a wet eye for the 222

[tuckerdog]

After looking at several centerfire rifles I have noticed almost noone is offering the 222rem. Ruger has 1 in the light sporter. Iguess the used to be darling of benchrest shooters is now the forgoten stepchild.
Personaly it is my favorite 22 centerfire cartrige. Very accurate, easy to load well, easy on barrels, and a pound of powder goes a long way.
I guess tried and true don't beat glitz and press.
Old 788 rem. still knocks heck out of whistlepigs as far as I can see them and prints iddy biddy groups from a bench. also shoots cast darned good.

[Wally]

It is a shame, but I would guess the demand for a rifle in this caliber is very low...the .223 Remington is the "hot" caliber these days.

[357mags]

I'll take a 222rem in a 788 over ANYTHING made today!

[tomcat388th]

I have a model 722 that I bought used years ago the only bullet that I couldn't get to shoot well was the 40grain vmax. Everything else I've ran down it has been has been excellent. rel 7 powder and h322 pushing 50gvmax will shoot dime size groups.
J

[DHurtig]

I have a 788 in 222 that has taken badgers, fox and coyotes and has sent thousands of prairie dogs to varmint heaven. Always reloaded with what I could find on sale because it would put almost everything I fed it into an inch or less.

[tuckerdog]

I love mine, 22.5grn 3031 50grn sierra is super accurate. just fill up case seat and vavoom 22 heaven. not the fastest load in the book but the most accurate load I have found in this rifle. I have strayed and played with the faster super d duper 22's but always go back to my sweet heart.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

CZ offers several configurations of their 527 centerfires in 222R.

BvT

[runfiverun]

and they shoot dang well.
you can alway's have a 223 re-barreled to a 222.

[MT Gianni]

The military brass availability killed the 222 & it's bro the 222 Magnum.

[TCFAN]

I also have a 788 in 222 Remington.Like the others have said a very accurate rifle. Mine likes the plain old Hornady 50 gr. SX the best with IMR 4895 powder.Not the fastest load in town but very accurate.My 788 came from Wal-Mart many years ago,cost 89.00 new in the box.
Now days it get mostly the Lyman 225415 HP boolit pushed to 2500fps. with Win. 748 powder......Terry

[Jack Stanley]

Years ago when Kimber was just starting to build centerfire rifles they offered the cartridge in the bolt action model 84 . They even said they were going to make it in a left hand action so I waited .......... and waited ............................. and waited ..........

Finally I found a left hand 788 chambered in six millimeter Remington to hunt chucks with . Still don't have a .222 though .

Jack

[felix]

Mike Walker of Remington wanted a cartridge to better shoot 22s in BR competition. Better here was to make 3200-3300 fps using ANY DuPont powder between 4198 and 4895 inclusive using 50-53 grain condoms. The 22-250 was making good headway at the time and made its winning groups in the 3200 fps region. The objective was/is to make a more CONSISTENTLY accurate 22-250. ... felix

The 222 is STILL the most accurate cartridge to date. The winning groups, however, are made with heavier projectiles, and that is accomplished with the 243 diameter cartridges because recoil plays an important part in totalling all groups within a day's shoot. If recoil was not a factor, the 308 diameter guns would have remained in the group shooting events, and the 243 versions would not have come into being. ... felix

[paul h]

I'd thought the 6ppc had put the triple duce to pasture in the accuracy game in terms of consistantly lower ags.

The .223 has really taken the market in 22 centerfires, and yes it gives up a tad in accuracy over the 222 and gains just a smidge of speed.

[felix]

It did, Paul. 68 grainers beats 53 grainers all the heck in PRACTICE. Look at the percentage gain of weight (at the same velocity) in terms of atmosphere fighting ability. ... felix

[Pinsnscrews]

Just picked up a .222 Rem T/C Contender from the mid '80s. Barely shot, excellent condition, and because the shop had it almost a year, it was the same cost as just a receiver. Once I get the bore slugged, I plan on shooting Cast out of it for pig and coyote.

Right now, the factory loaded j-word stuff has a nice kick, even with the headspace needing to be adjusted, it still got decent (4 inch) 100 yard accuracy from a sand bag. Was very pleased and can't wait to see what I can really do with it down the road.

[Kraschenbirn]

There's an early M700 BDL in .222 coming up the 1st of December on an auction not too far away. Not much else on the sale bill that trips my trigger but that M700 caught my eye and, maybe, if it's really as good as it looks in the online catalogue and the bidding doesn't get too ridiculous....

Bill

[like it all]

My 788 in .222 is after all these years still my favorite all around varmint medicine. 53 gr sierra BT/HP over 25.5 grs of 748 stays within 1/2" at 3175. First center fire my daughter ever fired, and still her favorite 27 years later.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

The military brass availability killed the 222 & it's bro the 222 Magnum.

Actually, in my eastern states experience, military 5.56 brass with huge amounts available and often in the same lot, cheapness, and the reloaders ability to transform the brass to quality 222R for little more than the work involved, has made the 222 a great buy, especially considering 222s 52's @ 3150 as against the 223's 55 @ 3250.

BvT

[nanuk]

I've always wanted a 222Rem.

I'm thinking of reaming a Handi hornet to 222Rem, or one of them old Savage 219s.... or a 225Win and load it down to 222 specs...

[ColColt]

Glad to see I'm not the only .222 aficionado around here. I just recently bought two, a Remington 700 BDL and a Sako L461 Vixen with heavy barrel and beaver tail forend. So far I've just developed a good load for the Remington, 23.3 gr of IMR 4895 with the Sierra 52 gr HP...Bergers are next in that weight.

From a looks only standpoint and slick action the Sako gets the nod over the Remington but I've read many good things about the Remington 722 and may take a look at that model. I think I posted a few picks of this before but what the heck, everybody likes to see a good looking rifle. Notice the plum color of the 16x Leopold.




BTW-Savage also makes the model 25 in .222.

http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/25LVT