Thread: Sako Vixen .222

Hi guys and girls,

I’ve been passed on a Sako Viken .222 and looking for factory ammo. Has anyone used the Belmont 55gr soft point? Or any recommendations on good factory stuff?
I’m new to shooting and (soon to be) hunting so not looking at reloading or anything just yet.

Thanks!

@Seventenths

the hornady 55grn is awesome in 223...cant see it being any different.
once upon a time I used to go and buy whatever was on shelf and just shoot stuff.....it all worked. only ever used trebly for about 50 rounds...killed lots of goats,a few long range rabbits and a pig...45grn PMC and 50 grn winchester from memory....if you place your shot properly just about any factory load THATS NOT DEDICATED VARMIT LOAD will do the job...and they work with very good shot placement too.

Used the factory belmont 222,good cheap bang for yr buck.Look after yr vixen,they are deadly accurate.

Blue box federal goes well in mine which is fairly cheap

I got a 3/4 box of the Belmont 62gn 223 and at 50m its easy to get 4 overlapping holes from my Ruger Ranch if I do my part. I've shot goats to 220m and the pill runs slow enough to penetrate ribs rather than go splat (chronos around 2600fps at barrel + 2m) . Same Hdy pill, I think, at 55gn in my 22-250 @ 3200 fps I stopped using in that rifle on goats as it would make a dinner plate size sub cutaneous wound if it hit a rib square on. Once was enough. Great on small game though. Neck and head shots up to 100m (far as I trust my eyesight now) on goats does the job extremely well..I'm handloading that 55gn Hdy Sp that Belmont uses (pretty sure its Hdy), for my BSA Cf2 222. Its a great performer for me. So I don't think it will let you down fir field use.

@NickV Your best bet as with any rifle is to try a variety & see what your particular rifle likes best.

I had my uncles Vixen & my daughter loved it that much she wanted it for her 21st, so l stuck a new scope on it to replace the old original Pecar & tested a variety of factory ammo for her, as she was going to work in Oz.

l did basically every ammo sort l could get, but here are the most accurate in that rifle,l had the rifle bedded & floated by Allan Carr when l got it .-


- Remington High Performance 50 gr. PSP & 3140 fps- .590inch


-Nosler Varmageddon 40 gr. Nosler BT @ 3410 fps - .660 inch

- Hornady 50 gr. Superformance VMax @ 3345 fps- .780 inch


-Federal 40 gr. Nosler BT – MV @ 3450 fps - .820 inch

I used 8 different loads from memory & surprisingly the Sako load was one of the worst & S&B was the worst at 1.75 inches .

This was all years ago before the current Ammo Apocalypse so have no idea what is available in the sweeet little round currently.

Originally Posted by NickV

Hi guys and girls,

I’ve been passed on a Sako Viken .222 and looking for factory ammo. Has anyone used the Belmont 55gr soft point? Or any recommendations on good factory stuff?
I’m new to shooting and (soon to be) hunting so not looking at reloading or anything just yet.

Thanks!

@NickV I'm currently using the Belmont 50g (Hornady projectile) in my Vixen .222 which is great value for money and shoots well in my rifle, perfect for goat control which is the only game that I have used it for so far.
I'm still playing with developing my own 52-53gr handloads but factory loads that I tried in my rifle were Federal Blue box which also shot very well and Winchester Super X which was terrible...I have recently got some Sako ammo but am yet to try it out.
Supposedly alot of people have problems with their vixens not shooting 55gr projectiles very well, whereas other older 222s with the same 1:14 twist such as Bruno Fox etc will.

I used Belmont 50gr and 55gr ammo in my BRNO .222 for years and it was outstanding. I bought the rifle in 1989 and sold it in 2017. It was used at NZDA range shoots, on goats and deer, rabbits, wallabies and hares. In that time it went through over 6,000 rounds of almost exclusively Belmont (formally ODL) ammo. Belmont have always been good to deal with, their prices on the .222 were always attractive and the accuracy of their rounds in my rifle was excellent. Best of all they're a Kiwi company so you're supporting local.... AND.... they're probably only a 30 minute drive up the road from you.

