Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles .222 Newbie

Just bought my first triple deuce after nearly a decade of wanting one. So, doing a little research, sounds like bullets in the 50-55 grain area are in order. I will be mostly woodchuck/groundhog hunting with it. My rifle has a 14" twist. Any particular bullet suggestions? Was leaning towards the Hornady 50 spire point.

For powder I have a pound of H4895, everything else is slower. Anyone have luck with 4895, or do I need to go faster?

Any particular bullet/powder combo's that have worked well are mightily appreciated. Thanks in advance.

22.2gr of H322 and a 50gr SP from a 12 twist has kilt oodles of critters for me.



With that combo, you need to move this post to the medium sized game thread though...


what's your barrel length?

Old school. IMR 4198 and 50 Hornady SX or Sierra Blitz.

40 BT over H4198.

Barrel length is 22.5", its a Tikka Hunter.

Keep them coming guys, still working up a shopping list.

I have shot lots of H4895 in my .222.. When I purchase powder for my .222 I usually but 4198 either IMR or H.
The classic load for the .222 for chucks was 19.5 4198 and a 50 gr. Horn. SX. I have been shooting this load at p. dogs and gophers.. Works super.

Keep an eye on Nosler's Shooter's Pro Shop...

for 40 grain and 55 grain Varmaggedon Bullets...

The factory seconds can be pretty cheap and are as good of quality for blasting rodents etc as Ballistic Tips or V Maxes.

support H 322 or 4198 recommendations also.

Hornady says the 50 grain SX was made for the .222, Might have to give it a go-round.

Think I'll try the H4895 (most loads look compressed), if it doesnt work out, I'll get H322 or 4198, which ever one the LGS has. Crazy how much powder is these days.

Always been a sucker for the classic loads...if it aint broke...:)

TomM1: Welcome to the 222 Remington "Lovers Club"!
The 222 Remington is one of the most accurate, most useful, most barrel friendly, most easy to handload for, cartridges, EVER devised!
Period!
Its hard to find an in-accurate loading for this cartridge - believe me I know.
I have been handloading for Rifles in this caliber for going on 50 years now.
My 222's seem to prefer H 322 and H 4198 along with Federal 205 M (match) primers.
AND... the wonderful Sierra 50 grain Blitz (not the Blitz-Kings) seems to have been made exactly for the 222 Remington cartridge.
Best of luck with your 222.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I shoot a lot of the 50 gr SX at buck toothed varmints...I use IMR 4198 but I'll bet your 4895 can be made to work

Another really good bullet for little game is the Hornady Vmax...or Zombie max if you can get a deal on them...

I tried a bunch of different powders in a very accurate Sako L461 a year or two ago, including some newer ones. While just about everything shot well enough to kill small varmints, including old standbys like H4198 and H322, the real standouts with a wide variety of bullets were Accurate LT-30 and LT-32.

I also generally prefer 40-grain plastic-tips for varminting rather than any heavier bullets. The .222 isn't a real long-range cartridge in the first place, and out to 400 yards the 40's shoot considerably flatter and even drift slightly less in the wind. Flat trajectory isn't supposed to be as big a deal these days, what with laser rangefinders, but I find it still helps when shooting really small targets, especially on relatively flat ground where a leser may not get as precise a reading.

I have a friend that shot a lot of 4895 in his 222. The loads were pretty compressed but accuracy was great. not sure about the speeds.

My favorite load is 19.5 to 20 grains of h4198 with a 50 nosler bt or hornady vmax.

40 grain Ballistic Tip, 40 grain Sierra Blitzking of the poly tips. 45 Hornady Hornet for full leaded.

In my first 222 I used 24.5 grs I4895 and a 50 gr. Sierra; not the Blitz.

Rumor was that was the powder charge (not the bullet) Remington used for testing 40x's.

It was the most consistantly accurate load in that gun and clocked slightly above 3,000 fps.

H4895 worked pretty well too.

When using the 222 inside 300 yds. on varmints I use the 40 BK, Vmax or BT with 10x or LT32.

I'm on my fifth 222, actually a 222 Rimmed. I've always depended on 4198 as my go to powder in all of them. My 6mmx222 prefers H4895 and I need to try it in the 222R just to satisfy my curiosity.

For bullets I have used some home swaged 50 grain HP's for 20+ years now. I was given a set of swaging dies when an old friend passed and along with thousands of Eley copper 22 LR cases for jackets. There was also several thousand mixed brass cases as well and a core mould so I can load them for the rest of my life if I so chose.

The first bullet I tried in my first 222 was the Hornady 50 grain SX and until I started swaging my own it was my bullet of choice in my 222's. It made short work of varmints and a good heart/lung shot on coyotes was a dead dog.

The only .222 I've ever owned is a 788 like the one my uncle used to let me use many years ago. In my rifle, 50-grain V-Max and BTs seem to work really well with H322 and H4198. More recently I tried some LT-32 with the V-Max and it "blew away" everything else I've ever tried, but I'm talking about a 0.10" to 0.15" improvement on 5-shot groups at 100 yards. Unfortunately I have not had time to work more with the combination in quite some time due to my inability to resist the acquisition of more important rifles. I've also laid in a small stock of 40-grain V-Max to try out. Hope I can get around to it before the great dirt nap.

I too agree with the idea of 40 grn bullets.

My favorite is the .221, and your .222 is not a lot more powerful.

40 grn bullets seem to be the best.

LGS had Hornady 50 gr SP (not SX), so picked up a box along with some factory fodder to hold me over until my dies arrived. They did have some H322 on the shelf, so if the 4895 doesnt work out that will be next. With all the 40 grain tipped recommendations, I might try the 40 gr varmageddon's next.

Shot the factory stuff today, did ok. I like the mild report, should be the ticket for groundhogs on small farm lots.

Anyone have a good turkey load? Im guessing a mild load with a FMJ? What about using a medium game bullet like the 55 Gameking?

A mild load with that 50 grain Hornady SP should work good on turkeys...I used it in front of 19.0 gr IMR4198 for some fur and it did well not messing it up..


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