.222 Powders

[Norty_Country_Bloke]

Thanks for all the help you blokes! Loaded up a few and headed out to the farm on Sunday to shoot some 100m groups. Shot groups ranging from 21.0grn to 23.4gr of Benchmark 1 with Remington brass, primers and 40gr V-Max's. Interestingly enough the starting loads grouped the best. It's a great feeling getting results from something you've done yourself. The price difference doesn't hurt either
Anyways, thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I appreciate it!

[Lorgar]

Interestingly enough the starting loads grouped the best.

That can happen.

My Rugers preferred the lighter end of the scale. My Tikka prefers near max.

[COLLECTOR 1]

Try Winchester 748 if you can source it.....great metering, and burning rate....

COLLECTOR 1

[headspace]

I've been working up some loads for my 222 and today I got up to 22.5gn 2207 with 40gn Vmax and 40gn Nosler BT's. Have bumped it up to 23gn with the same bullets and will shot just 6 rounds tomorrow. I'm using Winchester cases which seem to have a bit more room in them. The powder comes to the base of the neck.
JD

[jubble]

I'm using Winchester cases which seem to have a bit more room in them.

I've got similar feedback.

Well the opposite actually... Guys going with Remington brass instead because they get a bit more velocity with it due to capacity being tighter.

Thicker walls I think is the cause.

[headspace]

I fired those 23 gn loads with no drama's. No difficult bolt lift. All shots in a 3 shot group under half inch. Every rifle is different though, I worked up from 20gn.
JD

[deye243]

yep there's a reason there is a low-pressure limit on this cal and it has nothing to do with the case or a MODERN rifle.

people would be very surprised if they knew how to hand load properly (as opposed to just reload there's a big difference) and seen what the .222R was capable of.....

[bigfellascott]

yep there's a reason there is a low-pressure limit on this cal and it has nothing to do with the case or a MODERN rifle.

people would be very surprised if they knew how to hand load properly (as opposed to just reload there's a big difference) and seen what the .222R was capable of.....

Tell me a bit more about it if you would D. It's a terrific little cal and very capable for it's size.
.

[south]

people would be very surprised if they knew how to hand load properly (as opposed to just reload there's a big difference) and seen what the .222R was capable of.....

Well don't keep it to yourself

Tell us how it's done.

[headspace]

I ran a couple of loads over the chronograph this morning. It was a bit windy so I wasn't fussing about groups. The 40gn Vmax with 23 gn 2207 averaged 3.529.2fps. The 50gn Vmax with 21.5gn 2207 averaged 3,219.2, both loads were averaged over 5 rounds. Point of impact was interesting. The 40gn Vmax printed 1.492inches high at 100m and was still .562inches high at 200m.
The 50gn load was 1.862inches high at 100m and 1.492inches high at 200m. That's only a drop of .37". I'm thinking of dropping the 40gn load to 22.5gn
JD

[Chronos]

That can happen.

My Rugers preferred the lighter end of the scale. My Tikka prefers near max.

hmmm, mine prefers about 1gr above min

Strange eh.

Chronos

[headspace]

Don't forget, it's a 20inch barrel, those velocities were not bad considering, but I still think I'll drop back half a grain.

[deye243]

Don't forget, it's a 20inch barrel, those velocities were not bad considering, but I still think I'll drop back half a grain.

now if you want a real surprise crono some factory stuff especially Winchester

[Lorgar]

hmmm, mine prefers about 1gr above min

Strange eh.

I've only ever shot Ballistic Tips with 2208 in my 7mm and it likes the heavier loads.

With a different bullet/powder combo could easily be different of course.

Could be the other end of the scale with a different combo if tried. (But we'll never know because I CBF )

[BNR964]

fast forward to 2023 and the reloading component shortages. I have 2208 powder and 55gr v max proj. ADI says min load is 23grn. OAL at .2130. Seems to be a compressed load. Mag length will allow AOL of .2190. Still a full load. I,m not keen to start at that, so I plan to start below that min level. Anyone loading with 2208 and what range are you at.

[deye243]

I don't know if my local stocked up before all this crap but they have all but 2205 in rifle powders and have had all the time.
2208 is to slow AFAIAC 2207 2219 bm2 8208 are far better choices especially if you want usable velocity.

[bladeracer]

fast forward to 2023 and the reloading component shortages. I have 2208 powder and 55gr v max proj. ADI says min load is 23grn. OAL at .2130. Seems to be a compressed load. Mag length will allow AOL of .2190. Still a full load. I,m not keen to start at that, so I plan to start below that min level. Anyone loading with 2208 and what range are you at.

It's not a minimum load, it's just a suggested starting point. There is no issue with going below it if that better suits your purpose. Compressed is good too.

[bladeracer]

I don't know if my local stocked up before all this crap but they have all but 2205 in rifle powders and have had all the time.
2208 is to slow afaic 2207 2219 bm2 8208 are far better choices especially if you want usable velocity.

I got an email from ADI this week confirming that we won't be seeing AR2205 this year at all, and probably not next year either.

