Any Experience with 222 Remington?

S

Slowshot

Member
As some of you may know, I am a disabled shooter, able only to shoot left handed off a bipod or a rest. While I mostly shoot rimfire, I do enjoy hand loading and load development in centerfire rifles. Having taken a serious look at what is needed to compete with you guys, I decided to skip the competition and just enjoy unusual centerfire rifles in unusual cartridges.

Until recently, my only centerfire rifles have been a Winchester 100 in 243 Winchester and a Ruger No. 1 Varmint in 220 Swift. The 243 is long gone. Now I have decided to give up some speed and energy for a milder cartridge that is a bit more accurate at 100-200 yards, so I have put my Ruger up for sale. My friendly gunsmith (Tim) has suggested I look into the 222 Remington.

In my research, I have read a lot that is good and nothing negative about the cartridge. One reviewer claimed that it is the most accurate .224 caliber cartridge other than the 22 PPC. Another claimed while the 220 Swift is still king of long range .224s, the 222 Remington it is the most accurate medium range varmint round ever.

I have also found that Cooper makes a left handed single shot bolt action rifle in 222 Remington.

http://www.cooperfirearms.com/rifles.php?rifle_name=vr&cal=222-Rem

So my questions are: Do any of you have personal experience with this cartridge? If so, what comments can you make about it? Do you still own a rifle in 222 Remington? If not, why did you let it go?
 
I can't respond to the .222, but one of the other fella's that I shoot with; short range benchrest at the club level has that very same rifle in .223. I can tell you he does VERY well with it. The rifle shoots awesome. One consideration might be that .223 brass is more plentiful. I do think you would do well with either caliber. Hope that helps.

Andy
 
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I still compete, on occasion, in BR (score) with a .222, a Rem. 700 built for HV competition. It is a super cartridge, very low recoil, very accurate, easy to load for, not as expensive to shoot as my 6 PPC or 30 BR. I basically built it for nostalgic reasons, it was my "go to" groundhog cartridge back in the good ol' days. I usually shoot 2- guns at the matches and knowing that it doesn't have quite the agging capability of my larger bores, I basically use it to compete with another regular shooter who attends our local matches who has several .222's in 40-xb's. It consistantly shoots nice tiny round groups......just not quite as tiny as my larger bore counterparts.
Coopers are nice and shoot well, but if you want to get that very last bit of accuracy potential out of the duece, I would look for a used bench gun that has a proven history, an aftermarket barrel in a heavy contour, has a wide- flat fore-end, and a match trigger. Also, I would invest in a quality rest system, of which you won't find at Cabelas or even Midway. Also a quality high magnification scope.And lastly, flags are a MUST , bought or homemade.
Forgot to mention that barrel life is forever, and that the reason your smith probably recommended it , is that it was "THE" BR cartridge in the '50's through early '70's. The .222 Magnum also was used with some success, however, the .223 was seldom (if ever) mentioned as a frequent winner in earlier days of Benchrest. There were also several wildcats based on the .222 case that were also in the winners circle, but I believe none incorporated the short neck of the .223.
 
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222

Slow, Way back in the early days of Mike Walker, everyone had to have a 222. I was in the retail gun business at the time and was a Sako Distributor so naturally I had Sako rifles. I had several 222 rifles and the all shot very well. The 222 is an accurate cartridge too be sure. As I recall 23.5 grains of Hodgdon Bl-c and a 50 or 52 grain bullet was magic. That combination accounted for many many heart failures in various coyotes and ground squirrels. As the newer stuff came out the 222 Mag replaced the 222 and now the .223 has taken over the slots in my gun rack. 222, 222 Mag and 223 all shoot very well and as a previous poster says, 223 brass is much easier to obtain. Depending on how much you are going to shoot, quanaity of brass may or amay not be a concern.

Hope this helps.

Don Carper
 
A couple of things....
I am not familiar with your limitations, but I can speak to shooting left handed (dominant eye) and from the bench, or a bipod, IMO, a right handed action is better. Also, the .222 is a fine cartridge, but if you were to change your mind about competition, the 6PPC has an edge, especially at 200. The fellow that brought up the .223 is right. I think that if one is built to the same standards as a good .222 that it would be a good choice for informal bench shooting. To have the best time, shooting from the bench, I would choose something that will take a Remington trigger. The aftermarket selection is the best for that design, and a light trigger is important for the best shooting from the bench, as are a properly designed stock, and wind flags. Good luck with your project.
 
222 load

I still like the 222 (Deuce) for bench shooting although I am now playing with the 22PPC-100.

