Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Couple of 222 questions

Have a couple pounds of it and was wanting to try it in my 222 . Anyone have load data for it ? Tried search on the net , but didn't have much luck .
Question #2 Sierra manual says 24.6 IMR 4895 is max load . 24.5 fills it to the brim . Is compressing powder that much ok ?
Thanks , Kenneth

Never used 4895 in my deuce but I have had compressed loads up to the rim. I find that if you pour the powder in the case slower a lot of times you have a little more room at the top of your case than you think. My 22 Hornet loads are right at the rim every time I seat a bullet.

Thanks , have loaded a lot of 30-06 and such calibers but not the small stuff and even the loads that stated compressed , weren't to the top . Was wanting to know if it was safe , thank you , Kenneth

I use 24 gr. of 4895 and it is a compressed load. I have been using it for years with 55 gr. Bullets, and have shot close to 3 dozen deer with it, between my boys and me. It shoots quite well.

Check the sticky for the 222 in the Varmint forum. There are many reloaders with suggestions and you may find that somebody else has developed a load that you like.

Some powders need a little encouragement when loading. Try a drop tube approach, as in Black Powder Cartridge Rifle reloading. You also can use your vibratory cleaner to settle powder in each case. Fill the brass part way, then hold the cartridge in your fingers/thumb and rest the meaty part of your hand on the vibrating cleaner for maybe 10-20 seconds, then add more powder and repeat the vibrations. Careful as you get close to or into the neck, since you can get too much action (powder spillage). Other tools that buzz or vibrate can be used, like an engraving tool, but I usually have the cleaning unit running when I am reloading.

Compressing powder is fairly routine for some of the big commercial reloading outfits. They have access to non-canister powders and want to have the best reputation for velocity. I don't try for maximum fps in my 222, and figure that my 22-250 holds LOTS more of the coarse-grain powders if sheer speed is what I want. You may find that more case neck tension, or even a crimp, is necessary to keep bullets at the correct seating depth if you are shooting compressed loads from your rifle's magazine. Not a factor if you are loading single-shot style.

When you are loading close to the max it is very desirable to watch for little things, such as capacity of brand X brass vs. brand Y, and which primer is recommended. Using a chronograph is a good way to guide your load development.

And sometimes the powder you have in plentiful supply is simply not the best powder for that cartridge, which is an excuse to find a new rifle that will dote on that powder.

IMR 4895 is a suitable powder in the deuce, no doubt. It will work fine. Its not the first choice, but its a good one.

I had a Savage 112-JRS single shot 222 Rem rifle. Bought it new in 1979.

One of the most accurate loads for it was a 50 grain Sierra spitzer over a load of IMR 4895. I forget the exact load in grains, but the powder was up into the neck about 1/8” from the shoulder. Not really a compressed load, or maybe just barely. I do remember shooting a several 5-shot groups at 200 yards ( yep 200), and a US quarter would totally hide the group. No chrono, but guessing near 3000 FPS ( 2950?)-plenty fast enough for many 300 yard head shots on chucks.

It was a great woodchuck rifle. Had a Leupold 6x scope on it. I would definitely try IMR or Hodgdon 4895. Try loading to the base of the neck, and weigh that charge. If it is well below your max load, and I suspect it will be, increase the charge until it is about 1/8”up into the neck- and again weigh that charge, If equal or below the powder max, load up 10 rounds or so of each, and test fire. In all my 222 Remington rifles ( 6 total over the years), they all shot better with 50 grainers than 55 grain bullets. All were 1-14” twist barrels.

Good luck. Post your findings.

A deceased doctor friend of mine, went to Australia for a couple of years before starting college in the early 60s.

He was in OZ from 1958 to 1961 working on a Sheep Station in Western Australia...

All of the ranch hands, loaded their own ammunition... so Damon bought a Sako Forrester in 222...
as a lot of the other guys shot that caliber, particularly shooting a lot of Kangaroos, Goats and Camels...

Damon got adopted so to speak by an old Ozzie WW 1 Veteran, who also shot a 222...
He taught Damon to handload....he had a huge surplus canister of 4895, a couple hundred pounds as Damon said.

