Not all about reloading but figured this would probably be the best forum for it.

I recently bought a Remington 788 in .222 Remington as I heard excellent stories of their accuracey and bang for the buck performance.

So, I went to order some Prvi Partizan .222 Remington from http://www.aimsurplus.com as they had it advertised on their site for about $6/20. I had heard good things about this ammo, including that it was reloadable so I went and ordered some.

To my suprise, when my package came it was Igman .222 Remington ammo. When I checked their site again, the advertisement had been changed from Prvi Partizan to Igman. I contacted AIM Surplus and they offered to take it back but stated the Igman was made in the "sister plant" to Prvi Partizan and was every bit as good. So I said, "what the hell", may as well try it.

The first few boxes of Igman were a variety of difficult chambering, difficult extraction and some that damn near were stuck in the chamber. Thinking that it might be buildup in the chamber as it was a used gun, I scoured it with solvent and a brush and was able to get some gunk out but not much. I oiled the bolt up, but some gunslick on the locking lugs and back to the range I went. While things were somewhat better, there were still too many difficult extractions for my taste. Looking at the spent brass, I noticed what looked to be two different kinds of primers and was wondering if one was shooting "hotter" than the other.

I started to wonder if maybe I had a lemon of a gun but I wanted to try some other ammo before I did anything drastic.

So, I picked up two boxes of Remington Core-Lokt and ordered some Prvi Partizan from http://www.jandcsales.com.

I also reloaded some of the Igman brass with CCI and Winchester small rifle primers, Hodgdon H322 and Hornady 40 grain bullets.

Went to range and did some testing.

First, shot the Igman. Groups all over the place, random difficult extractions and post-fired primers on some rounds that indicated there were on the "hot" side and maybe "too hot".

Shot a box of the Remington rounds. Perfect chambering, perfect extraction and acceptable if not spectacular groups. For medium-small targets, I think this ammo would be very acceptable.

Next was the Prvi Partizan. Chambered easily, extracted easily and the groups were well under an 1". Looked like a clover-leaf. Very impressed for factory ammo. I'm definitely going to reload this brass and see how it goes but quality and accuracy wise, this is some of the best factory ammo that I've shot. (Winchester, Federal, Remington being the others)

Finally, went to my reloads. The first hole became a slightly larger hole and then a little bit larger. Shots were right on top of each other and I was very happy with the performance of my less than expert reloads.

All in all, I learned some lessons.

First, if you're having chambering and extraction issues, try different ammo. (I know, that's common sense, but there isn't an abundance of .222 Remington ammo out there)

Second, when a sales person tells you "its just as good", run the other way. Based on the positive reputation I've read about AIM Surplus on this and other sites, I took a leap of faith and was rewarded with less than acceptable ammo. To their credit, they did offer to take it back and the 8MM surplus and 7.62R ammo from them has been great. I will order from them again, but just a word to the wise.

Finally, as far as factory ammo goes, I have yet to see the equal to Prvi Partizan. I can't believe how well this stuff shot. I've found some in the other rounds I shoot for great prices and will be trying them to see if the accuracy follows in other calibers.

Oh and for a "cheap" rifle, this little Remington 788 is a real tack driver. Especially when you consider the dufas behind the trigger couldn't hit the broadside of a barn with bazooka.

I've had great and terrible PRVI ammo.
The great was in .270. The terrible was in .223

The South African PMP in .223 was accurate but in my 12vbSS it pierced primers regularly as it did in one other rifle. roger

quote:

but there isn't an abundance of .222 Remington ammo out there)

There really doesn't need to be an abundance of .222 ammo out there as long as you get a good supply of brass. With .222s something has to be majorly messed up to shoot poorly. You now know it is not your rifle.