Most efficient .22 center fire

[VinceMule]

Hummm.......Target and Long Range......then throw in Varmint

Killing stuff opens a new can of worms with a focus on "get the job done".

What kind of varmints?

 

[highfinblue]

I'd never even considered the .221 fireball but it looks like a very efficient cartridge. Doesn't get a lot of press.

Great little cartridge, and they've made some wildcats off it that are dynamite; 20 VarTarg, and 17 Mach IV are my two favorites. If you're building your rifle check with folks for twist rates to stabilize a variety of bullets and talk to guys that shoot factory rifles for the same reasons. There are so many good .22 caliber bullets nowadays. I have found the Hornady 68 grain bthp to be super easy to get to shoot really well in my .22's. My 5.56 Stag AR, CZ .223, and my Bergara 22-250 all love that bullet and it flies well. I haven't shot it much past 500 yards, but it is deadly at that range in all three. I live in the country and have chickens so I never pass a coyote. I'm sighting in my AR and one crosses my hay meadow, and I don't have a range finder. Missed first shot, kept sighting in rifle, and that bugger came back across about an hour later, I guessed him a bit farther that time and had to throw him over the creek bank, he couldn't make it himself. I later ranged it at a bit over 440 yards, he dropped in his tracks.

 

[Prairie Sasquatch]

Very interesting thoughts.

I have both a 22-250 and a 22-250AI. The 22-250 is a Tikka 1-8" with the 22 inch barrel and the other is a Rem 788 with a 1-7.7 twist Bartlien cut at 26". I'll primarily use the Tikka for hunting coyotes when I'm walking many miles and calling. I like the weight of this rifle. I had a Rem 788 previously in 22-250 for this job but shot it out.

I just got the 788 22-250AI done here in September and have been messing with the 77 gr SMK. I haven't really had time to stretch it out. Shot it to 400 yards but it's fall so I've been hunting. It's been very accurate and I'm looking forward to shooting it more this coming spring.

The reason I asked is that I have three kids and a high volume cheap to shoot rifle that is still fun for me is probably in order. A properly chambered .223AI sounds like it could fit the bill. A little more punch but could press the easy button and just buy factory ammo. A bit easier on powder and barrels too.

I enjoy working up loads in rifles and reloading so that's part of the appeal of different calibers.

I like to get many different perspectives as there are often things I haven't thought about.

 

[William W.]

Coincidentally, I have had two of my 30+ year old former across-the-course 223 rifles with Krieger barrels, re-fitted with picatinny rail uppers instead of the old hand-grip, attaching cantilever sight mounts for Vortex 6-24 Diamondback FFP Tactical scopes (yes I know that they are not the sharpest, but I love the "Christmas tree pattern), used an old throat reamer to hopefully allow my ammocan full of 80-grain Sierras to be pushed out to maximum length, installed thick ERGO handles, and Magpul competition AR rifle stocks. I have found that my 30-year old load with VVN550 is too slow to get the case expanded due to sooty surfaces. I have some 25-year old VVN540 which I will use with the 223. Both powders remain good as they have been refrigerated in the summers. I use the VVN550 in 180-grain 308 loads and with 6.5x47 loads. The 308 is my chief deer gun with close to MOA capability, so the powder "speaks for itself". In this day of absurd powder prices, I got about 2-dozen 2-pounders of both powders as a close-out from a dealer at the end of the last Camp Perry match that I attended in the late 1990's for less than $20 each.

 

[Gary in MD]

Very interesting thoughts.

I have both a 22-250 and a 22-250AI. The 22-250 is a Tikka 1-8" with the 22 inch barrel and the other is a Rem 788 with a 1-7.7 twist Bartlien cut at 26". I'll primarily use the Tikka for hunting coyotes when I'm walking many miles and calling. I like the weight of this rifle. I had a Rem 788 previously in 22-250 for this job but shot it out.

I just got the 788 22-250AI done here in September and have been messing with the 77 gr SMK. I haven't really had time to stretch it out. Shot it to 400 yards but it's fall so I've been hunting. It's been very accurate and I'm looking forward to shooting it more this coming spring.

