222 Remington Question

[arizonajake]

Will Hornady or Sierra 53 gr. HPBT bullets be properly stabilized when fired out of a barrel chambered in .222 Rem. with a 1 in 16" twist rate?

Any and all information is greatly appreciated in advance!

JB

 

[jonbearman]

most likely if theyare flat base.I know of a guy who used 55's so I would try it.The worst that can happen is bad accuracy.I think you will be pleasantly surprised.Check in the manuals especially the hornady manual.Hornady reccomends IMR4198,H322<N130,n135,and my alltime favorite for small .22's is BLC-2 and H335.Are you absolutely positive it is 1in16 twist as most are 1in14 twist.
What kind of rifle are you shooting and be specific before I list any loads.

 

[JPat]

My 222 shoots the Sierra 53gr HP flat base the best. Never could get the Hornadys to shoot with any consistentcy.

You sure it's a 1-16" twist?

Jim

 

[Chuck G]

If its a factory Remington barrel it would not be 1 in 16 twist.

 

[joed49]

I'd tend to believe it is in reality a 1:14 twist but I have seen some with 1:16.

It will probably do best with flat base bullets. That's a great cartridge capable of some excellent accuracy. If you get it shooting well you'll see for yourself.

 

[fdshuster]

JB: If it's a true 16 twist, the 53 gr. will be a "maybe", (but I doubt it). I have a Sako L-46 factory chambered in 222 Rem Mag. with a real 1-16 twist and I could not get it to shoot anything heavier than 40 gr. A real bummer since the throat is extremely long, and to keep the bullet within reasonable bullet/case neck contact I had over 1/4" of jump. "Groups" at 200 yd. were laughable. The Sako now has a Hart 1-9 in 223 Rem. and it's a tack driver.You'll just have to try it and it will become clear real quick if it will work. I'd load up 10 rounds & go try it.

 

[JohnHenry]

Have an old 222 J.C. Higgins Model 52(Sako L46 action) with 1 in 16" twist. Will not adequately stabilize anything over 45 grains and is questionable with some of the longer 45 grainers.

 

[fdshuster]

John: My experience's exactly. 45 gr. were noticably larger, and the 50 gr. Hornady V-Max, extremely accurate in my 14 twists, were partially keyholing. A 16 twist belongs in a 22 Hornet and 218 Bee, both chamberings that Sako was doing when they offered the 222 & 222 Mag., so I guess they just decided to cut all their 22 CF barrels with the 1-16. Cost saving idea for them, not so good for the owner.

 

[bheadboy]

have you measured your twist, almost all 222 factory bbls are 14 twist, win, rem, sav,

the 50gr should do very well in 14, or 16, however the 53, 55 need to be the flat base non plastic tip to have a chance of stability, bullet length/velocity is the problem

Bob

 

[KMart]

I recently did some loading for a friend on a Sako L-46 with a factory 1x16 barrel. It shot quite well with a 52 gr Speer flat base HP, using Benchmark powder. It shot 3 shot groups between .3 and.4

 

[fdshuster]

JB: Rather than asking for opinions, why don't you just load up 10 rounds, take 'em out and try them in your (emphasis on "your") rifle.?