Ideal barrel length for .222 Rem

[pertnear]

I have a Rem Mod 722 in .222 Rem that I'm refurbishing. The stock was a mess so I repaired & bedded it. The front sight is missing & someone filled in the screw holes with solder. The barrel is 26" long. I plan on cutting it back & getting rid of the bubba'd front sight holes.

I could go 24" or 22" or ?? Your thoughts....

 

[mmcu]

I'd go 22".

Would make a nice, compact rifle.

 

[natdscott]

22" would be a little stiffer for that 722 Sporter profile.

Too, .222 doesn't "need" a lot more than a 20" tube to do 90% of what it can do.

(Says the guy that's done more than zero work with the .223 at 1,000...despite the stupidity of the thing.)

 

[AWS]

If your keeping the stock you might want the sights as the comb is very low, perfect for the open sights. I have dropped both my 721(35 Whelen) and 722(300 Sav/22-250/22-250 all interchangeable) AI) into 700 stocks. Most of my coyotes calling with the 222 Rem is a Fullstock Vixen with an 18" barrel and it kills them just as did my Model 70 222 Rem with a longer barrel. My target/varmint 222 Rem has a 20"

 

[B23]

I have a Rem Mod 722 in .222 Rem that I'm refurbishing. The stock was a mess so I repaired & bedded it. The front sight is missing & someone filled in the screw holes with solder. The barrel is 26" long. I plan on cutting it back & getting rid of the bubba'd front sight holes.

I could go 24" or 22" or ?? Your thoughts....

Is this is a rifle you've had and know it shoots well or is this something you just picked up and haven't shot yet? I ask because I'd want to know the thing shoots decent before I spent any time or money shortening up the barrel of an older rifle like that.

If you know it shoots well and can't decide on a length, split the difference and go 23 or flip a coin, heads for 22, tails for 24, and see where it lands. If it were mine, I'd probably lean toward lopping four inches off and going 22 but to muddy the water for you further, try and mock it up in some way to get an idea of how it looks with a 22 or shorter pipe on it because sometimes those older rifles like that just don't look right when they're shorties. I lopped my 22-250 off from 24 down to 18 and even though I'd do it all over again, aesthetically, I think it looks goofy as hell now so it's something to think about.

 

[pertnear]

Thanks - you guys got me leaning towards a 22" barrel.

I bought this rifle as a project. I started with the stock & I believe it came out great. As B23 said, I needed to find out how it shot before sinking any more money or effort into it. I mounted a 24X Weaver on it & picked 4 suitable powders that I had on hand. I loaded 5 rounds of each at the book minimums. They all shot GREAT! One group was right at 1", 2 groups were 3/4" & the IMR4198 load gave me a 1/2" group! POI was even pretty close for all groups. I can't wait to do some serious load work!

The stock had the sling studs removed & & some deep gouges filled in with mismatched epoxy. The stock had been shortened an inch for a kid. The stock had some nice figure so I shortened the forend to fix the screw-up's with an added ebony tip. I fixed the LOP by adding a 1" recoil pad. An ebony pistol grip cap added a little class. Wish I knew how to checker! LOL

Before:


After

 

[AWS]

Stock looks great, nice work

 

[K22]

I prefer 22" on my sporter barrels, more compact, and not much velocity drop off so long as you're not using a slow burning powder.

My old Rem 700 had a 24" barrel. IMR 4198 with 50 grain bullets worked extremely well for me for many years. 26" seems awful unnecessarily long for a 222 Rem sporter contour barrel.

 

[SBS]

Might be guided a little by borescoping the muzzle end of the barrel, and cutting off any pitting/damage; plus making sure you are cutting it where you can get a clean sharp crown.

 

[wildcatter]

I would lean on between 22 and 20 inch. My choice would be to take at least 1/2" and would prefer 1" off the rear and a new healthier throat, then take the rest off the muzzle and finish between 20 and 22, where I think the sweet spot is for this cartridge and the powders that are optimum for it. Plus it will give you a much stiffer barrel, and if you spend the money to recut the chamber end, a little fresher throat.

 

[TAJ45]

Took most of the words "right out of my mouth" re the check chamber for general condition. It might could use a little trueing up w a half inch of freshening and maybe get you into the high 2s. A cerrosafe cast would be the thing. I wonder what the freebore is. I'd bet dollars to donuts it is a 14tw.
You did some really nice work on that stock. Kudos

 

[B23]

If you have a lathe, a 222 reamer, and can do all the work yourself, setting it back and rechambering that old barrel maybe is ok but if you have to pay someone to set it back and rechamber, there's no way I'd spend that kind of money on a old factory barrel. Also, factory barrels don't typically have much on the chamber end so there may not even be enough shank there to set it back 1 inch.

A set back and rechamber cost about the same as chambering a brand new barrel and IMO you'd be money ahead spending it on a new barrel versus the same work on that old barrel.

 

[pintopete]

I agree with others on the stock work. Looks great. Almost wouldn’t know it’s the same stock. Too bad on the rough treatment the rifle has had, and the issues with the front sight screw holes. One thought is to remove the solder plugging them, but there is a chance they are stripped or buggered up.
As far as setting that barrel back, not so easy. The profile is unique to the 721/722 rifles. Your stock in letting would be all goofed up, most noticeably the rear sight ring bump. In years past, I had thought of buying a new barrel with the factory contour, but haven’t had a 722 that is bad enough to warrant it. Been lucky I suppose. Cutting the length is a plausible option. Personally, I would stick with ~24” but the decision would be driven by the results of scoping it.

Best of luck whichever way you go, Peter.

 

[Hal]

Go twice the length of the forearm to balance the look of the rifle.
You might also run a tight patch down the barrel and cut the barrel off at a tight spot.

Hal

 

[boltfluter]

I did exactly what you are considering many moons ago. 22" was the ticket and H4895 with a 50 gr Sierra was a match made in heaven! Have fun with your project.
Paul

 

[nakneker]

I have multiple 222s including a 722 I’ve left original with the 26” barrel although I’ve contemplated cutting it. The main reason I don’t is because I have others with shorter barrels and I’d like to leave that rifle original. My wife’s 222 is one she kind of just claimed after using multiple 222s for calling. It has a Kreiger #5, it’s built on a 700 action, the barrel is only 18” long buts it’s extremely accurate and handy to weld. It’s her Goldie Locks rifle, it’s just right. My favorites have longer barrels, just over 22 inches and 24 inches, a Sako Vixen and Old Remington BDL. I don’t think there’s a wrong choice, I think a guy should just use the barrel length that makes him smile the biggest.

 

[Ray123]

My vote is 24" ...all my 222s had 24" barrels, varmint or sporter...it works well. And if I chamber another it will be a medium weight 24" barrel...no muzzle device, no fluting. Probably 14 twist for Pure accuracy, 52 gr match bullets.

 

[areaone]

Ray123….my vote also. I have three All 24 inch from 4 contour to rem varnint to HV. All shilen…and all shoot great with 14 twist. 55 gr shoot as good as 50 and 52 gr…3 shot .25 in at 100. Great Prairie Dog rifle.

 

[Tommie]

Start at 24”. You can always make it shorter if you don’t like the length.