Anyone have experience with 222 Remington Magnum on coyotes ?

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Pete G

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Picked up a first year 700 BDL in .222 Remington Magnum with the 20 inch barrel which was standard in 1962 and 1963 .
I have enjoyed shooting paper with it this summer. Plan to use it as main coyote rifle this winter after having used 243 for many years.
Will it be an efficient coyote killer ? Would love to hear from someone who had good results with that caliber on coyotes.
My current load is 26.5 grains of IMR 4064 with the Speer 52 grain hollow point.....No problem with accuracy, but what about DRT on coyotes within say 250 yards ?
 
I shot a .222 RM for a few years and it dropped many coyotes cleanly... I sold it and used a .222 Standard and lighter loads for sometime, before switching over to .223... to be honest, in the field they all performed similarly... neither the game nor I could tell the difference.
 
hoytcanon said:
I shot a .222 RM for a few years and it dropped many coyotes cleanly... I sold it and used a .222 Standard and lighter loads for sometime, before switching over to .223... to be honest, in the field they all performed similarly... neither the game nor I could tell the difference.
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Greg, that is good to learn. I know that" in theory" the 222 rem mag should be fine, but the cartridge sure looks tiny when placed beside my old coyote killer 243 cartridge !! Anyway, I am anxious to get the crosshairs of that little rifle on some coyote fur. This is my first "smaller" caliber and I must say that the very mild recoil , lower noise and great accuracy have all been very pleasant surprises for me. Initially, I was going to try the 223 but stumbled on this little 222 Rem Mag and just had to bring it home. Boomer and a few others here helped me understand that loading for this pretty much obsolete caliber would not be a big problem.
 
Any trouble finding brass for it ,or are you shooting factory stuff? Wasn't it originally designed to be the Armalite/Stoner military cartridge before they settled on the 5.56 ? I think the .204 is off the same case?Harold
 
Pete G said:
Greg, that is good to learn. I know that" in theory" the 222 rem mag should be fine, but the cartridge sure looks tiny when placed beside my old coyote killer 243 cartridge !! Anyway, I am anxious to get the crosshairs of that little rifle on some coyote fur. This is my first "smaller" caliber and I must say that the very mild recoil , lower noise and great accuracy have all been very pleasant surprises for me. Initially, I was going to try the 223 but stumbled on this little 222 Rem Mag and just had to bring it home. Boomer and a few others here helped me understand that loading for this pretty much obsolete caliber would not be a big problem.
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The coyotes and the gophers have been pretty unhappy with the performance of my .223, me, on the other hand, I was always pleased as anything. :)

I took a Mulie doe with the .223, and it was as close to bang-flop performance as any round I have used. Despite the assertions of some, the penetration of the remnants of the bullet, was stopped by the bone of the off-side front leg, after it destroyed heart and lungs on the way through. There is a bunch more snot in those smaller cartridges that folks give them credit for most of the time.

As one guy pointed out, the big argument in parts of the North, was whether the 'kids' choice of a .222 was overkill for caribou, vs. the older guys choice of a .22 Hornet.

Yer gonna do great with the .222 Mag.

Cheers
Trev
 
Have never used the 222 mag always the standard 222. Can't imagine that you wouldn't be pleased with it's performance. You already reload so pick the bullet you like to use and have fun! In my 222's the 52 grain Bergers were the best - lights out fantastic accuracy
 
mbogo3 said:
Any trouble finding brass for it ,or are you shooting factory stuff? Wasn't it originally designed to be the Armalite/Stoner military cartridge before they settled on the 5.56 ? I think the .204 is off the same case?Harold
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Harold,
Brass is not easy to find, but did manage to acquire a few. I did buy a few boxes of "older" factory rounds. I also bought a good supply of unfired Winchester Ruger 204 brass. I have been successful in simply running the 204 brass through my 222 Rem Mag dies to create more brass for the rifle. Once through the dies then loaded as normal and good to go !!
 
I run new .22-250 brass through a set of Hornady dies[more tapered expander button] so no case loss to make .250-3000 for my Rem 700 Classic.......Harold
 
No need to doubt the 222 Rem Mag, since it's the ballistic twin of the 223, which kills more coyotes every year than all other cartridges combined
 
Had a great little Rem 600 a few years back in the standard 222 and it killed a bunch of coyotes, only one was not a DRT and needed a second shot but that was my fault and not the rifle or the cartridge. My best buddy has an older Rem 700 of some configuration in 222 Rem Mag and it shoots great. He has a reamer for it now too so I can see me building a rifle in the near future to match his. I am sure you will be pleased!
 
todbartell said:
No need to doubt the 222 Rem Mag, since it's the ballistic twin of the 223, which kills more coyotes every year than all other cartridges combined
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todbartell, very interesting point......You may be right about the 223 killing more coyotes than all others combined !! Gives me a little more confidence in my 222 Rem Mag !!
 
Crashman said:
Had a great little Rem 600 a few years back in the standard 222 and it killed a bunch of coyotes, only one was not a DRT and needed a second shot but that was my fault and not the rifle or the cartridge. My best buddy has an older Rem 700 of some configuration in 222 Rem Mag and it shoots great. He has a reamer for it now too so I can see me building a rifle in the near future to match his. I am sure you will be pleased!
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Crashman, guess if your 222 was a good coyote killer, my 222 Rem Mag should be ok as well.
Were you able to observe any coyote kills made by your buddy with his ?
 
todbartell said:
No need to doubt the 222 Rem Mag, since it's the ballistic twin of the 223, which kills more coyotes every year than all other cartridges combined
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Funny that. According to some random guy next to me in the gun shop, the .223 is unsuitable and will "just bounce off the coyotes skull and the thing will run away."

Having said that, many of my friends have shot many yotes with various .223 and .222 rifles with great success. I'm sure you be plenty happy with it.
 
I have head shot yote at over 100 yards with my 22 hornet. Did a flip and has dead. I think you have more gun than you need.
 
I have shot coyotes with a .17 Remington, .222 Remington, 6mm Remington, 280 Remington...

The first two were fine to 250 yards before the snow got deep... then the 6mm and then the 280 when the snow was the deepest... the little ones don't indicate well where your miss is when the snow gets deeper... and knowing where your first shot went is important... many coyotes fell to the 3rd or 4th shot.

My coyote buddy did the same with a 22-250, 6mm and a .270.
 
Pete G said:
Crashman, guess if your 222 was a good coyote killer, my 222 Rem Mag should be ok as well.
Were you able to observe any coyote kills made by your buddy with his ?
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Personally witness the kill shot? No, but I have seen the dead coyotes in the back of his truck and the 222 Rem Mag in the pictures. As long as your rifle will shoot accurately, you will have a winner for sure!
 
I have used Hornet's and Bee's on coyotes, foxes and coons with excellent results... and your .222 RM will exeed these... so sight it in and shoot with confidence.
 
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