So you shot out Your fave 222 barrel..what next?

WhelanLad said:
So my original thoughts are along the lines of the .222 for the fact i have brass and dies.... even then i could acquire brass and dies for most little varminter cals so i put the feelers out..

im 'into' the rifles and cartridges these days , in my own place now and can reload whenever, or enough to last the year or whatever.. so its kind of opened the door for something else with in mind my 11 year old son will start shooting the '222' in maybe 12 months or so (loves .22lr) an fundamentals are key so all good there..

Not super keen to end up with having a Cartridge that is too difficult to find brass for, or form easily in say 10 years time though..

I was leaning toward something like the .204 Ruger (same bolt face i believe unmodified) barrel screwed on, in stainless, thoughts here was to flatten the trajectory somewhat noticably out to 300m maybe even say 400m fast and flat. thus will come noise and 'recoil' but i am the one shooting it 98% of the time anyway.

.223 was a little vanilla, but ive learnt with a 308/30-06 that Vanilla tastes great at the end of the day.... thinking it gives me an extra 100m by just holding on.

.17 Rem isnt out of the question, old school, little projectile very fast.. brasss may be a slight issue these days down under... i have simplex Dies but would source some suitable setups as know few older guys with 17s from fox shooting days of old.

finally, the .20 Practical (.20-223) seems legit...

wont modify the bolt at all , an the logical thing would be to put a 222 barrel on it eh!
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204 Ruger is basically a 222 Rem Mag necked down to 20 cal, slight changes in the case. 17 Rem is just a 223 necked down to 17. I shoot all four cartridges, and the 222. Around here, if you are looking at easy components to find, the 223 gets the nod. Not my favorite varmint cartridge, but extremely easy to feed. A fast twist and/or the AI version adds a little more to that. Fwiw. - dan
 
222 with 1/9 twist would be my first pick, 68-75gr bullets would likely shoot like a laser beam, that long 222 neck is very beneficial. I've only got 2 of the 222 and several 223 (with many 223 bought and sold), never had a 223 shoot as good as my 222's.
 
As they say, if it ain't broke, dont fix it. If the 222 has served you well thus far, you already have the components and equipment you need.
 
JIMMY 808 said:
Set it back and keep shooting for a while longer, won’t last as long on second go around but you will get lots more rounds out of it.
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hey mate, i think our gunsmithing fees down under would not make that worth doing from memory, unless ya did it yaself or a mate etc? we r not like You guys over there unfortunatley :)

a blued barrel is $550aud fitted etc, id guess a set back an fit would be in the 200-250 $ range. stainless $720 i believe.
 
WhelanLad said:
hey mate, i think our gunsmithing fees down under would not make that worth doing from memory, unless ya did it yaself or a mate etc? we r not like You guys over there unfortunatley :)

a blued barrel is $550aud fitted etc, id guess a set back an fit would be in the 200-250 $ range. stainless $720 i believe.
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Look at a 221 fireball.

Doesn’t disturb the country side but a big step up from
A hornet.
 
WhelanLad said:
hey mate, i think our gunsmithing fees down under would not make that worth doing from memory, unless ya did it yaself or a mate etc? we r not like You guys over there unfortunatley :)

a blued barrel is $550aud fitted etc, id guess a set back an fit would be in the 200-250 $ range. stainless $720 i believe.
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A set back and rechamber will be about the same price here, but in CDN. You can buy a barrel for $550, but it's going to be at least a couple hundred more for fitting, unless youre running something like the savage system with pre fits. - dan
 
Up the neck to 25. The 25 copperhead is a great varmint rifle. 70gr blitzkings. 75gr vmax. 87gr hotcors. 90gr gmx. 100gr partitions. Good for groundhogs fox coyote and deer all in a mild recoiling fairly quiet package. Think of it as a skinny 250 savage
 
brybenn said:
Up the neck to 25. The 25 copperhead is a great varmint rifle. 70gr blitzkings. 75gr vmax. 87gr hotcors. 90gr gmx. 100gr partitions. Good for groundhogs fox coyote and deer all in a mild recoiling fairly quiet package. Think of it as a skinny 250 savage
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Yo- in aussie we call it the Myra, 250 myra! and i do like it!!!

i do think if i was to go that route it would be on a 223 case! few extra ponies in it for the 25 bullet and call it awesome! a 25/23 awesome. dies and brass maybe an issue but i think someone called it a 25-45 sharps? did they not?
 
WhelanLad said:
Yo- in aussie we call it the Myra, 250 myra! and i do like it!!!

i do think if i was to go that route it would be on a 223 case! few extra ponies in it for the 25 bullet and call it awesome! a 25/23 awesome. dies and brass maybe an issue but i think someone called it a 25-45 sharps? did they not?
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If you simply necked up the 223 with no other changes you could probably just use a set of 223 bushing dies with the appropriate sized 25 cal bushings.
 
What's the mag length, I think the Early Sako .222 are kinda short, 59 mm I think, 62-63 mm like b
My cooper 6x45 give lots more flexibility.
the thread on NZ hunting and shooting, about the 6x45, had guys running into problems with heavier weight bullets in both the .222 and 6x45, too long.
A 1-10 twist .222 be pretty flexible, and get you into the 60-65 gr weights,
I am pretty impressed with the 6x45.65 gr rabbits and small game. 75 gr Hp general plinking/ goats/wabblies and 85 gr for deer, all same point of impact at 200m.
Let us know what you decide, great we rifles the small action Sako's
 
WhelanLad said:
Yo- in aussie we call it the Myra, 250 myra! and i do like it!!!

i do think if i was to go that route it would be on a 223 case! few extra ponies in it for the 25 bullet and call it awesome! a 25/23 awesome. dies and brass maybe an issue but i think someone called it a 25-45 sharps? did they not?
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Yes the 25/45 is new. Pretty much a 25/223. Ive played around mocking up rounds in 25/223. I like it alot but may go 250 savage myself. Need a softer 25 than my 2506
 
I think if you are in Canada and shooting enough to actually wear out a .222, then a re-barrel to .223 would be a good idea due to the huge availability and price difference in factory ammo. That is true even for a reloader, because .223 brass is ubiquitous and basically free - at my local gun club most .223 shooters don't even keep the brass although with regular encouragement many are actually polite enough to pick it up off the ground and dump it it in the bucket. I think I've found a .222 case maybe once or twice in the last few years. I don't think many people shoot it. Canada isn't Australia though (and we don't spotlight game).

Is .222 more common in Australia relative to .223?
 
Quiet said:
Is .222 more common in Australia relative to .223?
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it certainly WAS , once, but like most things down under, it slowly caught on an the mid 2000s, the 223 was the go to Roo gun, which is like Every farmer or Farm house would have one.... 80% for the Kangaroos and 20% for the Fox.

quite a few .223 new rifles around, not many new .222s !


RE the mag length, good call, that is something i would have to look at, from memory, not much longer than ye ol 55gr zmax at cannelure!
 
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