Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles My PERFECT 222 Rem load.....

Shoots bughole groups in my lightweight Sako Riihimaki 222, turns little rodents inside out, puts coyotes on the ground RIGHT NOW but best of all is EASY to remember......

.224 50gr TNT w/Moly,

22.2grs of
2200powder with a COL of
2.22!!!!!

Been using it for years, thought I would share. Data 2200 is a might scarce nowadays (I have about 10 lbs left from a buy made 15years ago) but the burn rate, acccording to Accurate powders info sheet and book loads, is REALLY close to 2230 and BL-C 2 so one could possibly work up to the same load with those powders. If it works as good as my original recipe and is accurate, it is kinda fun having all of the numbers end up 222. Maybe I have some kind of weird synergy going here....

TAC is easier to say...

TNTs are great for sage rats---------they look like they were shot with a larger gun than a .222. I discovered 2200 about 15yrs ago too, and still have a pretty good stash. 26grs and TNTs in my .223 Ruger UL (20" barrel) yields 3450fps and bug holes. I've stuck with 20.5grs 4198 in my 222 though. Messed with BLC-2, AA2015, and one or two others (too lazy to find notes), but have never bested 4198. Ball powders do throw nicer, but what the heck.

BTW, not to hijack your .222 thread, but after 2200 dried up, I discovered 2230C priced equally cheap, and it turned out to be a superb .223 powder. The good old days of 10+ yrs ago!

My 222 was my gramps...he worked up a load in the 60's and its still the go to load today......23grs of 4895 behind a 55gr sierra hpbt. Shoots in the 3's and the same poi using win or rem brass.

Truth be told, probably LOTS of great 222 loads as these rifles are almost always great shooters. I thought mine was fun because of all of the times the number 222 shows up in the load. It is what I use and will continue to until my 10lbs remaining of powder runs out, maybe in 2020 or so.....

thanks for sharing the other loads, gents, and keep shooting the mighty triple deuce! Long live the 222!

I got your point about the load with all of the "2's" in it. I was just funnin' ya with the TAC posting.
You do mention one excellent point about the 222, and that is you have to work VERY hard to find a load that won't shoot in that chambering.
I only shoot 50 nand 52 gn bullets in the 222, and I must have several powders and primer combinations that will deliver 3 shot, less than 1/2" at 100 yard performance.
And, a BIG amen on "Long live the 222!"

I have the same gun and it shoots factories well.
Not real particular.

A lot more lethal than that little cartridge looks.

stumpy

Being "stuck" in 1950 doesn't seem all that bad.

The 222 is my favourite small change cartridge too. A traditional load of 20.0 gr of IMR4198 works in both my rifles, with a 50 grain bullet. For years I used Rem bulk 50s - PSPs. I make my own bullets and use FB 52 grain bullets as well with either Sierra or J4 jackets.

Great fun!

a sako mannlicher, bdl varmint, and a bdl all shooting 20.6 of imr-4198 and 50 grain usually a balistic tip. 3278 fps. lapua or norma brass

Right now I've been in an Alliant stage, so its 24 grs of RL-10X with 40's or 21 grs RL-7 with 50's.

FWIW I ran close to a Nosler 55gr. BT load. Theirs was 22 grs, mine was 22.2 of H322......shot like a 22.2 cent piece of rubber dog turd!
H322 has never worked best for me, ever....

Hawk1: I could NOT disagree with you more!
H322 is an absolutely splendid powder when seeking accurracy!
I use a lot of it, in MANY different Rifles!
Including "best powder" (accuracy wise!) in 4 (four) of my 6 (six) Varminters in caliber 222 Remington!
H322 HAS worked "best" for me in dozens of Rifles over the last several decades!
Including (after a quick perusal of my current loads in my loading log book) a current total of 11 (eleven) Rifles that I am NOW loading for.
These Rifles vary in caliber from 17 MachIV to 22 Remington Bench Rest, 6mm Remington Bench Rest, 6x47 and the aforementioned 222 Remingtons - among others.
I am surprised AND puzzled by the difference in our results!
One of my all time favorite Rifles is a Remington 40XB-BR in caliber 222 Remington!
This is an all factory stock Rifle with a Leupold 24 power scope on it.
It IS splendidly accurate.
This is a Colony Varmint Hunting Rifle and once my load was settled upon it only goes to the Rifle range for pre-Varmint Safari sight in verifications anymore!
Even at that this Rifle has shot 5 groups (5 shots at 100 yards) over the years, measuring in the "1's"!
This Rifle uses H322 powder - again I am puzzled at the differences in our results!
Some years back I was at a registered Bench Rest Match in Tacoma, Washington perusing things - at LEAST 2 (two) of the competitors there we still using H322 powder - and they shot well indeed!
Don't give up on H322 powder (at least for accuracy) as I have used it very successfully for several decades now.
Long live H322.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Walt Berger set a few world records with a 222 with a lot of H335.

I asked about the 222 several months ago on benchrest.com. The 222 only holds one record now - a 0.009 inch, 100 yd group by Gale MacMillan in the light varmint class. It was shot using 50 grain, homemade bullets on Sep 23, 1973.

20 gr 4198 and Nosler 55 Tipped bullet

VarmintGuy: I shot .222 for years (3 different rifles) and always had good success with Re7. H322 just never got there for me. What are you using for primers and brass? Since I've switched to .223 I've learned a few new tricks and wish I had my .222 back.

H322 for me and 40 gr. Vmax. YMMV, particularly, since y'all don't own the same rifle!

HawkI says 322 didn't shoot well in his gun and you're disagreeing with him?
You mean it really did shoot well even though he says it didn't? You've shot his rifle have you? Were you there when he was shooting it? Looks like your same ol' same ol'.....someone doesn't like what you like which means you're right and they're wrong. Then comes a dissertation to convince them that they're wrong.

In the 80's I wore out a .222 barrel shooting gophers and pd's with Sierra 40HP's and 24.5/T-32. It was a good accurate load. That gun is now a .223.

VV N120 works well too.

AA2520 shoots well too, but very dirty.

Like I said, I've burned enough H322 in my dueces to find other powders shot better and gained more safe speed.

The late Mike Walker prolly burned more powder in the 222 than any man (even more than VG). He always felt IMR 4198 was king, but what did he know......grins.