Thoughts on the .222 remington (not magnum)

[David LaPell]

I was looking around for a coyote gun the other day when I found a Savage bolt action in .222 Remington. I really have never dabbled with this one, has anyone else played around with it? Ammo seems pretty easy to get at every gun shop locally, and I imagine reloading cannot be too hard.

 

[kcwheel]

It's all good

David,
I have a Remington model 788 in 222 that I have used for near thirty years. Many others have come and gone, but it stuck. It is easy on brass and shooters, and has many prairie dogs to it's credit. Go for it!

 

[Engineer1911]

222 vs. 223 Remingtons

The 222 is about 200 fps slower than the 223. The prairie dogs I shot didn't know the difference. 223 brass can easily be reformed to 222.

I shot out a S&W 1500 in 222 after about 24# of AA2230 and then had it rebarreled to 223 Rem. For reloading & prairie dogs, a 223 is a better choice. Trimming 223 brass is .010' to .015" removal. 223 reformed to 222 is cutting .060" off the new neck if I remember correctly.

 

[H Richard]

I have and have loaded for a .222 for quite a number of years. Mine is a Sporter weight Sako. First keep in mind that for many years .222 was the Bench Rest shooters choice. That's enough said about accuracy. I shoot a 52 Gr. Speer JHP and it chrono's at 3150. I shot a less than 1/2" group as recently as last fall at 100 yds, and this gun has many thousands of rounds through it. It has taken numerous Prairie Dogs, some out past 300 yds, although I usually reserve it to 250 yds and closer. It is easy to load, and particularly likes 4198 powder and Fed 205m primers. It's one of my favorite's.

 

[JayDubya]

This is a memory of four decades ago, when I handloaded that wonderful cartridge for years with Sierra 52 gr hollow points in front of xxxx grains of 4198. Individually fed into a Sako heavy barrel rifle with an 8x scope on sandbags, I routinely grouped five rounds within an inch at 100 yards, edge to edge. On varmints it was -- explosive. I would not have used that particular bullet on coyotes, but there are plenty more that will do the job. The casings were practically immortal.

As you may gather, I kinda like the .222 Remington.

Cordially, Jack

 

[true fire]

mine hits the little orange 1 inch dots at a100 yards every time from a solid rest also a easy round to reload

 

[Joni_Lynn]

I've had rifles in both 222 and 223 and the 222 rifles were easier to get outstanding accuracy from than the 223. After shooting the 222 the 223 guns were somewhat disappointing.
The only bad thing about it is keeping 222 and 223 brass apart, they look very alike. The little tiny headstamp on them is hard to read sometimes.

 

[KSCowboy]

I think the 222 will do all you want for coyotes. I've shot many coyotes and bobcats with the 222 loaded with either 40 grain Ballistic Tips or 40 grain Berger Hollow Points. They'll do the job.

My usual go to coyote/bobcat gun is a 17/222 wildcat that pushes a 25 grain bullet to 4000 fps. This is an excellent cartridge as the little bullet enters and violently comes apart inside their lungs and they drop on the spot. Only a rare bad hit will result in one going a little ways or getting away but the same bad hit from a 30.06 does the same thing.

Good luck!

 

[jbcap]

Dave
My dad has a Rem model 721 in .222, it is a great rifle, very accurate and easy to reload, it likes the Sierra 52gr SBHP Matchkings. We have put some 1k rounds through it, alot of woodchucks and coyotes died as a result of this rifle. Higly recommend this caliber. I have numerous 223 rifles, none as accurate at the .222 rifle.
Joe

 

[79ipa]

hmmm

I have had two of these rifles and both of them would do half an inch at 100 yards or way better with at least a few loads. Hell my new one will do that for 5 shots with pr-vi partisan ammo which is twelve bucks a box. That being said if you don't reload then this caliber may not be the best for you do to the 20 bucks a box for ammo.

On the flip side I blew the bolt out of one of these running reduced loads when I accidentally double charged one of them. If someone has a bolt for a 222 223 or 222 magnum in a remington 788 I would like to buy it off of them.

 

[dick44]

Back in the 1970-1975 I had a rem 40x that would shoot 1/2 or better at 200yds off of a bench! I think I used 19 1/2 4198

dick44

 

[79ipa]

hmmm

I still don't think that there are any powders that are much better than imr 4198.

