Help with .22 PPC handloads

[rjoy]

Perhaps some of you have seen a similar post by me in other forums. My neighbor has a very nice Sako rifle chambered for this cartridge. We were talking in the yard about it one day and he was dismayed because he was very low on ammo and didn't know where he could get some. Being a handloader, I said we ought to be able to make some handloads for it. He didn't have much brass either so I began to ask around and we found some new Sako brass which he promptly bought. The headstamp is marked Sako USA. It is my understanding that this is a benchrest cartridge and I have been reading that neck thickness is critical. I have never had to worry about this when loading my .243. (Maybe I should????) The bottom line is that I want to make sure I do no harm to him or his rifle!

I have a few questions that, any of you in the know, might help me with:

1. Will this new brass need to be neck turned to uniform the thickness? I'm sure he will not be benchrest shooting but he is looking for reasonable accuracy. We would like to develop a load that will shoot well in his rifle. I don't have the equipment to turn the necks if it is necessary. Will there be problems if these cases aren't neck turned?

2. I've read that H322 is the best powder for this caliber with 50-55 grain bullets. Anyone have experience with a powder that works better?

3. Is a flat base or boat tail bullet better? I have used Nosler ballistic tip bt in my .243 and they are deadly accurate. I would be tempted to recommend the Nosler's to my neighbor. Any recommendations for a better shooting bullet in this caliber?

4. Anything else that I need to consider to get my neighbor shooting his rifle again???

Thanks.

Bob

 

[echo3mike]

The 22PPC is frequently seen in use at BR matches, and usually is quite competitive. The cartridge itself can be very accurate, but alot rides on the rifle and the shooter. Let me see if I can field some of your questions from my meager resources:

1) The case neck doesn't NEED to be turned, unless the chamber is very tight. Most BR rifles are built to very close tolerances, as are the bbl chambers. One of the benefits of this is that the cases can (seemingly) last forever as there isn't that much stress placed on them when firing or resizing. Factory rifles don't have those problems, as the chamber is much less precise. You CAN turn the necks for a factory barrel, but the improvement you notice may not be worth the effort.

The best way to check to see if you really need to neck turn is to chamber one of the empty cases. If the case is sticky, the chances are pretty good your buddy will need to neck turn. The gadgets needed to do this can be a little expensive: the K&M set up I use is about $US85 from Kinneman's .

2) No experience with loading for this caliber. HOWEVER, all the equipment lists in the old Precision Shooting mags I've got list H322 as the most popular powder for the 22PPC...so I guess that's a good place to start...Sierra lists IMR-4198, RE-7, and 748 for the 50grs, but the acuracy load is 26.9gr H322 (Disclaimer: work the load up from a safe starting point, be safe, yadda).

3) Again form the Sierra 4th, the majority of their offerings in the .224 caliber bullet are flat based. They offer a 52gr MK HPBT, but (historically) flat based bullets are prodominant in BR matches. Of course, you'll have to work up a few test loads to find out what works best in the stick, (Disclaimer: work the load up from a safe starting point, be safe, yadda). You can go for the high end custom bullets, but the associated price tag may or may not be worth the amount of accuracy you'll see.

4) Can't think of anything else... oh, yeah...work the load up from a safe starting point, be safe, yadda.

S.