Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters What does the .222 Remington...

The M 24 in 222/20 I have has about the worse trigger I've ever felt, very heavy. Either that or I've gotten used to much better triggers it just feels that way. But Erich is probably leading you in the right direction. Had I known what the trigger felt like, and a few other items Erich mentioned, I'd likely have looked for a different combination gun. Mine seemed accurate enough, given the constraints of the trigger.

The price you mentioned seems about right, based on what I paid for mine a year or so back.

Enjoy it for what it is if you decide to purchase it.

Geno

I had one for a while, on a Martini Cadet. I ended up putting a faster twist barrel on it, chambered in 5.6x50R, which I've found is both more versatile and for which brass and even factory ammunition is rather more available.

The .222R brass is still made here in Oz, by Bertram. I think Graf's carries Bertram brass in the US.

The other option would be to make it from 5.6x50R brass, by sizing and trimming. RWS makes excellent brass in this calibre.

I agree with all of that. Having two triggers allows you instant selection of which barrel you want, and an instant second shot. It makes a huge difference to the utility of a combo.

FWIW the Tikka 07 is available in .222/12, but it has a single trigger and external selector, so swapping barrels or getting a quick second shot is about as slow as it is with the Savage, though the Tikka is a lot more nicely made and, based on the one I've used, can be very accurate. Baikals are about the same money, and while they aren't quite as pretty, they have two triggers and are solidly made. The one I've used was accurate too. I'd far prefer one of these to a Savage 24 for about the same money.

I think Brno made a 500 series in .222/12 ga. I've not had one in my hands in that calibre combination, but I have in other calibres, and they are a nice piece if you can find one.

Brno's 300 series is a strong and well-built gun too, but not in .222/12. They are widely available in .22 Savage/12, and were made in .22 Hornet/12 or 5.6x50R/12 though these seem to be as scarce as hen's teeth. I've owned one in 7x57R/12 and used one in .22 Savage/12 and they are a really good sound bit of gear. They also can often be had with more than one set of barrels, so once you learn how to do it you can swap them around and have a skeet gun, duck gun, or combo as the mood takes you.

Both the Brno 500 and 300 series had two triggers. The occasional 300 series also had a single set trigger for the rifle barrel.

vixen grinnnn

Class and taste aren't for everyone. If only obviously......

I currently own four .222 rifles, and no .223s so I must like the .222 a lot. It does everything I want from a .22 centerfire, and has no weaknesses that I can point to. I have an Anschutz with detachable magazine as a "truck rifle", a Sako Heavy barrel L461 for ultimate accuracy, a Brno ZKK 601 with QD mounts and pop up peep sight for ultimate versatility, and a very high quality and accurate Heym combination gun in 16 ga full choke over .222 that is pure poison on called coyotes. All shoot the same ammo accurately, and with economy and good case life. I could never detect any superior advantage that the .223 offered that was 'better" other than popularity and cheap military surplus ammo, both admittedly good points in the .223's favour. I also have no need for shooting anything heavier than a coyote with a .22, so the heavier bullet/fast twist of modern .223's is a difference that I don't care about.
If you want to buy cheap military ammo, shoot deer with a .224 bullet or buy a particular rife only available in .223, the .223 is a reasonable choice too.

I had a drilling that had been relined to 222 Rimmed. It came with some brass but I made most of mine from 357 Maximum brass. Starline has 357 Max brass readily available. The process is time consuming but still better than paying what they want for Bertram Brass.

I have owned a couple of Remington 722s in 222 REM and they were both very accurate, also owned a Savage 340 but couldnt warm up to it. I cherish the day when I when I walk into a pawn shop some day and find a Remington 700ADL carbine in 222 REM, but Im not holding my breath for it. I saw a Ruger #1 in 222 Rimmed several years ago, someone here on the fire told me that a simple extractor switch and you could shoot 222 REM ammunition in it.

FWIW the Ruger #1A's that were made a few years ago in .222, have 1 in 9" twist barrels

You would be hell on predators with this combo, all ready to go.
https://www.simpsonltd.com/products/z37522



I had one of these, and it shot like a good bolt gun, so I sold it.
https://www.simpsonltd.com/products/z25798


I ended up with one like this in 5.6X52R. My only regret is availability of bullets for reloading, now that Hornady has turned their back on Savage HP owners. These Valmets use the original Sako dovetail mounts, which can be used like a QD mount with the right type of rings.
https://www.simpsonltd.com/products/z25962

It would be a bit more useful than my current 24V in hornet/20... for nostalgia the 24 is high on my list. My father and I carried them on our traplines for years. It is the only Savage i like.

