Which 22 caliber?

[Jim White]

I just picked up a .224 barrel blank with a 1-8 twist and I was wondering which 22 caliber to cahmber it for varmint shooting. I chose the 8 twist because I probably have about 8000 Sierra Match King 80 grain bullets i need to do something with. My 1st thoughts were eith the 22-250, 22-250 AI, 220 Swift or 22 Swift AI. Are ther any others. Action is a Remington 700.

Thanks,

[stevecrea]

Jim,

If you want a hotrod in .224, take a look at the .224 TTH (Texas Trophy Hunters). With that fast twist, you could shoot the long bullets, such as the 80s. The .224 TTH uses the 6mm Remington case, so it is very overbore. However, if you want a true hotrod, that may be it.

[giterdone]

Jim.....I would choose the .22-250 Ackley Improved. I have a .234 Rockchucker which is a .234 caliber on a 6mm Remington case that I used on woodchucks and crows at long range. Bullets were made in California by Frank Hemsted and I have an assortment of them that shoot well and buck the wind. I can't understand why no one has picked up on the .234 caliber; using a .243 case necked down to .234 its called the 23 1/2 Corson, named after Bill Corson. The .234 Rockchucker name came from Fred Huntington of RCBS they make the dies. My 28" barrel was made by Wm. Hobaugh of Phillipsburg Montana. Its been a while ago.
FWIW

[acloco]

Interesting....I just built something that you might be after.

I call it...the "Super Duece".

1:8 twist Shilen select match, 28" long. I just ran the 223 AI reamer a little deeper and use 204 brass necked up to 22 caliber (204 brass is necked down 222 Magnum brass).

With 80 gr AMax's and a variety of powders, 3100 + is easy to obtain. Recoil is minimal. Shot at 1000 yards last Friday, has a lot less drop than my 7 Rem Mag using 162 gr AMax's.

See your hits all the way out on varmints.

[giterdone]

So its a .222 Remington Magnum Ackley Improved? A .222RMAI .....Cool. "Super Duece" it must be. I must check out the B.C. on those 80gr A-Max boolits. Love that thousand yard shooting.

[acloco]

bc is 0.453 according to Hornady's website.

[Hotshot]

Jim,

I have extensive experience with the original 4 you listed, probably 100,000 rounds would be conservative. There is no way I'd do 22-250AI. That cartridge is slightly less than a 220Swift
(too close to call)so why fire form and use expensive dies when the 220 is available right off the shelf. My 220AI days are over too. Great performance, but not enough better than the standard 220 for me to mess with babying several hundred brass. The only reason for a hand loader to fiddle with a 22-250 is if you already have the brass and dies. I got rid of all my 22-250 stuff when I discovered the 204. The 220 Swift case is one of the strongest ever designed--use it.
That thingy that acloco is fiddling with does sound fun too. But you have to remember the 4 necessary ingredients for long range vermint shooting. Velocity, high bullet BC, velocity, and more velocity.

[Guy M]

Some years back when that 80 gr Sierra was new, my shooting buddy put a 1:8 twist .22-250 together on a Remington action. Wow... That thing was a shooter! Virtually no recoil and (since I was shooting a .308 Win) it seemed to have an incredibly flat trajectory. He won some matches with that thing...

[Jim White]

To all,

Thanks for the replies. One caviet I failed to mention is; unless Remington bolt heads are available, the caliber will have to be confined to a 308 case/bolt head design. My 1st thoughts were 22-250 or a 220 Swift. I'll just have to read up on these two since I'm not familier with either one of them.

The 22-6mm Remington certainly has a ring to it though (and of course, I do reload). I'm just looking for something in the 22 cal to extend the range of the 204 and utilize the components on the shelf collecting dust. The Super Duce sounds cool too...

Jim

[Guy M]

A few of the guys around here have built their super-varminters with .20 and .22 dia bullets from a necked down 6mmBR case... Fast and accurate.

[acloco]

I do have a 22/6mm AI as well. I have never seen anything, literally vaporize, a prairie dog at 400 yads like this round does with a 75 gr AMax. Picks a large PD up about 25 feet and tosses it backwards 25 feet.

You can load up to the 4K fps are....I run mine at 3700ish.

[Jim White]

Thanks again for all the replies, I'll be busy the next few weeks researching. Right off top though, not much in the (old) reloading books for the Swift or 22-250 with bullet weights greater than 60 grains. The barrel is a Shilen "Select Match" 1-8 twist.

Thanks again,