Most efficient .22 center fire

[Allen Lone wolf]

223 wylde

 

[Mark M.]

With a bullet themselves being all the same caliber so presumably the same price, it comes down to case capacity availability and price. There are many choices. Each one gives up some thing my guess would be 223 very readily available lower case capacity so you save on powder as well.

That was easy

 

[Paladin300]

I would agree with 338 Dude. 223 is probably the most efficient and cheapest to load and components are readily available. I like 223 and I own 3. However, we are talking 22 cal. In my opinion they are all rather inexpensive to load for compared to large caliber rounds. Therefore, it comes down to case availability. 223 and 22-250 are both easy to come by and nearly everyone makes brass for them. Since long range and varmint hunting are on the menu I would go 22-250 Improved with a fast twist. It is easy to load for and brass last forever once you get past the initial fire-forming. There is a little more cost on the front end but you may make up the difference on brass life. Powder cost will be double but this is a case where you actually double your effective range as well. The 223 will really loose it's muster at 400-500 yards, the 22-250 AI/FT will get you to a 1000. The 22-250 will do everything the Creedmoor will but brass will be better and easier to come by. It has yet to be seen if the creed will survive as a cartridge. The 22-250 is well established. I own and like both the 223 and the 22-250. You can't really go wrong with either however if you want to push past 500 yards with regularity a fast twist 22-250 is the way to go. The Ackley Improved version will help with brass life and add about 100-150 fps depending on bullet weight. JMTs

 

[B-LOT Banga]

I've got a brand new tikka .223 that I shot a couple goats using Sierra 77 TMK with impressive results and accuracy. But I'm thinking of swapping to a preffered prefit 1-7" twist in .223 AI using the Sierra TMK's and I believe it will be epic…. After reading about it, it intrigued me. The hype on this setup is very real. It's cheap to load, easy to shoot and impressive performance! Good luck Aloha!

 

[Chas1]

.223

 

[Short Round]

I got to go with the trend with .223

I'd go with .223, but the .221 is a great round. Less powder,barrel life would be waaay out there. When I got my first 221 I did make some brass from 223. It was a lot of work, but 221 brass was rare.

it, the fireball, is a very efficient little case and the cases would last awhile for all that work in to them.

Speaking of efficiency, if your concern is stretching your powder and you don't need all the range, the .22 Hornet is an efficient powder user. The hornet's downside is the less common bullet weight and style.

221 is a neat efficient round but the brass is not readily available or costs a little more. 223 is the easiest to get brass but the 222 if you can find brass inexpensive is a very efficient and accurate round, there is a reason it was used in competition for so many years.

you can make .221 fireball or .222 from .223 cases you scrounge for free if you had to.


again ....

223.....the do all cartridge.

 

[Paladin300]

A fast twist 223/5.56. Given I own 4 of these with 3 throated for the longer vld heavies, they are excellent out to 1,000yds for your given requirements. Brass is everywhere and cheap to free range pickups. Several powders work well, and a single pound can give 250-300 rounds, and SRP are fairly available.

In my 26" versions, I can push 75gr bullets to 3,000fps with the slower powders like AA2520, and 2,900fps with several others. That's only about 300fps slower than several 22-250 loads with same bullets.

22-250 AI will push 75 grain pills at 3400-3600 fps depending on powder choice and add about 200+ yards of effective range. If stepping up from a standard 223/556, I would go 22-250 AI/FT. It is a legit 1000 yard 22 for bagging steel and a 600 yard varminter. We're pushing 90s at 3300 that is where the AI really separates itself from the 223AI and cartridges like the Valkyrie. 85-95 grain pills are it's sweet spot and it is there where it gains longevity because it ceases to be a barrel burner. I like 223 but if going true long range 1000+ the 250 AI just gives you more. No 22 is really inefficient with regards to cost compared to larger cartridges. Either of the above would be a good choice as they are the two most popular and readily available cartridges, in a pinch the OP could shoot factory ammo. It would really come down to what he wants to primarily do with it and what platform he intends to run. JMTs

 

[CNY Yote Hunter]

223 all the way. Cheap and very efficient

 

[DavidA]

My take on it is the 223 REM. I terms of cost, availability, components, as someone said in a pinch you can scrounge brass. In addition barrel life is excellent. I don't have a bolt gun but I have a 16" light govt profile and a 20" heavy bull.

I have thought a lot about upgrading the 20" bull to a different chamber. As this is the long range set up. I just find it all hard to justify. The 20" bull can get you to 500 yds and I have different rifles to go beyond that in AR15 platforms. I have a 20" and 24" 264 LBC.

I chose 264 LBC because of barrel life mainly. It is one of my criteria I use. The higher the velocity the hotter the load. The more you string them it just eats your throat. So my cartridges I have chosen are all based on this. They are 260 REM, 270 win, 284 win , 308 win, and 338 win mag.

They are all not the Porsche of cartridges, but they get the job done.

For the 223 Wilde chamber 20" bull , looking back the only thing I wish had done is gone with a +1 or +2 gas block. I constantly review all the other selections and new cartridges like the 22 Arc ( basically a 22 Grendel ) that wild caters have been shooting for 10 plus years, and it's just hard to justify. At least to my way of thinking.


In the end the only option that makes sense using my parameters are a 223 AI. You can shoot 223 to fire form, you could cut a deep throat and now heavies would make 1,000 yds doable with reasonable consistency.

But as I said I have different rifles for that. The one thing though that I enjoy most is the tinkering, the loading and the sharing of thought. All of us make our decisions based on our objectives. To the question for me it's 223 all day.

 

[woodnut]

I had a guy in Colo. build me an AR upper in 223A.I. His recommendation. It shoots a 55. gr. Sierra BlitzKing to an honest, chronographed 3600.fps and one hole groups at 100yds. I liked to so much I had a Cooper single shot done in it! You will need to reload it so buying dies add to the cost. You can shoot factory 223s in it, but not as good. My barrels have a 1 in 14 twist. I did ,only one time, shoot a prairie dog at 862 yards with the AR. It was a verified hit. Only once have I ever done it. But I did !!!

 

[highflier450]

223 wylde

This ^^^^^

 

[wideopenyamaha]

223 ai for me so far. 55 grainers varmagedon bullets before the lead ban for hunting. Also looking into 22 gt since 6 gt has been great for prs.

 

[Dr. Richard Gray]

For varmints I would even consider a .22 Magnum. I'm 74 and used my Winchester 290 .22LR for almost 60 of those years for varmints like ground hogs and muskrats.. Had it sited in at 100 yds. Just put me a new scope on it this year.

 

[Davew223]

Which .224 centerfire? The last time I pondered that question for myself, I ended up having a 6.5 Grendel AR built. Hardly any more recoil than a .223, better BC's, better sectional density, better selection of bullets, much better deer round, supersonic at 1000. Same primers I use for 22 K-Hornet, .222 Rem and .223 and the same powders (H335 and CLE223) I use for the .222 and .223.