Anyone Use A .222 Remington For Fox?

I

iSnipe

New member
Do any of you use a .222 for fox hunting? I have several options for shooting red fox. I have some grey fox here as well. I already have a .22 mag and know that will do fine, but I'm itchin' to get something else.

Another question is what sort of bullet at what grains would you recommend if I use this caliber on fox?

It seems often when I read a thread about what bullet is good, I see several opinions which makes it all the more hard to decide. If I go with the .222 Remington, I guess it comes down to a good bullet that won't blow a big hole or cause fur damage.

I would appreciate your input here as I'm fixin' to make a purchase soon! Thanks.

iSnipe
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We used to have some red fox around the area I lived. I called a quite a few of them and was using a 222 at the time. I was using a Nosler 52 grain match bullet that I don't believe they make any more. They had a small hollow point and didn't seem to expand much so I would normally have a small exit hole. If you hit a shoulder or back bone, all bets are off then. I don't think anything you shoot in a 222 will not make a mess if it hits bone. I also shot the Nosler solid base bullets with the same load which shot to the same point of impact but used them on prairie dogs because they did quite a bit of damage on fur. Red fox are so thin skinned that I think it will be a rare one that you can get any bullet to expand completely inside and not exit. JMO.
 
Hello drhart!

Thanks for your reply. Every little bit helps. I'm trying hard to find reasons to buy this one .222 I'm looking at now. LOL! Take care.

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If any of you have bullet ideas too, I'd love to hear them. Also, I'll be reloading, so if you'll have advice on how much lower I can go(from reloading recipes) to reduce speed, I'd appreciate it.

iSnipe
 
Why do you need a reason for a new gun? If I needed a reason, I wouldn't have nearly as many guns as I do. I still have my Sako 222 and take it out occassionally. I shot a bobcat with it a couple years ago. The bullet came out but only a quarter sized exit which was easy to sew. The 222 is a very accurate round and my sporter weight Sako will shoot .6 to .7 inch groups. I might also mention that I'm not the greatest benchrest shooter either.
 
I need a reason to buy THIS particular gun because I need several different calibers and this is "close" to the top of the list, but not the most pressing!

Thanks.

iSnipe
 
I know lots of guys that use .222 for foxes/coyotes. I have a .223, brother has a .22-250 and another has a 220 swift. We all can hit coyotes out to 400 yards. I think the .22-250 does the most damage then the 220 swift followed by the .223 then the .222. All very accurate rounds and I wouldnt hesitate buying any of these.
 
I have shot the triple deuce at some bench rest matches and on coyotes and fox, very accurate round, and will tend do less damage then than the 220 swift or 22-250. Try the Hornady 52 or 53 grain BTHP and get your velocity down to about 3000 fps, this has worked well in my remington 700. best of luck.
 
Thanks for the help gentlemen. As you suspect, this caliber is Greek to me. I first went to a ballistic comparison chart and it didn't have the .223 all that much more faster, etc. When I actually put my hands on a .222 shell and matched it with a .223, I saw the difference. Here I thought, physically, the rounds would be very similar. The .223 is the bigger boy, that's for sure.

Gray_Ghosts, good info for your first post. Thank you! That's not the first time I've heard to use that particular bullet, so looks like I'm headed the right direction.

I've read enough and learned sufficiently that it looks like I'm going to have to get this gun I have my eye on. That or a 6mm. LOL!

Thanks y'all.

iSnipe
 
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I have shot the triple deuce at some bench rest matches and on coyotes and fox, very accurate round, and will tend do less damage then than the 220 swift or 22-250. Try the Hornady 52 or 53 grain BTHP and get your velocity down to about 3000 fps, this has worked well in my remington 700. best of luck.



Welcome aboard neighbor....

I know you will be a HUGE asset to the PM forum !! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif

Scott
 
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There is a member here that says to have shot 700 red fox with a reduced load 50gr SXSP around 2800fps.

I planned on doing the same (the load that is )but have been shooting the same bullet on coyotes around 3000fps and having good results.

If I can remember the Speer 40gr SP, and maybe Hornady 45gr Hornet bullet, as well as some of the match bullets from Sierra and Hornady were used by members.

Good luck!

Ryan
 
The 222 is a great little round. I used it for a long time in the 60s and killed a few fox, lots of 'coons and about 15 bobcats. Most of those were shot with a Sierra 50 gr Blitz bullet at about 3000 fps. I didn't keep the fur but the damage was not very bad. Some had no exits. The Blitz now is a pretty old bullet--it was developed about 1965 (my memory) especially for the lower velocities of the 222. Hornady came out with their SX bullets about the same time. The 222 is a good night hunting round; effective and not as loud as most of the others. The 223 has really dominated the 22 caliber market but the 222 is still a really good little cartridge .

Pat
 
I also just got a 222 and have been shooting some of my dads reloads that he had around. i did try some vmax through mine and was very happy that they went through tip first this also has been very helpful thanks guys
 
I just loaded some .222 shells with a barnes varmint grenade 36 grain bullet with 21.5 grains of imr3031 powder. I had been having troubles with tearing up the fur with anything else. And I shot them last night and no exit hole they seem to be the ticket if you are shooting fox for fur. The v-max bullets are good but tear the fur up when you hit them. Try this if you dont reload let me know and I could possibly load some for you
 
Jwebber, your input is most appreciated. Any little bit of info I get helps me to figure what to do.

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I'll have to review all the posts above to see if I can get close to what's being suggested from out-of-the-box ammo. If I can't, I'll reload. I haven't reloaded anything yet, but I'm getting setup with RCBS equipment and studying up. I already got a guy I know offer to reload some shells for me, so we'll see.

As for the gun, I ended up getting the one I had my eye on. It is a Remington 700 BDL .222 in mint condition. Not sure what scope to put on it yet, but I have a Nikon Monarch 3-9x40 I think will work fine.

Thanks for the help guys. Now on to figuring what my next gun will be. LOL!

iSnipe /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
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My 1st Varmint rig was a Remington 788 in .222 rem. in the early 70s, just about the best thing out back in those days that didnt make a ton of noise when shooting.
I used it on Coyote, fox, cats and thousands of ground rats.
My bullet back then was a speer 50 grain with 23 grs of blc-2, as stated if it didnt hit a bone it went clean through a fox with little damage, the ones that hit bone pretty much made it unusable, except for fishing flys....:)
 
Thanks for the info on the barnes varmint grenade. I was going to ask if anyone tried them yet. I have a 340 savage that was my grandpas. All I put on it is a 3-9X40. I'm having a little problem with the accuracy area, but i know the 222 is a great round. I just havent found the right load. (that means more shooting)
 
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