Thread: Sako Vixen .222

Originally Posted by bunji

@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

Thanks @bunji good idea! Have chucked a post up in the buy & sell and I’ll see what comes outta the woodwork.
Cheers for the tips re rests etc too

Originally Posted by NickV

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!!

I pass through Bulls every weekend and have some spare belmont Ammo i could drop off, if you want to try it?

Tried all sorts of bullets in my vixen and have settled on 55gn Speer soft point flat base 21.6 gn 2207. Fantastically accurate and kills everything I hit in the right place.

Originally Posted by Kudu

I pass through Bulls every weekend and have some spare belmont Ammo i could drop off, if you want to try it?

Thanks @Kudo that’d be perfect will PM.