22 Nosler

[argrendel]

gents,

Midway was running a sale on Proof 22 Nosler 8 twist barrels. Thought it would be a fun AR build.
Beautiful barrel. Looking to bang steel out to 600-800 yards.Breaking in it cleaned up very easy.
So I crono’d 3 loads from Nosler, 55 bt, and the 70 & 85g RDFs.
Velocity was nice, running 100-150 FPS faster than advertised, but I’m running. A 22’ barrel instead of 18”.
My bench was at 180 yards due to soggy ground. I shot two groups of 3 85g just under 3/4MOA and two groups of 3 85g just over 3/4MOA.
The 70s opened to 1.5 MOA.
Going to start loading, wondering if anyone has found a killer bullet for this. I have 52g and 69g SMKs, possibly a few 77g SMKs. Wondering about Berger and Lapua.

 

[searcher]

I shoot a 55 Blitz King using 30.7 RL-15 and TULA 223 M primer @3,325 f.p.s. (+/-) in 1-8" 24" heavy bbls. Absolutely amazing! By the way - Midway has "Dogtown" brass for the .22 Nosler - which incidentally is made by Nosler - and is substantially less than Nosler brand brass. I ordered a large amount a while back for an upcoming project gun and I will say I was impressed with it. So far, with the two A/R's I have loaded this caliber with - I tried eight powders and an assortment of bullets. (50 Varmint grenade, 52 Bergers, 50 and 55 V-Max, 69 Sierra, etc.) Seldom one sees two guns like the same exact load - but that was what happened here - at least within 3/10 gr. Both guns do approx. 1/4" to 3/8" m.o.a. 5-shot groups with that load. Substantially larger with most other powders and/or bullets. The powder seems to be the key for the 50-55 weight bullets.

 

[argrendel]

Nosler’s 55 g bt factory ammo came out of my 22 in her at 3467. The 70 RDF were 3050ish [id have to run downstairs to double check]. I’ll try the 69 SMKs, if I can break 3000, that should be sweet.
Also if I can consistently get 3/4 MOA, I’ll be tickled.

 

[Rocketvapor]

WOW, 2 more 22N shooters come out of the woodpile
I'm doing heavier (80/88 ELD) from a 28" barrel.
Not shooting for speed, I've settled in @ 2900/3000 for those two bullets.
10 shots usually an MOA or less @ 100, 1.5 MOA or close to it @ 600.

Bought 600 Dogtown and they were real consistent BUT,
Neck thickness for the Dogtown was about 0.001" Less than the Nosler stamped brass.
Bought on clearance, then Midway restocked, now down 20%.
Wait for it to go down some more.

 

[argrendel]

This was an impulsive buy. Gave me a chance to try a Proof barrel and a new caliber. Easy conversion, even my Grendel mags feed well. Barrel cleans easy, and looks well made. Just need to tighten the groups up a little. I have a V6hd 2-12 with a Horus type reticule that I think will work great at multiple distances.

 

[argrendel]

Also I’ve read 22 Nosler will destroy the brass. So far on first firings no issues.

 

[sawcarver]

I've got a stoner upper, one of the complete ones Midway had right when they came out in a package deal with ammo. At first it was a 2moa gun and was destroying brass. I put an adjustable gas block on it and now it shoot 3/4 MOA and brass is just fine. I originally bought some Dogtown loaded 55gr ammo for it, to make brass and decide if it was worth buying brass. It shot so good I bought more loaded ammo, works great for a truck gun, it's killed a bunch of critters. In fact my 12 year old son just shot a woodchuck at 186yds with it Saturday.

 

[Rocketvapor]

Many reports of first run brass being soft.
I don't know because I didn't test it for hardness

Complaints about swipes and rims pulled through are action complaints.

I've had to cull a few rounds for loose primers though.
Took 5 to 6 firings.

The one complaint I had was sharp edged rims. First picture attached. Had to bevel them myself to eliminate brass being shaved when the extractor snapped over. Second picture.

I received one oddball Dogtown case. A 22N case with a 6.8 base and rim.
Looks to be intentional. It's the picture on Midway's Most liked review
The oddball compared with a 6mm Hagar case.

 

[argrendel]

I just loaded up some 69g SMKs with Varget. Started at 26.0g and worked up to 27.4 in .3 grain increments. Now for a nice day to shoot!

 

[Sawtooth]

I just loaded up some 69g SMKs with Varget. Started at 26.0g and worked up to 27.4 in .3 grain increments. Now for a nice day to shoot!

Let us know. My rig is set up and ready to rock. Going to see this weekend how tight it prints holes using the factory 55gr ballistic tips.

 

[argrendel]

My load ended up holding 3/4” @100 yds for ten shots. Unfortunately, I ended up feeling the added velocity was not enough to warrant loading for multiple calibers.
Let us know you’re take on it.