Suggested load for .222 Rem.

[jcann]

My uncle has left me his Remington 700 BDL in .222 Rem. It has always shot <1 MOA with factory 50gr Remington ammo. I would like for my young daughter to use this rifle next deer season to possibly harvest a doe. In Oklahoma the minimum bullet weight is 55gr for deer.

I'm looking at trying Hornady 55-60gr SP and I would like to go heavier but I'm not sure of this rifles twist therefore I don't know how heavy a bullet it will stabilize.

Does anyone have a suggestion as to powder and weight of charge using either a 55 or 60gr bullet and could I possibly step up to 68-75gr? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

222's are a slower twist 22 cal and you'll need to stay with 50-55 grains with the possible exception of a 60 grain fb bullet. They also don't have quite the velocity of their bigger brothers, so you can't cheat twist with speed much at all.
I'd start with 4198, as I've seen it do very well in my Uncle's 222. Don't have a charge weight for you, but that's not to hard to get from hodgdon. Any powder appropriate for the 223 with 55 grainers would work here too.

 

[Snowman]

4198 is an excellent powder in the 222. Certainly with 50 gr and lighter bullets. If you go to 55 gr you may want to consider one of the ball powders that take up a little less room in the case. W748 ,X-terminator, Tac would all be good choices. They would give you max velocities without compressed loads. Hope that helps.

 

[kermodie]

4198 and 322 are good powders in the 222 Rem. Mine won't group anything over 52 gr because of the slow twist. If you're limiting your shots to short range and don't care about small groups a heavier bullet would work better for deer. Just don't expect tight groups. Around 19 - 22 grs with 52 gr bullets is usually good.