My best load for accuracy and reasonably good speed was:

20.2 gr. H4198
Rem 7 1/2 primer
Cheek or Bart's 52 gr. flatbase hollow point matchbullet
Lapua case


The Rem. primer seemed to be more consistent in lighting off the longer powder column. It is a small case so REMEMBER to start with at least a half grain smaller and work up and any change in components can cause a pressure rise.

Good Shooting!
Joe
 
I have a 722 deuce with a Hart barrel with a 14-3/4" twist (my measurement). I had it chambered by Hart RB Co. to a standard SAAMI chamber (no neck turn). It has a Jewell trigger and is in an HS Precision bendhrest stock. I shot my first zero group with this rifle with now-extinct Starke 52 grain bullets and 19 grains of IMR-4198. It fits the bags I use with my 6ppc, but I don't compete with it. The physics of the situation put this rig at a disadvantage against the 6 ppc in all regards except for the distance it recoils before the bullet exits. Since Remington does make a left handed 700, there is nothing that stands in the way of building a near mirror image of my rifle.

Harold
 
222's are great little cartridges, I currently have two of them. One is a pristine 40 xbr and the other is a sleeved 700 Rem. The Rem is at the gunsmith now getting a new barrel as the old one had over 6000 rounds through it and was showing signs of it's age. The best groups I ever shot were with this gun. I have a custom 6 ppc - Stole action, kreiger barrel, Mcmillan stock ans Jewel trigger. Also a 700 Rem in 6 ppc.., a 722 in 6 BR and a custom 223. The 222's will shoot with them all and better some of the time. Try 22gr of H 322 with any good 52 gr bullet. I prefer 205m primers and Lapua brass. People say that they arn't competitive but I think you can have a lot of fun with them. Al.
 
When I was about 17 an adult friend of mine had a little Sako 222 that he let me shoot at our club turkey shoot. I won three turkeys and my mother paid for my shooting. That was the best shooting rifle I have ever had in my hands before or since. I am now older retired and If I ever see one of those little Sako rifles again I will buy it.

Concho Bill
 
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My first center fire rifle to own and reload for was a Savage 340 in 222 Remington. Since then I have had other 222's and have loved them all. What a great cartridge!!!

My "go to" load was 19.5 of H4198 and a Sierra 52 gr MatchKing. Also the Sierra Blitz 50 grain bullet is "the" bullet I have used for critters due to its thin jacket precluding most ricochets. You will love the 222 Remington. It has a wonderful history of excellent accuracy.

George
 
Thank you all for the advice and encouragement. There is no function with my right hand or arm that is of any use with firearms. I shoot left handed by necessity and shooting with a right handed bolt, while possible, is very awkward for me. I cannot hold up a rifle, while shooting and must support the rifle with either a bipod or a front rest. On Rimfire Central, I am known as "onearm". While that is a bit of exaggeration, for the purpose of shooting, I essentially have only one arm. Unfortunately for me, it is the left arm that works properly.
I have an excellent front rest set up. It is a Shadetree Engineering top on a Hart base. I use it with a Protektor rear bag for most shooting and all point shooting. Sometimes, just for a change I use a Harris bipod with my varmint rifles. I also have a Hart Varmint top that I use when group shooting.
I am not really interested in 223. Because I hand load, I can keep the expense of other centerfire cartridges reasonable. I have been hand loading for my 220 Swift for quite a while and can get decent results for about 30 cents a round and excellent results for 43 cents a round.
If I could find a decent used left handed rifle in 222, I would buy it. The stock is not really important as I would either modify it for benchrest shooting or buy a benchrest stock for it anyhow. I have a CZ that I use for light sporter 22 LR shooting. Don Stith made a great benchrest stock for it out of sassafras and redwood. I would do something like that for any used gun.
 
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i have three .222s; including one sako. they shoot real good. they all have factory barrels. if a i rebarreled one of the remingtons i would have a real shooter though. the 6ppc is better though for benchrest. i would rather have a 6ppc than the 222s.
 
roninflag said:
i have three .222s; including one sako. they shoot real good. they all have factory barrels. if a i rebarreled one of the remingtons i would have a real shooter though. the 6ppc is better though for benchrest. i would rather have a 6ppc than the 222s.
Click to expand...

If you wish to sell one of your 222s and it is ambidextrous or left handed, let me know.
 
As most folks who have read my posts know that I am an avid Cooper fan, but one thing you may want to consider is that the Cooper is a 3-lug action - this gives a slightly heavier bolt lift than a 2-lug action. It is normally not a problem but with your limitations it is something that you may want to consider before you purchase a rifle. If you have a chance to try a Cooper bolt lift you will notice that it does require a bit more "oomph" to raise the bolt on them, this is not a Cooper design flaw but rather is something that you will encounter with any 3-lug action.

drover
 
Any Experience with the 222 Remington?

Boy does that make me feel old. The 222 was the thing back when. I've had a pretty big pile of them, 2 Rem 40Xs, a Shilen DGA and others. Have a dandy right now, but don't shoot it much. For a deadly fun gun, it is hard to beat.

By all means have a nice one built and enjoy it.

Jim
 
The 222 would make an excellent choice. I've owned 3 over the past 25 years and all were capable of sub 1/2" 5 shot groups under ideal conditions. Currently I have only one, a heavy barreled Rem 700 BDL with a Unertl 15X Varmint scope which I use primarily for varmint hunting, and out to 200 yds or so, is deadly.

Just curious, but why do you want to stay clear of the 22 PPC? From an accuracy standpoint it has proved over the past 30 years to be slightly superior to the 222, and can be loaded to near 22-250 velocities for hunting purposes, giving it a 75 to 100 yd effective range advantage over the 222. Also, if you find the need to reload while at the range, no press is required, lightening the "load" of reloading equipment considerably.

If you plan to shoot a good number of rounds, I would not recommend the 220 Swift. It will of course produce more velocity and range than any of the .224s, it can also wash out a barrel in as few as 1000 rounds where as the 222 can sometimes maintain good accuracy for up to 10,000 rounds.

Even though I have a bias in favor of the PPC, the 222 chambered in a quality rifle will give you excellent performance, be it on paper or prairie dogs.

Ford42
 
I never had a "target" 222......................

but the nostalgia bug bit me pretty deep and hung on. When I was a teenager, a now long-gone neighborhood adult let me shoot his .222, it was a Marlin 322 heavy barrel(SAKO receiver), and I collected my first varmint with it. I still have MY first .222, a Savage-Anshutz M153, and five or six SAKOs, and a Marlin like my friend had, along with a single shot FN.

I never pick up a .222 rifle, case, or load a .222 cartridge without thinking fondly of him, and the times we had talking in the field, with the Marlin ready for duty.

I take it, from reading a couple of your previous posts that finances may be a consideration for you. So, working within some of the limitations of the design, why don't you rebarrel your Ruger #1?? You'd have to use the Ruger rings and place the scope within those requirements, but with the mild recoil, it shouldn't present a problem.

Economically, that may be your best result, as you're only paying for a barrel and installation, it will cut your search-time and get you a barrel that will allow you to shoot it THIS summer.

If you'll be doing ANY varmint shooting, I'd personally recommend the 1-12" twist, if you keep it strictly on the bench, looking for the last .001 of accuracy, go with the 14" twist. The 1-12" does perform a bit better on varmints, in MY experience.

Hope this helped. ;)
 
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A duece is probably my all time favorite cartridge. The first new gun I bought was a Sako Rhiimaki in .222.

FWIW Remington used to include a group with all new 40X's which showed which load was used. It was almost always 23-1/2 gr. of 4895. This is extremely accurate and safe. You can't get enough 4895 in the case to cause problems.

Dick
 
I have shot many in competition years ago. The 222 was the case to have. It was very hard to beat in competition.
Many Many shooters shot many a record group and agg with the duce. When starting in the game it was the Cartridge to have . Especially in a H/V rifle. 13.5 lbs is where most people started in our game. It was easy to tune and highly accurate.
The duce is a great case even today and the world record small group was shot with the 222. I Remember LOU CHURCH
He had only One arm as was a fiece competitor. Great guy who never gave up. One of the favorite koads was 20.5 gr of imr 4198 in a neck turned remington case and a remington 7 1/2 primer seeated to be jumping{off the lands}
Good luck and have fun '''''
 
Ford42 said:
ust curious, but why do you want to stay clear of the 22 PPC? From an accuracy standpoint it has proved over the past 30 years to be slightly superior to the 222, and can be loaded to near 22-250 velocities for hunting purposes, giving it a 75 to 100 yd effective range advantage over the 222. Also, if you find the need to reload while at the range, no press is required, lightening the "load" of reloading equipment considerably.

If you plan to shoot a good number of rounds, I would not recommend the 220 Swift. It will of course produce more velocity and range than any of the .224s, it can also wash out a barrel in as few as 1000 rounds where as the 222 can sometimes maintain good accuracy for up to 10,000 rounds.

Ford42
Click to expand...

There are several reasons why I chose the 222. High quality brass is readily available. The recoil is very mild. It gives excellent accuracy with relatively light loads. It has history. Not everyone has one.

As to the 220 Swift, if you load it up to it's maximum velocities, it is not good for barrel life. I load it up to the mid 3,000s and get excellent accuracy. After many hundreds of rounds, there is no evidence of excessive wear. In fact the rifle seems to be getting more accurate (or I am) as I continue shooting my favorite loads.
 
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