222 rem

[calib]

anyone loading for the 222? i am getting one from a buddy of mine to use as a fur gun and am looking at bullets from 50-55 grain nothing speedy, but i would like to be able to take a shot to 300 if i had to.

 

[North Fork]

Try 4198

 

[areaone]

Ramshot Xterminator with 50 gr.

 

[Steve Blair]

20.5 Hodgdon or IMR 4198 under 50-53 grain bullets. It is tough to make a .222 shoot badly.

 

[bheadboy]

+ 1 on h4198 with 50-53gr, jump .015-.020

bob

 

[MrMajestic]

Lapua case, Vihtavuori N133, match primer and the 52 grain bullet of your choice. 300 yards would be like taking candy from a Baby!

 

[K22]

Shot one for many years - it was my "go to" varmint caliber until I converted over to the 223 in the late eighties. Great caliber for mid range light varmints.

I used IMR 4198, with 50 grain bullets, Remington 7 1/2 primers. Shot well under 1/2 moa out of a sporter Rem 700 until I shot the barrel out. Rebarrelled to a 223.

Not saying it's impossible but 300 yards is a stretch for this cartridge in my experience. However I'm sure someone else will chime in saying they shot a varmint at 400 yards with the 222.

 

[hedditch]

K22, I have to agree with you. Rock chucks have crawled away from me when hit with a 222 at 250 + yds. Gophers and prairie dogs will stay down when hit. I made a "hail Mary" shot on a coyote. Held four feet over, pulled the trigger and got him in the throat. So, K22, there is the long range shot you said to expect.

 

[calib]

well i may have to practice a bunch with this gun on my steel targets and make sure i know this load real well. if i can get a good shot at 250 or so i will be happy. i just want this gun to be a very capable calling gun, but i want to be able to reach them if they stop out there a little ways.
i am thinking of shooting either the 40 grain bt, 45 grain soft point, 50 hp, or 53 v max so i really need to see what i can do with these and what kind of energy i can get out of them

 

[Booter]

I will add one more powder to consider, Reloader 7. This shoots 50 gr. whatevers into small groups at 200 in my wife's Cooper.

Scott

 

[boltman223]

calib, I would like to share my experiences with you to give you a little info to help you make a decision. I shoot a 221 fireball with 40 gr NOS. BT at about 3250 fps. I have shot about 8 coyotes from 250 to 300 yards with good results, I have not lost any of them. I did shoot one coyote with this rifle at about 415 yards, it did the dance fell over, got up and ran away like nothing happened. I feel confident out to 300 yards with this cartridge and will not shoot at a coyote much beyond that.

I love the 221 fireball with its light recoil and the small amount of powder it uses, but I built a 222 for the purpose of extending the range a little and wanting custom. I have not been coyote huniting with this rilfe yet so I can not say anything about the 222. hope this helps, andy

 

[Scot]

I own two 222 Remingtons. One is a custom Rem 722 and the other is a CZ 527. The 222 is easy to find accurate loads for. It works well with a multitude of powders. My favorite bullets are Sierra 50 gr BlitzKings, Berger 50 and 52 grain match varmints and Nosler 50 grain Ballistic tips. I like 50 - 52 grain bullets in 222's over 40 grain bullets...seem to be more accurate.
My favorite powders are IMR-8028 XBR, BLC-2, Hodgdon 322 & 335. Look for a load with about a 95% case density (right up to the neck of the case) and use match primers. The 222 is a great varmint gun up to 250 yds which covers about 90% of what most people use a varmint rifle for. Its also a good fox and coyote rifle. I'll always own a 222.

 

[calib]

good information on here especially scot, you told me what i needed to here. i have a bunch of those powders and like the xbr, blc-2 i would like to shoot the 50 grain speer hollow points and maybe try a couple others

 

[calib]

shot some tubbs throat management bullets trhough my 222 and also played with a pressure pint before the barrel band since we reamed out the barrel chamber a year or so ago and i have heard of people bedding these barrels and keeping pressure against the barrrel so it stays in place.

 

[TheOtherZilla]

I shoot 40 gr Noslers in my triple duece, with Reloader-7. Groups well and kills coyotes on the spot..

 

[calib]

any shots at up to 250-300 on dogs? and how did that work out

 

[boltman223]

I have shot quite a few yotes out to 300 with my 221fb and 40 NOS ballistic tips at 3250 fps, they all were DRT or within a couple yards. So I would think the 222 do even better. Hope this helps

 

[calib]

it should help some, i may try the noslers or something lighter once i get the gun shooting well. i am looking at having to bed the first half of the barrel and the recoil lug area to create a pressure against the barrel kind of like what the rifles had in the get go, but since the barrel channel was reamed out i have to build that back up

 

[LHSmith]

What kind of rifle? ....almost sounds like a Mannlicher style stock. As far as bedding more than one inch in front of the recoil lug, what your describing is very unorthodox .....and most likely result in accuracy problems. I would bed the recoil lug and action and see what kind of accuracy that nets.......if I was still not satisfied, I would add incremental layers of electrical tape just in the front of the fore-end.

 

[calib]

its a savage model 340 e.
the reason i am talking about bedding the fore area is because of a barrel band that keeps the front of the rifle together and the only action screw in the front of the action. when i shot a 4 shot group this weekend at 100 yards with a 12 power scope and not real great shooting conditions i shot a group that was about 3/4 inch and strung from low right to high left and that was better than before i jammed 5 business cards under the barrel. my buddy had this rifle before and it use to shoot really well until barnes quit making the verminator bullet, since then he tried many bullet and powder combinations, floating the barrel and more and nothing worked. he gave it to me and said if i can get it to shoot it is mine if not do what ever i want with it. i have read of people doing this with this rifle before, but dont know much more than that.