[Oldbloke]

You can safely further reduce you loads using ar2208.

I'm just unsure what is considered max capacity. But assuming 24gr is max capacity you can go down to about 18gr.

And I would not consider 222 a large capacity case.

Reduced loads 75% of Case capacity.JPG (39.94 KiB) Viewed 1433 times

[northdude]

Its an easy round to get shooting accuratley and as youve found fastest isnt always the most accurate. I used to run 2206h and 55gn soft points in my 788 I had a while back with good results

[BNR964]

Thanks for the feedback.

[johnblackpigs]

What a fabulous response to the question posed. Well done " brothers in arms"

[bigrich]

hey fellas, i'm building up a 222 rem 700 for feild rifle comp at my local range . 1-14 twist madco barrel and a timney and bedding job . anyone got any accuracy recipes ?
i've got 2207 , 2219 , BM2 powder , and a variety of projectiles . thinking the sierra 53gn hpfb and the hornady equivalent would be a good start . cheers

[SCJ429]

Amazingly in a Maddco barrelled 1:14 twist shoots 40 grain ZMax with 2207 into the 0.2s. Better than I can get it to shoot 52 grain Bergers. The Bergers can shoot 1/4 MOA but cannot better Hornadys finest.

[bigrich]

Amazingly in a Maddco barrelled 1:14 twist shoots 40 grain ZMax with 2207 into the 0.2s. Better than I can get it to shoot 52 grain Bergers. The Bergers can shoot 1/4 MOA but cannot better Hornadys finest.

Yeah my last 222 used to shoot the 40 vmax three shots one little ragged hole. I’ve been second guessing myself about the twist rate for target/comp use . I need a load that will hold accurately across 42 round comp, with great accuracy to 200 yards. So the “target “ 222 loads are what I’m chasing. 40’s are a bit light and a bit fast for this. I’ve been using my 223 T3 tikka for a few years with good success and it’s reasonably cheap to run. But I know 222 is capable of slightly better accuracy, and the rem700 I’m building has a heavier barrel profile. So it should be more consistent with grouping as well as balancing better for off hand shooting

[Jorlcrin]

I reload .222 rounds for a neighbour.
I took over loading ammo for him after seeing how feral his own reloading attempts were.
I really like his family, and this bloke struggles to understand why paying attention to detail is important for this type of work.
GREAT neighbour, but this is one area where he tanks...

I'm loading 22.0gns of AR2206 behind 55gn Varmagedden pills for his .222 (Krico Model 601S - I THINK it's a 1:14" twist).
Aside from verifying the rounds fire through the rifle with no pressure signs, I haven't done any load development, as the neighbour wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
He tells me they shoot really well, so that seems to be about as far as I need to go.
At least I know he's no longer chambering rounds that show signs of imminent case-head separation.....Sigh.

Once I run out of the last of my AR2206 powder, I'll move him across to BM2, as I've got heaps of that in stock.

[bigrich]

hey fellas , hope your all good . has anyone tried ar2219 powder in their 222 with 53gn match kings ? i'm looking into other powders that give good case fill . sierra list a accuracy load with 2206h of all things . i woulda thought it too slow . comments please

[deanp100]

hey fellas , hope your all good . has anyone tried ar2219 powder in their 222 with 53gn match kings ? i'm looking into other powders that give good case fill . sierra list a accuracy load with 2206h of all things . i woulda thought it too slow . comments please

I haven’t in a 222 but discovered 2219 and as a very mild 223 load and in a 308 it was significantly better than anything I’ve tried.. Seems to be a great powder.

[bigrich]

hey fellas , hope your all good . has anyone tried ar2219 powder in their 222 with 53gn match kings ? i'm looking into other powders that give good case fill . sierra list a accuracy load with 2206h of all things . i woulda thought it too slow . comments please

I haven’t in a 222 but discovered 2219 and as a very mild 223 load and in a 308 it was significantly better than anything I’ve tried.. Seems to be a great powder.

yeah , 2219 is relatively unknown . developed for our 556 military ammo apparently . i've redone ladder testing and rediscovered a node at 19.9gn of 2207 with the 53gn sierras . as the barrel has worn in i've lost the original accuracy node at 19.5gn . got a great group with 2219 as well . i'll play around with seating depth next and see what happens

[Wyliecoyote]

Back in the day when the SSAA rag used to give lists of silver, gold, ruby and diamond awards. load data was listed with each achievement. With the 52/53 grain match pills in 222 it was almost always universally a load between 20 and 20.5 grains of 2207, more often than not 20.5 grains as was mine back in the days i shot club BR with a 222 and 52 grain Kats. AR 2219 is H322 and is better suited to 6PPC as it is slightly slower. The other powder of choice in 222 and 52 grain match pills was Reloder 7 at around 19.5 grains.
Having said that, 2207 back then is not what it is today. Some batches are faster and others are slower to the extent that i have loaded a full 1.5 grains more powder in my current 222s because accuracy and velocity was way off. Same with my competition 30 BRs where clearly 2207 is not what it once was.