Modern 222 bolt action/varmint barrel?
- Thread starter .22LRGUY
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I have owned several .222's over the years, BRNO, Sako, Anschutz... and still have a Ruger M77 Mark II Carpenter Tech Stainless Rifle that I take out now and again. These days, it takes some Olympic level mental gymnastics to choose the .222 over a .223. If you just gotta do it, the cheap way to go is to set back a .223 and rechamber.
222rem is one of my old school favorites, not sure I'd source out a modern made new rifle though, only ones still made are pretty expensive. There are tons of excellent condition older rifles, some heavy barrels, mostly hunting profile barrels. I don't think the heavy barrels are necessary for the 222rem, not a real hot barrel burner cartridge, plus the accuracy is just as good in old rifles, never had a 222 that couldn't print tiny little dime size groups with hunting profile barrels.
This old 1975 Win M70 in 222rem is crazy accurate, super easy factory trigger to adjust, it was under $500, most are in that ballpark price.
This old 1975 Win M70 in 222rem is crazy accurate, super easy factory trigger to adjust, it was under $500, most are in that ballpark price.
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For some reason, the used consignment pieces there are about double everywhere elses prices lol. $1000 for a BSA CF2 or a ZKK? Wheh.
Keep an eye on Intersurplus and GNG, they get a pretty good rotation of Euro used imports.
Agreed that’s used rifles in 222 seem to command a premium. The round is easy on barrels, so less risk of a burned out one. There always seems to be a demand for them…new or used.
….maybe it’s just like chocolates. Once you discover how good it is…you can’t stop at just one!
….maybe it’s just like chocolates. Once you discover how good it is…you can’t stop at just one!
people take accuracy for granted today… but back when the 222 came out you could put cheap ammo in a cheap gun and shoot sub MOA groups. I don’t know the exact explanation but it’s still like this today. A stock 788 with a 7 pound trigger will make half inch groups with cheap Remington ammo. The notion is controvertial but it appears that some calibers do have inherent accuracy.
I've never managed to get a 223 to shoot as well as my best 222 loads. - dan
If one were a competitive shooter and need to shave 1/1000th off your groups I would say go for it... but with all of the other benefits of the .223 over the .222, it is the clear winner for so many applications. Having said that, I do love the elegant little .222 case and enjoy loading it. One of my all time favorite fox loads is; the .222 loaded wirh 19 grains of H4895 with the Hornady 45 grain SP Hornet bullet... very accurate and just the right amount of pop for foxes and coons.
You're not wrong on a completely objective basis, there are more rifles, more ammo, costs less, etc.
Same with any old cartridge vs a modern 'improvement' as that goes.
Dress the elegant long necked case in an old timey RN bullet and it's game over on appeal, subjectively speaking of course.
I am a huge .222 fan, shot the barrels off a couple. Very easy to load for and very accurate BUT a good .223 will shoot the same bullet faster, flatter, further and with more terminal energy and do all this with just as good accuracy if fed the right load. This is why I did not rebarrel my last .222. Ijust did not see the sense to it when I had 2 .223s that could do anything the .222 did just as good or better. JMO
maybe so, BUT, you'll need to spend a lot more to BUY a rifle that will shoot better than the .222 out of the box, you'll also be working on load development of the .223 a lot longer while the .222 is easy, it's actually hard to get a load to NOT work well in the .222. it's such an easy round to get crazy accuracy with,I am a huge .222 fan, shot the barrels off a couple. Very easy to load for and very accurate BUT a good .223 will shoot the same bullet faster, flatter, further and with more terminal energy and do all this with just as good accuracy if fed the right load. This is why I did not rebarrel my last .222. Ijust did not see the sense to it when I had 2 .223s that could do anything the .222 did just as good or better. JMO
I am a huge .222 fan, shot the barrels off a couple. Very easy to load for and very accurate BUT a good .223 will shoot the same bullet faster, flatter, further and with more terminal energy and do all this with just as good accuracy if fed the right load. This is why I did not rebarrel my last .222. Ijust did not see the sense to it when I had 2 .223s that could do anything the .222 did just as good or better. JMO
Tikka T3 Varmint .223 "out of the box" shoots in the ones ( if I do my part), hung with my Sako A1 Varmint .222 all day no problem. Benchmark, H322, H4895 and any quality 50 - 55 bullet, nothing hard about it. I`ve loaded for 3 different .222s and 6 different .223s and have found there is no difference in accuracy or difficulty in finding acceptable loads.
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Never had a 222 but I get that it use to be the king. If you need a 222 get one but if you just want an accurate small varmint cailber, .233 can be very accurate. My old Varmint Special was easy sub 1/2”. All the Remington varmit guns I had were super accurate.
If the 223 is so accurate, you'd think it would have dominated BR circles, like 222 did for many years. Perhaps yours is. I've only owned a half dozen or so, and none have equally my best 222's. - dan
I didn`t realize that you were talking "world class bench rest accuracy", I was refering to"real world accuracy", you know 5 shot groups that the average person would be happy with. If I was concerned with the former than neither a .222 nor a .223 would cut it. Read hoytcanon`s post #30,
couldn`t have said it better.
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And I was referring to overall accuracy. In which, the 222 hasa better track record that the 223. You're mileage may vary. - dan
