Bought a 22ARC AR - Mistake ?

[Nomosendero2]

I bought a AR Upper in 22 ARC with upper end components for $500.00 last night from a friend. I say a glowing report from
Vortex nation about the cartridge, yet many say that in an AR the performance is not much more than a .556 AR.
I will be shooting 88gr ELDM, 80 ELDX or 77TMK. This will be used on Varmints and Hogs.
Did I make a mistake, thinking I would get increased performance?

 

[searcher]

I'll preface by saying "I don't know". I'd give it a workout with the bullets you want to use. Your own experience will tell you better than the "mixed reviews" on the net. Most of what I've read has been pretty positive.

 

[K22]

I have a few questions:

Are those bullets designed for varmints? In other words, can you drive them fast enough to create rapid expansion on small critters like varmints? Will these heavy bullets created increased risk of ricochets due to their failure to expand?

I have hunted eastern groundhogs for over 50 years, and I found that 50 to 55 grain bullets in 12 to 14" twist rifles produce the most reliable results on small critters like varmints in a 224 caliber rifles. However, all my experience in this caliber has been with 223 and 22 250 bolt rifles.

 

[DHD]

Do you have a 223 AR as a comparison? The bullets you mentioned are not going to work in a 223 AR, so you are ahead there already if they are what you plan to use.

I am not positive of the capacity of the 22ARC, but it will be 5-6 grains more powder and the ability to shoot heavier bullets. There is no more real room for improving the 223 in an AR.

I do not think you made a mistake if you want to shoot heavy bullets or lighter bullets incrementally faster.

 

[jelenko]

Just to clarify. The 88gr ELDM, 80 ELDX or 77TMK all will work fine with an AR but do require loading single round at a time - i.e., they won't fit in a mag.

 

[Mike Powers]

I had poor performance with factory 88eld ammo out of a 20" barrel. Seemed to be way too hot for my setup. 75gr shot fine, my handloads shot 597-27X at Perry this year. Those loads don't seem designed for expansion.
Mike

 

[searcher]

I have a few questions:

Are those bullets designed for varmints? In other words, can you drive them fast enough to create rapid expansion on small critters like varmints? Will these heavy bullets created increased risk of ricochets due to their failure to expand?

I have hunted eastern groundhogs for over 50 years, and I found that 50 to 55 grain bullets in 12 to 14" twist rifles produce the most reliable results on small critters like varmints in a 224 caliber rifles. However, all my experience in this caliber has been with 223 and 22 250 bolt rifles.

In my .223/.556 rifles, I too, have always had the best experience using bullets in the 50 grain weight range, both for effect on small critters like ground squirrels, though heavy enough for coyotes and such. They were also the most accurate out of my rifles which have twists from 1-12" down to 1-8", with 1-9" being my personal favorite. Recently, I tried the 62 ELD-VT (need 1-8") on ground squirrels. I chose this as my solution to a heavier bullet, yet with the high BC, didn't need to be made as heavy as the "heavier" bullets - many of which aren't intended for good performance on small critters. I'll honestly say that I and my buddies were in awe of the destruction those bullets imparted on those squirrels. I've shot tens of thousands of V-Max, more tens of thousands of BK's, etc., etc. - the only bullet that I've ever shot that did close to this (in terms of destruction) was the 50 Varmint Grenade - which has great terminal performance - but terrible BC, relatively. Those 62 ELD-VT's literally throw body parts in every direction with a red mist spray 5' behind the critter. This is a good option for the small critters - as they do open up - and due to the high BC, can hang with many of the heavier bullets when shooting distance. As you ask - my experience with many of those heavier bullets intended for targets or larger game just don't perform as well for the task. In the absence of a good variety of heavy varmint bullets, the target bullets get used by a lot of folks.

 

[Cfshooter]

You will love it i'm sure. The performance shows more with the 80+ grain pills, but it will send som evarmint bullets screaming!

 

[Woollybugger]

They can be made to shoot.
22ARC AR15 62ELD-VT 3150fps 100yds Thermal scope

 

[Tommie]

Did I make a mistake, thinking I would get increased performance?

