.224 cartridge dilemma/discussion

[Idaho Lefty]

I have never blown primers out of cases on any cartridge as I did with an AR Val. Obviously, after all the years of reloading, this cartridge with the heavies presented issues that were out of my league...humbling to say the least. Powders that I was familiar with had pressure spikes that were unbelievable.

I made the decision that if I were going to go down this road, the heavies in a 22 PPC with strong Lapua brass was the way I would go.

I would defer to Idaho Lefty, he has forgotten more about this heavy bullet thing than I will ever know.

Thanks for, the Pat on the back, Vince but,. in the case of the .22 Creed, I like, Medium weight, Bullets, driven fairly fast with, a bit slower, Twist in the barrel for, the Faster .22's, because,..
I would like, somewhat BETTER Barrel Life than, the 1,000 rounds Average that, the .22 creed's & 250 Ackley's using, 80 and 88 grainers+,.. get.
Once I build an Accurate Rifle, I want it to Last, PAST Load Development, Verification of, bullet / Scope and more than, a Few, Predators.
The 1 in 9 Twist with, the Slower / Cooler burning Powders should get me around 1,500 to 1,800 shots,.. Me thinks ( Hopefully, anyway,.. LOL ! )
A 69 gr. TMK or, 73 gr Berger BT, @ 3,450 to 3,500 FPS, should "Whack" Coyotes / Rock Chucks, as far as,.. I can, Hit one.
The 53 V-Max or, 55 BK's, @ 3,700+ FPS, should be Fine for, Sage Rats.

 

[Idaho Lefty]

Vince,..
As a Retiree, on a somewhat Fixed, Income,.. I "Try" to, make My, Barrel Steel,.. LAST,.. a Bit !
I have, a 6 XC that puts, 103 ELD-X's ( for Predators ) and 107 SMK's, ( Steel Practice ) pretty much, in the same Hole ( 2's and 3's ) and will Outlast, a .243 Win Barrel with about, 50% more, Barrel Life at around, 100 to 120 FPS Slower slug ( Bullet / Load, dependent ).
Just an Extra, Click tor Two, on My Scope !
Fast is Nice, IF you want to,.. PAY,.. the Price !

 

[Sprocketman]

I

Thank you. The stock is a McMillan Remington hunter and the color is molded in.

Mike, concur that is one sharp lookin stick. Gee, 22-250 AI or 22 Creed. What a horrible problem to work out
I love my 250 AI but it looks like the Creed might mag feed a little better than an AI??

 

[StanleyActual]

Nothing wrong with a 22 CREEDMOOR, Ballistically it's a great cartridge. But there are plenty of other proven options that aren't as gay.

…that don't have the factory support. That's what makes the Creedmoor popular. Not that it's some new earth shattering design but the fact that they've taken popular great ol time designs, tweaked them a little and put the factory support behind them so now you can buy ammunition and components for them easily.

Don't care how great the old designs are. If You can't find components or have to wild cat cartridges in your garage to run one, then it'll never be as popular as Creemoors. It's got nothing to do with whether they perform as good or better than the old. They're close enough to where the Availability is the determining factor as to why people chose Creedmoors over the others.

 

[Idaho Lefty]

@ Stanley,.. ^^^ THIS ^^
The .22 Creed will REPLACE My, ANTIQUE, .22-250 Rem that , "Grows" Brass every 2 shots with, the 28* shoulder and POOR Body Taper
( getting TIRED of, Trimming !!! ) An Old Design from, 1935 that, needs to,.. Go,.. IMO

 

[TK 1985]

There is a ton of information including reload data, if there is anything you need, just text me and I will get it to you

AmmoGuide.com

I can't help but think the graphs, while nice, are a bit misleading since it's comparing averages for each category. Would a better comparison not be all cartridges shooting the same weight bullet, say something standard like 55 or 62 gr?

 

[TK 1985]

Nothing wrong with a 22 CREEDMOOR, Ballistically it's a great cartridge. But there are plenty of other proven options that aren't as gay.

Nothing like some good old hate speech.

 

[Coldfinger]

I have the following rifles on hand currently in .224 caliber (other than ARs with 5.56/.223).

