222 Remington...What On Earth is This?

thegazelle

thegazelle

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Super GunNutz
Rating - 100%
63   0   0
Location
Ontario
So at my old age and poor eyesight (my excuse anyways), I recently got excited about a sale on what I thought was 223 Remington rounds that no other store had in stock. For this brand and round, all other stores were completely sold out. I felt pretty good when I found a store that supposedly sold it (on sale too!) and so I printed out the listing and headed to the store. I showed up at the LGS , showed the sales guy the print out, he went to retrieve the boxes of rounds, came back and I purchased them. I then got home and was looking at the box when I saw it said 222 Remington, not 223 Remington. I had to do a double take. So yes, in the end, I bought the wrong type of ammo, to the tune of $162.00. Ouch.

I am aware no store has a return/refund policy ammo, so I have been perusing my local LGS just to see what guns will take this round. To my surprise, no LGS including the store I bought the 222 Remingtons sold any corresponding rifle that shoots this 222 Remington round.

I am going to keep the rounds as a reminder to myself of my stupidity, and to look closely at things and never assume. Thank goodness I didn't take it to the range and try to shoot it in my 223/556. I suspect it is not compatible, so it will just sit in my ammo cabinet until I find a gun that shoots it (challenging at this point)...
 
I have an acquaintance who thought he got a really good deal on a 7mm Weatherby Mark V rifle. So try to find ammo for that in Western Canada. I was able to get 2 x 20 round boxes from a vendor in B.C. - shipped to here in Manitoba - so well over $C 8.00 per "bang". I am pretty sure he is having second thoughts about how good of a deal he got on that rifle.
From personal experience, you would certainly not be the first person to buy a "new" rifle, to fire ammo that you had on hand. There are apparently a few of us that have done so... Tends to be an "old guy" thing.
 
Thanks for making me feel better, my friend. Glad to hear the brotherhood of old guys is strong...

I just wish it was some cheapo ammo, not the good stuff...

But hey, down the line if anyone ever asks me if I heard of 222 Remington before, I can confidently answer, "darn tootin' I have! Care to buy a box of ammo for your troubles?" LOL
 
I have read in various USA gun magazines, it used to be referred to as the "Triple Deuce". In it's day was "hell on wheels" in a gopher patch, and did very well in target matches!!!!
 
thegazelle said:
So at my old age and poor eyesight (my excuse anyways), I recently got excited about a sale on what I thought was 223 Remington rounds that no other store had in stock. For this brand and round, all other stores were completely sold out. I felt pretty good when I found a store that supposedly sold it (on sale too!) and so I printed out the listing and headed to the store. I showed up at the LGS , showed the sales guy the print out, he went to retrieve the boxes of rounds, came back and I purchased them. I then got home and was looking at the box when I saw it said 222 Remington, not 223 Remington. I had to do a double take. So yes, in the end, I bought the wrong type of ammo, to the tune of $162.00. Ouch.

I am aware no store has a return/refund policy ammo, so I have been perusing my local LGS just to see what guns will take this round. To my surprise, no LGS including the store I bought the 222 Remingtons sold any corresponding rifle that shoots this 222 Remington round.

I am going to keep the rounds as a reminder to myself of my stupidity, and to look closely at things and never assume. Thank goodness I didn't take it to the range and try to shoot it in my 223/556. I suspect it is not compatible, so it will just sit in my ammo cabinet until I find a gun that shoots it (challenging at this point)...
Click to expand...

You are correct that it won't be compatible. Very similar cartridges, but yet still different. IIRC the 223rem was made by stretching the case of the 222 longer, giving it a bit more powder capacity. 222 is not common in North America, where the 223 has been king for a long time. It is more popular in Europe, although I'm not sure if many companies even across the pond are making rifles for it these days.

Wikipedia can give you some details about these two cartridges:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.222_Remington
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.223_Remington

Looking online it looks like the case dimensions are very close (identical in many ways other than length in fact). I wonder what would happen if you put a 222 into a 223rem chamber - would it fall into the chamber, so the firing pin wouldn't reach it? Or would the taper of the case stop it short of that, creating a situation where you *can* fire the round, but it would have a huge jump to the lands?
 