Damon said his method of 'charging a case' was to pour a pile of 4895 on the table and then scope his case
into the pile, after he primed it.... he would level it off from overflowing with a business card... or 3 x 5 card...
Then seat his bullet.....using the old Lee Die and Reloading kit.. where you deprime with a hammer and nail.

Of course, guess who was the best shot on the Sheep Station.. the old WW 1 vet..
Damon bought a Sako 222, because as you can guess, that is what the old Ozzie Veteran had...

Used that 222 on just about what everyone else was using a 303 on....

I was offered that 222 Sako when he passed in 2003.. but I just didn't have the heart to see it leave his family
even tho he and his wife never had children.

H322 !

yeah, I concur

that one in a 223 also is one of my more commonly used ones...

kinda works with bullet weights from 35 grain Lead Free ones..
to 80 grain match bullets...

good velocity, little bitty groups...close or WAAAAAY out there...

Always used IMR or H4198 in mine, 19.5 gr of either with a 50 or 55 grain SP make it a very accurate and adequate killer.

H335 is a good fit also but is often dirty.

I've had excellent results with that same charge of H4198, and also with 22.0 (I think) grains of H322 pushing 50-grain V-Max. I went looking for a spherical or other powders that meter through a measure, though...and ended up liking 21.0 grains of LT-32. Less velocity, but ragged hole 5-shot groups reliably when I do my part. The .222 is a real jewel.

I know people hate it because it costs a few dollars more a pound but in my 222's Vihta Vuori N130 gave the best accuracy and velocity with bullets from 40 to 50gr.
My pet load is 23gr with a 40gr Blitzking, 205 primer and Lapua brass

Winner winner chicken dinner!

19.5 gr IMR4198 and a basic 55 grain Hornady accounted for these...

Like ingwe, my first choice is 4198, but I have used much 4895 in my .222.. If you have't use it.. When it is gone give something else a try.. I am going to try and get something that meters a bit better when I restock..

I got my second 222, a custom barreled Sako Vixen, in the late 1980s. It had a tight neck chamber in a Hart stainless barrel. I took my copy of Ken Waters' Pet Loads and tried all his favorites. H322 shot the best, but velocities weren't as fast as some other powders, so I went to IMR 4198 and RL-7. Both of those powders gave me 3,250 fps with a 50 grain plastic point bullet. I used regular soft points at first, then switched to plastic point bullets when they became common. They killed woodchucks much more reliably. Recently I have switched to Vhitavuori N 130. 21.5 grains gives me the same 3,200+ fps and fine accuracy. For a while I used 24 grains of AA2200 with a 40 grain bullet. It was faster - about 3,500 fps - and very good and consistent accuracy. I bought 16 lbs of AA2200 and it took a while to use it up. I gave away quite a bit to friends. I tried IMR 4895 but didn't get the results I desired.

I have since had the barrel set back and rechambered to a minimum SAAMI chamber, neck size about 2/1,000" larger than a Federal factory round. The rifle shoots as well as ever, and a 23" barrel gives the same velocity as the old 24" did.

Use 322 in my my own 722 .222 with great results.

The ranch that I worked at in the '70's had a 700 .222 that digested two 8 lb canisters of compressed IMR 4895 loads with awesome results.

A cut and paste from the previous .222 thread:

I shot various .222's for years in IBS matches and on woodchucks. 20 or 20.5 grs. of IMR 4198 and a Sierra 52 or 53 gr. match bullet were all I ever shot of out the bench gun. I shot enough groups in the 'teens" with that combination to never feel the need for anything else. A straight factory Rem. 700...albeit rebedded in Devcon... would easily shoot .30" with the Sierra 50 grain Blitz and 20.5 grs of RL7. The .222 is such a great cartridge.

I shoot a .223 now, but none I have ever had would shoot as well as the .222's.

Rumor has it Remington 40-X test targets in 222 Remington were shot with 24.5grs. IMR 4895 and a 50gr. PSPCL. I shot a pile of Sierra 50gr. spitzers and that charge of IMR 4895 (NOT Blitzes) with my first 222. Shot a lot of powder and bullets through that gun, but that load, while it didn't shoot the smallest group, was the most consistent accuracy wise.

My domestic powders of choice for a 222 today would be LT-32, RL-7 and Alliant 10x for bullets in the 40-52 gr. range, with a hedge on the 40 gr. weights.