The reason I asked is that I have three kids and a high volume cheap to shoot rifle that is still fun for me is probably in order. A properly chambered .223AI sounds like it could fit the bill. A little more punch but could press the easy button and just buy factory ammo. A bit easier on powder and barrels too.

I enjoy working up loads in rifles and reloading so that's part of the appeal of different calibers.

I like to get many different perspectives as there are often things I haven't thought about.

With 3 kids coming along then the standard 223 sounds like a real good idea

 

[floyd kittrell]

With the price of reloading components these days and the hit or miss availability of said components. What do you think is the most efficient long range .22 cal center fire if you had to consider component costs, brass availability and long range capability. If you had to go with one cartridge what would you choose and why? I was thinking for both target and varmint shooting.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately and I'm not sure what I'd choose.

I'm having a 22 Creedmoor built with heavy contur and suppressed.

 

[dwcars]

223 all the way. Cheap and very efficient

I don't have bottomless pockets, so I have only one .22CF and it's a .223 with a 1:12 twist. Ruger built it, and with no upgrades other than a Timney trigger it shoots just under 1/2 moa. I'm confident that with meticulous cartridge prep and finding the right bullet-powder combo it should certainly do 1/4 moa. I'm in the process of ladder building right now with a variety of powders and bullets.
Even if I did have a ton of money and could afford to have a super-duper $2000 to $3000 custom rifle built, I would stick with the .223 strictly because of component availability.

 

[Argon Glen]

223 AI
22 Creedmoor
22 Nosler

Plus more, but I'd start with researching those.

 

[buzby]

Separate process or not, that is still fire forming your brass.

It was a reply to a reply of my question about shooting factory loads. A 223ai chamber can shoot factory loads. So you don't "have to" fire form your brass to shoot loaded ammo. Yes the byproduct will be fire formed brass.

 

[del2les]

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

I own both the standard 22-250 and 22-250AI both in fast twist shooting 75-88's and use them well beyond 1K yds, but the op requested "most efficient". I have used my long throated 223's with 75-80's on the 1,000yd line and below with great powder efficiency, low cost to near free brass, and uses SRP which are much more available and currently cheaper than LRP, if you can find them, for much of the 22-250 brass.

YMMV

 

[Bret GRAVELINE Graveline]

I think my 223AI fits your description perfectly! Tack driving accurate, and everything you want is available in 1,000 pack bulk!
I have a varmint vmax load at 3500 fps, and a target 80g load at 3100 fps that does everything I'd ever want to do!

Im a big fan of AI cartridges been using one in some form now for over 40 years, however the down side is in most cases it forces one to use components to get the end product, which takes it out of the category of being efficient, the OP is trying to conserve components. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[Jim’s Hunt]

223 hands down

 

[ntsqd]

I find it interesting that the .222 has only been mentioned as a brass donor only (for .221 Fireball) and not as a contender itself, but it should be. Look at the loading data available and the chambering's track record.

For inexpensive ammo though, I too think that it will be impossible to beat the .223

I was recently reading some archived Joe Carlos articles from American Gunsmith about accurizing the AR15 and one of the things the stuck out was using a 1:9 or 1:10 twist with the 80gr. or less bullets and finding that the accuracy was better than with those bullet weights in the 1:7 or 1:8 twist barrels.

 

[del2les]

I find it interesting that the .222 has only been mentioned as a brass donor only (for .221 Fireball) and not as a contender itself, but it should be. Look at the loading data available and the chambering's track record.

For inexpensive ammo though, I too think that it will be impossible to beat the .223

I was recently reading some archived Joe Carlos articles from American Gunsmith about accurizing the AR15 and one of the things the stuck out was using a 1:9 or 1:10 twist with the 80gr. or less bullets and finding that the accuracy was better than with those bullet weights in the 1:7 or 1:8 twist barrels.

I think the issue was the ops' request for LR shooting, and while it could be used in a faster twist, the 222Rem is not known for such practice with a case capacity that is not the best for heavy VLD bullets.