.244 Remington 1:12” Twist 722 Heavy Bullets

[pintopete]

Good evening, has any one here experimented with heavy bullets for Remington 722‘s in .244 with 1:12” twist? My purpose is for whitetail deer. Will it stabilize Hornady 100gr round nose, or 95gr SST? I have heard great things about the Sierra 85gr HPBT GameKing bullets, but I do not have any, and most retailers are out of stock. My 722 in .244 is capable of very good accuracy with Sierra 60gr HP bullets for chucks & targets, but I’m wondering if anyone on the forum has first hand experience with this combo for deer?

Another question, when measuring the length of polymer tipped bullets for stability calculators, and comparison, should the poly tip be included in the OAL, or not?

I’m laid up with a shoulder repair, so can’t shoot and experiment for a bit.

Thanks, Peter.

 

[JEFFPPC]

75 Sierra HP.....voice of experience. Listen up grasshopper!

 

[pintopete]

Jeff, I have 2 boxes of those. Wrote them off because of the Varminter branding. One box that I have is NOS, still has $5.99 price sticker! LOL

Work well on whitetails, eh?

Thanks, Peter.

 

[Zeke 225]

Try some 87gr sp from Hornady, H4350 Federal case and primers, That’s what my 244 in 1x12 twist likes. Has killed way over 50+ deer and countless amount of coyotes, most deer drt or ran less then 50 yards before hitting the dirt. Broad side shots 90% pass through from 50 yards to 350 yards, they have never failed me in anyway. I have used the same bullet in 243 win also same result.
Here is 2 candidates from that bullet. Rifle was model 70 with Douglas XX 26 inch heavy barrel.

 

[Hotshot]

What Zeke said. I shot deer, antelope and elk with those 87 soft points for over 40 years. Only one animal didn't drop within 20 seconds. Interesting that my rifle is a model 70 with a Douglas barrel that my dad gave me when I was in high school.

 

[South Pender]

Another question, when measuring the length of polymer tipped bullets for stability calculators, and comparison, should the poly tip be included in the OAL, or not?

The JBM stability program allows you to enter the length of the plastic tip along with the overall bullet length in the calculation. In other words, if your bullet length is 1.102” overall (including the plastic tip), and the plastic tip is .12” (like the Hornady 95-gr. SST), you enter both measurements in the calculation.

JBM - Calculations - Stability

www.jbmballistics.com

 

[nockhunter]

Try the Speer 85g spbt, very close to Sierra.

Mike

 

[stacy]

DONT THINK THE 100GR WILL FLY BUT THOSE 85GR SIERRAS WILL AND 80GR BERGERS DO GREAT JOB FOR ME IN A 12 TWIST

 

[JEFFPPC]

Jeff, I have 2 boxes of those. Wrote them off because of the Varminter branding. One box that I have is NOS, still has $5.99 price sticker! LOL

Work well on whitetails, eh?

Thanks, Peter.

Like they were hit by lightning. In my younger years there was a group of us who all shot .244s or 243s. I shot the exact rifle the OP uses. Over a few years we had 48 1 shot kills with that combo. I would say all but 2 or 3 fell in their tracks.can mess up the shoulders for butchering.

 

[pintopete]

Like they were hit by lightning. In my younger years there was a group of us who all shot .244s or 243s. I shot the exact rifle the OP uses. Over a few years we had 48 1 shot kills with that combo. I would say all but 2 or 3 fell in their tracks.can mess up the shoulders for butchering.

Thanks Jeff, and everyone. I’m gonna save these in my reloading notes ;-)

 

[Gary in MD]

If it were me, for deer hunting with that rifle in the North East (New York?) with the possibilities of bigger deer and an angling shot? I would try the 95 grain partition, the 85 grain partition, possibly a Barnes X bullet of around 80 grains, and then maybe the 100 grain round noses from Hornady or Sierra that should stabilize in that twist.
Gary

 

[pintopete]

Try some 87gr sp from Hornady, H4350 Federal case and primers, That’s what my 244 in 1x12 twist likes. Has killed way over 50+ deer and countless amount of coyotes, most deer drt or ran less then 50 yards before hitting the dirt. Broad side shots 90% pass through from 50 yards to 350 yards, they have never failed me in anyway. I have used the same bullet in 243 win also same result.
Here is 2 candidates from that bullet. Rifle was model 70 with Douglas XX 26 inch heavy barrel.

What Zeke said. I shot deer, antelope and elk with those 87 soft points for over 40 years. Only one animal didn't drop within 20 seconds. Interesting that my rifle is a model 70 with a Douglas barrel that my dad gave me when I was in high school.

Hey guys, are those 87gr Hornady SP bullets discontinued? Midway has them listed that way (discontinued), and they are not shown on the Hornady site of .243 bullets. If so, we have lost another option for this combo.

Thanks for your help, Peter.

 

[Adam in WI]

I checked my stash of old slugs because I thought I had some lighter Hornady Spire Points but it turns out they're 70 grain Spire Points, not 87. I'm thinking that might be too light but I'm not sure. I'm guessing these were discontinued long before I took up arms.

 

[pintopete]

Adam, I know Hornady made 70gr SPSX bullets, but may have also made 70gr SP bullets. The SPSX were p/n 2415. They are definitely discontinued. I agree that 70gr bullets are likely too light for whitetail deer.

Thanks, Peter.