 

[whelenshooter]

I have rifles for both the .222 and the .223 and I love them both! My first .222 was a Remington 700 ADL. It was one of the last ADLs Remington made in .222. I still have it. It likes 50 grain bullets (particularly the old Nosler solid base "Expander") with Winchester 748 powder. After my Dad saw me bump off rockchucks at 250 yards with my Remington .222, he bought a Savage 340 in .222. His rifle wasn't fussy at all; he only paid $90.00 for it used, and it shoots any load you put in it into less than one inch at 100 yards! I inherited that rifle after my Dad died. It will stay in the family. I've never shot coyotes with the .222, but it should work fine with the right bullet. On rockchucks I noticed it was easy to hit chucks to fairly long range, but after about 250 yards it didn't kill very well with hits to the abdomen instead of the head or lungs. The only thing the .223 gives you over the .222 is about 25 yards of extra killing range, and the availability of gobs of brass. For some reason the SAAMI specifications call for 50,000 CUP for the .222, and 55,000 CUP for the .223. I don't really understand this, because the heads of the two cartridges are constructed about the same. I have no way of actually checking pressures in my handloads. I load for accuracy while watching for pressure signs, and haven't had much problem with either cartridge.

 

[WR Moore]

For some reason the SAAMI specifications call for 50,000 CUP for the .222, and 55,000 CUP for the .223. I don't really understand this, because the heads of the two cartridges are constructed about the same.

Whoever develops the cartridge tells SAAMI what the dimensions and pressures are. SAAMI just establishes the standard at that level. The .223 pressures were pretty much established by the specified performance levels of the 5.56 x 45 mm M193 ammo, which can require higher than 55K to meet velocity specifications.

The .222/.223 case may look the same, but you don't see the material specifications.

I've seen .222s that have been rechambered to .223 without setting the barrel back. Don't recommend it, but apparently with very careful work, it's possible. Setting the barrel back a thread and recutting the chamber is very possible if brass becomes an issue.

 

[oldguy66]

I need a question answered. Is there a difference between a .222 and a .222 SWIFT?

 

[Big Cholla]

oldguy66: Yes, big difference if you mean the "220 Swift". I don't know of and none of my books reference a "222 Swift". The .222 R brass is 1.700" long and the 220 Swift case is 2.205" long. The 220 Swift case was originated on 30-06 brass while the 222 R is a much smaller case. ...... Big Cholla

 

[Joe Kent]

My only thought on this revolves around the age of many of us and the length of time { decades} that we have owned and liked the 222. While it is a great round, I would not advise a person to buy one today if it was not already in their "system". The 223/556 is far more available and will only be more so. The 222Mag. is already dead and I fear the growth and popularity of the 222 has stopped. I won't go so far as to say it has died ,but if you watch the sales of rifles and loading equipment, the 222 is, I believe , pretty far down the list, much the same as another great round the Rem. 6MM. This opinion and a Dollar will get you coffee in some places.

 

[WR Moore]

oldguy66: The 220 Swift case was originated on 30-06 brass while the 222 R is a much smaller case. ...... Big Cholla

The parent case of the .220 Swift was the 6 mm Lee Navy round.

 

[TSQUARED]

I have loaded for two rifles in 222 Rem - a Remington 40X which would shoot slightly larger than 1/4 in. 100 yd. groups all day long and a pre-64 Winchester Model 70 converted from the original 22 Hornet by Griffin & Howe in the late 1950's. A very accurate varmit cartridge good out to 250 yards.
Both of my rifles provided excellent accuracy using IMR-4895.

 

[M29since14]

I know shooters who deliberately buy or build custom .222 rifles in preference to .223/5.56. If you do a lot of shooting, a .222 barrel will last longer, and it will not get as hot as quickly. Admittedly, this is a matter of degrees (no pun intended), not a black/white thing, but it can be significant.

Regarding your question about reloading, given a good rifle, it is almost hard to make a bad .222 round, though it can be done, especially with a bullet heavier than 55-grains. .222s usually have a slower twist rate, and so they're not a good choice for heavier bullets.

Cases do last quite a while, but like any centerfire rifle, accuracy does suffer once neck tension (fatigue) becomes a factor.