SmallCaliberCentral

have heard so much about the duce, but wonder why it disappeared. The duce had its popularity before my time, but I was wondering why it is not the sought after cartridge it once was. I understand that the ppc and br cartridges came around and lack of good brass killed this giant. If my understanding is right the 222 still holds a bench rest record.

My questions are: what does the 223 have over the 222, Everyone chambers rifles in 223 rem, is it because of the military influence that more 223’s are out there over the 222’s ? Does the 223 have an advantage over the 222?

Will there be a rebirth of the 222, or is it dead? I thought about having a barrel chambered in 222 rem, but how much if any advantages would I have over a 223? I have a gun built in 22br that I love, but is it a stupid thought to also have a 222? I have a 204 and 223 barrel for a savage and they both shoot in the low .3’s, but I thought on chambering this rifle in a Douglas XX or Pac Nor 222 rem barrel.

What are your experiences with the duce, and what is its advantages?

I'll just chime in on my SAD experience with a Remington 700 ADL in .222 Remington. This rifle was manufactured in 1975 and "supposedly" had very few rounds down the tube. I bought it for only $250 and figured if it didn't shoot it would wind up as a donor action for another .17 Remington.

Well, I cleaned the barrel and the action thoroughly. I inspected the bore with my bore scope and it looked like it had been well taken care of. I measured the distance to the lands with my Stoney Point tool and comparator, purchased 100 Lapua casings and 100 Remington casings and started testing loads. I tried 40 gr. Noslers and 40 gr. Sierra, 50 gr. Noslers and 50 gr. Sierras, and 52 gr. Sierras. I must have tried a half dozen different powders, three different primers, various seating depths, and different powder charges. I made sure my scope bases were solid and the scope was mounted solidly too. I could not get the rifle to shoot!!!

The barrel was taken off and sold and the action is now sporting a new 24" super match grade SS Pac-Nor .17 Remington barrel with a 1 in 9" twist and 3 grooves. The stock is an H-S Precision Varminter stock that I camo painted myself. It shoots nice tight groups.

There is two different triple dueces...

222

222 Magnum

acloco wrote:There is two different triple dueces...

222

222 Magnum

Yes, there is, but only concerned with the 222, and not the 222 mag.

New guy here and this is my first post and I find it somewhat fitting. While I've never owned or shot a 223, I have had the extreme pleasure of owning a Rem.700 ADL chambered in .222 and I've owned it since new back in the late 70's. What a shooter this little gun is. No bedding, no extra bells and whistles, just a factory gun with a cheap bushnell scope that has shot its best group of under a half inch at a hundred yards. Prolly the biggest advantage that the 223 has would be case capacity which would let you shoot a little faster and the cheap ammo due to its military pedigree. Other then that, I'd say there bout even. Long live the triple duece!!!

Good quality military brass is the most important reason for the popularity of the .223. If not for that, the .222 would still be king, I suspect. That's a huge advantage, though, surplus military cases for cheap.
The only commercial rifles left in .222 are probably the CZ and the Cooper, and that's a shame. I don't think the minor velocity advantage of the .223 is worth worrying about, as a practical matter.
Then again, I REALLY, REALLY like my .221 Fireball rifle, so I might be a bit prejudiced about it all.

in about a month dad is giving me a Remington 722 chambered in .222 which we inherited from the death of our neighbor. Not a fancy gun but I am happy to get it. I'll probably do some work to it, drop in a nice trigger, etc.... I am also building an AR-15 chambered in .204. I'm sure the .204 will be more fun, but the .222 is a bolt gun, no worries about people panicking about seeing an "evil black gun". I have reloading dies for both. I'll post my comparisons and experiences with both rifles in a few months.