Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Remington 722 .222

Fell into a Remington 722 in .222 rem in a trade. Not really looking to start loading for another caliber and looking at teaming to .223 rem. With the 1-12 twist it could be ok with light prairie dog bullets.

Is it worth doing this or do I sell and just buy a .223. Have not followed the value on these and not sure how desirable these are. In good shape that has been glass bedded.

Thoughts?

Trade/sale it for what you want, I can't imagine you would have a hard time getting rid of a .222 rifle...seems like there is always a demand for the old Triple Deuce. That being said, who knows how accurate the rifle may be (some of those can really surprise you). But, I understand not wanting to go through the hassle of not only finding brass, but loading for a completely different cartridge.

I'd throw it out for sale or trade, and see what comes back. I would guess it would bring at least $600, maybe more (depending on the condition).

It is worth trying a 222 Rem even though is arguably the same as a 223. I wouldn’t ream out that rifle. Condition dependent it is desirable/collectable. 26” barrel and a fully adjustable trigger that is incredible.
Hand loaded 40 gr bullets will achieve 3700 fps. I’d reconsider a set of dies and a batch of brass, otherwise sell it. It will go quick.

What he said. That rifle has a 1 in 14 twist so bullets need to usually be 50 gr or under.If you shoot the ,222 very much at all, you'll probably never get rid of it.

The 222 will have a 1-14” twist in the Remington 722.

Please don't ream that out. I'm betting it shoots like dad's, which has been a winner at turkey shoots eons ago and still doesn't miss. Not pretty until you look at the target, and then it convinces you to keep a hold of it.

Very true!

Don't molest that beautiful old girl. Betting she will make you fall in love with her just using factory ammo. Feed her handloads that she likes and she will really shine.

I've got 2 of these and both are very accurate. Even with the 14 twist they will shoot the Sierra 63 gr. SMP very well with a stout charge of IMR 4895.
I wouldn't get rid of it until you shot it some!

I had two. Still have one. They bring more $’s than the 223.
Use it as is or sell to someone who would appreciate it

I had a 788 in 222 in the early 70's. loved shooting it and most accurate rifle I've ever owned!

A 722 in .222 never sits on a shelf long. Dont ruin a great old gun. Sell it and buy a new 223

I have a 722 in a 222 along with two 223’s.
The 223’s (a Ruger and a 788) will go bye-bye long before the 722.
Best group I ever shot was with that 722.
And then there’s just something about the 222 Remington; it’s just a cool cartridge.

My first .222 was a 722 purchased years ago. I still have it along with a couple of older Sako .222s. All these guns are quite accurate, but the Remington remains the most accurate of the three. I use the Sierra 50 grain Blitz and Reloder 7.

I did what you are considering 25 years ago. I had a Rem 722 in 222 Rem. I decided to rechamber it to 223 Rem for prairie dogging. Brassman Brass was selling 223 same head stamp cases at a very favorable price. Don't remember how many I bought, but it was a 5 gallon bucket full of 1x fired brass. The price difference between the 223 Rem brass vs a similar quantity of 222 Rem brass more than paid for the rechambering job by at least 2x.

When I picked up the rechambered Rem 722 from the gunsmith, I looked at the 223 Rem case that was used to test fire the gun ( in a little baggie tied to the trigger). The neck had a step to it, above the shoulder. I pointed this out to the gunsmith. Turned out the 223 Rem reamer's neck had a smaller neck diameter than the original 222 Rem chambered neck. I said, "This isn't going to work. You need to set the barrel back a case neck length to create a uniform neck."

The gunsmith looked at it and called the junior gunsmith to the counter (who did the rechamber job). The senior gunsmith pointed out the stepped neck to the young gunsmith. The senior gunsmith apologized, and said he will take care of it by setting back the barrel, then rechambering it again, no charge.

He did, and it worked out fine, and shot great (1-14 twist). If you do rechamber from 222 Rem to 223 Rem, make sure you ask for the barrel to be set back enough to remove the factory neck.

Your rifle is glass bedded. That can hurt the "collector status". Do what you want with it and enjoy it, there is no wrong answer.

The "rest of the of the story" was that I had an emergency appendectomy done the day before I was to fly out to South Dakota for the long-planned prairie dog shoot with my longtime woodchuck hunting buddy. Never went prairie dogging. Go figure. Sold the gun and the 223 Rem brass years afterwards.

