Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints tell me about the 222 remington magnum

know 0 about it

Had one in a Sako Vixen but that short action required bullets be smashed down so far I had the barrel set back and rechambered to .221 Fireball. Still own it 25 years later. Other than that, I had no problem with the cartridge, very effective.

An excellent little round.. For years it was my favorite for shooting jacks, p. dogs, gophers, crows, magpies, etc.. I also shot many chucks with it.. It is a bit slower than the .223, just loaded some .223's with 40 gr. bullets it took 23 gr. of H4198..
The .222 took 19.5 of that powder with a 50 gr.bullet.. That load is a classic one for the .222..
Where legal, it is an excellent turkey rifle.. I have killed a few coyotes with it, but when hunting them, I use a larger centerfire in .22 cal.. For Wis. I think it would be an excellent little round..

Brian: The 222 Remington Magnum, in my estimation, is one of the top 5 all around Varmint Hunting cartridges of ALL TIME!
And that's saying a lot.
I am down to just two Varmint Rifles in caliber 222 Remington Magnum nowadays - and that's a sad commentary on my foresight.
I have a Browning (made in Belgium on a Sako action) and a Sako L-46 heavy barrel both in 222 Remington Magnum.
LOVE those guns and the performance of the 222 Mag!
Why Remington ever quit offering the 222 Remington Magnum in their Rifles is simply beyond me?
I do have a lifetime supply of 222 Remington Magnum brass and for that I am thankful.
The ballistics, efficiency and accuracy of the 222 Remington Magnum are simply hard to beat especially when other things like barrel heat, barrel life and mild recoil are considered!
I think the good folks at Cooper Firearms still offers some of their Varmint type Rifles in 222 Remington Magnum - good for them!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

WyoCoyoteHunter: I think the 222 Remington Magnum is normally a bit FASTER than the 223 Remington?
Maybe you are thinking 222 Remington vs the 223 Remington?
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VarmintGuy

Yes, I miss read the topic.. One hears so little of the .222 mag.. I just skimmed it.. Sorry..

VG, you ever keep track of the rounds you fired out of your rifles?? I usually do.. My .222 has 8000 down the barrel, I figure, I should get another 4000 what do you think???

The Deuce Mag was the .223AI before there was a .223AI.

Doesn't the 222mag have more capacity than the 223 ai?

Brian, you might pm shrapnel, he had 4 or so Sako's in .222 mag.. As I remember he shot H335 and 40 gr. Vmax..

The 222 Magnum was submitted by Springfield in their service rifle, butthe Stoner AR-15 was adopted by the military along with a redesigned, shorter version (223) by Bob Hutton of Guns&Ammo.

The 222 Magnum was standardized by Remington in 1958 and the 223 was standardized by Remington in 1964 in rifles and ammo. Capacity for the 222 Magnum is about 5 percent more than the 223 or similar to the 22 PPC.
Sako, Steyr, Savage,TC, Voere and other continental firms chambered the cartridge besides Remington. 1-14 twists were generally standard.

The 222 Magnum will handle both 223 and 5.56 Nato loads in like chambered rifles, although its SAAMI max pressures are lower for its factory fodder in deference to the Savage and break top guns.
Remington, Sako and now Nosler make brass. Last I looked the Nosler brass was stocked by Grafs.

The 222 Mag will kick 40s to 3,900, 50s to 3,500 and 55s to 3,300.

69-77 gr bullets go from 2,900-3,100fps in 1-9 or 1-8 twisted rifles. Like someone stated, its basically a 223AI before the 223 AI.
I have seven rifles here in the safe so chambered, including two ARs, and its one of my favorites.

Good luck if your looking at getting one.

That reminds me of a Voere o/u 20 gauge 222 mag. That didn't work out well.

Hawk1, are you saying you shoot 223 out of your 222RM?

I've had a Sako L461 in 222RM for about 20 years and use it extensively for coyotes. Love the rifle and the cartridge. In loading for it, I use 223 info and work up from there.

WyoCoyoteHunter: I used to keep track of rounds down the barrel but I no longer do.
I have so many Rifles anymore that I simply spread around the shooting.
My second Rifle in 222 Remington (an early Remington 700 BDL Varmint Special) had over 4,000 rounds through it - and sadly some of those were "hot barrel" shots fired in the heat of battle with Prairie Dogs.
I traded it to a friend and he shot it MUCH more and still raved about its accuracy.
I do though keep close records of my brass and times reloaded.
I would not be surprised at all for you to get satisfactory accuracy for another 4,000 rounds with your 222!
No apologies needed - the 222 Remington Magnum is a scarce bird these days indeed.
Long live "the deuce"!
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VarmintGuy

Brian: IF... you are looking for a Rifle in 222 Remington Magnum there is a fellow from Hamilton, Montana that specializes in Remington 722's in caliber 222 Remington Magnum.
The last time I saw him at a gunshow he had 6 or 7 of these cool Rifles.
If interested I will get a phone number for you.
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VarmintGuy

No, Im saying the 222 Mag will handle LOADS found in 223 and 5.56 data. NOT the cartridges themselves.