Nope

 

[30378]

Built a 22 ARC gas gun with a 1/8 twist 20 inch X-Caliber barrel. The 62gr Hornady factory ammo has given outstanding accuracy. A bit disappointed in velocities averaging 3175 fps by Labradar. Probably no ballistic advantage over a 22 Nosler. We happy!

 

[lance_trotti]

I cant say what it will do on animals but when i shoot steel at 200 yards it makes it swing allot more than my 223.

 

[Lefty2506]

The main benefit of a 22 ARC is that the case is short enough to allow the use of the heavier bullets while staying within the OAL constraints of the magazine. You can't modify an AR mag enough to allow it to feed an 88gr bullet unless you're installing a single round follower and just feeding them 1 at a time. Traditionally, the Hdy 75gr bthp has been the highest BC bullet you could mag feed from a 223/556 case. Not sure where the 62gr ELD-VT fits in that category though.

You will see a slight increase in velocity as well, but its less than 100 fps more than you can get from a stout 556 load. If you're hand loading with a bullet that will also mag feed from a 223/556, there's not enough increase in performance to actually measure at the target IMHO.

Did you make a mistake? For hogs, I'd say no. While I've never hunted hogs, I would think the ability to use the heavier bullets would make the 22 ARC a worth while option. For varmints, it depends on what you actually mean. If you mean taking it out to Wyoming and sending hundreds of rounds a day down range, I'd vote against an AR in 22 ARC mainly because it's so much more expensive to feed with little to no improvement in performance with varmint weight bullets (55gr and under). Most of my ARs are chambered in 223 Wylde and will 50gr vmax accurately at about 3600 fps. Based on Hdy's 22 ARC gas gun load data, I can't see any benefit in using it for varmints under 300 yds. +300 yds, you might see some appreciable gains using the 62gr ELD-VT, but I think they will be marginal at best because you can't push them at speed like you could from a bolt gun. If you could get them to feed in a 556 upper, you'd only be giving up about 100 fps to the ARC. At 300 yds, that could be noticeable but not enough to justify the higher cost of the components, and the poor quality that comes with Hdy brass. That's just my opinion though.

 

[Nomosendero2]

Thanks all!

 

[SKWERLZ]

I bought a AR Upper in 22 ARC with upper end components for $500.00 last night from a friend. I say a glowing report from
Vortex nation about the cartridge, yet many say that in an AR the performance is not much more than a .556 AR.
I will be shooting 88gr ELDM, 80 ELDX or 77TMK. This will be used on Varmints and Hogs.
Did I make a mistake, thinking I would get increased performance?

I built a 22arc upper on a green mountain blank.
Even staying well within book data it smokes my 223 that was loaded a bit spicy.
80eld’s at 2900 fps

https://rumble.com/v6wh45i-little-ping-at-1050-yards..html

 

[Nomosendero2]

I did everyone a disservice here. I failed to mention THE key element here. It has a 16" barrel. I said I would take by text and failed to ask the length of the barrel. I have been told by a guy that has built several 22ARCs that you just won't get good velocity with that.
Sorry guys

 

[bart brennan]

I did everyone a disservice here. I failed to mention THE key element here. It has a 16" barrel. I said I would take by text and failed to ask the length of the barrel. I have been told by a guy that has built several 22ARCs that you just won't get good velocity with that.
Sorry guys

The bullet I would want to shoot out of that is the 62eld-vt or the new 69eld-vt. I can't shoot that bullet out of my 20" wylde and get anywhere near the lands but you can in your arc. Plus you will have a handier 16" barrel. No, you won't get the hornady 24" speeds but I think it is a nice handy setup.

 

[Shotafterdark]

I bought one and a six arc .Just because
They were new and I wanted something to play with
At least the concept was attractive

But I don't even find myself using those
Either of them
They are wall hangers
I built up a couple real nice ones
Twenty four inch barrels
Superlative arms gas blocks
On high quality components in AR platforms

There is quite a bit of potential with them, no doubt.If you want to hand load and exploit it

Although I think hornity really sold the whole platform based on their BC values and the bullet in particular

But having said that, I still like them

But not as much as the 204 projects that I am working on
That's my pretty little six arc up top sitting there, collecting dust

 

[Shotafterdark]

Sorry for the typos.I talk to text