The 222 Duece is a very very special cartridge that was for years king of the benchrest crowd and held in high esteem in Europe where many of their finest rifles were always chambered for it. Remington’s head guru Mike Walker developed it and if you look closely it is a miniature 30-06 dimensionally. This cartridge has a well earned reputation for superb accuracy, long brass life and easy to load. Swapping a 222 chamber for the 223 is a step backwards in my opinion. The 222 Mag was the logical improvement in velocity and like its little Brother was very accurate. No longer popular and on the verge of being obsolete it nevertheless is a great performer and should have been the military’s choice for their new AR platforms but for reasons that I can’t fathom the 223 spelled the end of the Duece Mag.

Rick

Came across a couple 722’s in 222 and 300 Savage locally for $500 each. Which cartridge is more desirable?

Not sure but that’s a darned great price for either if they aren’t beat to a pulp.

I've never seen a 722 in 222 that didn't have a barrel boss for the rear sight dovetail. If the barrel is set back, the stock will need to be inletted to account of the change in spacing for the barrel boss. I'd leave it alone.

40 years ago I could buy 722s in 222 and 300 SAV for under $150. A lot of people wanted carbines, so I filed that void and made some pocket money by cutting and recrowning the barrels at 20".

Friend of mine has a savage 24 in 222

The 722's in .222 have a 1in14 twist.

About the last several years there was no barrel boss. They had the exact same barrel as the early 700's. I have never seen a late 722 without a barrel boss as was mentioned except .222, .222Mag, and the .243. I believe the 721's had several calibers before the 700's came out without the boss also. I am almost sure the .270 and .264Mag was without the boss in the late 50's and early 60's. I think that you could also include the .300 Savage and possibly several other calibers. My first 722 .222 Rem. was when I was 14 years old.

Remington dropped the barrel boss on the 721 and 722 when they introduced the 725 in 1958. Also, the barrels on the later 222 and 222 Magnum were shortened from 26" to 24".

I have never seen a 722 in 257 Roberts or 300 SAV that didn't come from the factory with the barrel boss 24" barrel. Once the 243 and 308 were introduced, sales of 722s in 257 and 300 dropped off and although cataloged as a regular production item few were actually made. 722s in 244 had 2 different barrel styles, initially with the barrel boss and later with a heavier contour barrel without the barrel boss. The later barrel had a larger contour, somewhere between a magnum sporter and light varmint, and were 24". IIRC, John Lacy's book has a table of 721s and 722s by cartridge, style, year of manufacture, and the number made.

Remington also muddied the water with the 725s in 244, as some have the standard 244 1-12" ROT while others have the standard 243 1-10" ROT despite being cataloged as having a 1-12" ROT.

I agree with the guys about not molesting it, that would truly be a shame. You won't regret shooting this one for a while!

I have a 722 that my Dad gave me when I was in high school and a 40X that are chambered in 222. Won't sell either one of them.

Matter of fact, I keep watching for an older factory 700 varmint barrel 222...

And now for the "rest of the story" on my Rem 722 222 Rem.

It was rebarreled with a Rem 40x 222 Rem barrel. The stock's barrel channel was opened up. I had the 222 Rem 40x barrel was rechambered to 223 Rem. No barrel boss to deal with.

Hey, I hear the 722 in 222 has a 1: 14 twist😆

I have only seen one 722 with out the barrel boss. It was a 308 and in like new condition. I ended up passing on it because I didn’t know they existed. I passed and a friend picked it up and bought it.
So I asked him what the low down was. I think he was praying I would pass
I wouldn’t rechamber the 222 to 223

I have a 722, 222 Magnum in what some call a “transition model” without a sight boss. The sights are the same version as used on the 725 and early 700s.

223's are good and a dime a dozen for availbilty everywhere. 222 not so why be a dumb ass devaluating it? Sell it at a premium go pickup a higher grade tight twist 223. Duh simple. Mb

I have a 722 in .222 that I bought off a fella here on the campfire. It shoots tiny groups with just about any load or powder!

Don't waste your money on a re-chambering. Just buy a set of .222 dies & run your .223 cases through & trim for all the brass you'll need. I bought a set of used RCBS .222 dies for $20.

Later Model 722 .222 rifles had a 24" barrel and no sight boss.

I have one and it is nice ......

Please don’t cobble that old classic up by converting it to 223. The 222 is a terrific cartridge in its own right and not far behind the 223 ballistically . I have one of the early one 26” barrel and it shoots 50 grainers beautifully.