Its basicslly what you're doing probably since many powders used today have little load data in the Mag Duece. Nosler and Berger is about it.

222 Rem mag......brass is usually scarce....

223 AI will do the same thing....

222 Rem mag is parent case to the 204 Ruger...

http://chuckhawks.com/204_ruger.htm

for your reading pleasure.....

http://www.chuckhawks.com/22_centerfire_cartridges.htm

And the 17 Remington I believe.

Bbassi: I think the 222 Remington Magnum is directly related to the 223 Remington - of which Hornady's Handbook Of Reloading Cartridges Volume II (1973) page 60 (17 Remington) says "the 17 Remington is based on the 223 Remington cartridge and is quite similar in design to the wildcat 17/223".
So maybe technically the 17 Remington IS related to the 222 Remington Magnum but more correctly "I" think its closer to the 223 Remington for parentage?
By the way this book also says the 17 Remington shoots a 25 grain projectile at 2,800 MILES per hour!
Puts that in perspective.
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VarmintGuy

Tikkanut: You are correct about the 222 Remington Magnum brass being scarce - but it IS long lived in normal handloads once you find some!
I know that for a fact.
By the way how much are say Redding dies for making the 223 Remington Ackley Improved cartridges?
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VarmintGuy
P.s.: Long live the 222 Remington family of cartridges including:
17 Remington Fireball
17 Remington
221 Remington Fireball
222 Remington Magnum
223 Remington
6x47

Sako & Herters along with Rem produced 222 Rem mag brass..

my 223 AI works well enough for my needs

no brass shortage.....

I've never found the brass hard to come by, even during the "shortages". If there ever was, one trip through a 222 Mag. FL die turns a 204 case into 222 Mag. sized to a crush fit, if desired.
Its about as complicated as the 223 AI...
Having 7 rifles here so chambered, I've probably got 4,500 or more pieces of brass. I just bought 500 pcs. of Noslers before the election.

I'll bet a sugar cookie Starline will be making some in the future; seeing what they make for pistol brass and are making 358 Win. cases.

For a guy looking at a used rifle or building one, most weekend warriors could buy 500 and be set for a while.

Here's some:
https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/72473/inline/1

The 17 Remingtom is based off the 223 Remington. Its shorter than the 222 Mag and necking down/shoulder push gives it slightly longer length than the 223.

Some case schematics and rough capacities:

HawkI,

Is the converting an AR as simple as reaming an existing .223/5.56 chamber with a .222RM reamer? Looks like the Magnum at max OAL will easily fit into ASC magazines.

Thats pretty much what I did; with a headspace check of course.

Hmmmmm.

Thanks.

We shot many of them plus the cousin the 6x47 Remington. You can not stand on the loads very hard because remington brass is soft and you will loose your primer pockets.

I had Hugh Hendrickson make me a reamer for the 222 Mag to run the 50's, and had a throater for heavier bullets. Brass would not last. I was shooting the 50's at 3700, where the accuracy node was, lost primer pockets in two firings, and I did have the reamer Ground to .002 over web dimensions of the Rem brass.

Contrary to most, I would run the 223 AI, use new LC brass, and never run back for colony varmints.

For giggles and grins, a 22-204 Ruger may be a better way to go, if you have found the hornady brass to be tougher than Remington, if not forget that one also...single load of course.

The 223 AI is one heck of a case to beat, good, tough brass available from LC and Lapua.

I had Sako 222 Mags for a while, short magazines would never allow you to seat the bullets to the lands, and Rem 40x's in 222 Mag. On one p. dog trip, I put 2000 rem cases down a p. dog hole due to enlarged primer pockets, popped 11 primers in a 1000 rounds, had to have my bolt tig welded.

Would be interesting to see Hawk's results.

OAL is going to be a bitch to deal with, but I don't mind single feeding. The 73 and 75g Hornady's are where the money is.

I am all ears!

That right there is why I had my barrel set back and rechambered to .221 Fireball. It really works great on the little Vixen action.

The ASC magazine doesnt do squat for the 223 in regards to the 75AMax, so it won't make the grade with 73/75 ELDs either. The AR action made the .223/55 tangent ogive a limited vehicle, for starters...the 222 Magnum (or 223 AI) wont fare any better in it. But niether does worse. Both have more boiler.

Same for the Vixen; its made for the 222, especially true if tipped bullets are used. 223s and 222 Mags with tipped bullets are a compromise if one uses the magazine.

