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Thoughts on 22 Nosler?

IowaGeologist

Very happy with my 223 AI, but always on the lookout for "new" things.

What is everyone's opinion on the performance gain a 22 Nos would have over a 223 AI, specifically for 50-60 gr varmint bullets? Is the gain worth the headaches of proprietary brass, rebated rim/case head issues, harder to find dies, etc?

Thanks for any input.
 
You are going to hear a bunch of
"Don't Do IT" replies.

For a bolt gun it's not as much of a problem as with a gas gun.
I have 3 uppers, 2 No-Gas for the 22N and after a few tweaks, don't have problems with the rebated rim.
Look close at pictures of case damage and most are NOT bolt thrust related.
They are gas related like pulling a rim.

Very few people like the 22N. Instead they just keep loading up in the .223 or .223AI.

Some will come back with the 6mm Hagar case necked down and trimmed with a 224 Valkyrie bolt as the solution but you lose a grain or so of capacity over the 22N.
Currently ONLY available from CreedMoorSports in 500 case lots.

For dies I use the reading body only die and the Lee 223 collet die. The neck difference requires a little work for it to work with the 22N.

Good luck.
 
I put one together in a bolt gun. It is not a 22-250, yet I have 26” barrel and am seeing speeds over listed.
I have no regrets, other than I wish I had built the 24 Nosler instead.
 
JSH said:
I put one together in a bolt gun. It is not a 22-250, yet I have 26” barrel and am seeing speeds over listed.
I have no regrets, other than I wish I had built the 24 Nosler instead.
Click to expand...
How is your brass holding up? People seem to get on a soap box and speak poorly of its quality. Also, how hard are you able to push it with reloads? (assuming you are reloading).
 
My 22N No-Gas runs similar to a bolt gun and I lose a few pockets after 5 or 6 reloads with either the Nosler or Dogtown brass. I don't often shoot light bullets. Long loaded 80, 88 and 90 grain @ 600yds.
My best seems to be 88's at 3000fps from a 28" X-caliber. Could probably go higher???
 

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No brass issues. As mentioned I see some speeds that are up there. Some I ran over again as I thought it a glitch.
 
Once I tamed the little bugger with an adjustable gas block, it's my go to for varmint hunting; that is unless I decide to use the 6.5 Grendel. I love them both.
 
If you like to experiment and enjoy trying new things then do it. After all, it's a hobby and if that brings you joy then go for it.

Let me qualify the following by saying that I'm an avid varmint hunter and I mean avid spending 30 to 40+ days in the spring and summer hunting eastern ground hogs. I dabble in predator hunting and also hunt deer but varmint hunting is my passion.

For me, the simpler things are the better I like it but I've been at this game for about 50 years now. I've tried a bunch of calipers / rifles / loads etc. trying to find the "silver bullet". Well, I found it! It isn't a specific caliper, rifle, or load. It's practical marksmanship skill.

Once I stopped the equipment chase, pursuit of tiny groups through exhaustive load testing, defined what is acceptable accuracy, moved off the bench and learned how to shoot in practical hunting positions, things began to come together. Also I began having real fun that translated to results in the field.

I hate load development and I hate shooting off the bench - but that's just me. I love practical shooting drills shooting off my shooting sticks testing my skill to keep shots in the vitals of a varmint at various distances. I call it "performance base" practice and for me its a lot of fun when I'm not hunting the real thing.

The 223 Rem handles about 90% or so of my varmint shot opportunities. On farms where long distances can be involved the 22 250 or 243 will handle everything else. Never saw the need for anything else for my purposes. Again, I like things simple and uncomplicated.

I've simplified my reloading and component inventory so I can focus on shooting / hunting.
 
I like mine, its an AR, like others have said get the gas adjusted correctly and you should be in good shape.

Ive thought one in an XP-100 would be nice for woodchucks, but I already have them in 20br, 6 dasher, 6-284, 223, 22-284, 17 fireball so I'm good for a minute
 
Didn't really need more brass but my CreedmoorSports 6mmHagar order has been delivered.
Probably will order another barrel from X-Caliber (20% off) for this summer.
 
I went with a 1-8” twist. I can’t advise that at this point. I wanted a 1-10” but all they have is 14,12 then right to an 8 twist.
The 8 is hard on varmint bullets, some 55’s don’t even make it far.
 
I bought two White Oak uppers - one for my buddy and one for me. I did load work-up for both. We are using 55 Blitz Kings only because I have an "oversupply", as the original intent was to use 69's. Both uppers shoot under 1/2" MOA with the rather limited load development I did (same load!) and 10% faster than our .223's, even loaded down. I have had no problem getting 10 loadings on my Nosler brass, surely partially due to the light bullets and down-load. This is better longevity than I get in any of my numerous .223 A/R rigs. Because I shoot up all my brass before I load again - it may be some time before I see how many firings I can get. I bought a bunch of dog-town brass but have yet to try it. I hope it lasts as long. It seems like pretty stout stuff - and at such a discount to Nosler brass - it is welcome. I will say that I like this caliber enough to build a Bat SV action bolt gun for the heavier bullets. While I got the action 6 months ago - I had been waiting on the Manners stock for 10 months - which just came yesterday. I think the ground squirrels are going to love it.
 
A little extra speed isn't all that bad.
For my intended use shooting paper (or E-Targets) with an AR-15 it's pretty much swapping from the shorter barrel to the No-Gas 28". This summer I'll graduate, hopefully, from 600 to 1000 yds.
I've got plenty of the Nosler and Dogtown and Hagar brass. Jars and jars of .224 bullets, and to conserve primers I'll use up some of my WSR (at slightly reduced loads) for plinking.

I never thought I would see so many that like the 22N. I bet we are up to 10 now :)
 
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Reactions: JSH
JSH said:
I put one together in a bolt gun. It is not a 22-250, yet I have 26” barrel and am seeing speeds over listed.
I have no regrets, other than I wish I had built the 24 Nosler instead.
Click to expand...
That just means you need to build another rifle. Oh darn.
 
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