick a 204 Ruger seating die?

Thanks for all the help,

Gerry

 

[B23]

Not sure if you noticed but this post is from 2006 so you may not get much response from those same posters.

But FWIW, I have a 20-222 and use the Redding Rem 222 competition 3 die set. This exact set here and this is actually a really good price too. https://www.brunoshooters.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=4948

Especially for necking brass down I prefer to use a bushing neck size only die so you aren't also FL sizing the brass every time you neck it down.