.222 Remington HPBT bullets for predators?

Chas

Chas

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Getting ready to load up some . 222 Remington loads for a Valmet O/U 12 gauge / .222. I plan on using this for a close range predator gun, have used it for a while but never have shot anything with it.

I sold a Sako heavy barreled .222 rifle I bought years ago from a coworker. I had only ever used it once hunting groundhogs with Hungry outside of Collingwood and with the passing of my folks, I dont spend much time hunting in groundhog country, so it went down the trail.

While I have a number of 55gr bullets for my .22-250, I have a few hundred 52 and 53 grain match HPBT bullets that came with the Sako (most of them have $7.00 price tags on them so you know how old they are).

I was wondering if anyone here has used them on live game, and if so, how did they fare? My concern is that they wont expand and pencil through a coyote or wolf. Will be using this setup where ranges are less than 100 yards. With the break action of the Valmet, I wont be hot rodding the loads.

Any experience with this type of bullet on predators would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
I shot literally thousands of Sierra and Hornady 52gr HPBT match bullets out of my 222 rem 788 both in the gopher patch and on larger varmints like coyotes, they work great, I don't have the 222 anymore but I shoot the same bullet out of my 223, they are very accurate and will easily take coyote sized game, close in under 100 yards you will get pass throughs on coyotes and the offside will have a 2" or bigger hole to sew up, when fur is worth something I use 53gr Vmax which rarely exit, but now that fur is worthless it really isn't an issue, the 52gr HP simply shreds gophers and crows. In the 222 I loaded 24.3 gr BL-C2 behind the 52gr HPBT match which was just on 3,000 FPS hammers them.
 
mbogo3 said:
Imr 4198
Click to expand...

Years ago I asked my father what the best powder for the. 222 was .
In his normal dry humour he replied
" Any powder will do as long as it's 4198" LOL
I read once that Warren Page stated he had a Lyman 55 that was pernantly stuck at a specific charge of Reloader 7 for his .222
Cat
 
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Chas said:
I was wondering if anyone here has used them on live game, and if so, how did they fare? My concern is that they wont expand and pencil through a coyote or wolf. Will be using this setup where ranges are less than 100 yards. With the break action of the Valmet, I wont be hot rodding the loads.

Any experience with this type of bullet on predators would be appreciated.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I’ve only ever used them on dead game so I’m not much help. lol.

I’ve killled a lot of coyotes with 52 SMK’s out of a 22-250 and was always happy with their performance. They’re not the most fur-friendly bullet.

If you’re expecting your longest shots to be 100 yards then you should have plenty of velocity out of your 222 for reliable expansion, unless you’re planning on loading reduced velocity rounds?
 
ive been using the 55gr Z max (V max zombies) in my 222, an whilst the velocity is down compared to the lighter stuff, it is hitting pretty hard... ive even taken some Fallow deer (small deer species) with them....
 
I looked to see what I had for powder in the cabinet and ended up using RL 7 with the 52 grain Winchester HPBT bullets that I have. Today was above freezing with drizzle f:P: so I thought I would test them out in the Valmet 12 gauge / .222 OU. I am not a benchrest shooter and I doubt that the Valmet could be considered a benchrest firearm. But once I got it dialed in, I shot this 3 shot group at 100 yards

Rq5stS9.jpg


I was pretty pleased with it and I then tried a #4 bucksot load at 25 yards with the shotgun barrel. It was was pretty much centred and I put 15 pellets into what would have been likely a kill zone on a canine at that distance. The full choke may not be the best as there were some pretty good gaps in the pattern. I didnt have any of my fathers magnum lead duck loads with me from the 70/80's, so next time out with try some #2 and #4s to see how they pattern.

Now need to see a critter while carrying it!
 
Peecos said:
Those bullets are what I wanted to use in my 222 but it had other ideas. Only your gun will tell the truth, mine lead me to 40 grainers.
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I had a 700 Varmint in 222 that loved the Hornady 40g V Max & IMR 4198. Should have kept that one it shot everything well.

Not sure how well they would work on coyote but worked really well on the local groundhogs.

That's a very respectable grouping - looks like a real shooter!
 
That is some nice shooting with your .222. I've used a combo rifle/shotgun for years and really like them for some situations. A word of advice - stick with the #4 buckshot for coyotes, or BB shot. #2's and #4's are too small in my experience. I've shot a few coyotes with both 2's and 4's and after 30 yards they just aren't clean coyote killers. BB's might be your best compromise of pattern vs penetration.
 
I shot a lot of 52 grain Sierra HPBT Match bullets out of my 222.

They were deadly on all varmints I used them for, up to and
including coyotes. My favorite load was with a now-obsolete
powder, Reloder 12.

Lately, I have been using Vihtavuori N133 with equal results.
Dave.
 
I'm running the sierra 55gr hp game king in my 223 with a 16.5" barrel. I haven't chronographed it yet but I got 27grs of varget if I remember right. It hammers coyotes the bullet breaks up on bone. Most of my shots are face on and shot in the throat. Only a few tiny pieces exit
 
I had great luck with Hodgdon H322. At one time that powder had more benchrest records than all other powders combined. In the Sako and Remington rifles I’ve owned it was always extremely accurate with 53 fbhp and 52 bthp bullets. The old Hornady 50 gr sx worked great on coyotes and groundhogs.
 
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