Thread: Reloading for a Brno Fox .222

How about the Sierra 65gr game king boat tail. Need 1:10 twist or faster barrel.
I load this for my son in his 223 with a min range load so that's probably about a fast 222 load.
Shoots very nice. He shoots out to 300 mtrs for casual shooting. Has not taken a deer with it but the reputation is their that it can.
Z

As Outdoorlad said, 50gr Hornady SP & BM2. In the tread for thar, chamois & waps you'll see my Brno Fox in which my son shot a nice chamois. It was with this load and it accounted for red's and a hundred or so goats as well.

Greetings Kudu,
The go to load for the .222 R seems to have been 20.5 grains of IMR or H 4198 (AR 2207) behind a flat base 50 grain projectile just about forever. Well since 1950 anyway. The 14 inch twist prevents anything heavier than 50 grains being used. Any powder much slower takes up too much space. Some early Sako rifles had a 16 inch twist so may pay to check.
Grandpamac.

I have a BSA CF2, heavy old girl but total tack driver, at least by my humble standards. I've worked up loads in various powders all in 55gn. Hdy and Sierra SPs have given me best groups off a rest at 50m, tight and overlapping. But not far behind is the CMJ Frontier FMJ Flatpoint from Rusa, $155/1000 shipped. Cheaper on indent.They won't win any benchrest comps but they sure do a number on goats and rabbits out of both my 222 and 22-250. Last goats I shot were at measured 250m from the 22-250. The FP does plenty of damage at 3300 fps. In the 222 I'm running them at 2800 thereabouts. Last rabbit I got with this pill was 128m measured from the 22-250. Unfortunately a quartering shot and the hindquarters were absent from the kidneys back so hawk fodder unless your keen on soup. So for cheap pills and good kills they work for me and probably shoot more accurately than I can.

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings Kudu,
The go to load for the .222 R seems to have been 20.5 grains of IMR or H 4198 (AR 2207) behind a flat base 50 grain projectile just about forever. Well since 1950 anyway. The 14 inch twist prevents anything heavier than 50 grains being used. Any powder much slower takes up too much space. Some early Sako rifles had a 16 inch twist so may pay to check.
Grandpamac.

IMR3031 worked for me.



And AR2207



Sako L461 and AII.

Accounted for hundreds of goats and a handful of head shot fallow.

I think the .222 tends to be one of those cartridges that is very easy to load for. Many different powders seem to work well in them, but its projectile range is narrowish.......... given that many have slow twists this narrows it down to the 50 to 55 grain projo range for most older rifles.
Of course you can muck about and dissect to the nnth degree to get hair splitting accuracy. But most seem to shoot MOA at a minmum with almost any 50 to 55 grain bullet filled up to the base of the neck with a suitable powder. ( thats a broad statement re the powder and take from it what you will )

I use the cheap 55 grain Hornady soft point with a cannelure and have used AR 2208 a lot, anywhere between 23 and 24 grains.
But many similar burn rate powders will do the same. Good 'ol W748 is good too ( and cheap to burn / practice with.)

Hi Kudu
How are you? I use 2207 in 222 Sako with 50 Bal tips, very accurate load and hits hard. I think all 222's are inherently accurate due to the longish neck, and I have used the Hornady SX 50 gn and the Hornady 50 gn SP with excellent accuracy as well. My sako doesn't like the 55 grain projectiles either. I run the 53 grain Sierra MK in my 223 and also in the 222 and they are a very versatile bullet and have taken a number of deer with them. Just to get to the range, with this lock down I am all loaded up with 223, 284 Win, and 30-06 to test on the range, level two can't come quick enough, and of course duck shooting as well, this bloody virus has a lot to answer for - a roar trip into Harkness abandoned as well. Take care

My first .222 (Sako L461) shot Hornady 50gr SP and Hornady 55gr SP w/c and Sierra 55gr Blitzkings with great accuracy (unfortunately I do not have photographic evidence). Foolishly, I traded it in for a younger, sexier Sako AII. As others @Seventenths et al have 'testified', the AII would not easily shoot 55gr projectiles. Go figure...

Originally Posted by Pauli

My first .222 (Sako L461) shot Hornady 50gr SP and Hornady 55gr SP w/c and Sierra 55gr Blitzkings with great accuracy (unfortunately I do not have photographic evidence). Foolishly, I traded it in for a younger, sexier Sako AII. As others @Seventenths et al have 'testified', the AII would not easily shoot 55gr projectiles. Go figure...

Any thoughts as to why the A II didn't shoot heavier projectiles well compared to the true 'Vixen'? Did the A II have a different twist rate?

Originally Posted by Maxx

Any thoughts as to why the A II didn't shoot heavier projectiles well compared to the true 'Vixen'? Did the A II have a different twist rate?

I have no idea. Twist rate is apparently the same.

Originally Posted by Pauli

My first .222 (Sako L461) shot Hornady 50gr SP and Hornady 55gr SP w/c and Sierra 55gr Blitzkings with great accuracy (unfortunately I do not have photographic evidence). Foolishly, I traded it in for a younger, sexier Sako AII. As others @Seventenths et al have 'testified', the AII would not easily shoot 55gr projectiles. Go figure...

AI...duh!

Just for interestes sake:

Had Dad's .222 vixen out yesterday to shoot a fallow spiker and also tested some of my 6.5 loads (CM and PRC).

Put the magnetospeed on the vixen and fired 2 shots over it:

hornady 55gr SP over 21grs ar2207
1st 3185 fps
2nd 3184 fps.

Faster than we were expecting. Pretty fast for a .222rem! He had never chronied the load before but guessed it to be about 3000 fps max.

Round about 3000 - 3200 is pretty average,depending on the load