Forgot to add that the steeper the neck angle is, in order to get the hot point within the neck of the brass, the more finicky feeding becomes. That is also an important consideration.
What is the 222 attraction?
- Thread starter Joel
- Start date
Fire a 30 round group someday
Mogulrider
CGN Regular
Why would I do that?
If you want 6 - 5 shot groups and barrel cooling in between I can report right here.
All groups stacking cloverleafs. The 1st group is always a ragged hole.
Any 788 owner knows this. .222 is stupid accurate as are 788's
Cumberland has one identical to mine. Pretty much the same performance
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I was handed down the .222 early on in my younger days from Dad, a Sako A1......... ive never been a fan of the .223 but if you were buying new tomorrow...223 would trump it.
In Australia there was alot of .222s around for fox shooting days and Roo shooters until the .223 came around- now its all .223
i reload 55gr vmax but have some 40gr speer to speed things up a bit an flatten trajectory for small fox
cool thread, alot of good reading
In Australia there was alot of .222s around for fox shooting days and Roo shooters until the .223 came around- now its all .223
i reload 55gr vmax but have some 40gr speer to speed things up a bit an flatten trajectory for small fox
cool thread, alot of good reading
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This thread has me seriously considering .222 now, but a word on bullet weights.. My first .223 had a 1:9 and wouldn't shoot heavy bullets well, 53gr. was the sweet spot, 55gr. a close second. I pushed my luck with that, had to try 40gr. (so-so) but then I also bought a box of 35gr. NTX. I could get the 35gr. to shoot better than anything over 55gr...so odd gun, but in a good way. Guess I wondered if I could get 204 performance-ish from a 223. Ended-up just buying a 204 and selling the 223.
Can't imagine the shooting experience with 222 is vasty different than my 204, but I am thinking about it anyway.
Can't imagine the shooting experience with 222 is vasty different than my 204, but I am thinking about it anyway.
Not really; the Hornady 35 gr. NTX bullet measures 0.789", longer than most 55 gr. c&c bullets. It shot better in your 1:9" twist because of its longer length.
Remember, it's the length of the bullet, not necessarily, its weight that determines the correct twist rate for it to perform optimally. Hence why the homogeneous bullets, which are longer, weight for weight, than a jacket & core bullet, need a quicker twist rate.
You said yours is a same hole gun. Go ahead and fire ten 3 shot groups and post up a pic
Mine is a bsa cf2 and so far I ain’t impress with the accuracy with my reloads, I tried a a bunch of powders with 55gn fmj bullets and not great, next I need to try with some Speer 55gn varmint ( much shorter bullets) and some 40gn nosler ballistic tip… I would like to find some bullets that don’t explode on impact, maybe some the barns 45gn tax, they are quite short compare to the fmj I’ve been trying…
I have a Remington 788 and Sako A1V in 222 and both shoot equally well. I bedded the Remington and added a Timney trigger because there wasn't chance of shooting a decent group with the factory trigger. I also shoot a target rifle built on a Savage model 12 single shot action in 223. I've consistently shot tighter groups with the 222's than my target rifle in 223 but as others have mentioned that twist rate and bullet weight are huge factors for shooting different distances. The 222's really shine with 40 - 50 gr. bullets and flat base bullets seem to have an edge on boat tail from my experience. As a reloader my preference is the 222. Sooo much quieter with the same or better results than the 223 and the brass lasts a really long time. I am still reloading a box of 100 that is on it's 23 firing with no signs of weakness. I anneal every third firing with everything.
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Mogulrider
CGN Regular
You Weird?
Why the hell would you shoot 10 shot groups expecting a hot barrel to keep tight group?
He said 10 ! 3 ! shot groups and let it Kool
. RJanother plus thats mentioned here is the Sound.... i definatly notice less noise with the 222 over the others.
im possibly on the spectrum they say haha, an so noise aint my forte.
also agree with FB bullets working best--
ive actually shot Hinds (female) Sambar deer with the 55gr "Z max" (v max) an 2207/4198 combo, a modest 2700fps and one in the lungs and done.... dont tell the authorities this though LOL fkem.
distance at proberly 70meters from memory...got the skins on the floor with tiny little .22 holes to remember so
im possibly on the spectrum they say haha, an so noise aint my forte.
also agree with FB bullets working best--
ive actually shot Hinds (female) Sambar deer with the 55gr "Z max" (v max) an 2207/4198 combo, a modest 2700fps and one in the lungs and done.... dont tell the authorities this though LOL fkem.
distance at proberly 70meters from memory...got the skins on the floor with tiny little .22 holes to remember so
About ten years ago, I got a disease known as CZitis. It started with collecting their rimfire offerings, but quickly expanded into the 527 series. I think my first was a .204 Varmint. My work has had me play with bigger stuff, .338 Lapua and .50 Cal, shooting these things extensively has driven my attraction to things that burn less powder than even a .308.
About 7-8 years ago, there was a batch of .222 527 Varmints that CZ USA bought back from Mexico. I can't remember the details, but in Mexico, you can't have military calibers, and the military is somehow involved in sales of firearms. These rifles were marked unique to the Mexican market, and being a .222 Varmint, I wanted one bad! I had Prophet River work on securing me one, and it made it to Canada, then somehow, the rifle went MIA. I was sad, but then Clay reached out with some good news, there were new production .222 Varmints being produced. I don't recall the timeline, but I ended up with one. I got some Lapua brass, Redding Type S dies and a pile of Speer 52 gr. HP's. I plan on bedding the rifle at some point, but as it stands it's a great shooter.