The .222 was one of the most popular .224 bench rest/varmint cartridges - from the 50's into the 70's. It was the basis of the .223 cartridge ( higher capacity / velocity) to meet requirements for Government (US) contracts in the early 60's. It would not work well in a 223 chamber since it wouldn't be supported by the shorter shoulder and may not fire at all, but if it did manage to ignite it would be rather interesting -.

There are plenty of rifles available in the calibre, no doubt available relatively cheaply priced. there are at least 5 listed recently in the exchange postings including a Savage 24V Deluxe in .222/20Ga, bases, rings and scope, ready to go. VG shape, $750.

I can suggest the Savage 340 - older rifle and cheap if you find one... Mine was great.. and then I got bitten by the 22.250 bug and sold it.
 
I sometimes buy lots of reloading gear from people. I end up with dies and brass that I have no guns for. It’s a bit of a joke amongst my friends. They know I will likely end up with the rifle. I have a set of neck sizing dies in 222 Remington but no rifle. 7 Remington mag dies but no rifle. 25 Newton dies but no rifle. 30 Newton dies but no rifle. I have plans for the dies. Time to buy a new rifle
 
Snider shooter said:
I sometimes buy lots of reloading gear from people. I end up with dies and brass that I have no guns for. It’s a bit of a joke amongst my friends. They know I will likely end up with the rifle. I have a set of neck sizing dies in 222 Remington but no rifle. 7 Remington mag dies but no rifle. 25 Newton dies but no rifle. 30 Newton dies but no rifle. I have plans for the dies. Time to buy a new rifle
Click to expand...

I'm the same way. I bought 5 die sets when Wholesale Sports was going out of business, for something like 80% off (the Lee dies were under $10 a set, the RCBS just over $10 each). I sold off two of the sets on the EE for pretty cheap, which basically paid for the rest of 'em. Now I just need rifles in 7WSM, 250 Savage, and 358Win....Now I'm kicking myself for not buying the 9.3x62 dies too! lol

More recently my buddy gave me two die sets from his friend's dads estate. Now I have TWO sets of 358win dies. Need moar money for guns!
 
I am ok with "correcting" my mistake by buying a gun that fits it. I just don't want it to be a situation where I bought 20" snow tires but I have a car that fits on 18" rims/tires - would hate to buy a new car, just to get the tires working.

The other concern I would have in getting a 222 rifle, is what seemingly is a rare selection of ammo for it - of the 4-5 stores that sells firearms in my area, only 1 sells the ammo (guess where I got it from...lol) and they don't sell the corresponding gun to go with it. I would hate to have my own "triple deuce", consisting of:

1. Bought the wrong ammo (my mistake, albeit a highly preventable one if I learned to read)
2. Bought a corresponding gun that works with the ammo (unplanned expediture)
3. Can't find the ammo anymore once I use up what I recently bought in error (now I need to find the ammo to work with the gun, which I bought to work with the ammo).

I told my kids this and I am sure I am making a stronger and stronger case why I should maybe take up a different hobby like stamp collecting...they just shook their heads and patted me on the shoulder, "it's OK, Dad..."
 
thegazelle said:
I am ok with "correcting" my mistake by buying a gun that fits it. I just don't want it to be a situation where I bought 20" snow tires but I have a car that fits on 18" rims/tires - would hate to buy a new car, just to get the tires working.

The other concern I would have in getting a 222 rifle, is what seemingly is a rare selection of ammo for it - of the 4-5 stores that sells firearms in my area, only 1 sells the ammo (guess where I got it from...lol) and they don't sell the corresponding gun to go with it. I would hate to have my own "triple deuce", consisting of:

1. Bought the wrong ammo (my mistake, albeit a highly preventable one if I learned to read)
2. Bought a corresponding gun that works with the ammo (unplanned expediture)
3. Can't find the ammo anymore once I use up what I recently bought in error (now I need to find the ammo to work with the gun, which I bought to work with the ammo).

I told my kids this and I am sure I am making a stronger and stronger case why I should maybe take up a different hobby like stamp collecting...they just shook their heads and patted me on the shoulder, "it's OK, Dad..."
Click to expand...

