Load advise for 222 Sako

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ozark_mtn_goat

New member
I started doing some predator hunting a few years ago with the purchase of an old tang safety heavy barreled Ruger 77 in 220 swift. The first load I worked up put some 55gr NBT's under 1/2" and made for some great bang flop moments! Up until now my interest was solely in reducing coyote numbers so pelt damage wasn't a concern. I see a bobcat every now and then, and have been passing them up. This year I would like to take a cat or two to be made into a rug, mount, etc. The swift isn't always the most fur friendly, which brings us to the triple deuce...

From what I've read IMR4198 and/or H335 would be my best bet. Unfortunately I haven't found any locally, and don't want to bite the bullet and order some with the mandatory $25 Hazmat fee. So until I can find those to try I would like to get some loads worked up with what I have already on hand. The powders I have that I see as possibly suitable are benchmark and varget. For projectiles I have 40gr V-max and NBT's, 52gr Berger and Sierra match and some 55gr NBT's. I'm going to start with the 40gr pills. What powder should work best?
 
Upon closer examination neither of those powders are listed in the reloading manuals I have for the 222, so I guess I'll keep searching for something more suitable.
 
I have 2 rem, one sako .222s. only fired I-4198 and both 40 or 50 grain balistic tips. if i had to try a second choice h4198 or h-322. never needed to.
 
Hodgdon's site has loads shown for both Benchmark and Varget. I've had great results with Benchmark in everything I've tried it in.
 
I'm in Missouri also in the central part of the state, Today there is a gun show in Columbia, Mo. with several dealers selling
Reloading Powder, primers, Etc. I was at that same show in the Spring & bought a lot of Reloading Supply's at reasonable prices. The show is also on Sunday 9/22/13 open both days at 9AM. I will be going today to buy more powder, etc., good luck. Bman
 
Great caliber and one of my favorites. BLC2 was an old time favorite plus I used a lot of H322.
Like I said, I used a 222 for a lot of years on Fox and Bobcats with the occasional Coyote. I loaded a lot of different weight bullets trying to find the Holy Grail fur friendly bullet. I never did find one that was real consistent. James Calhoun's DBL HP's were as close I found.
 
My .222 is not the least particular.... I or H 4895, Varget, or BLC(2) for 45grs. I like BLC(2) so that "was" what I loaded the most. The plant fire has dried up the BLC(2) so lately I have been using Varget.

BTW my .222 is also a Sako... Mine is a 1970s Vixen Heavy Barrel.... It is a long time favorite rifle.
 
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There is some load data on tripledeuce.net that might be helpful although I don't see anything listed for Benchmark or Varget. Worth reading however.
 
My .222's will shoot about anything.. H or I 4198 was a real favorite.. H4895, Re7, H335 and BlC2.. The last two always seemed very dirty to me.. I have about 5 pounds of 4198, when it is gone, I will probably stick with H4895 as I have a bunch of it.. The old std. load for the .222 in my area was 19.5 g. of 4198 and 50 grain bullet.. In those days it was a 50 grain Serria Spitzer..
 
I think my Sako was made in the 50's, it came with a B&L scope that had the adjustments in the base,
not the scope. It also came with a Lyman 310 tool, and that's all I use. Win 748 , and 50gr speer
Its a slow loading process, but strangely relaxing.
 
Originally Posted By: RuddyHodgdon's site has loads shown for both Benchmark and Varget. I've had great results with Benchmark in everything I've tried it in. Ozark- if you look at my post i have never tried anything but I4198. .5" in my three .222s, or less so i have never need to. I use benchmark in my .22-250, again .5" . i have not used it in .222 but the .222 is a very forgiving round. i would be surprised if does not work great also.
 
I used to burn BLC-2 alot.

One powder not mentioned here, that I would most definitely try because I believe it would work exceptionally well, is TAC. It burns clean too.....
 
When I had my Rem 722 in 222 I used IMR 4198 and a 50 grain Sierra Spitzer Blitz bullet for calling. Keep your shots under 175 yards for reliable results. Stay away from the Sierra 52 grain Game kings as they don't work well on coyote sized critters at the lower velocities of a 222. The Hornady SX bullets are also a good choice.

Because this is a public forum and people are people someone may chime in that the advice I just gave you is wrong but it is information I learned by doing and not just on a single occasion. I had a lot of runoffs with my 222 until I went to the Sierra Bullet plant when they were in Santa Fe Springs in California many years ago and asked what bullet to use. The Spitzer Blitz was designed with the 222 in mind as was the Hornady SX. Speer also makes a bullet designed for lower velocity cartridges but I've never used it.

I killed a good number of coyotes and bobcats with my 222 and although it was a backup rifle for my Sako Forester 22-250 it often got carried out on stand. My partner used it for daytime calling and we sometimes used it at night. We probably killed around 100 animals with it coyotes, bobcats and fox combined.

Go to hornady.com and look for loads. Benchmark is listed there.
 
The 222 with about 21.0 of IMR-4198 and CCI-400 small rifle primers under Hornady's 40 V-MAX does pretty well for me on fur. I haven't had any runners either! These should be in the 3,300-3,100 fps range.
 
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