The several 222s in 700s I have had all shot much better than ordinary and one was spectacular. It is still around. There is plenty of room for 22s of many flavors...

With modern tipped bullets, it allows you to chase the lands in truly short actions better than the .223, like the Sako, Interarms and yes, even the AR-15 magazine.
Loaded to the same pressure, it's really not discernable in the field. Unfortunately, the Savage actions should be kept at OEM settings.

Sounds like a familiar craze, but I doubt the 222 makes a comeback, even though it's still a first rate cartridge.

In all honesty I can't say it offers anything over the 223. 20 years ago I thought another way, but now I have made so many 223s that shoot all bullets touching at 100 yards that I am no longer convinced the 223 is "a bit less accurate" then the 222.

With all that said, I am still a 22 fan. I own a SAKO that I made a lot of money with in the 80s. I shot fur for a large part of my living, and the 222 was the best cartridge I had used for the purpose, with all the accuracy I could ever ask for and quick kills on coyote and bob-cats out to a LOT farther then the load manuals and gun-writers would have you believe. Not just once either. I did that a lot with my SAKO.

I can't count the times I have read that "the 222 is a good 250 yard varmint cartridge", and yet for many years the 222 was known to have set or broken more bench rest records than any other shell. So the idea that it would not be accurate enough was not something anyone would say. I have killed a lot of coyotes with a 22 long Rifle. I think most hunters and shooters as well as farmers and ranchers have done the same.
Let's look at the down range power of a 22 LR at about 125 yards and then look at the 222 Remington and see at what range the 50 grain bullet is going the same speed as the 22 LRs 40 grain bullet. I don't have a ballistics chart in front of me right now but I know the High Velocity 22 LR leaves the muzzle at about 1250 and at 125 yards it's sub-sonic, so it's probably about 1000. A 222 Rem with a 50 grain leaves the muzzle at 3000 so I am going to guess it's subsonic at somewhere around 700 yards.

The 222 has a LOT better range then 250 yards. That's not a theory. It's a fact, and I earned a lot of money proving it too.

Sure, it's not as easy to judge wind with or drop as with a 220 swift, but I never had many problems killing varmints from jack rabbits, fox, marmots, coyotes, bobcats and about everything else out to around 500. I owned a 22-250 which shot flatter, but was too hard on hides. I gave up the 22-250 as soon as I got my 222. In those days I averaged $90 for a prime coyote and $600 for a prime cat. You didn't want to tear them up!

Today I have gone (like most others) to a 223 with a 1-9 twist so I can shoot heavier bullets. And yes, it does have a few advantages in longer shots in windy conditions.

But that is NOT to say that the 222 is poor. It's not. In fact it's a great shell.

Not only this, but with a 40 grain V-max bullet, the 222 has become a light 22-250...

did not know this

I once used my .222 for deer hunting in texas.....it worked just fine....but those Texas deer aren't much bigger than one year old Wisconsin fawns.....besides that it doubled as a turkey harvester and didn't destroy much meat at all.....it's a very fine carrtridge and would still be king of the hill if the .223 hadn't moved the hill to the military grounds.

Loaded to the same/similar pressure, a 40gr. .223 load at 3,800 should be about 3,700 in a 222. Even when loading the 222 to its spec, 40s easily clock 3,600 fps.

Of course one needs to handload and use a decent chronograph and defer to guns not designed to operate at 223 pressures.

I know this is a minor consideration for most people but I like the deuce because( amongst the other already stated reasons...) because when chambered in a regular short action it has a little "slop" in the magazine, and can be loaded quickly without looking in high volume shooting situations or night shooting situations.

I've used the .222 and .223 for quite a while, each in a variety of rifles. With the exception of fast-twist .223 guns, I use only the 50 grain Sierra Blitz in both cartridges. While the .223 has a slight velocity advantage, I've seen no in-the-field difference between the .222 and .223.

I never knew this. Good information.