I sort of have a liking for offbeat stuff, and the .222 Remington just caught my eye. I welcome your opinions on this caliber and the firearms.
Regards, George.

The 222 rem is a great little cartridge to load for and is usually very accurate with many load combos in a good gun.....it was the "accuracy-benchrest" cartridge in the days before the 6PPC and still holds a few records?...The 223 is just slightly larger and faster or the 222 would still be chambered in more guns...I load the 222mag..a slightly lengthened 222 that shoots great....the guns for the 222 are short in new..used they are around...the Kimber and small Sako action were/are great....the 700 remington and older 600/660 and even the 722 were chambered in the 222........If I were getting a new gun I would go ahead and get a 223 just for easy brass and higher resale but the 222 is so easy on brass with a little care that a couple of hundred rounds of brass will last a LONG time and many loadings.....I always liked IMR 4198 with 50/52-3 grain bullets and H322 did well also......the brass for a 222 seems to be more consistant than some other calibers and almost any powder/bullet combo will shoot good in a good chamber..most barrels are 1-14twist for the 222 and handle the 40-55grain bullets well....HTH..good luck and good shooting!!!

George Capriola: Welcome to AR Forum and I hope you enjoy your stay here.
I just last Sunday bought my fifth presently owned 222 Remington Varmint Rifle. In the past I have probably owned 5 -6 others also. They have all been VERY accurate and VERY easy to load for.
I am also very happy with their performance in the Varmint fields.
I don't think I would describe the 222 Remington as offbeat. More like overlooked and under-rated!
I would never be without a 222!
I also own several others of the 222 family of cartridges. These are all Varmint Guns including 6 in 223 Remington, a 222 Remington Magnum, a 6x47, 2 221 Fireballs and a 17 MachIV. They all shoot VERY well and are easy to maintain and load for. Barrels last a long time as does the brass for all of them.
I highly recommend the 222 for accuracy and all manner of Varminting and small game. When I used to live in the Seattle area and someone would come to me asking advise on a Rifle accuracy problem I would sometimes suspect THEIR shooting technique over the Rifle being the problem. I have an amazingly accurate factory stock Remington 40XB-BR in 222 Remington. It has a Leupold BR scope on it and a splendid trigger. I often use it for long range (yes I said long range!) Varminting. Anyway I would get the questioning shooter and his Rifle to the range and just happen to have along my 222 40X. If after my friend shot my 40X and the group was not right at .250" for 5 shots at 100 yards then I would also add some bench technique coaching in with any critique of the Rifle. I have shot groups with that 222 (using good Varmint bullets) in the low and mid 1's (.100" to .150") at 100 yards!
Good luck if you decide to try the "Duece"!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Welcome to Accurate Reloading. In my opinion the .222 Rem. is one accurate cartridge. If Ruger were to offer it in their No.1B or 1V models one would find it's way to my house in a heartbeat. I had one years ago(Rem. M722) and I traded it off and have regretted doing so ever since. You got a chance to get one take it and don't ever look back AND NEVER TRADE IT OFF . Lawdog

George,
I agree with what everyone else has said about the .222. It is one great little round. For a long, long time it was king of the hill in benchrest and still holds the record for the smallest group ever fired at 100 yds.Jim

Lawdog Gary: Ruger did make their beautiful #1-B Rifles in 222 Remington. They are highly sought after as collectors pieces mostly. They are very rare. The last one I saw had a price of $950.00 and that was many years ago.
Several of my friends have rebarreled Ruger #1's to various 222 family of cartridges. Including 17 MachIV, 223 Rem. Ackley Improved and 221 Remington Fireball! I think a Ruger #1-B in 222 Remington would be a very neat Rifle. I have always liked the styling of the Ruger #1-B's and the first one I owned was a 6mm Remington with serial #1,300. Boy do I wish I had that one back!
I always check the estate sales and pawn shops hoping to find a Ruger #1 in 222 at a reasonable price. No luck so far.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I agree the 222 is a great round.
I have a Mini-14 in 222 that the accuracy leaves a bit to be desired lol but also have a old Sako 222 that loves Hornady 52 gr SX bullets

I have two rifles in .222Rem., a Sako Varminter and a Rem.40XBBR. Both are extremely accurate. .25"
groups are quite common in either (5 shots/100yds). There's simply no way I'd part with either rifle.
It will be many years before the .222Rem. disappears from the scene simply because it's such a great
caliber. It bothers me that in N.America we get rid of some very good chamberings merely to make room
for new ones. Just in recent years we have discontinued the .222Rem., the .222Rem. Mag., and the
.225Win. All were very accurate rounds that were in no way outdated. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

The 222 Rem has always been the pick of the litter for me...Its done all I have asked of it...including stacking quite a record of one shot kills on deer with the 60 gr. Hornady HP or SP for my kids, grandkids and I have even shot a number of deer with it...Used properly at decent ranges it will do laymans work...Add a pacel of Jack Rabbits, Rock Chucks, Bobcats, coyotes, and a few antelope to that list.

Two variants of the CZ-527 model are listed as being available in 222 Remington, as is the Remington 700 BDL. The 527 is kinda calling to me, but I need another rat rifle like a trout needs a mountain bike.