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?
Hold into the wind
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"!
Hold into the wind
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.
Hold into the wind
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.
Hold into the wind
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?
Hold into the wind
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