I'm going to be spinning up a 22BR barrel for my Remington 700 Varmint here soon. The rifle currently wears the factory barrel chambered in .243 Win. I thought I would make a thread and post some of my data and results with this project. To make a long story short, I acquired a Brux 1-7tw. 4 groove Remington Varmint profile barrel thats 30" that I'll probably finish around 27-28". I have 100x pieces of Lapua 6BR brass, Redding FL sizing die with Hornady seating die, and I have 300x Berger 80.5 Fullbores on the way. I'll be using IMR 4451 and shooting for 3150FPS give or take without excessive pressure with accuracy and consistency in mind. I think this will be an awesome little Varmint cartridge and be a fun rifle to plink with. I'll keep the thread updated as I get things rolling. Thanks!
.22 BR Project
- Thread starter Jud96
- Start date
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Idaho Trecker
Well-Known Member
This sounds like a fun project. I was going back and forth between 22 br or dasher and 6 br or dasher for a short barreled walking varmint rig running a suppressor whenever it finally clears. Placed my order for a 16.5" Proof 6mm today. Just wish I could afford one of those fancy actions you guys make to cut my weight
. Maybe next time around I'll go with the 22 cal. I'll be watching to see how this project goes.
. Maybe next time around I'll go with the 22 cal. I'll be watching to see how this project goes.
I am a big 22BR fan, one of my favorite cartridges. I have one now in a 1:14tw, Benchmark barrel, Norma spec chamber.
Jud96, are you chambering this barrel yourself? I'm assuming your going with the Norma chamber?
I have been wanting to do a fast twist for a while, I'm limited to 52gr heaviest I can run in the 14 twist. Would love to run heavier than that.
Jud96, are you chambering this barrel yourself? I'm assuming your going with the Norma chamber?
I have been wanting to do a fast twist for a while, I'm limited to 52gr heaviest I can run in the 14 twist. Would love to run heavier than that.
brant89
Well-Known Member
I just completed a 22BR build on a Savage 12 action. 20" Criterion Lite Varmint contour, 1:8T, Manson reamer with .252 neck and .050 FB. The .050FB is about perfect for 80gr bullets as the base of the bearing surface sits right at the neck/shoulder junction. In hindsight I wish I had gone 1:7T due to accuracy issues with the 80ELD. Rifle flings the 77 TMK into tiny groups at 2940fps using 2000MR. I was able to achieve 3100fps before pressure signs but a 7fps SD was too good to worry about the extra 150fps.. If you are in need of a reamer I'd be willing to loan mine out to you. I purchased it new last fall and has only been used once.
Yes I'll be chambering it myself with the help of a buddy who has done hundreds of chamber jobs. I'll be using a reamer that's spec'd for Norma/Lapua brass.
Thank you for the information! I have a couple reamers to choose from and the one I think I'll use has .049FB and is spec'd for Norma/Lapua brass. Thank you for the offer though! I think this reamer is going to work really well with the Berger 80.5 bullets.
brant89
Well-Known Member
If you're going with a no-turn neck you might want to increase the FB a little to seat the bullet out a little farther in the neck in case you end up with donut issues after necking down.
I'll have to turn necks with this reamer. I believe it's a 0.252 or 0.253 neck. From the dummy rounds I made, they're 0.252 so I will have to turn .004 or so off the necks. I plan to make a dummy round with the bearing surface seated about .050 above the neck/shoulder junction. When I finish the chamber I'll check to see if that dummy rounds goes in the chamber without touching the lands. If I have to go deeper then I'll just use a throating reamer and add some freebore if need be.
Sounds intersting. I have a Savage target action with a 26 inch 6 Dasher for a fun range gun. I need to get it out and start playing with it. I shot it a little when I first built it then got really busy and put it away just having time to load for my hunting rifles.
brant89
Well-Known Member
Sounds like a solid plan. I don't think you'll have any issues hitting 3150fps from a 27" barrel. Can't wait to see the results!
