222 vs 223

[JohnnyB3105]

Hey guys,

I'm looking at buying either a 222 or a 223. I'm going to use it for general varmit hunting. Im not going to be shooting massive distances.

What's everyone's thoughts on what I should go for?

John

[Aster]

If you're busting bunnies at 80m either will be plenty.

What does "massive" distances included though? If that means nothing beyond 100m, same as above.

If you're say on a hill taking foxes at 300m+ though, that's better suited to the .223 with some heavier pills.

[Wheelbarrow]

You're talking about 2 very different cartridges really...

[howtow]

You're talking about 2 very different cartridges really...

Yer...

35-60gr pills for .222 vs 40-90gr pills for .223

.223 is going to let you do a lot more.

[Press]

35-60gr pills for .222 vs 40-90gr pills for .223

.223 is going to let you do a lot more.

Reason enough to get the .223 right there IMO.

[Sakoh]

.223

More gun, same recoil, why not?

[reddog]

Really not that much difference between the two maybe, 200 - 250 fps at the most or a couple of grains of powder on maximum loads.

Unless you go to a fast twist barrel on the .223 you wont be using anything much over 60gn projectile , and as you are using it for general varmit hunting you will probably be running lighter bullets any way. Ballistically there is not a great deal of difference. It really comes down to what you can get rifle wise (there is not a lot of new rifles in .222) and what you want. When

I was buying my first rifle I was toying with the same decisions , I ended up getting a .223 Howa , mainly for availabilty of ammo here in country SA, but now I reload anyway.

After all that, there's bugger all difference between the two for what you want to do

Have fun and shoot straight

[rigatoni]

I ended up getting a .223 Howa , mainly for availabilty of ammo here in country SA , but now I reload anyway.

Gotta have ammo.

For some reason a mate of mine loves calibres which are less common. .303 British, 7mm-08 and the like, and only shoots factory ammo.

Always bitching he can't find it

[Hinky]

If you don't want to shoot the heavier pills or longer distances, its six of one, half a dozen of the other.

[VICHunter]

Varmint hunting on the move? Or sat on a hill?

If you don't need a sporter for getting around, maybe go a semi-heavy .223 and get yourself a varmint/target rifle in one swoop?

[JohnnyB3105]

Thanks for the replies guys. I was almost sold on a 223 but my mate loves his 222 and ranted about how great it is. Regarding distance it wouldn't be anymore than 400m. Shooting will be both on the move (walking or in a car) and also on a hill/hide.

[boyou]

I was almost sold on a 223 but my mate loves his 222 and ranted about how great it is.

People do love to brag about the things they decided to buy

[TPCKRT]

mate just bought a remington 700 vssf 5r in .223 its heavy looks good. andshoots extremely well. personally run a .204 and love it. but its all upto you mate. 223 is an awesome round and will do everything any varmint hunter would want.

[headspace]

I'll second the motion for the 223, it's got that little extra but it's still cheap enough to feed, and it's accurate. Nothing wrong with the 222, it's just become a little dated.

[von_klitzing]

Ever considered .222 Rem Mag? I have a Sako Vixen and I'd say it's about the best of both worlds. Just be prepared to reload for it

[1290]

Jeez, if you're going to get bogged down in a comparison between the triple-deuce and the 223, then don't even think about going the compare the '250 or the swift.... but then the 243... oh you may need the extra in the quarter bore, oh if its the .25 then you may as well think of a 7mm, ye but the 308 Win does more.....

if you want to do bunnies at 80m.... a rimfire will do it, you dont need a centrefire. no reason not to shoot bunnies at 20m with a 223 though...More noise more cost more recoil.

The 223 Rem wins IMHO, when you want more than a rimfire 22. Common and wide selection of components and not too hard on the shooter or the equipment.

[Vati]

Splitting hairs a bit unless you're going to be shooting the heavier pills.

.222 will shoot 35gr - 60gr bullets.

.223 will shoot 35gr - 60gr on slower twist barrels, up to 90gr bullets on faster twist barrels.

.223 is a bit more versatile in a fast twist barrel, go with that?

