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.