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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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?Attachment 241648

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

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Originally Posted by Tahr

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

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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

I've come to the conclusion that it makes little difference juggling powders and trying to spin up heavy for caliber projectiles for the 222. Time and energy is best spent in my opinion on getting your self super comfortable with the rifle / scope as placement of the bullet is everything with the .222 - axis shots only if you want to be sure of an instant kill. Just work on getting it there first. If I'm not confident I can place the shot I hold off and wait or just walk away.

Having said all that bull my formula in my most developed vixen is 20gr RL7 Hornady 53gr V-max (BC 296 from memory) and I wont take a shot over 130m on reds. That's with the 1:10 and 1:8 barrel. Don't know if a 1:14 will spin up the 53gr but try it out to find out - have tonns so let me know if you want a hand full to test.

Hey @6.5 CRD, How'd you get on with the load development? I have a vixen I need to do the same on soon, except it has a different barrel so need to confirm the twist.

I have been given some loads that a previous family member did for the rifle, but I would rather not use them and pull them all. Believe it's a 55gr SST with Varget or titegroup.

Read Mike Bennetts book tells about a well known West coast hunter shooting 3 big red stags at 500 yards with the triple deuce. Hunter died in last few years in a tragic river crossing in a truck.

I take tales like that with grain of salt.pre rangefinder.pre fast twist ,pre heavy for calibre. That would more than likely be a 50-55grn projectile. Do the maths and look at ranges in the 223 thread with all the mod cons and ask yourself...

To put it another way. At that energy level it would HAVE to be chest/crease or neck shot.... How many can shoot a rabbit at 500 yards with 222/223 and guarantee a hit? Rabbit being similar size to neck vitals or crease

I shot my best rusa with the trebly, neck shot at around 45-50 yrds, he defo needed another two more. They have a heavy hide and a bull neck in the rut. If I was hunting rusa again I would introduce them to my 300 wsm, minimum of 165 gr.

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

I take tales like that with grain of salt.pre rangefinder.pre fast twist ,pre heavy for calibre. That would more than likely be a 50-55grn projectile. Do the maths and look at ranges in the 223 thread with all the mod cons and ask yourself...

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I dont think Bonehead told lies considering he also used a triple deuce bolt action on venison recovery out of the chopper.

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Originally Posted by TeRei

I dont think Bonehead told lies considering he also used a triple deuce bolt action on venison recovery out of the chopper.

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And that was at 500 yrds. I believe people don't knowingly tell lies, just stretch the truth.

I agree Smokey.... Time blurs the edges and often the whole truth gets in way of a good yarn. Again do the maths and ask around. There are a few fellas on here shooting a lot of animals with .223 super calm with all the advantages of modern gear, ability to dial in range etc and I don't see reports of many animals being shot at 500 yards let alone big red stags.

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Originally Posted by dnsn

Hey @6.5 CRD, How'd you get on with the load development? I have a vixen I need to do the same on soon, except it has a different barrel so need to confirm the twist.

I have been given some loads that a previous family member did for the rifle, but I would rather not use them and pull them all. Believe it's a 55gr SST with Varget or titegroup.

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Got a load sorted for it. R-P Brass, WRE Primer, Hornady 55gr SP #2266b. 25.5gr of LVR. 3050fps & consistent .6 moa groups. Went to 26.6gr & 3150fps but wasnt as accurate & couldnt be bothered wasting time trying to get it to shoot better.

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Originally Posted by Hugh Shields

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.

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Greetings,
I think that data is for the .222 Rem Mag and not the .222 Rem. ADI shows a max load of 19.5 grains of AR2207 for 3,017 fps at 45,300 CUP for the .222 Rem.
Regards Grandpamac.

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Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings,
I think that data is for the .222 Rem Mag and not the .222 Rem. ADI shows a max load of 19.5 grains of AR2207 for 3,017 fps at 45,300 CUP for the .222 Rem.
Regards Grandpamac.

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Spot on GPM
Just last week I ran a ladder with 2207 up to 19.5 for 2976fps in .222 CZ 20”
Cheers MG