New 222 rifle options?

I’d be interested to hear from anyone who has owned / used one of these. I have a new .223 slot on my FAC and am just wondering…
I own one in .222, my first centre fire and it would be the last I'd part with. Lovely smooth micro action and if walnut and blued steel is your thing then there's plenty of it in abundance and no plastic whatsoever. It's as light and nimble as both my CZ 455 & 457's and accuracy wise with a simple 3-9x40 is;

PPU 3/4 MOA
S&B 7/8 MOA
Hornady Superformance Varmint 5/8 MOA

All 50 grain and I'm not the best shot.

Any information more specific you need, let me know.
 
I own one in .222, my first centre fire and it would be the last I'd part with. Lovely smooth micro action and if walnut and blued steel is your thing then there's plenty of it in abundance and no plastic whatsoever. It's as light and nimble as both my CZ 455 & 457's and accuracy wise with a simple 3-9x40 is;

PPU 3/4 MOA
S&B 7/8 MOA
Hornady Superformance Varmint 5/8 MOA

All 50 grain and I'm not the best shot.

Any information more specific you need, let me know.
Thank you very much. Good to hear and very helpful.
 
@Smellydog you really need look at something like a little Ruger No1, or even a Martini actioned rifle built in 222 or the 222r rimmed equivalent.

Failing that a little Sako vixen if you can find one.
 
Heym,
What is this “Little” Ruger # 1 you speak of? 😊
I think Ruger made a few and I think they have different action sizes.

I also remember looking at a very nice, scaled to size falling block rifle in 22 Hornet made by Dan’l Fraser when the were in Cromarty. Sweet little thing.

Sako have made actions scaled to size for the 222, certainly the old vixen, then the more recent 75 and 85. Not sure about the 90.

And of course CZ make a true scaled action for this little cartridge.

The Tikka T3x is available in 222, but I struggle to see the point of 222 in a 30-06 length action.

And there was a Heym SR40 that again was scaled to size, and more importantly was available in a left handed version.

 
Howa mini action in .222? This is my truck gun, the folding stock makes it very versatile inside the confines of a jimny, and the chassis makes it near recoiless. The mini action is slick and perfect for the.222
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0806.webp
    IMG_0806.webp
    140.1 KB · Views: 38
  • IMG_0808.webp
    IMG_0808.webp
    156 KB · Views: 38
Stick with the.222 they’re just so sweet and Accurate to shoot! I also use .22-250 But it really isn’t as nice too shoot as the 222 by a long way, I’m on my third one now 😊👍👍
 

Attachments

  • IMG_4213.webp
    IMG_4213.webp
    376.7 KB · Views: 36
  • IMG_8377.webp
    IMG_8377.webp
    292.2 KB · Views: 36
  • IMG_8376.webp
    IMG_8376.webp
    292.5 KB · Views: 36
I’d be interested to hear from anyone who has owned / used one of these. I have a new .223 slot on my FAC and am just wondering…
I have had one for a number of years now. When I got mine I didn't know of any other owners but over the years they have started showing up a little more. They are very well made, certainly better than most off the shelf rifles you see. They have cut rifled and hand lapped barrels which are not fussy on ammunition and extremely accurate and easy to clean. Being a switch barrel rifle (I don't use multiple barrels personally) means it is even easier to clean the chamber and race ways. The whole thing comes apart in a seconds via a torx driver and goes back together without any discernable loss of zero. I will check zero properly if the barrel has been removed and put back in as the zero can move about 1cm but if the action is just removed from the stock for drying/cleaning without the barrel being removed from the action, it suffer absolutely not loss of zero at all. No torque drivers or anything like that. Finger tight and then nip it up quarter of a turn.

The finish is very good, blueing deep and it is worth getting a grade 2 stock which seems to be the best bang for buck in terms of wood uplift for not much extra money. Diminishing returns thereafter as the cost gets mor extreme.

Although it is a nice rifle, mine is basically my walk about rifle used on rats up to muntjac in .222rem. Mine has had a coupla three thousand rounds through it and shows no signs of faults or issue. Accuracy begins to degrade around the 250-300 shot mark at which point I give it proper clean. It then needs just one single fouling shot to bring POI right back to POA again. Zero always falls south by an inch or so when accuracy begins to degrade. It is so consistent.

Trigger is good and crisp and the overall package is very light and easy to carry and shoot from sticks, bipod or off hand. I have now installed a spartan gunsmith adapter in mine as with all my rifles as I like the later Spartan TAC Bipod. They are glass bedded and although not the prettiest job inside the stock, you obviously do not see this until the rifle is broken down. It seems to help accuracy which is stellar. Another thing I like about these rifles (I also own a Classic) are the proprietary slide and lock mounts. They are steel and very well made. The screw quality is obvious and they cannot move. They are also designed to move back a touch in winter to shorten the LOP when you will be wearing more layers and therefore might suffer to much stretch to reach the trigger comfortably. It is just a plain but very well thought out and put together rifle.

These days I solely shoot 53gn Nosler Varmegeddons in mine and it is boringly accurate out to 250yds and in the right conditions or with the right wind calls, will happily shoot out to 350yds. I imagine the .223 will be good for another 30-50yds of range. They also produce barrels in common sense rifle twists for modern times. The .222 barrel for example is a 1 in 10 twist. I think the .223's can be had in 1 in 8. They will shoot a huge array of bullet weights.