• Remington 700 VSSF clone in 220 Swift. I bought a takeoff factory barrel several years ago. I finally got around to buying an HS Precision Sendero stock direct from Remington before the bankruptcy and I bought a 700 stainless LA action. Had my gunsmith fit up/headspace the barrel; none of the factory barrel stamping are clocked correct but we wanted to see if it would shoot first. Well, with factory Hornady 50 grain Vmax ammo the thing shoots in the .3 range consistently! I don't Varmint hunt and it has a 14 twist barrel so options are limited there.
• I also have a semi custom 22-250 AI with a R700 receiver that has been trued up, Bartlein Remington Varmint contour 5R 7 twist stainless barrel, McMillan hunter stock, Jewell trigger, Magpul DBM & PTG 1 piece bolt. It shoots 90 grain Speer Gold Dots in the .3-.4 range. It's an awesome looking rifle with the stock and cerakote job that is on it. My main issue with it is I find myself wanting a custom action and carbon barrel. I absolutely would build it the same way but with the changes noted. I have plenty of fire formed Lapua brass as well as unformed brass, dies, etc.

So I find myself weighing pros and cons of each of the rifles I own and now the 22 Creedmoor is on the scene. I'm not sure it offers anything over the Swift or the 22-250 AI but it has to be considered I think.

I've been consistently moving away from factory rifles and semi custom rifles and thinning down to just the ones I want/need.

• So the 220 Swift is a nostalgia cartridge for me and it shoots exceptionally well. But it's handicapped by sub par brass (to me) and the 14 twist barrel is less than ideal for my needs. But I'm having a hard time convincing myself it needs to go. And I find myself wanting to rebarrel it and make in an AI as well; which is probably a fool's errand.
• While I really like the looks of my 22-250AI, it's losing its luster in its current configuration to me.
• Do I really want a Creedmoor? GAG.

My heart tells me to sell both and build another 22-250AI with a fast twist barrel, properly throated for heavy Bergers and configured the way I would want it.

It's no secret I love me some improved cartridges.

Sorry for the late night rambling, just looking for additional thoughts.

I've had them both 22-250ai&22creed. In the same twist barrels they're identical essentially. You can get proper headstamped brass in the 22 Creed and no fireforming. I still have a couple 22creeds and a 22-250 for lighter bullets.

 

[TK 1985]

I've had them both 22-250ai&22creed. In the same twist barrels they're identical essentially. You can get proper headstamped brass in the 22 Creed and no fireforming. I still have a couple 22creeds and a 22-250 for lighter bullets.

Which twist did you use in the two identical ones? How did they both shoot with different weights?

 

[Coldfinger]

I had 7.5 twist in both. Both shot fantastic with 85.5 bergers and 4350. I decided I wanted to go faster and lighter so I went to an 8 twist. I have tge 8 twist in a kreiger barrel and another 8 with an Oregon mountain cf barrel. I sent the 22-250 ai barrel out and had it cut to 22 creed just to clean up my reloading bench. Both cartridges side by side in matching rifles would really be a coin toss. Except for fireforming and headstamped brass.

 

[buzby]

Nothing like some good old hate speech.

Creedmoor Derangement Syndrome is real. It's very sad and debilitating. Unfortunately, if someone has it, others must suffer it's effects.

 

[VinceMule]

Lapua Creed brass is good stuff. If you are not into a 22 Creed and want to dive in, find the dies first.

 

[TK 1985]

I had 7.5 twist in both. Both shot fantastic with 85.5 bergers and 4350. I decided I wanted to go faster and lighter so I went to an 8 twist. I have tge 8 twist in a kreiger barrel and another 8 with an Oregon mountain cf barrel. I sent the 22-250 ai barrel out and had it cut to 22 creed just to clean up my reloading bench. Both cartridges side by side in matching rifles would really be a coin toss. Except for fireforming and headstamped brass.

Yeah I just haven't decided yet if I want to throw heavy slugs or rocket the light ones. I like the idea of 90, even 95 now, gr slugs but I'm not sure that would really fill a role that my 6.5 wouldn't.

 

[Coldfinger]

I could not disrespect a rifle by tattooing it with the Creedmoor name. Might as well just carve a giant dick on it while you're at it. If you want a fast 22 cal I'd pick a 22-250AI or if you want to shoot 75's or more the 22-243AI is a good one.

Yeah I just haven't decided yet if I want to throw heavy slugs or rocket the light ones. I like the idea of 90, even 95 now, gr slugs but I'm not sure that would really fill a role that my 6.5 wouldn't.

Yes I got bored with the heavies I like the slower twist barrels to drop into 69 -77 grain bullets. Much more effective on deer and coyotes than the heavies.