Just an update for you all. I got the chamber job done last night. Everything went super smooth for my first go around. My gunsmith buddy gave me some tips along the way and guided me while I did the job. The chamber looks great and is about .001 above minimum headspace. My bolt closes on the dummy round without any resistance so the chamber's freebore will work great with these Berger 80.5 Fullbores. I finally scored some small rifle primers so I have plenty of components for this project now. I also wanted to mention that I'll be using an HS Precision A2 Tactical M24 stock on this build. I originally had a laminate take off from a Remington Varmint rifle. Unfortunately that stock cracked right behind the cutout for the bolt handle. So I decided to go with an HS stock.
I got some rounds down the 22BR today! The results are looking great so far. The only powder I have on hand that might work is IMR 4451. I'm currently looking for something faster burning to experiment with. I loaded up 6 rounds at 30.0gr of IMR 4451 with the 80.5gr Berger seated .020 off the lands.
I wanted to shoot a couple groups with a random load to get an idea of what the rifle will do. Generally if a random load shoots MOA or better, that's a sign the rifle is going to shoot good when the load is tuned. I also wanted to see if this powder was going to get decent velocity, so I did a velocity test with one round each from 29.0-32.9gr. This is my first time loading for a 22BR and I have no experience with one. So I wanted to ease my way into it while also trying to get a rough idea of how this rifle is going to perform.
Anyways, to start the day I shot a cold, clean bore group that was right at 0.750 MOA. I was happy with this for a random load and a cold barrel. However, my fiancée came along with me and I let her shoot the other 3 shots for a group and wow! She blew me out of the water with a 3 shot group that measures 0.178 MOA! She can shoot! I just keep telling myself my shots were just fouling shots
. I'll list a picture of the group below. I don't have any good pictures of the rifle yet but I do have one I took earlier in my loading room.
I'll add a photo from my reloading journal with today's velocity results. For some odd reason my Magnetospeed didn't pick up any of the shots from 29.0-29.9 so I turned it off then back on and then it started working. I was hoping to hit higher velocities but I think 4451 is just too slow for this cartridge and bullet combo. I'm going back out tomorrow to test 32.6-34.1gr in once fired brass to see if I pressure out. I can't get much more powder in the case without over compressing it. If I'm unable to safely get 3150fps then I'll be on the hunt for something like H4895, 8208 XBR, or Varget. These powders seem to be way more common and they shine in the little BR. I'll keep you guys updated with any new results or updates! Thanks
I wanted to shoot a couple groups with a random load to get an idea of what the rifle will do. Generally if a random load shoots MOA or better, that's a sign the rifle is going to shoot good when the load is tuned. I also wanted to see if this powder was going to get decent velocity, so I did a velocity test with one round each from 29.0-32.9gr. This is my first time loading for a 22BR and I have no experience with one. So I wanted to ease my way into it while also trying to get a rough idea of how this rifle is going to perform.
Anyways, to start the day I shot a cold, clean bore group that was right at 0.750 MOA. I was happy with this for a random load and a cold barrel. However, my fiancée came along with me and I let her shoot the other 3 shots for a group and wow! She blew me out of the water with a 3 shot group that measures 0.178 MOA! She can shoot! I just keep telling myself my shots were just fouling shots
. I'll list a picture of the group below. I don't have any good pictures of the rifle yet but I do have one I took earlier in my loading room.I'll add a photo from my reloading journal with today's velocity results. For some odd reason my Magnetospeed didn't pick up any of the shots from 29.0-29.9 so I turned it off then back on and then it started working. I was hoping to hit higher velocities but I think 4451 is just too slow for this cartridge and bullet combo. I'm going back out tomorrow to test 32.6-34.1gr in once fired brass to see if I pressure out. I can't get much more powder in the case without over compressing it. If I'm unable to safely get 3150fps then I'll be on the hunt for something like H4895, 8208 XBR, or Varget. These powders seem to be way more common and they shine in the little BR. I'll keep you guys updated with any new results or updates! Thanks
