Most accurate long range 22 ceterfire?

heiko

heiko

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Just wondering what your thoughts are on what is the most accurate 22 centerfire with factory ammo for long distance (up to say 800 yards or so). The caliber must be no larger than 22 centerfire so it can be carried legally in the woods without having to bother with permits, etc.

Are there any 22 centerfire rounds that can shoot this distance with any amount of accuracy? I realize that with handloads it should be easy, but I'm looking for something that I can buy factory ammo for and still get out to the 800+ mark if at all possible.

I'm not up on all the different rounds but perhaps you guys would have some imput. (204, 223, 22-250, 220 swift, etc, etc)

I already have a 22-250 but wondering if there is a better round for that distance? When I say accuracy I mean being able to hold 1 moa if possible.
 
heiko said:
The caliber must be no larger than 22 centerfire so it can be carried legally in the woods without having to bother with permits, etc.
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What permit is needed to carry larger than .22 centerfire when in the woods?

I already have a 22-250 but wondering if there is a better round for that distance? When I say accuracy I mean being able to hold 1 moa if possible.
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I would assume 22-250 AI is probably going to get you out farther than the 22-250 but perhaps .223 AI in a fast twist barrel, slower velocities but should be able to reach out with the higher BC the heavier match bullets.

Do you want it for varmints out at 800M or paper punching at 800M?
 
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The 22 centerfire rule is for Newfoundland.....can be used carried for coyote hunting most of the year, anything bigger can't be taken in the woods unless big game hunting in the fall with valid licence. (wildlife regs I believe)

Are the AI rounds something I can buy factory ammo for or is that reloading only?
 
heiko said:
The 22 centerfire rule is for Newfoundland.....can be used carried for coyote hunting most of the year, anything bigger can't be taken in the woods unless big game hunting in the fall with valid licence. (wildlife regs I believe)
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Newfee's, I just don't understand them :p
 
NathanE said:
AI stands for Ackley Improved and it is a seperate chambering in addition to the different cartridge.
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And you would have to reload for it. I don't believe you can get factory ammo for the Ackley Improved.

If your looking for Long Range .224 factory rounds then I would go with these in a 1:9 Twist .223
Winchester
USA AMMO RIFLE · 223 Remington
Description - 223 Remington • Style - JH • Grn. - 62 • Rds. - 20
Mfr. # USA223R3 · 52428
$5.99
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Heaviest Factory bullets I could find in .22cal aside from the ones below, but the MatchKings are not recommended for hunting but I have read that many do.

PREMIUM GOLD MEDAL VITAL-SHOCK CENTERFIRE RIFLE AMMUNITION · 223 Remington
Grn. - 69 • Bullet-Type - SMK- BTHP
Mfr. # GM223M · 92456
$25.99
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Factory loaded? Faggedaboudit. They're all so, um, equal in that case. Pick whichever one turns your crank. You'll be far more limited by your ammo choices and rifle quality than the particular cartridge you choose. Holding MOA at 800 with any of the options you list would be quite a feat using factory ammo, and the only possibility of even GETTING to 800 at all would require a fast twist barrel. Which pretty much limits your factory options to certain 223 models.

But, unless you're filthy rich, you NEED to handload. Shooting MOA to 800 yards consistently requires tons of practice, which requires tons of ammo. And even if you could afford thousands of rounds of factory match ammo, handloads will still offer a consistency and accuracy edge.
 
First part of the question is easy. For factory offerings, the only two options I am aware to make that trip would be the 223 Rem 75gr Amax Hornady ammo and the 77gr MK loaded in various tactical ammo - Black Hills, Fed GM, etc.

The Amax is likely the better bullet from an expansion point of view.

I have yet to see heavy high BC bullets in any other 22 cal. The lighter varmint type bullets will fade quickly after 600yds no matter how fast they are started.

The bigger question is do you enough energy to drop a coyote at that distance? For me, a 22cal is simply too small to be effective that far away. Plus wind drift would be horrendous.

Some of the best F class shooters in the world have trouble holding MOA at that type of distances on any given Sunday. The rifles can do it....

I would have no issue shooting to 350yds with the 75gr Amax in a 223 but further out, I want more horsepower AND less wind drift.

YMMV.

Jerry
 
Those 75gr A-Max are ridiculously amazing for long range. Just make sure you've got a fast enough twist to stabalize the heavier bullets if you're going the .223 route. I've got a 1:9 on my new Savage 12FV that stabalizes them without a problem. I know of some other rifles with supposed 1:9 twist, however, that wont stabalize the 75gr+ bullets, so it's really the border line for twist, and the faster the better as you get shooting these heavier bullets.

I haven't had a chance to take the 75gr A-Max load on my Savage out to any real distance, but the previous owner, who also worked up the load I'm using, had success hitting 2-litre bottles out to 1400 meters in calm wind (the big limiting factor for any of the 22's).
 
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800 yards on a yote???

How long is a newfie yard?

I did some development work for the Savage target rifle program. part of this involved replacing the 1;12 barrel with a 1:9 Savage barrel. We then touched the throat to make room for a 80 gr Sierra seated farther out.