I still use their ammo in other calibres and have no reason to change. They'll be just perfect for your Vixen.

NickV well done on getting the vixen as there stunning rifles!

I now have two and while I know some others find running 55 gr projectiles through there’s with no issues in both of my .222’s it was an issue.

For my rifles, 50 gr projectiles are what my rifles can stabilise where I’m using the 50 gr Hornady PSP with no issues

Correct me if I’m wrong but it sounds like you don’t reload so I’d suggest just getting a box of federal blue box of ammo to test as that seems to be the go to brand of commercial ammo for the tribley.

Hot barrels

Originally Posted by planenutz

I used Belmont 50gr and 55gr ammo in my BRNO .222 for years and it was outstanding. I bought the rifle in 1989 and sold it in 2017. It was used at NZDA range shoots, on goats and deer, rabbits, wallabies and hares. In that time it went through over 6,000 rounds of almost exclusively Belmont (formally ODL) ammo. Belmont have always been good to deal with, their prices on the .222 were always attractive and the accuracy of their rounds in my rifle was excellent. Best of all they're a Kiwi company so you're supporting local.... AND.... they're probably only a 30 minute drive up the road from you.

I still use their ammo in other calibres and have no reason to change. They'll be just perfect for your Vixen.

Good info thanks planenutz, they’re all sold out of the 50gr so I’ll give the 55Gr a go and see how it performs. Definitely attractive pricing just comparing them online, so it doesn’t break the bank to give them a go! And yup it’s not far up the road for me so I’ll call in and give them a visit.

Awesome info thanks guys, sounds best to just give a bunch a go and see what works but good to have some starting points. Busy weekends ahead!!

@NickV It may be worth while putting a post in the For Sale/WTB section on the forum & see if any one has any unwanted factory loads sitting around taking up space up under their loading bench ,from doing exactly what you are better off doing ie testing various types to find the best suited to your rifle or sold their .222 & found boxes of factory ammo sitting in a dark corner .

It would not hurt to ask at gun shops either ,just explain what you are wanting to do & they may have open/ripped packets out the back, as trying a variety is what everyone should do to find the real potential in their rifles ,you only really need 5-6 rounds to try,just don't be tempted to try someones unknown reloads .I did this when l built my 300 Wby Mag as the dies l ordered were held up & 2 gun shops l had dealt with for years gave me loose factory rounds to try they had out the back.

I just had a look to see if l had any left to send you ,but back then their was still heaps of rabbits & my daughters learnt to shoot with the .222 & a Howa 223 on 2 properties we were given the job of Goat culling on, so my daughter must have made the most of it before moving to OZ, where she has only really used the Vixen for Fox hunting .

Also remember as you are trying to find the rifles accuracy potential with various rounds make sure you have a good solid rest set up consistently for all ie make up some sand/rice bags with old socks if you need to (you can pinch rice from the cupboard, double bag it in good plastic bags .l use the H/D double zip lock bags & then place in long socks ) ,barrel not obstructed /touching anything & same weather conditions ie no point in gusty wind conditions . Remember the whole point is to do a fair comparison so you have a useful base of knowledge on your rifles capability . Good Luck & Good hunting with the new rifle

You have scored one of the best rifles made the Vixen in 222 was what I used culling many years back and it was a tack driver, back then we used Sako 50gr SP and some Norma as well as Hertinburg. All 50gr and all shot well. As above look after that rifle I sure wish I still had mine.

Back of our local range one evening,son n law with his vixen shot 46rabbits out of a box of 50 belmonts rds.Most of the shots were between 180yds to to 230yds from the bonnet of my truck.That vixen was deadly accurate.I zeroed it at 200yds as he was over in WA.Got a 24inch barrel.