COTW - .222 Remington

[AJ]

The .222 Remington was introduced by Remington in 1950. Much of the credit for the 222 Remington is due to Mike Walker, a longtime Remington employee.

Originally chambered in the Model 722, the .222 couldn't have come along at a better time. Varmint shooters were yearning for a new cartridge and a relatively new game called benchrest shooting was growing in popularity. Within ten years after it was introduced, the .222 was literally dominating both shooting sports. But by the early 1990's the .222 Remington had lost much of its popularity to the .223 Remington. The PPC cartridge had taken over the benchrest community, and the little triple deuce was falling by the wayside.

The .222 Remington is not based on any older case necked down, but is of original design. It is a more or less scaled down version of the .30-06 Springfield, and fills the gap between the .218 Bee and the .220 Swift (which were popular during that time). It is well suited to the needs of the average person who desires a high velocity .22 caliber centerfire. The .222 Remington is one of the most accurate rifle cartridges in the world.

Soon after it appeared, the .222 was being chambered by all major rifle manufacturers, and it became one of the major post-World War II success stories. For a short time, the Remington Model 760 slide action repeater was also available in this caliber. Remington still offers the 700 BDL chambered for the .222 Remington. The .222 Remington is popular in Europe and is chambered by CZ, Sako, and Anschutz.

Typical factory loads drive a 50 grain bullet at 3,140 fps. When that load is zeroed at 200 yards and the bullet will hit 2” high at 100 yards, dead on at 200 yards, 3.5" low at 250 yards, and 9.7" low at 300 yards. The .222 Remington is a fine varmint cartridge out to about 250 yards. Recoil is minimal in a light 7 pound rifle. The .222 Remington is fairly quiet compared to the popular big .22 caliber centerfire varmint rounds like the .22-250 and .220 Swift.

The reloader can choose from a myriad of bullets for this cartridge. The popular choices are 40 grain, 45 grain, 50 grain, 52 grain, and 55 grain bullets. Bullets much heavier than 55 grains are not recommended as the little deuce case does not have enough capacity to push them at high enough velocity to get a flat trajectory. The .222 Remington usually came with a barrel with a 1 in 14” twist rate and bullets heavier than 55 grains will not be stabilized. Handloaders can push 40 grain bullets 3500 fps. The 45 grain bullets can reach 3300 fps. The 50 and 52 grain bullets can be pushed to 3200 fps, and the 55 grain bullets can achieve 3100 fps.

Mike Walker's .222 Remington started life on a clean slate back in 1950. Very few designs can make that claim. Most start with some other case and go from there. The .222 has spun off dozens of factory and wildcat variations. It was a great case when it was introduced, and it's still a great case today. If you have a good-shooting .222, hold on to that gun very tight and don't think of trading it for something better.

[archerjg]

Re: COTW - .222 Remington

That's good information thanks for sharing.

Archerjg

[WABS]

Re: COTW - .222 Remington

I grew up hunting red fox with my Remington 700 .222 What a great little rifle!! It will always be a favorite varmit rifle for me.

[David_218]

Re: COTW - .222 Remington

Thanks, AJ, for the info. on the excellent .222 Remington. I have a copy of a 1953 Gun Digest which has a very interesting article on the .222 Rem. written by Edson W. Hall simply entitled "The .222 Remington". My first High Powered rifle was a Model 700 ADL Remington in .222 and later I bought a Sako L46 Varmint rifle in .222 Remington. A very outstanding cartridge and I hope it will be with us for many more years.