20 of these were tested and they typically shot the Sierra 80 at 2900 fps (over 25 gr of RL25). Savage eventually adoped the 1:9 (actually,I think it was more like 8 1/2, but they called it 1:9) and used a different chamber than the one we tested.

I had some of these prototype barrels left over and converted two of them to 22-250Ackley. I liked the results (3100 fps) and then had some stainless barrels made. These were longer and I could get as much as 3200fps with the 80gr bullet.

I used the 22-250 Ackley in sniper competion, which ends with 15 shots at 800 real yards. The bull is a half minute wide. It was competative, but barrel life was poor. Unless you have a quiver of barrels and a barrel vice, I cannot recommend it.

Mystic is right about ballistic performance of the Amax vs the Sierra match hollowpoint. We have conducted ballistic gellatin tests on hollw point vs Amax. The Amax acts very much like a hunting bullet and mushrooms/blows up, depending on range/velocity. The Sierra tends to either drill holes or break in half.

I can't get my head around 800 yard coyotes, but I would eb very comfortable in saying the 223 loaded with 75 gr. A-Max (factory loaded by Hornady) would be just dandy to 600 yds. Would blow up seals real good,
too.
 
mysticplayer said:
First part of the question is easy. For factory offerings, the only two options I am aware to make that trip would be the 223 Rem 75gr Amax Hornady ammo and the 77gr MK loaded in various tactical ammo - Black Hills, Fed GM, etc.

The Amax is likely the better bullet from an expansion point of view.

I have yet to see heavy high BC bullets in any other 22 cal. The lighter varmint type bullets will fade quickly after 600yds no matter how fast they are started.

The bigger question is do you enough energy to drop a coyote at that distance? For me, a 22cal is simply too small to be effective that far away. Plus wind drift would be horrendous.

Some of the best F class shooters in the world have trouble holding MOA at that type of distances on any given Sunday. The rifles can do it....

I would have no issue shooting to 350yds with the 75gr Amax in a 223 but further out, I want more horsepower AND less wind drift.

YMMV.

Jerry
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Jerry,
What about:
80gr HPBT BC 420 @ 2200 fps (recommended twist 7 or 8)
90gr HPBT BC 511 @ 1900-2200 fps (recommended twist: 6.5)

I suppose one of the limiting factors would be finding a barrel with a fast enough twist to stabilize
 
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Katana said:
Newfee's, I just don't understand them :p
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It's the government desk jockey's "rational thinking" that if NFLD coyote hunters are allowed in the woods with high power rifles, they will be "tempted" to poach big game.
It really does boggle the mind. :confused:
 
Thanks for all the info guys, so I guess the 223 can go farther than the 22-250 with the right factory loads?

Also just to clarify, I do not intend to shoot coyotes out to the 800yard mark. I just want a rifle that I can carry into the woods with me to do some long range shooting with (at targets). Basically I want to be able to set up some targets in open fields, marshes etc at the 800yard mark and shoot at them without having to worry about being allowed to carry the gun. This is the reason for the 22 centerfire limit. I can take the 22 centerfire with me in the woods for the purpose of shooting coyotes, and along the way do some long range target shooting, without any problems.

So this 75 grain A-Max is something that I can buy factory loaded? Where can I pick some up? They only load those for 223 and not the 22-250 eh?
 
The 75gr bullet requires a fast twist. So far as i know, no one is making a fast twist 22-250. I have asked Sagage to do so, but I don't think anyhting came of it.

If there is no factory fast twist 22-250, it follows there would not be any 75gr ammo.
 
Why?

92FS Inox said:
Jerry,
What about:
80gr HPBT BC 420 @ 2200 fps (recommended twist 7 or 8)
90gr HPBT BC 511 @ 1900-2200 fps (recommended twist: 6.5)

I suppose one of the limiting factors would be finding a barrel with a fast enough twist to stabilize
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Why would you want to go so slow? Even a HG (ie Contender) can push these bullets faster.

The slower you go, the more the drop, the higher the wind drift. Will make a 800yd shot feel like a 1200yd shot. The rd is going to get bounced around enough not to mention going subsonic which may lead to all sorts of extra fun.

heiko, for general plinking, the 223 is your best choice. There is little issue that shooting to 800yds with the 75gr bullets will work. We shoot out beyond 1000yds all the time. Will give you a very real appreciation for wind drift and changing conditions - a great teacher if you have the tolerance for alot of misses.

At that distance, wind drift is up to 4 times MORE then other larger cal set ups. If you can drive this consistently, YOU ARE REALLY GOOD!

A larger case WILL go faster but needs to be reloaded so not on your plate for now. The extra 200 to 300fps isn't going to turn this setup into a laser so balance performance with greatly increased wear and tear. Better to build a larger cal but then there are other problems....

Ganderite, Savage has threatened to release a 9 twist 22/250 in 2007. So far, not seen one but they are thinking in that direction. Fun, fun, fun

Jerry
 
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