222 Clean-burning powders ?

[Lucky Shooter]

Looking for powders that appeared to produce less fouling in the 222 using bullets in the 52 gr range.

Thanks.

A. Weldy

 

[jds holler]

Well, before I turned my 222 into a .20, I shot mostly BLC-2 and H-335.
I'm a lazy squirrel shooter, and don't like to weigh charges for the hundreds of rounds I'll fire in a day. Those powders go straight from my Uniflow, into the case without a smidge of error. They don't seem to be problematic in the fowling department.

Now that my rifle is a 20-222, I'm still pretty much using the same. I've got others that I mean to try, but like I said, I'm just a lazy squirrel shooter. jd

 

[velocette]

Clean burning propellants for a .222. I use Vihtavouri N133 in my .222 with superb results. Very little fouling and gilt edged accuracy.

 

[K22]

IMR 4198 - shot the great 222 rem for many years and this powder with 52 grain bullets was excellent.

 

[moorepower]

VV 133 is probably the cleanest, but I use H4198 and don't notice it being dirty.

 

[BronzeArcher]

The 222 Rem operates at lower pressures, so milder loads in the range tend to burn less completely. H4198 loads near book max have tended to burn cleanly in my rifles. Loads closer to starting values leave more fouling.

 

[Lucky Shooter]

Thanks for all the replies.

I've used most of the powders mentioned but wasn't alert as to which were clean-burning.

I shot the N133 in the 223 and was impressed with it's accuracy.

Any suggested N133 loads for the 222 with 52 gr bullets ?

A. Weldy

 

[dolek]

Thanks for all the replies.

I've used most of the powders mentioned but wasn't alert as to which were clean-burning.

I shot the N133 in the 223 and was impressed with it's accuracy.

Any suggested N133 loads for the 222 with 52 gr bullets ?

A. Weldy

Here you go,straight from the VV site.

 

[B23]

I don't have a straight 222 but I've been using H322 in my 20-222 and it seems to be burning very clean and the accuracy is crazy good.

 

[lb-ft]

H322 all the way for the triple deuce. 52 SMK or 50 TNT

 

[moorepower]

The 222 Rem operates at lower pressures, so milder loads in the range tend to burn less completely. H4198 loads near book max have tended to burn cleanly in my rifles. Loads closer to starting values leave more fouling.

I run a max book load for H4198, but as we all know it's still a light to mid range psi. Kind of nice when a plan comes together.

 

[jk80]

50gr. Hornady sx and h-335 has worked really well in my 222. Shoots under 1/2 inch out of a 788 Remington and don't notice excessive fouling.

 

[AckleymanII]

It would help to know if you use a bore scope or not to determine "clean burning", how easy does the carbon come out.

 

[velocette]

In my .222. I have used H322, T32, 4198 & VV N133. There is simply no comparison on the ease of cleaning with VV powder. A few passes with a solvent patch, a few with a brass brush and the barrel is clean. Not so with others.

 

[topclass2017]

Benchmark burns clean in my 222...and H4198

 

[Lucky Shooter]

Well AckleymanII, you know damn well I've been cleaning for over 50 years
without a borescope. I always worked for a clean patch and thought I was doing
a good job-----until you showed up with that borescope and showed me the
carbon rings I was leaving.

For those who don't know, we live fairly close to each other and are in and out of
each other's places fairly often. This is a good deal for me as he has more stuff than
I do.

I figure he plowed up this snake and should have to help kill it. I'd like to get this
barrel down to bare metal and than start over with N133 and others as needed.

Looking forward to getting this underway.

A. Weldy

 

[onelastshot]

Before I focused on what powder or powders burned well in my rifle I'd first focus on what shot well and gave me the best groups. Burning clean is fourth or fifth on the list. Narrow your powders down two two or three of the best shooting powders and then you can focus on which of the three is the cleanest burning powder.

 

[BoydAllen]

One of the great things about the .222 is that it can be made to shoot very well with a variety of powders. I have had a lot of experience with cleaning barrels in which 133 has been shot. It is the powder that I have used for most of the shooting that I have done with my 6PPC benchrest rifle. I have also had regular use of a very good borescope. I can say with some authority that if you are shooting that powder in a lapped barrel that all you need to keep it clean is Butch's, patches, and bronze brushes. It is the cleanest powder that I have shot. As to a load for your .222 I would never take one off the internet. Use a manual for a safe starting load, take your loading kit and flags to the range when the wind is easy, and take the hour or so it takes to do a proper workup. For typical match bullets in that caliber I usually do my initial workup .006 into the lands, load in steps of .2gr. up to the point where I start to see more pressure than I like, back up to the previous load and call that max, at that temperature.

 

[Lucky Shooter]

Thanks to all for the good posts. I've already tried many of the suggested powders
and all of them shot very well.

I'd forgotten about the use of N133 in the 223 but its what I'll try next in this 222.

Boyd, I pretty much follow your load work-up method but I need to improve my
cleaning. Keith showed me some fouling in several barrels and I need to clean this up
and do a better job in the future.

I'm now a believer----a clean patch doesn't always indicate a clean bore.

A. Weldy

 

[TAJ45]

A clean patch = not necessarily a clean bore.
Soooo true.