[Rob84]

Just buy a 223 why muck around with a 222.

Still a good caliber but the 223 is a better cartridge.

[huccl]

I'm with Vati.

.223 if only for the wider range of ammo.

Just look at twist when buying.

[duncan61]

I have a ruger .222 and love it however on ammo availability and performance .223 wins.You can get bags off 100 military rounds here for $45

[sandgroperbill]

I have a ruger .222 and love it however on ammo availability and performance .223 wins.You can get bags off 100 military rounds here for $45

Hmm... where can I get the $45 bags from? ATM I buy the 50 winnie bulk packs for that. Might be worth seeing how well they shoot from my rifle

[duncan61]

Seen them in Sportsmarine in Bunbury and shooters shop in Mandurah.Pay to phone first.I steer away from .223 as the ammo does not mix well when you have a ,222 in the car.All my shooting buddies have .243 as do I.We had a situation in the gascoiyne where I reloaded .223 with my .222 dies and shortened the case enough for it to fail to seal.I pulled every round and threw the cases out.We live and learn,only just my mate come back on the quad with bits of copper all over his face

[duncan61]

I should start a thread on near misses.Same period of time I had access to a workshop and the 2 guys culling the station used it for maintenance.One day one of them turns up with a stuck live round in .223 and he had removed the stock for some reason.He asked my advise and I said put the stock back on go out of ear shot of the station and let it go it will probably extract if not knock it out with a cleaning rod.I found out later he fired it sitting around at where they were camping and missed the real shooters foot by a foot.He wasonly there a few more days then he went home

[deadkitty]

I vote for the .223, more versatile, greater game choices and , from what I can gather, it's also cheap(er) to reload for. Have fun

[Rakk]

We had a situation in the gascoiyne where I reloaded .223 with my .222 dies and shortened the case enough for it to fail to seal.I pulled every round and threw the cases out.We live and learn,only just my mate come back on the quad with bits of copper all over his face

He fired one?

[happyhunter]

I vote for the .223, more versatile, greater game choices and , from what I can gather, it's also cheap(er) to reload for. Have fun

I reload 222 Rem and it's cheaper. Same projectiles, brass is available and cheap, same primers but smaller powder charge makes it cheaper. Reason I went 222 is that when I was looking for a second hand 223 a really nice second hand 222 was available at a dynamite price.

[Tiger650]

Good quality cases will be much less expensive for the .223 and you will need to reload if you want best accuracy, like Lapua cases and suchlike are much more available and at generally lower cost in .223 than .222.
The .222 was a world class benchrest round many years ago but a few thou in a 100 yd / 200 yd group will make no difference in practical terms.
If I were in the market for a .223 I would look for a rifle twist rate that would shoot 69 gn military bullets.

[RoginaJack]

Ever considered .222 Rem Mag? I have a Sako Vixen and I'd say it's about the best of both worlds. Just be prepared to reload for it

Gee, that's a blast from the past! A mate has a .222 Rem Mag Mannlicher-Schonauer (drool) mounted with a 6 power Pecar scope and can shoot the fleas of flies at 300 yards. A beautiful rifle and the calibre runs rings around the 223R.

[GLS_1956]

My 223s are semiautomatics, Rugers' 556 and Mini-14, I lack a 222 Remington, though I want one. Otherwise my 22 centerfires are 22 Hornet, 22-250, and the 220 Swift.
If you're working at 100 yards/meters, or so, the 22 Hornet will fill the bill on small game. Beyond that range you'll want a bit more "horsepower" which either of the smaller, 222/223/222Mag, centerfire 22s will provide.

[bladeracer]

My first centrefire rifle was the Remington 788 in.222, put thousands of rounds through it, learned to reload the day I bought it, used it hunting virtually every day for almost two years, and was absolutely spoiled by it's ability to unfailingly put bullets wherever I wanted them. I think .223 was becoming available at the time but I specifically wanted .222 for it's accuracy.
If I ever stumble upon a 788 in .222 I'll probably grab it just for sentimental reasons, but .223 does everything .222 will do, and more. And if you desperately need to experience the less-capable cartridge you can always load it down.