My "fireform" and utility load for AR 222 Magnums eat 75gr. Hornady match bullets with a std. 222 Mag chamber...no special throating and 24.5 grs AR Comp seated out to feed without a hiccup.
Brass is either Nosler, R-P, or Herters. Never clocked em, but they hang on the 400 and 450 targets pretty much like the bolt guns do with my 15/Amax load for turret clicks.

Regarding R-P brass; Ive had lots that suck and lots that wear like iron. If using R-P brass, my best suggestion is to find some in the blue-green or all red boxes. Not Rem-UMC headstamp, but the ones right after..they will tolerate about anything and runout is nil. I'll get a pic up later to ID them if interested..
The same afflictions in R-P 221, 222 and 223 are about the same. Ive had great Remington brass in 257 and 308 too, only to have another lot suck ass in either lasting forever or having piss poor runout. Good luck with Remington, it can be a crapshoot.

I generally run a 50gr. BlitzKing with 27.5 grs in a 20" Sako for 3,500-3,545 fps in the old school Remington cases.
My ledger also shows 27grs. BMark with 10 shot avg. of 3,345 with a 53gr. MatchKing and Herter cases.
Another Sako 24" shows 27 grs. BMark for 3,550 with the 50 BlitzKing. I used gun/load this last year for PDs..
Another 24" Sako gets the 53 MK and 27 grs. BMark for 3,500 in Herter cases. I dont know how well any of the cases would hold up to 3,700 with a 50gr. Id be looking at a powder that could do so that fit in the case and keep pressures down. Dont use moly; that might get one some leeway. Id be hesitant even if it were a 5.7x50 rimless...


Mostly I use Rem. 700s and 75 Amaxes in 24"ish 1-8/1-9 twist tubes. One is a std. throat, the other seats out to fit the AMax throat.
The loads are 26.5-27 grs. Re15 and clock 3,050 to 3,100 fps.. Both use Finnish Herter cases Ive been gunning for five years now with no issues.

If one needs more brass options, Ive also used Norma, Nosler, Winchester and Hornady 204 brass to make 222 Magnums when I first wanted runout precision during my first foray into R-P brass crapshooting.

Hope this helps.

Keith: I have been shooting various brands and styles of 222 Remington Magnums for going on fifty years now and I have NEVER "lost a primer pocket" in any of my Remington manufactured brass!
In fact thats all I have ever used in any of my 222 Remington Magnums (and in my factory Remington 40XB-BRKS in caliber 6x47!).
Me thinks YOU are/were hotrodding or somehow harming your Remington brass during preparation/reloading?
I simply can not imagine any other reason.
In fact some years ago I ordered 1,000 pieces of Remington 222 Remington Magnum brass - I have as yet to have to delve into it - the brass "I" have been using seems to last forever?
My Browning "High Power" bolt action Rifle in 222 Remington Magnum for instance has a somewhat small (for me!) amount of Remington 222 Remington Magnum brass dedicated to it (60 pieces) - I am sure I have loaded it (carefully and with prudence!) at least 8 times apiece and no problems what so ever to date.
I am sad that you harmed your Rifle so seriously with your handloads but the only explanation I can envision is handloader hot-rodding (over max loads for your Rifle)?
Due to my "lifetime supply" of Remington 222 Remington Magnum brass on hand I have been secretly contemplating buying one last Varmint Rifle in caliber 222 Remington Magnum and that one last Rifle would be made by the fine folks over at Cooper Arms.
I have complete confidence in the Remington 222 Remington Magnum brass I would use in this expensive Rifle.
Quote from Ken Waters (from Ken Waters Pet Loads page 35) "As good as the 222 Remington and the 223 Remington undeniably are, it is the personal opinion of this writer that the 222 Remington Magnum is BETTER than either of them! And I don't say this out of narrow prejudice, I assure you of that."
And that is just the beginning of Mr. Waters praise for the 222 Remington Magnum.
I will include ANOTHER quote from Mr. Waters Pet Handloads page 37 this time: "Maximum loads in this cartridge often give accuracy equal to that of lighter loads - a not very common circumstance - but if the shooter/handloader will be content with a 10 percent reduction in powder charge (costing no more than a 5% loss in velocity), he can make his cases last for what seems an eternity"!
Long live the 222 Remington Magnum.
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VarmintGuy

223 AI = the 222 Mag, but you can make 223 AI out of fine LC brass, IMI, and Lapua brass.

Remington 222 mag cases have weak case heads, I have owned many.

Used a 22-204 for quite a few SD Prairie dog trips. Remington 204 brass and 75 grain Amax bullets at 3050 FPS. Never ever had a loose primer pocket. Decided it needed a longer neck and shortened the shoulder to 222 length and ran the 222 reamer in to headspace. Still using the original Remington brass. Think this called the 222 1/2. Dale

Re: Vixens - is it not generous with a straight deuce? I ran 40 vmax at 3700+ w Lil Gun in a 700. Seems the COL would be fine in a L-461with 40-50's - partner ran 52's in his A-1