I've searched but can't find a post where I seem to remember someone doing very well with one of these (one of our continental bretheren?)

I'm planning on LAPUA brass, CCI BR-4 primers and some quality 40-50gr bullets. I'd like to try 40gr ballistic tips first. From what I can see wind variation is pretty much the same between 40 and 55gr (time of flight vs slipperyness?)

I have some H322 and would like to try some VV perhaps N130?

Also what dies for minute of crow? I thought Redding standard but would go to the bushing dies and all they entail if I had to.

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Originally posted by 1894:
I've searched but can't find a post where I seem to remember someone doing very well with one of these (one of our continental bretheren?)

I'm planning on LAPUA brass, CCI BR-4 primers and some quality 40-50gr bullets. I'd like to try 40gr ballistic tips first. From what I can see wind variation is pretty much the same between 40 and 55gr (time of flight vs slipperyness?)

I have some H322 and would like to try some VV perhaps N130?

Also what dies for minute of crow? I thought Redding standard but would go to the bushing dies and all they entail if I had to.

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I got rid of my 222sako a while back and went to 223 and 222mag....mine liked IMR 4198 and 52 gr. bullets....I got good results with the standard 222 dies backed off as not to set shoulder back.....the 222 Lapua brass is fantastic and will last forever....VV powder wasn't available when I had my 222...the 130 should be in the game for the 222......Sako's are sweet and most shoot great some need a little bedding work and lighten the trigger.....good luck and good shooting!!!

I use 50 grain Speer TNT's in my Sako .222 over 25 grains of H-335, for an honest 3200 FPS. This is probably more powder than most manuals call for, but is perfect, and fairly mild, in my rifle. In my gun, this performs almost identically to 23.5 grains of H-4895; and either load with this TNT bullet is so accurate that I've never really tried much else. The little TNT will really take a varmint apart. I had a friend hit 9 prairie dogs in a row without a miss with this combination.

1894,

I have a Sako 75 in .222rem. Get fine results using Nosler 50gr BTs, 21.7gr N130, CCI primers. I would for preference use Lapua brass, but all I could get when I needed some was Norma. Not so well finished, but it does the job.

Patrick

1894

I useally always recomend Lapua brass when it comes to reloading for accuracy. .222 is another matter thoug.......

The Lapua .222 brass is not my first chiose due to small volume. The cases have really thick walls and don�t hold as mutch powder as others. My choise for the .222 is actually Norma or Sako.

N-130 is hard to beat in a .222 with 52 gr bullets. 22,5 gr. is a good load but on the hot side so reduce and work up.

Wilson style hand tools is my first choise for accuracy but Redding or Bonaza will do a good job to. I would defenetly go for a die with bushings for the sizing if you look for maximum accuracy.

Stefan.

1894 :

I have three .222s, two of which are Sakos. I have not done extensive load work up for these guns, but the following loads are good enough in my guns for groundhogs out to 250 yards :

My .222 Remington Model 788 uses 21.0 grains of IMR 4198 behind a 40 gr. Hornady VMAX bullet. Five shot groups with this load average 0.5 to 0.6 inches at 100 yards C.T.C. New lots of the 40 grain VMAX are very explosive. Bullets do not exit ground hogs at effective .222 ranges. Some early production 40 grain VMAXs that I used expanded poorly, if at all, on groundhogs at Hornet velocities and modest ranges.

My .222 Sako S491 Hunter uses 23.6 grains of IMR 4895 and a 50 grain Speer TNT bullet. Five shot groups with this load average 0.75 inches at 100 yards C.T.C. The 50 grain TNT is very explosive, at least as good, and perhaps even better than the new 40 grain VMAX.

I am in the process of developing a load and ironing out bedding problems with my .222 Sako AI Varmint. The only load I have tried with this rifle is 19.6 grains of IMR 4198 with 50 grain Hornady SX bullets. The only two groups that I have fired with this load after, hopefully, debugging the bedding were 0.47 and 0.48 inches at 100 yards C.T.C. No groundhogs have been harvested with this bullet to date.

I have standardized on Winchester Small Rifle primers for all my .222 loads because of their price and availability and I could not detect a deterioration in accuracy relative to BR primers. (Probably more a reflection of the imperfect test platform.

I have standardized on Remington .222 Brass because, relative to Winchester Brass, the cases last longer. I turn case necks, uniform primer pockets, deburr inside flash holes and sort cases by weight. (Perhaps this would not be necessary with Norma or Lapua Brass?) The last lot of .222 Remington Brass that I purchased was of good quality and did not require inside flash hole deburring.

Good luck with that magpie!

rollinghills.

The 222 in my view is the most accurate varmint round ever developed. My 222 likes the 40, 45, 50, 52gr. bullets with IMR 4895, H-322, Benchmark, H-335, Rel-7, WW-748. The 222 shoots great groups with many bullet powder combinations. If you can't find a good load with one of the powders and bullet weights I have listed take your rifle to a good gunsmith to fix the problem.
A quality well made rifle chambered in 222 set up properly, will out shoot any rifle at 100 and 200 yards except a 6PPC benchrest rifle.

My Sako .222 is fed a diet of Accurate Arms 2200 behind the 50 gr Hornady V-max. It is outstanding! It isn't too picky about what brass I use, but it shoots the best with brass I form from .223 Rem cases and then turn the necks to fit the chamber better. Doesn't seem to make much difference if they are comercial or military cases that I work with, all shoot about the same! Real darn good! I have used VV N133 too, an with groups about the same and velocity about the same as the AA2200 EXCEPT they shoot 2 1/2" lower and 2 1/2" left of where the same bullet shoots when loaded with 2200. These dimensions are at 100 yd. I didn't use many other powders for load testing, these two did what I wanted so I didn't have a need to use anything else, like Re 12, 335, 322, or 2015 Br and the like. I did try some IMR 4198, but not till after the AA and VV so I didn't have any need to go any farther with the 4198. Love those old little Sakos!

BP

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