Good day
I have a 222 Remington 700BDL with a heavy barrel that I can't seeem to get a good load for.
Any good loads from anyone would be appreciated.
The best I've been able to do is 1 1/4. I had an old 788 that almost needed a pry bar to make it go off (that's the reason it's gone) that would shoot 1/2 inch no problem if I did my part. The only thing I havn't changed is the primers. I've used H322, IMR3031(my old 788 favourate) H335 and now I've just tried a millitary surplus powder with same results. Most of the loads all group 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 consistently.
Mike

52 grain Sierra HPBT and RL-12 From 24.0 grains to 26.0 grains with Remington 7-1/2 Primer

Have had good luck with a number of powders, AA2230 seems to give the best groups for me with a 52 grain flat base bullet.Good Luck

52 gr anything Match with about 19 gr of IMR 4198.

I have shot .222s as my main varmint rifles for about 38 years,some of them can be very finicky
about their loading.
My first .222 would shoot most any reasonable load into 1"-1 1/4" 5 shot groups at 100 yards
but with 19.6grs. of IMR 4198 it would consistantly group 1/2" with a 50gr.soft point
bullet,changing primers did not seem to make much difference.If I changed my charge by .1 gr.up or down groups would open up.To get 1/2" groups I
had to weigh every charge to the 1/10gr.I could
not achieve that level of accuracy with any other bullet weight.
However your problem may be traced to a condition of the barrel,trigger,firing pin,stock, or scope.
You may have a slight amount of parallax in your scope.
WC

Although any caliber can present a problem, the .222 usually presents very, very few. I would look at various aspects of the gun (bedding, action screws, crown, scope mounting/internals etc.) before blaming the load, especially the powder.

You don't mention bullets. What have you tried and what weights?

I have a gun very similar to yours the best load in the rifle is. 50 Gr. Hornady SXSP on top of 20.0 Gr. of Reloader 7 in WW cases with Federal 205 Match primers. Shoots .3's

I'll be happy to take that poor shooter off your hands.

Try 24gr IMR4896 with 50gr Matchking, flat base, with CCI BR4 primers.

Nashcat

Play with the seating depth!

The 222 with the heavy barrel should produce 1/2" 100 yard groups. Your 222 may be one that is a picky shooter. Several more powders to try are IMR-4895, Benchmark, BLC#2, IMR-4198, IMR-3031, W-748, H-322. With the 1 in 14" twist bore the rifle should like 40,45,50,52, grain bullets. H-322 has long been a favorite powder in the 222 case. Seating depth is also very important in getting the best accuracy your rifle has to offer. It is always best to start out with the bullet just kissing the lands. Then seated deeper in the case by .005 until the groups shrink. Some rifles like the bullet seated as much as .030 off the lands.

The 222 is a very accurate cartridge and if it won't give you 1/2" 100 yard groups the rifle needs the barrel floated the action bedded and the trigger reworked to 2lbs. Check your action screws to be sure they are snug tight but not to tight. Never tighten your action screws so tight they compress the wood in the stock or you will have even more trouble.

You did not say what weight and brand of bullet your using. Change one thing at a time until you find what works best. The 40, 45, 50, grain FBHP bullets work very well in my 222 with IMR4895, H-322, Benchmark powder. So many unknowns in your post it is hard to help you solve your groupimg problem.

I have never owned a .222. However, my .223 Remington 700 VS really does well with Winchester 748 and almost any projectile in the 50-55 grain range - 1/2 inch or less at 100 yards. Most loads are around 25-26 grains. Perhaps the good performance with this powder and gun would translate to your .222?

Thanks for the help everyone. If it warms up a bit(it's -31C right now 12:48am) tomorow I'll be trying some more loads, if it doesn't warm up I'm going after coyotes with the 17. I'll be trying what reloader66 suggested first, my depth of bullets. That's the only component I havn't tried changing yet as well as some of the powders some of you suggested. I guess I got spoilled with that old 788 I had, it liked almost anything.
I'll let you all know.
Mike

To this date I still havn't been able to get this gun to shoot consistently under 1"
I'm going to get it recrowned and if it still doesn't shoot??? I've run out of ideas. Maybe a rechamber??
Mike

I just can't imagine that powder is going to correct your problem. A heavy barrelled .222 should shoot under 1" with just about anything you pour down it. I would go over it in a minute manner looking for wood touching, loose screws, loose barrel, mounting screws, etc. (take your scope off, even if you think its tight, and re mount it with locktite. Finally, I would take it to a respected smith with NO INFO except "its only shooting 1.5" and let him tell you what needs to be done before I would make arbitrary decisions as to what to do.

mikehjd, try the following:

24.3 BLC2
Berger 52gr flat base match
Rem 7 1/2 BR primers
Fed premium case

The OAL I use is 2.200" That may be different for your rifle and bullet combo. If you don't have Bergers, substitute any match grade flat base bullet. Velocity is right at 3100. This load has been extremely accurate in every 222 that I have used it in. As mentioned earlier, you may have problems other than the loads themselves. Keep us posted as to your progress/results.