Thread: Sako Vixen .222 Load

I have here my mothers Sako Vixen L461 here in .222 and im wanting to load up some rounds for it.

Whilst i understand with its 1/14 twist that its not the ideal choice of calibre for a deer shooting rifle, she has successfully shot her fair share of deer over the years with it and will shoot plenty more so im not really interested in having the "get a x calibre" discussion.

Current load is Norma 53gr SP at i have no idea what velocity (judging by how full the case was with IMR4198 id say around 3100) and it seems to have worked fairly well on some sizeable reds at modest distances to date.

However im interested to see what others are using, my father loaded the 53gr normas for it over 25 years ago so there may be something available now thats worth considering. Quite happy to just load up some more Norma 53gr as i see reloaders have them available, but figured i would ask the question before commiting to a projectile.

Cheers

The 52 grain Targex are an outstanding projectile on deer but I cant say if they will be any better than what your Mum has been using.

Originally Posted by Tahr

The 52 grain Targex are an outstanding projectile on deer but I cant say if they will be any better than what your Mum has been using.

I had been pondering that, and they shouldnt have any issues in the 1/14 twist. Id like to use a hammer or a barnes, not sure how i would get on though. Some say the barnes 50gr ttsx are just barely stable in a 1/14.

Originally Posted by 6.5 CRD

I had been pondering that, and they shouldnt have any issues in the 1/14 twist. Id like to use a hammer or a barnes, not sure how i would get on though. Some say the barnes 50gr ttsx are just barely stable in a 1/14.

The light weight hammers dont perform as well as the heavier ones. A tiny shank and very small petals.

52grn speer HP work well and are cheap and easy to get.dont think 50grn Barnes will stabilise and 45grn getting very light. 63grn Sierra or 60grn Hornady or 70grn speer all work in the 1:14 twist.

Sako A1
Works for me?

I seem to recall the norma pills were relatively hard for a traditional soft point.
Which would help with big reds.
I've always used hornaday 50gr sp . But have to pick your spot as they're rather soft.

19.5 G 2207 with 50 Gr Hornady SP's work real good in mine. Doing around 3050 fps
As has been said, the 1:14 twist wont handle any of the longer projectiles , eg Barnes. I even had the 55 gr Barnes keyholing

Originally Posted by Tahr

The light weight hammers dont perform as well as the heavier ones. A tiny shank and very small petals.

I've been using the 33gr hammers in a hornet but unfortunately decent powder is not available here so at a pedestrian 2500 it doesn't blow rabbits up But I've just got hold of a L461 222 so hoping north of 3500 and then we will see what they can do. Should be posting something up early next month.

I load the triple deuce for 3 Vixens in Auckland using 60gr Hornady and 748. It is a magic powder for the triple deuce.

One advantage that the Norma 53 grain projectile has is the cannelure. This tends to
help produce a good mushroom while maintaining bullet weight for penetration.I have used these projectiles for shooting goats from a 22-250 and I still load them for my brother for that purpose. Another good projectile is the Norma 55 grain Oryx, it does well for deer in my 223 and 22-250. If you are looking for a different powder I would suggest Norma 200.

Just have to be able to find the 55g Oryx @Tech

I agree with @Muttonguts re the Hornady 55grn #2266 BTSP W/C I bought a few batches of these for between 28 cent and 36 cents each. That's cheap! I'm loading a deliberate light load of ADI AR2207 18.5grns, velocity might be something like 2600 - 2750ftps, not fast.
ADI Handloaders Guide #10 states: 55 Gr HDY SP AR2207: 21.0grn 3,024fps 37,800CUP, 23grns 3,222fps 46,300CPU

I've shot rabbits out to 240m, and fallow deer through the neck at 90m. Both were instant kills. Recommend the projectile and the powder.

I found the lapua and speer 50gr to 52gr to perform best on deer.

I have had it on good authority from deer cullers ex NZFS that the speer 70gr semi spitzer PN:1053 will stabilise and go really well in the 1:14 twist barrels.

I run the 50 grain cx hornady in my wee sako really deadly on deer
And the 55 grain sp hornady

I run the cx in a non micro groove barrel over the the other vixens with the micro groove
Was told by another collector who ran the Barnes in his micro groove
That barrel wear was on the high side using them with the super shallow
Micro groove profile
Some of the old Norma ammo was bad for barrel wear back in the day cupronickel
With the micro groove barrel as well just fyi