I just bought a Savage .222 and i would like to make up some varmint/accuracy loads for it. What are some of your guys' pet loads?

Mikeelliot: I use this load in two of my 222 Varminters. Both have 24" barrels. Remington brass with Federal 205M primers, the wonderful Sierra 50 gr. Blitz bullet (these are accurate, explosive and cheap!), and 20.5 grs. of IMR 4198. Now this is a very modest speed load but accuracy is so good that I hope you try it and go from there. Good luck with the new Rifle.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Great thanks. Im gonna try 20.0 4198 with Hornady 50gr SX, and work from there. Any more? I have 45-50-53-55gr bullets to try from!

H-4198 sc and Re-7 are two very good powders for the 222.

My 222 is a Savage 340, is there much stuff i can do to improve the accuracy without spending tons of cash?

Heres one thing: Hold real still when you pull the trigger

Thanks bud.

Mike,

I just couldn't help myself; I've always enjoyed being a smart ass. I spend a lot more time laughing at my own jokes than others do. I'm sure some folks over on the Gunsmithing forum will have some great ideas for you. Good shooting!

[ 04-08-2003, 16:46: Message edited by: Toomany Tools ]

20.0 imr4198 50 grain sierra

Try Hornady's 40 grain V-Max bullets over 25.0 grains of Hodgdon Benchmark. These work excellent out of my Rem 700 -- better than 50 or 52 grain match bullets -- shooting 3,400 fps and dime-sized 5-shot groups.

Some .222's have been known to prefer a deep-seated bullet, rather than being too close to the lands. You'll have to test for that.

Old No7

There are a bunch of powders (and bullets) that work beautifully in .222. My favorite is H-335 behind a Speer 50 grain TNT.

I like the H-335 because it is easy to meter (and I also use it in .223 and .222 Mag), but RL-7, 4198, 4895, and at least a dozen other powders have excellent potential.

The SAAMI pressure standards for .222 are lower than for .223 (with no good reason). This means that you can (usually) boost .222 loads found in manuals a little without exceeding prudent pressures. Just remember that "a little" is a very small amount when speaking of charges in the 20 grain range.

When loaded to .223 pressures, the .222 isn't very far behind it.

Like Stonecreek, I found that H335 is an excellent powder for my .222 Cooper. An appropriate load under a 50 grain Sierra BlitzKing is very accurate in my rifle. I had always thought of H335 as a .223 powder, but was pleasantly surprised at the results. The stuff meters beautifully.

[ 04-08-2003, 23:26: Message edited by: JB in SC ]

Toomany Tools dont worry about it, im a smart ass too, thanks for the loads and info, i cant wait to go play on sunday!!

I have a Rem 700. Loves 23 grains of BLC2 with nosler 40 gr ballistic tips, norma brass, CCI BR4 primers.
Do a search on this site and you will see alot of info on this topic.

In my short barrelled Anschutz I had the best with 52grs bullets and 19.1/2grs of IMR 4198.
bye

From memory:

19.5 grns IMR 4198 with a 52 grn HPBT - Shoots fantastic

24.0 grns Vihtavouri N133 with a 50 grn Hornady SX - Printed under 0.3" @ 200 yds once. Runs about 3200 fps

Cheers

Thanks guys, the best group i got so far was .5" with 23.5 grs IMR 4198 and 55 gr Hornady. But i still have lots of playing and im still getting used to the gun and scope.

to mikeelliot:

what technique do you use to get 23.5 of IMR 4198 into a 222 case behind a 55 grain bullet?

21.7 grs VihtaVuori N130, 50gr Nosler BT. CCI primer.

This is not a maximum load, but still gives me about 3250 fps out of my Sako 75.

Patrick

19.6gr imr4198 under a speer 52gr FBHP shoots a nice little hole for me out of my 788 with a 24" tube.

Sorry, IMR 4895, not 4198. Ya, that would have been bad. Thanks again. I tried some 60gr HP and it didnt seem to like it as much as 50-55gr bullets.

Mikeelliot,
if your .222 has a standard twist, this is the range of weight for the bullets.

bye

Glad you corrected yourself. If you get 23.5 of IMR4198 in that case you'll leave most of your case in the rifle when it splits in half. I've also split cases with Rel-7. You just can't exceed maximum with these little jobbies. You mentioned IMR4895. That's a bit of a sleeper. Not too many shooters use it, but my Test target from Remington for my .222Rem. in a 40XBBR was shot using it. I've always got my best accuracy from 52gr. HPBT's although the Nosler 50gr. Bal. Tip performs quite well. It's really a fun caliber. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

Thanks, ya im getting a box of 53g HP's on Monday, cant wait to try some of those out.

Hello Mike,

Judging by the responses to this topic, I'd say feed it anything and everything. It's a wonderfully versatile little caliber. I have two of them. You might be wise to measure your OAL because there's quite a bit of variance between rifles. With my Rem. 40XBBR the OAL with a Sierra 52gr. HPBT is 2.235" whereas with the same bullet in my Sako Varminter it's 2.21". I'm pretty well sold on IMR4198 although there are half a dozen powders that produce good results. I've recently been using and getting good accuracy from Nosler 50 & 55gr. Bal.Tips. It's the only non hollow points I use. For years I used (and still do) Sierra 52gr. HPBT's. In any event I'm fairly sure you'll enjoy the rifle. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal