Thread: 70 grain Speer and Benchmark 2 in .222

Hi all
after many years of using the excellent Speer 70grain semi pointed bullet in my Brno .222 for deer I have run out of my old Dupont IMR 4895.

My load of 23 grains of IMR 4895 gave me 2800fps out of the original 23.5 inch barrel, any more powder and the drop tubed and compressed powder would push the bullets forward increasin OAL! There are no pressure indications at all, it appears mild. It shoots about MOA to 300 metres BTW.

After 50 years of hard use the barrel has worn back to 21" so the velocity will be down to 2700ish I guess, it still puts deer in the freezer.

I cant get any 4895 or 2206H and dont really want to buy it as I have heaps of Benchmark 2 and I feel the faster powder might give more velocity.

Does anyone have any experience or load data with BM2 and 70 grain Speer in .222 Rem please?

Regards Peter

My 223 with a 18" barrel is doing around 2750 with 75gr BTHP with BM2. I tested 2208 and BM XBR and Benchmark gave the best velocity.

BM2 shouldn't be an issue.

The triple deuce I load for I use 748. It is a magical powder like BM2 for 223.

Greetings,
6th Edition Nick Harvey lists 22 grains of BM2 with the 70 grain for 2,860 fps which I imagine he got from some of the older ADI data. ADI does not list that currently. My old Speer No 9 manual lists 21 grains of IMR3031 with the 70 grain for 2,809 fps. IMR 3031 is close in speed to BM2 according to ADI. Hope this helps.
GPM.

Thanks guys,

I got the reply below from ADI.

It seems rather conservative so I guess their lawyers wrote it rather than their Development techs, I get it, the have to keep everyone safe in a variety of temperatures and firearms etc.

A bit disheartened I started REALLY LOW and worked up in .1 grain steps to 22.5grains, which looked fine in my 1974 Brno Fox .222 and my sons newish CZ527 .222, THIS IS FOR REFERENCE ONLY! DO NOT USE THIS AS LOAD DATA IT MAY BE DANGEROUS IN YOUR RIFLE!.

Accuracy was excellent, the 70gr Speer stabilises well in my 1 in 14" Brno.



Cases:- Winchester
Primers: Winchester SR
Barrel:- 24” Barrel
Starting Load Maximum Load
Propellant
Type
Charge
Weight
(grains)
Velocity
(ft/s)
Charge
Weight
(grains)
Velocity
(ft/s)

Bench Mark 2 19.6 2543 20.6 2686

Might have to give these 70's a go in my ancient 1:12 Tikka. Good go know they stabilize in a slow twist and they aren't that expensive.

Originally Posted by 310cadet

Thanks guys,

I got the reply below from ADI.

It seems rather conservative so I guess their lawyers wrote it rather than their Development techs, I get it, the have to keep everyone safe in a variety of temperatures and firearms etc.

A bit disheartened I started REALLY LOW and worked up in .1 grain steps to 22.5grains, which looked fine in my 1974 Brno Fox .222 and my sons newish CZ527 .222, THIS IS FOR REFERENCE ONLY! DO NOT USE THIS AS LOAD DATA IT MAY BE DANGEROUS IN YOUR RIFLE!.

Accuracy was excellent, the 70gr Speer stabilises well in my 1 in 14" Brno.



Cases:- Winchester
Primers: Winchester SR
Barrel:- 24” Barrel
Starting Load Maximum Load
Propellant
Type
Charge
Weight
(grains)
Velocity
(ft/s)
Charge
Weight
(grains)
Velocity
(ft/s)

Bench Mark 2 19.6 2543 20.6 2686

Greetings,
You are lucky as the 70 grain Speer will not stabilise in every or even most .222 rifles. A couple of things will have effected the data you got from ADI. First and most important is that the standard pressure for the .222 is only about 45,000 CUP. Most handloads including early manual loads go well past this. The second is that in the small .222 case powder will need a good deal of compression to get it in although BM2 will help with this. Your 50 year old rifle will likely have seen a bit of use so you may be able to load longer than in a new barrel. All this drives the pressure and velocity down. You may wish to chronograph your load or have someone else chronograph it for you. Sorry Micky. If velocity is around the 2,800 fps that NH and Speer quoted you can rest easy. Just be careful not to mix your cases as different brands vary in weight and the pressure and velocity developed.
Happy hunting with it, a classic cartridge for NZ.
Regards Grandpamac.

hehehe no need to apoligise..I may just find some and try them out in mine..the short barrel will mean they going slow anyway. the 63grn sierras and 60 grn hornadies both go fine n dandy.

Thanks Granpamac, as they say "change one thing, change everthing" and start over.

I have quantity of Sako brass which I have been loading since I was a schoolboy for my Gevarm .222, it is significantly heavier than the ex police PMC brass I use for this load or some american commercial brass and will have a smaller internal volume which will raise pressures etc if not compensated for.

The throat in my old Brno fox is till tightt, I load 0.5mm (.020") off the lands at 54mm OAL, the mag wiil allow 55.5mm OAL.

I once shot these at West Melton army range at 300 metres and got an about 75mm group which was better than the 50 grain Sierras did that range as there was a breeze.

The 70 grain also shoot well in my .222 Baikal singleshot which has a 1 in 12" twist.

I hope to shoot these over the Labradar chrono on the next members day at the range.

Dont shoot if you cant see your mate!

funny you mention sako brass.....good man @bing gave me some and it sure does have less capacity...cannot overload using win748 and 52grn projectiles,had to drop back a grain to fit it in......VERY interesting your bakail is 1;12 must triple check mine..asssumed it was a 1;14

I cant wait to try this I found a box of these projectiles in my pile I'll try 748 in the load I have a Tikka 222 no idea of the twist yet but I'll check the barrel before start

70 grain Speer update.

I got to shoot these at the NZDA North Canterbury 200 metre range using the new Garmin chronograph.

My old IMR4895 70gr load mentioned above was doing 2720 fps as I expected and it still grouped about MOA (60mm for 3 shots) and about 85mm lower than my "standard" 55 grain speer at 3030 fps load, all good.

I was disappointed with the HOT BM2 70gr load mentioned above which I will not repeat in print or practice. It grouped worse than 3MOA (200mm ish) so no use to man, beast or duck!
The velocity was a SCARY 2840fps out of my 20.5" barrel so I'm not shooting any more of those thankyou even though cases and primer looked normalish. At this stage I'm saving my 2206H for my Baikal .308 as its hard to find and I've stocked up on BM2. I'll drop back a full grain or so and try some more 200 metre groups as these had the best accuracy at 100 metres and will probably have velocity similar to my old 4895 load???

Never assume anything, especially anything to do with rifles!

Stay safe, Identify your Target

Originally Posted by 310cadet

Hi all
after many years of using the excellent Speer 70grain semi pointed bullet in my Brno .222 for deer I have run out of my old Dupont IMR 4895.

My load of 23 grains of IMR 4895 gave me 2800fps out of the original 23.5 inch barrel, any more powder and the drop tubed and compressed powder would push the bullets forward increasin OAL! There are no pressure indications at all, it appears mild. It shoots about MOA to 300 metres BTW.

After 50 years of hard use the barrel has worn back to 21" so the velocity will be down to 2700ish I guess, it still puts deer in the freezer.

I cant get any 4895 or 2206H and dont really want to buy it as I have heaps of Benchmark 2 and I feel the faster powder might give more velocity.

Does anyone have any experience or load data with BM2 and 70 grain Speer in .222 Rem please?

Regards Peter

Mate lives up Raukumara. Rang me [ after getting some elevation] pleading for some more ammo. I loaded some 55gr Sierra GMK for his son a while back in a 788. He now has the rifle back. During the roar shot 2 stags at 200m and 240m in the head. He also uses some 130TTSX in his 270 I loaded for him. He says it slays stags but says why do I need a big gun. His gun is not the latest and greatest but he says its the ammo. Some times I think it is a question of getting the right combo for a rifle. Hope to see him in August. Keen to see some new country.

Originally Posted by 310cadet

70 grain Speer update.

I got to shoot these at the NZDA North Canterbury 200 metre range using the new Garmin chronograph.

My old IMR4895 70gr load mentioned above was doing 2720 fps as I expected and it still grouped about MOA (60mm for 3 shots) and about 85mm lower than my "standard" 55 grain speer at 3030 fps load, all good.

I was disappointed with the HOT BM2 70gr load mentioned above which I will not repeat in print or practice. It grouped worse than 3MOA (200mm ish) so no use to man, beast or duck!
The velocity was a SCARY 2840fps out of my 20.5" barrel so I'm not shooting any more of those thankyou even though cases and primer looked normalish. At this stage I'm saving my 2206H for my Baikal .308 as its hard to find and I've stocked up on BM2. I'll drop back a full grain or so and try some more 200 metre groups as these had the best accuracy at 100 metres and will probably have velocity similar to my old 4895 load???

Never assume anything, especially anything to do with rifles!

Stay safe, Identify your Target

Greetings,
Often the first round of testing delivers more questions than answers. I think you are on the right track with reducing your load by 1 grain which should get you close to your IMR4895 velocity. It will be interesting to see how it shoots.
Regard Grandpamac.

I cant see why you couldnt load the .222 up closer to .223 levels in rifles that are chambered for either.