.222 or .22-250?

[User00036]

Don't want to get Off thread here, I'll just end by saying, I had to buy NV & Thermal because we just weren't seeing any foxes. Wiped out my foxes now, but when the corn is down, those foxes haven't seen a lamp for months, its a fast & efficient way, & a great benchrest on the truck, enabling me to shoot much further & at higher magnification than NV. Biggest problem with a lamp is it is a 3 man job, you need a good driver, a good lampman, & good communication, radio mike & earpiece. Nv has enabled me to walk solo, quietly & invisibly. I can cover 400 acres with a truck, in the time it takes me to walk three fields. Apologies to the OP, if this is ott, I will delete it. Back on subject, if I was shooting from the truck I would quite possibly want a 22-250, but walking around & stalking, .222 does everything I need. ......Phew!

 

[6pt-sika]

same here:
Ruger N°1 with heavy varmint barrel
Nice consistent grouping.
Used ammo:

1. PPU (Partizan),
2. PMC < Korea,
3. Hornady V-max ( expensive!)
4. and the best: old Remington Express packed by 40 i.o. 20.

All 55 grains. ( most replies here mention lighter bullits)

What .222 concerns: availability is rapidly decreasing due to succes of .223. My pall who grabbed a CZ Stützen in .222 complains now that he pays more for .222 than 22-250 which is also not cheap.
Recoil? I don't mind 22-250. Probably less than .222 but acceptable.
Precision: some older bench rest guys still hang on their .222 and still get nice results against the newer specific bench rest cartridges. And nobody does real BR in 22-250 I suppose. Or?
Strange: Sabatti sells/sold some specific models in .308 and .222, but not in .223. I have missed my chance to pick up one in .222 for 60% new price with 20 shots fired.

I have and shoot a factory bench gun in PPC but I’ve also got 222’s . I’m not shooting in actual competition but rather just 100 and 200 yards at our club . In a perfect world I’d have four bench guns a 222 a 22 PPC a 6x47 REM (6mm-222 Rem Mag) and a 6mm PPC . All built on same actions with identical twist barrels and then compete them against each other . But I’m not dropping $8000 to build four semi decent bench guns . So I’ll make do with factory HB guns with added refinements . I still may buy older Remington 40X rifles in 222 and or 6x47 REM if I run across them at a reasonable cost .

 

[regi]

I have my eyes on an Remington XBR in .243 with synthetic stock for 400 € but no idea how far the (stainless ) barrel is worn out.

 

[Airmax]

Hi Wildfowler I am sure you will be happy with the 222. I find it more than enough for fox and small deer out to realistic ranges.

 

[Doric]

For printing groups out to 250 yards the 222 is first class and popping crows and bunnies is a very pleasant past time. My Tikka is mustard with 40 grn Vmax and I have only this week found that 55 nosler Varmagedon print even tighter clovers so looking forward to testing at longer ranges.
My same model 22-250 shot very slightly larger though still satisfying clusters. When foxing the larger chambering was the go to gun. Faster flatter and wind was less of an issue. The wind is seldom light and mild up here in north Aberdeenshire and any advantage has to be considered.
Not sure why dedicated foxers chose the smaller calibres when the 22-250 or 243 will perform so much beter with regards to the elements and shoot a bit flatter which is a great advantage at night especially when used with thermal or IR.

 

[Sonicdmb73]

Not sure why dedicated foxers chose the smaller calibres when the 22-250 or 243 will perform so much beter with regards to the elements and shoot a bit flatter which is a great advantage at night especially when used with thermal or IR.

I will answer that from my perspective.
For many years I ran two centre fires. A 222 and a 243. Prior to that it was just one the 243.
The 243 is an excellent foxing cartridge (as well as being very versatile) it was my go to for the windy nights and when I knew I was stretching the range.
However my 222 was my go to nine times or more out of ten. Why because it uses just over half the powder is slightly more accurate and it just does the job in a smaller lighter package.
The only thing that has relegated those two cartridges to second/third choice. Is the 20 Tac 22-250 performance with 222 ish powder charges and recoil (or rather the lack of it)
The 222 and 20 Tac are both small action rifles that are a joy to shoot and do so with almost effortless accuracy.
I am not knocking the 22-250 it is a very effective tool for the job. But it is not my choice

 

[Jimbob39]

Mate runs a 204 for foxing and I use .22-250. 250 stops anything instantly out to 200yds, 204 seems to Have a few flappers shall we say. I cannot shoot his rifle for toffee also!

 

[243 fallow]

Mate runs a 204 for foxing and I use .22-250. 250 stops anything instantly out to 200yds, 204 seems to Have a few flappers shall we say. I cannot shoot his rifle for toffee also!

To be fair I use a 222 as a dedicated NV gun, every fox ive shot with it drops on the spot, 50grn blitz kings, the 250 is overrated, people are too hung up on warp speed velocity instead of accuracy.

 

[25 Sharps]

Don't want to get Off thread here, I'll just end by saying, I had to buy NV & Thermal because we just weren't seeing any foxes. Wiped out my foxes now, but when the corn is down, those foxes haven't seen a lamp for months, its a fast & efficient way, & a great benchrest on the truck, enabling me to shoot much further & at higher magnification than NV. Biggest problem with a lamp is it is a 3 man job, you need a good driver, a good lampman, & good communication, radio mike & earpiece. Nv has enabled me to walk solo, quietly & invisibly. I can cover 400 acres with a truck, in the time it takes me to walk three fields. Apologies to the OP, if this is ott, I will delete it. Back on subject, if I was shooting from the truck I would quite possibly want a 22-250, but walking around & stalking, .222 does everything I need. ......Phew!

What NV are you using? With decent IR (Solaris) I can shoot at 16-20x mag, longest fox with NV off sticks is 280 yards so it wouldn’t be too limiting.

Agreed it takes longer but you will see foxes you just won’t see with the noise of a vehicle and disturbance of a lamp

 

[25 Sharps]

Mate runs a 204 for foxing and I use .22-250. 250 stops anything instantly out to 200yds, 204 seems to Have a few flappers shall we say. I cannot shoot his rifle for toffee also!

.223 with a 50 gr will do 250-300 quite happily, can’t imagine .222 will be any different

 

[sikastag270]

owned both 222 all day long.

 

[HandB]

My BSA Hunter in .222 shoots 55gr Sierra Gamekings with decent accuracy and power out to 600yds using a stiff load of N130. I want to try it at 900yds as I suspect it will do ok at that range but haven't got round to it yet.

 

[25 Sharps]

My BSA Hunter in .222 shoots 55gr Sierra Gamekings with decent accuracy and power out to 600yds using a stiff load of N130. I want to try it at 900yds as I suspect it will do ok at that range but haven't got round to it yet.

Suspect they will be subsonic and therefore less stable before then

 

[HandB]

Yes that's true for bullets that are not properly stabilised but it's not usually a problem for normal bullets. Details here:

 

[NP435]

Really?
Over a chronograph? What powder charge?

3500 with a 50grn is easy, RL15 and if memory serves 36.3 grns with CFE 223 even faster but check Hogdon data i forget atm. 22-250 used

 

[NP435]

Really?
Over a chronograph? What powder charge?

3500 with a 50grn is easy, RL15 and if memory serves 36.3 grns with CFE 223 even faster but check Hogdon data iforget atm.

 

[25 Sharps]

Yes that's true for bullets that are not properly stabilised but it's not usually a problem for normal bullets. Details here:

Working on an optimistic (based on viht’s data) of 3100 FPS at the muzzle you are going to be transonic by 650 yards and down to 892 FPS by 900 yards.

The game king has a short, stubby boat tail so is unlikely to cope with going transonic very well and then once subsonic more susceptible to Enviromental factors just as your video link says. Give a go and report back, could be wrong!

 

[25 Sharps]

A triple is a fantastic rabbit gun as well. A 250 is over the top for that, and expensive.
I used to head shoot bunnies with my triple out to 200 effortlessly. It would shoot sub-1/2" groups at 200 yards, and that was off a car bonnet with me on the end of the butt waving it about. Never tried it in a sled but I imagine it would have been driving tacks still at that range. And moderated it sounds no different to an HMR.
I found mine didn't like to be pushed though. I could easily get up to 3500 fps with 50 grain bullets but they were never accurate whatever the recipe. The sweet spot was always 3100. 3200 with 40 grn.

Never used mine on roe being in England but it bang-flopped foxes past 200 yards with total reliability so it should have no difficulty with roe at 150.

3500 with a 50 out of a .222 sounds dangerously over pressure! I take it you weren’t using published data (that generally tops out at around 3200)?

 

[25 Sharps]

3500 with a 50grn is easy, RL15 and if memory serves 36.3 grns with CFE 223 even faster but check Hogdon data iforget atm.

We’re talking .222 here not 22-250, 26.3 gr of cfe223 beings hodgdon’s max load for around 3260 FPS.

36.3 gr ain’t gonna fit

 

[25 Sharps]

To be honest I can't remember. It was a while ago. But I remember the figure and I remember that the primers were smacked as flat as pancakes.

I don't reload myself so a mate of mine helped me out making up a few loads. I know we started with Reloader 7 because I bought a bottle. Still got it gathering dust. But he had masses of powders and we tried several. He reckoned he could get it going faster than that but there was no point because the faster it went the worse the groups got. In fact, we struggled to improve on the factory Federal 40 grn V-Shoks I'd been using.
He'll have the loads in his notebook somewhere. The rifle was a BSA CF2 which has a really strong action. If I had the hot loads I probably wouldn't post them up because apart from them not being very good somebody might go and try them in a different rifle and not get away with it.

I don’t think your mate should be loading for himself let alone other people!