Never heard anyone say a bad word about them although they are not exactly ten a penny. I know many people like their workhorse synth stocks but mine is treated well but also like a tool. It is put on the ground and used in all weathers and dried out (easily due to take down nature) when needed. Once a year i strip it down and sand the barrel channel and liberally treat via hand palm with boiled linseed oil. The stock just seems to get better over time.

I doubt you would be disappointed with its finish and performance. These are a few years old now but some pictures to convince you a little further

4AtJGyO.jpg

Fp5R8P3.jpg

qBl1H4w.jpg

eAocrla.jpg

H2RkUcm.jpg


And this is a 5 shot group during load development before the new brass was even fireformed and sized properly. It will shoot tiny little groups in the right hands/conditions.

RopkD1q.png
 
I have had one for a number of years now. When I got mine I didn't know of any other owners but over the years they have started showing up a little more. They are very well made, certainly better than most off the shelf rifles you see. They have cut rifled and hand lapped barrels which are not fussy on ammunition and extremely accurate and easy to clean. Being a switch barrel rifle (I don't use multiple barrels personally) means it is even easier to clean the chamber and race ways. The whole thing comes apart in a seconds via a torx driver and goes back together without any discernable loss of zero. I will check zero properly if the barrel has been removed and put back in as the zero can move about 1cm but if the action is just removed from the stock for drying/cleaning without the barrel being removed from the action, it suffer absolutely not loss of zero at all. No torque drivers or anything like that. Finger tight and then nip it up quarter of a turn.

The finish is very good, blueing deep and it is worth getting a grade 2 stock which seems to be the best bang for buck in terms of wood uplift for not much extra money. Diminishing returns thereafter as the cost gets mor extreme.

Although it is a nice rifle, mine is basically my walk about rifle used on rats up to muntjac in .222rem. Mine has had a coupla three thousand rounds through it and shows no signs of faults or issue. Accuracy begins to degrade around the 250-300 shot mark at which point I give it proper clean. It then needs just one single fouling shot to bring POI right back to POA again. Zero always falls south by an inch or so when accuracy begins to degrade. It is so consistent.

Trigger is good and crisp and the overall package is very light and easy to carry and shoot from sticks, bipod or off hand. I have now installed a spartan gunsmith adapter in mine as with all my rifles as I like the later Spartan TAC Bipod. They are glass bedded and although not the prettiest job inside the stock, you obviously do not see this until the rifle is broken down. It seems to help accuracy which is stellar. Another thing I like about these rifles (I also own a Classic) are the proprietary slide and lock mounts. They are steel and very well made. The screw quality is obvious and they cannot move. They are also designed to move back a touch in winter to shorten the LOP when you will be wearing more layers and therefore might suffer to much stretch to reach the trigger comfortably. It is just a plain but very well thought out and put together rifle.

These days I solely shoot 53gn Nosler Varmegeddons in mine and it is boringly accurate out to 250yds and in the right conditions or with the right wind calls, will happily shoot out to 350yds. I imagine the .223 will be good for another 30-50yds of range. They also produce barrels in common sense rifle twists for modern times. The .222 barrel for example is a 1 in 10 twist. I think the .223's can be had in 1 in 8. They will shoot a huge array of bullet weights.

Never heard anyone say a bad word about them although they are not exactly ten a penny. I know many people like their workhorse synth stocks but mine is treated well but also like a tool. It is put on the ground and used in all weathers and dried out (easily due to take down nature) when needed. Once a year i strip it down and sand the barrel channel and liberally treat via hand palm with boiled linseed oil. The stock just seems to get better over time.

I doubt you would be disappointed with its finish and performance. These are a few years old now but some pictures to convince you a little further

4AtJGyO.jpg

Fp5R8P3.jpg

qBl1H4w.jpg

eAocrla.jpg

H2RkUcm.jpg


And this is a 5 shot group during load development before the new brass was even fireformed and sized properly. It will shoot tiny little groups in the right hands/conditions.

RopkD1q.png
Thank you very much. Very helpful.
 
I’d be interested to hear from anyone who has owned / used one of these. I have a new .223 slot on my FAC and am just wondering…
I have a Legacy 222 lovely rifle light to carry but very accurate.Really chuffed with mine.I saw all the recommendations Cottis gave on his 222 and decided to get one.
 
I have a Legacy 222 lovely rifle light to carry but very accurate.Really chuffed with mine.I saw all the recommendations Cottis gave on his 222 and decided to get one.
Been speaking with SL as I want one, but only in 1:12 twist, limiting its use with deer legal non-toxic bullets severely. Trouble with faster twist .222’s is apparently that when you do load a light bullet, urn can shred the jacket and due to short shank not stabilise - shooting more like a shotgun than a rifle 😂

I wish more manufacturers would start opening their eyes to twist rate requirements for the 21st century, but I suppose nobody would buy the stock of barrels they have and it would possibly be a big write down
 
Been speaking with SL as I want one, but only in 1:12 twist, limiting its use with deer legal non-toxic bullets severely. Trouble with faster twist .222’s is apparently that when you do load a light bullet, urn can shred the jacket and due to short shank not stabilise - shooting more like a shotgun than a rifle 😂

I wish more manufacturers would start opening their eyes to twist rate requirements for the 21st century, but I suppose nobody would buy the stock of barrels they have and it would possibly be a big write down
Their Website has Legacy .222 Rem down as 1:10: Barrels | Schultz & Larsen
 
Back
Top