My love of 527's grew into multiples in many calibers, including a .221 FB, .17HH, .223, 6.5 Grendel, .204 along with the .222 Rem.
About 7-8 years ago, there was a batch of .222 527 Varmints that CZ USA bought back from Mexico. I can't remember the details, but in Mexico, you can't have military calibers, and the military is somehow involved in sales of firearms. These rifles were marked unique to the Mexican market, and being a .222 Varmint, I wanted one bad! I had Prophet River work on securing me one, and it made it to Canada, then somehow, the rifle went MIA. I was sad, but then Clay reached out with some good news, there were new production .222 Varmints being produced. I don't recall the timeline, but I ended up with one. I got some Lapua brass, Redding Type S dies and a pile of Speer 52 gr. HP's. I plan on bedding the rifle at some point, but as it stands it's a great shooter.
My love of 527's grew into multiples in many calibers, including a .221 FB, .17HH, .223, 6.5 Grendel, .204 along with the .222 Rem.
So, I figured my education on accuracy with quick twist barrels could use some upgrading.
Just before the posties walked off the job, I was delivered with [well, not really, I had to go pick it up at the village post office, but you get the point] a brand-spanking new Savage factory 30" heavy contour stainless steel barrel from a 12 FT/R [1:7" twist]. Had to reduce the barrel threads so that it will screw onto my Stevens 200 receiver, but that has now been completed and the crown has been trued up with a 11 degree target crown. I still have to complete my throat measurement to determine the correct seating depth [if that will even be possible as I presume it is throated for those long, heavy buggers] for my diminishing stash of Berger 52 gr. HPFB-M bullets & as soon as the strike is over, I'll order up 100 Lapua brass for it. While I normally use my Hornady dies to load for the .223, I also picked up a set of Redding Competition dies to really give it a work-out. I'll use every BR accuracy trick I can remember to see if I can get it to out-perform a 1:14" twist barrel.
Not in .222, however, but I really do not want to cut the barrel back, locate a .222 reamer, thread the barrel, &c.
Unfortunately, Mother nature has decided the project will have to wait as the darned white stuff is on its way, along with the cold temperatures. Plus, the other 3 MacLennan 6PPC barrels have to be cut-off, re-threaded, then chambered for 6BR Remington [1:14" twist].
I will likely not test it with the long, heavy bullets as I have absolutely no use for them. I have numerous other rifles more suitable to deer & bear hunting & do not believe they are satifactory for use on varmints.
Just before the posties walked off the job, I was delivered with [well, not really, I had to go pick it up at the village post office, but you get the point] a brand-spanking new Savage factory 30" heavy contour stainless steel barrel from a 12 FT/R [1:7" twist]. Had to reduce the barrel threads so that it will screw onto my Stevens 200 receiver, but that has now been completed and the crown has been trued up with a 11 degree target crown. I still have to complete my throat measurement to determine the correct seating depth [if that will even be possible as I presume it is throated for those long, heavy buggers] for my diminishing stash of Berger 52 gr. HPFB-M bullets & as soon as the strike is over, I'll order up 100 Lapua brass for it. While I normally use my Hornady dies to load for the .223, I also picked up a set of Redding Competition dies to really give it a work-out. I'll use every BR accuracy trick I can remember to see if I can get it to out-perform a 1:14" twist barrel.
Not in .222, however, but I really do not want to cut the barrel back, locate a .222 reamer, thread the barrel, &c.
Unfortunately, Mother nature has decided the project will have to wait as the darned white stuff is on its way, along with the cold temperatures. Plus, the other 3 MacLennan 6PPC barrels have to be cut-off, re-threaded, then chambered for 6BR Remington [1:14" twist].
I will likely not test it with the long, heavy bullets as I have absolutely no use for them. I have numerous other rifles more suitable to deer & bear hunting & do not believe they are satifactory for use on varmints.
Brutus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Best varmint-coyote shot witnessed by another was with my 788 in 222 with an M8 Leupold 6x42 on top. Friend with calling skills brought it in his .17 Remington on standby.
Wind changed, he swapped ends fled at Mach +9. I was prone with a good lead, him running 3/4s away from us.
I broke the sear just as it looked back over his right shoulder, of course a moving target. Hence I hit him thru his right eye socket versus back of his head. Dead right there.
I knew the ridge he was motoring too was 200 yards away. I pegged him bottom of that ridge.
Wind changed, he swapped ends fled at Mach +9. I was prone with a good lead, him running 3/4s away from us.
I broke the sear just as it looked back over his right shoulder, of course a moving target. Hence I hit him thru his right eye socket versus back of his head. Dead right there.
I knew the ridge he was motoring too was 200 yards away. I pegged him bottom of that ridge.
When I was young, it was the "hot" fox/Jack rabbit/Ground hog round that superseded hunting these animals with .22 rf, .22 WMR and various shot-guns. A few guys had .22-250s, and not much else. .223 has prety much taken over, but both the .222 and .22-250 still have a loyal following. The .22-250 would have more life left in it if new rifles are made with a fast twist for heavy bullets.
Back then the rifle of choice in my area was the Brno Fox. Lovely rifle. Also a few Tikas. The brno and Tikas were compact and light, and very refined.
Tika were plainer, and actually quite inexpensive back then.
Good old days.
Back then the rifle of choice in my area was the Brno Fox. Lovely rifle. Also a few Tikas. The brno and Tikas were compact and light, and very refined.
Tika were plainer, and actually quite inexpensive back then.
Good old days.