You'll probably only find 222s on the used rack, or the EE. If anyone is making them still, its probably some expensive European maker. 222 rifles are not SUPER common, but they're not super rare either. I just checked the EE and there are a few on there now, most are more expensive European makers (anschutz, Sako, etc) but there is also a pair of BSA rifles, and they are $600 and $750 each. Hell, one of the Anschutz is under $1000...
 
thegazelle said:
I am ok with "correcting" my mistake by buying a gun that fits it. I just don't want it to be a situation where I bought 20" snow tires but I have a car that fits on 18" rims/tires - would hate to buy a new car, just to get the tires working.

The other concern I would have in getting a 222 rifle, is what seemingly is a rare selection of ammo for it - of the 4-5 stores that sells firearms in my area, only 1 sells the ammo (guess where I got it from...lol) and they don't sell the corresponding gun to go with it. I would hate to have my own "triple deuce", consisting of:

1. Bought the wrong ammo (my mistake, albeit a highly preventable one if I learned to read)
2. Bought a corresponding gun that works with the ammo (unplanned expediture)
3. Can't find the ammo anymore once I use up what I recently bought in error (now I need to find the ammo to work with the gun, which I bought to work with the ammo).

I told my kids this and I am sure I am making a stronger and stronger case why I should maybe take up a different hobby like stamp collecting...they just shook their heads and patted me on the shoulder, "it's OK, Dad..."
Click to expand...

Our local Canadian Tire stores always have .222 rem. Search out a Remington 600/Mohawk You'll love it.
 
Potashminer said:
From personal experience, you would certainly not be the first person to buy a "new" rifle, to fire ammo that you had on hand. There are apparently a few of us that have done so... Tends to be an "old guy" thing.
Click to expand...

LOL, yeppers just did that 3 weeks ago....bought a CZ527 Carbine in 7.62x39 absolutely love the gun :)
 
My single greatest improvement for outdoors rifle hunting was from the frequent use of the 222 Remington in South Saskatchewan.

Varmints to big game. A very natural maybe perfect progression. The 222 topped with 6x42 Leupold was my carriage to success in the field.
 
Last edited:
The .222 is no longer on any "Top 10 Most Popular" lists but it is anything but rare. If it takes you more than a week to find one, you aren't looking very hard.

My Remington 700 BDL in .222 is by the far the most accurate rifle I have ever owned.
 
thegazelle said:
So at my old age and poor eyesight (my excuse anyways), I recently got excited about a sale on what I thought was 223 Remington rounds that no other store had in stock. For this brand and round, all other stores were completely sold out. I felt pretty good when I found a store that supposedly sold it (on sale too!) and so I printed out the listing and headed to the store. I showed up at the LGS , showed the sales guy the print out, he went to retrieve the boxes of rounds, came back and I purchased them. I then got home and was looking at the box when I saw it said 222 Remington, not 223 Remington. I had to do a double take. So yes, in the end, I bought the wrong type of ammo, to the tune of $162.00. Ouch.

I am aware no store has a return/refund policy ammo, so I have been perusing my local LGS just to see what guns will take this round. To my surprise, no LGS including the store I bought the 222 Remingtons sold any corresponding rifle that shoots this 222 Remington round.

I am going to keep the rounds as a reminder to myself of my stupidity, and to look closely at things and never assume. Thank goodness I didn't take it to the range and try to shoot it in my 223/556. I suspect it is not compatible, so it will just sit in my ammo cabinet until I find a gun that shoots it (challenging at this point)...
Click to expand...

There is a Sako in the EE and an Anschutz in the good ole triple duece.
Ok, there was as of yesterday morning.
Both guns well under the 1k mark.
What Brand of ammo did you buy , is it soft point or fmj ??
How many rounds did you get for $160.00 ???
Rob
 
Multiple boxes of Hornady Superformance Varmint 50 GR VMAX, in...222 Remington.

At least the box is shiny and sharp design...lol...

Yeah, I don't think I am going to get a 222 gun just so I can shoot this off and then have to look for more ammo of the same caliber. Think I'll just hold it, sell it, or display it for the sharp design of the shiny box...
 
OP. Do yourself a favour and buy one of the old Sako 222's that frequently come up for sale on the EE. There are/were two this week and last. Or the Remington 40X that is listed now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom