Ammo for Old Sako Vixen

[Ala Tom]

I have an old Sako Vixen that I bought about 46 years ago. It is marked for "222 MAG" ammo. Unfortunately I lost the ammo I had for it a while ago.

What kind of ammo would it take today? 222 Remington?

 

[Vern Humphrey]

You want .222 Remington Magnum -- the standard .222 Remington case is 1.387" long, while the .222 Magnum case is 1.586" long.

 

[Jim Watson]

No.
The mark ".222 Mag" means .222 Remington Magnum which is not the same as .222 Remington or .223 Remington. They are not interchangeable and since .222 Magnum is the longest, you can't even rechamber.

Midway lists the caliber loaded for them by Nosler but does not have any in stock.
http://www.midwayusa.com/browse/Bro...&categoryId=19221&categoryString=653***690***

Handloaders are using .204 Ruger brass to load .222 Magnum.

 

[Walkalong]

Factory ammo is going to be hard to find and expensive. Handloading is the way to go these days. I stocked up on brass many years ago, so I am OK for a while. I had not heard of using .204 brass. I'll have to remember that.

I have a heavy barrel Sako in .222 Mag and would not trade it for anything. I recently replaced the Redfield Golden 5 Star scope on it with a Vortex Viper.

Welcome to THR

 

[Ala Tom]

OK Thanks, guys. Obviously I did not choose a caliber that would remain popular.

Mine is a heavy barrel. Got it for varmint hunting but only did some bench rest shooting.

 

[Gordon]

yeah but they are beautiful! the .222 mag is a really good cartridge, too bad the military chose the .223 as the .222 mag would have gotten those 77 grain up bullets going much better.