Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats 223, 22-250, 222 mag.

I am in the market for a slightly more powerful 224 diameter rifle than my 24 inch 222 and my 18 inch a.r.15. I could have a Remington 700 re-barreled into a 9 twist 222 magnum or 223 so I could shoot hogs with it or I could just get one of the 8 twist 22 250 rifles that are available. Any input? I would like a spotter weight gun for hunting with however I want to be able to target practice with any of the cheaper bullet weights from 50 to 65 grains that I sometimes run into.

Why not a fast twist 223, I have 223's in 8 and 10 twist both shoot equally well. Pluses for the 223 - low recoil, easier to spot hits, longer barrel life, lots of inexpensive ammo if one does not reload.

drover

223 or 223AI. Same bolt face as your 222, and easier to find quality brass.

22-204, slick feeding, slightly more capacity than the 223AI, I've been shooting one for 10 yrs and it and my 222 Rem are my favorite pelt hunting rifles.

erich, isn't the 22-204 basically the 222 mag?
What are the differences?

If you want something cheap to plink with the .223 isn't going to be outdone.

And it will kill anything that needs killing just fine.

Fast twist 223 or 223AI.....the ability to up the bullet weight with the faster twist changes things. I did all of mine 1/8 but if I was doing it now I'd make sure I got it twisted fast enough for the 88's in all conditions. The AI adds a little (very little) but is nice if you shoot a lot (reload) and don't like to trim brass. The availability of .223 Rem components can't be touched, barrel life is forever, easy to feed, easy on the wallet, easy on the ears, hard on game. The TSX/TTSX bullets really make it dig.

Nothing wrong with the fast twist 22/250's or the 22 Creed if you really want to up the speed but it's a trade off on losing a lot of the pro's related to the .223/.223AI.

Yep....get an 8 twist .223 and rock on....I like the .223AI but see no practical difference in performance on game.

8 twist tikka...frinstance...

223s are neat, 223 Ackleys are neater...but after having one, I would be hard pressed not to have a hot rod, fast twist .22, something along the lines of a 22-250 or faster.

Personally, I think the fast twist 22-250 is impossible to beat for most any application.

But the .223 is more popular'er and factory ammo prices reflect that.

The 22-204 is a 222 Rem Mag Improved, 30 degree shoulder, longer body and slightly straightened body.

If you want to build even longer on a small boltface you can use 5.6x50 Mag brass, it is 3mm longer than the 222 Rem Mag. I shoot a combo gun using the Rimmed version of the 5.6x50 Mag. You do start to run into mag length problems.

If your looking at a going with a small boltfaced gun don't overlook the 22 Valkyrie

Or if a mini-action, 527, mini-Howa, mini-mauser the 22 lbc (22-6.5 Grendle) doner actions can be found with a 7.62x39 boltface.

If a standard boltface, why limit yourself to the 22-250 if you want to go fast with heavies, there is the 22-243, 22 Creed, 224 TTH and a plethora of others

And then there is the 22 WSSM

I have both a 1/8 twist .223AI and a .22-250. While, the .223AI can't compete with the .22-250, it'll get close enough that makes the .22-250 irrelevant for me. For a 75 gr bullet, you're burning ~7 gr less powder in the .223AI and only losing ~200-300 fps. However, the .223AI is still slinging that 75 gr slug around 3K fps. You also don't have the muzzle blast out of the .223AI. That's my $.02.


Forgot to mention; The .223AI is a no trim affair which is attractive and brass is readily available.

I have a 223 AI and a 22 Creedmoor....there really isn't a comparison. I am shooting a 70gr bullet a little faster than a 50 from the 223AI..and thats a big deal.

I am a fan of the 222 Remington Magnum. The 22-204 is a joke, there isn't a critter you could shoot that would even know the difference.

For the sake of efficiency, consider the 223 or 22-250 and what other applications that gun would have. If you won't be shooting bigger game, you won't need a 22-250, as mentioned, the 223 is still king of the small bores...(other than the 222 Mag of course)

Of course you could always go with the little known 22 powerhouse in a 224 Weatherby Magnum...

After playing around with a couple fast twist Big 22's, I came to the conclusion that if I'm stepping up over the 223, then a 6mm of some sort makes the most sense.

I agree with you that there isn't MUCH difference about the same as a 223 vs 223AI but when I built it finding 222 Rem Mag brass was near impossible to find and it didn't need custom dies , I had already built a 25-204(257 Kimber clone) and a 6mm-204(6x47 Improved) with readily available brass.

How so? I have both fast .22s and fast 6mms....and the 6s get left at home nearly every time.

that is a real nice looking rifle!

Not to argue but I have found the opposite to be true.

I'll take the .224's every time.