I have the opportunity to get a rifle chambered for this cartridge and was wondering if the cartridge is accurate enough for prairie dogs out to 150-yards?
Brass is readily available, and although there is a dearth of .222 caliber bullets for it, there are enough .223 caliber Hornet bullets available to make owning it feasible.
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Posts: 479 | Location: Medina, Ohio USA | Registered: 30 January 2010
My take on it would be that rather than you having an opportunity to get a 22 Jet, the seller has an opportunity to divest himself of a gun chambered for a cartridge with the most poorly designed case I can think of. As far as accuracy is concerned, it probably has more to do with the gun than the cartridge.
The Jet is a fun finicky little cartridge, I have shot coyotes out to 125-150 yds with good results. It takes some care in reloading and is pretty much an orphan now. What rifle did you find if I might ask.
SSR
Posts: 6725 | Location: central Texas | Registered: 05 August 2010
If it is something someone built, it more then likely has a .224 bore anyway. I had a rem rollingblock, smokeless action, that was in .22 jet. it shot fine enough but didnt seem right, so I rechambered it to .219 zipper. It now looks and feels like an old time varminter!
About two years ago Jim Kobe rechambered a Ruger #1 from.223 to 22 Jet. It shoots as good in Jet as it did in .223.It is not the best I have for accuracy but it is adequate for varmint shooting out to 200 yds.It also gave me a chance to build a new wildcat by necking down and trimming .223 cases. Yes the 22 Jet Rimless and the Ruger does fine with both. You might also check the rifle's groove diameter. With any luck it might be close to .224" roger
Old age is a high price to pay for maturity!!! Some never pay and some pay and never reap the reward. Wisdom comes with age! Sometimes age comes alone..
Posts: 10226 | Location: Temple City CA | Registered: 29 April 2003
If you are referring to the .22 Remington Jet Magnum, it is a rimmed cartridge with lots of taper to the case. Designed to shoot a .40 gr bullet in the 23-2400 fps range. Accurate enough but 150-200 yards would be a practical limit. I used to shoot ground squirrels at 50-100 feet with mine. I had a S&W Mod 53 with a 8 3/8" barrel and it was loud and extraction of the cases tended to be difficult. It was a major pita to keep the cylinders spotless and the cartridge case spotless in the hope of easy extraction.
You might consider chambering your rifle to .22 Hornet or one of the Bee Wildcats.
Don't ask me what happened, when I left Viet Nam, we were winning.
I had a S&W 53 with a 6" barrel. Very load, very touchy with ammo and the ammo and inside of the cylender has to be clean and dry, nothing slippery, or else the cases back out and lock the action. I know that I shot it with the 22 LR inserts more than I did with the 22 Rem Jet ammo.
+1 on the ear protection when shooting the S&W 53 with 22 Rem Jet ammo, VERY LOUD!
Jeff
Posts: 993 | Location: Omaha, NE, USA | Registered: 11 May 2005
But the M53 was the first gun that I bought with my own summer-job-earned money. So it's still special and I'm willing to put up with its idiosyncracies!
Posts: 1416 | Location: Texas | Registered: 02 May 2003
With a reasonably stong action it really superceds the .218 Bee which has the same useful capacity. I would not sell this chambering in a rifle short. roger
Old age is a high price to pay for maturity!!! Some never pay and some pay and never reap the reward. Wisdom comes with age! Sometimes age comes alone..
Posts: 10226 | Location: Temple City CA | Registered: 29 April 2003
I'd have it re-chambered to 221 fireball, and make cases from 360 DW brass, then you'd have a rimmed 221, plenty of load data, and an outstanding round.
__________________________________________________ The AR series of rounds, ridding the world of 7mm rem mags, one gun at a time.
Posts: 7213 | Location: Alaska | Registered: 27 February 2001
I have a little Model 53 experience, as I have owned 4. Most were poor in the accuracy department, with 25 yard groups running around 4". Also, I never could get my extreme spreads under 150fps or so. Still fun to fiddle with. Here's a Jet revolver story I am sure you will appreciate. A couple years ago a couple buddies and me were up in Cuba New Mexico, on a prarie dog hunt. The ranch we hunted upon had a large population of jack rabbits, so we would try to "plunk" them with pistols as we drove around. I was sitting in the right seat of my pals Tahoe, and a jack ran out to the right at about 35 yards. I grabbed the Jet and let one fly, then another at about 50 yards. Never did hit it. A little while latter, when we set up on a "dog: town, we noticed and to my chagrin, the muzzel blast, had scorched the paint near the mirror and on the door. Just 2 shots.I have a set of forming dies, so it is fun to make cases, and the cartridge is very nostalgic, while not accurate in a revolver.
About two years ago Jim Kobe rechambered a Ruger #1 from.223 to 22 Jet. It shoots as good in Jet as it did in .223.It is not the best I have for accuracy but it is adequate for varmint shooting out to 200 yds.It also gave me a chance to build a new wildcat by necking down and trimming .223 cases. Yes the 22 Jet Rimless and the Ruger does fine with both. 
You might also check the rifle's groove diameter. With any luck it might be close to .224" 
roger
With a reasonably stong action it really superceds the .218 Bee which has the same useful capacity. I would not sell this chambering in a rifle short. 
roger
