Home Forums Hunting & Shooting The Lefty Forum Why do I want a 222 ?

Silly me. I mostly predator hunt for fur and my biggest "want to " is a wolf which I have within walking distance of my place. Sometimes I pack my 243 which I think is good wolf medicine but hard on coyotes. My thoughts are now to load heavier bullets in my RA 223 and go that route. I am still hooked on the deuce ,I suppose a excuse would be something for gophers and fox and east shot coyotes !My luck would be packing the deuce and would get a marginal shot on the wolf . Verns

The .222 is awesome.. I have two.. Have used it since the 60's.. Probably wouldn't have a .223 now, but my pal gave me 500 Trimmed ! cases to get me into the .223.. Like it, but the .222 rules..

Wyo. Are they LH ?

No, mine are an old 700, and a Sako a friend offered to me several years before his death.. An excellent turkey rifle..

The 222 is cool, that's maybe why you want one. I feel the same about it and hope to find a lefty friendly one one day.

Oh and welcome to the forum......

Typical twist on a .222 is 1:14 which is great for a 50-55 gr bullet but probably problematic for heavier bullets. If you have a .223 with 1:8 or 1:9 twist you can go heavier. I've owned a .222 since 1960 and love the cartridge but for versatility (you can load the .223 to match .222 performance) and your purposes, I'd stick with the .223 or look at other bullet options like Barnes copper bullets for your .243.

Thanks to all for your opinions and experiences ! I do think I will cobble one together from a 600 Rem action with a 6MM barrel. The bolt is missing and I think if I get a new bolt for it with the 222 size head and a new barrel in 222 I will be in business. This will not be cheap but I will be able to use parts of a rifle that has great sentimental value . Thanks Verns

There's a 600 barreled action in .222 for sale on GB. Might be a better option than trying to find a bolt cause it should already have the correct headspacing.

EuroOptic.com has Tikka T3s on sale in 222 LH as well may want to look.

verns,

I'd look seriously at that Tikka. You'll never put one together for that price.

I've had 5 222's over the years and killed a lot of coyotes with them. I never found it lacking. No, it's not an ultra long range rifle but the greatest majority of called coyotes are killed well under 200yards.

Plus, it's what the cool guys use.

Mart

I have been drooling over the ones on EurOptic for a week !I have a Tikka 595 LH in 223 that I really love BUT it is like carrying a planet ! HEAVY.I might forget my remake of the family Rem 600 and go with the new Tikka. Thank you folks for being so helpful. Tally Ho Verns

I love the 222 and have two I built and barreled myself, both are Left Hand

The .222 has cool mojo the .223 will never have.

Only because you haven't shot with a .204

I really hesitate to spend money on a rifle that I feel a bit under gunned carring. Our wolf season runs from Sept 15 to Mar 15 and one of these days I'm going to get lucky. Sure a broadside wolf at 100 yds standing still for a minute is going to be on my stretcher however you guys know the many variables that happen. I know of a person that took 3 good shots in one with a 204 to kill it.That duce would be fun on summer gophers in my horse pasture !Bea 175 is that a Rem action . Sweet lookig rifles Verns

I'll shoot your wolves with the .222 all day long.

Could you hit and kill one running at 200 yds maybe at a quartering away angle with a few trees here and there ?Thats the kind of shot in the real world you are apt to get.I might get lucky and get some lead in him with a 222 but I doubt he would get to stretcher.I'm just not that good of a shot.

Making this shot will have nothing at all to do with the caliber. Both shoot the same. If well hit, either will kill the wolf well. If not, not.

And no, I could not hit a running wolf at 200 with either.