222 Remington Bullet Opinion/Question

[hydeslinger]

Hello all, first post on the forum.. I like what I see so far.
So here is the deal, I am loading about 300 rounds of 222 Rem for my uncle. He shoots a 700 Varmint.
The rifle is primarily his varmint/coyote gun. 2 years ago he was out calling coyotes and came across a 100lb E. Washington Lion. 222 put it down with no issues. He was using factory 50 grain soft points.
I want to use a more premium bullet like V-Max or Nos BT's or???
The question to the forum is this:
(what bullet would make a good varmint round but still hold together enough to humanely dispatch a Bobcat, Fox, Coyote or the occasional Lion.) Barns and Bergers are out due to cost.
I am sticking with 50 grain fodder.
Suggestion??
Thank you in advance for the input!!!

 

[rcmodel]

If the factroy soft-point performs to his satisfacion?
So will the 50 grain V-Max or Nosler BT.

When I coyote hunted with a .222 many years ago, the problem then was getting bullets to open explosively instead of just shooting holes through them.
The most accurate bullets at the time were 52 grain HP match bullets designed for 22-250 / .220 Swift velocity.

Sierra had the Blitz, Hornady the SX, and Speer the TNT designed to perform at .222 velocity.
And they killed coyotes like lightening, most of the time.

I think today, the 50 grain V-Max or BT will do the same.

rc

 

[NCsmitty]

Welcome to THR, hydeslinger.

If you are going to stick to 50gr bullets, you'll find they all are quite frangible, and not designed to "hold together" at normal ranges, other than FMJ types.

Let me suggest to not load up 300 rounds initially, until you have tried a few different bullets to verify their accuracy in your uncle's rifle. 222 Rem usually shoots most 50gr loads quite well, but some shoot better than others in a specific rifle.

I use 21.6gr of H322 powder with 50gr Noslers in my 222.

Check out www.hodgdon.com for load data.


NCsmitty

 

[Krogen]

I have shot a lot of 222 Rem over the years. After much fooling around, I settled on Hornady's 50 gr SPSX. Excellent accuracy and it puts the critters down very well. I use IMR4198.

 

[Old Dog Man]

Reloading .222

Try some BLC-2 powder it works very well in my brother-in- laws Rem. 788, Shooots PD's out to 500yrds. He uses Sierra 50gr. Varmiter bullits.

 

[Skyshot]

I'll just throw this in, In my .222 I use the 40 grain Vmax and have taken a truckload of coyotes with that bullet and it takes my smaller varmit ranges way out there on calm days. With IMR4198 you get some impressive vlocities. Having said that , I like the 50 grn. Nosler BTs with IMR 4198 or RL-10X.

 

[velocette]

hydeslinger;
Your .222 like mine will have a 1 : 14 twist barrel. It will stabililze bullets up to ~ 52, ~55 grains, but usually shoots best with 50 grains & less.
Virtually any good quality bullet with any medium fast rifle powder will shoot well in a .222, they just seem to be a naturally accurate round. H 322, H 335, IMR 4895, 4198, all seem to produce good groups.

Roger

 

[TwoEyedJack]

Mountain lions are not particularly hard to kill. One of my buddies shot a huge treed tom with a .40 Glock. I would take a look at the 40 gr. Nosler ballistic tip. I shoot a ton of these out of a .22-250 and they are explosive out to 400 yards on ground squirrels. The .222 can push this to 3400 or 3500 fps, about 400 fps faster than it can drive a 50 gr.

One problem I have is that in my .22-250 the bullet is not long enough to reach anywhere close to the lands so I just seat them as long as I can, and luckily, my Savage still shoots them into tiny groups. Depending on the throat length of the .222 in question and if it wants bullets to start out very close to the lands, you might or might not get stellar accuracy. Experimentation is what makes reloading interesting!

 

[hydeslinger]

Thanks all for the response.. Maybe I will look at 40gr Vmax, I have 1/2 a box on the shelf.
I was looking at 50s to carry the energy down range but if I can squeak out 400+ fps using 40's then I'm game.
Thanks again for all the input!

 

[NCsmitty]

A conscientious shooter/reloader will try different combos to test component accuracy in their firearm. Give the 40's a try, but as you figured out, the 50gr will catch and surpass the 40gr at some point. Whether it makes a difference in the big picture will be up to you.

Here's Hornady's ballistic table on factory ammo to compare those bullets. it is a PDF file.

http://www.hornady.com/assets/files/ballistics/2012CatalogCenterSpread.pdf


NCsmitty

 

[rcmodel]

but if I can squeak out 400+ fps using 40's then I'm game.

Your barrel might last longer with 50's and 400 FPS less.

rc

 

[loose noose]

I've got a Savage Model 24, with a 1:14 twist .222 over a 20 Ga. shotgun, I was hunting quail out here in southern Nevada, and was having a problem with the huge population of coyotes; therefore the combination gun. Anyway, I settled on a 50grn. Sierra Blitzking, in front of IMR4198: At a 100 yards this set-up with a pencil thin barrel would put 3 rnds in a 1/3" circle right at poa. BTW I had a see thru mount with an inexpensive scope set-up on that rifle. When hit right, it definitely put the coyotes down for the count, I know that now they have a lot of better choices in 50 grn pills for a .222. Like every body else has said ya gotta work up a good load before ya load 300 rounds though

 

[TwoEyedJack]

Your barrel might last longer with 50's and 400 FPS less.

rc

OTOH, I have never heard of a shot out barrel on a .222.