Finally Acquired A Triple Duce (222 Rem) The Other Day

I've been looking for one of these for a couple of years...the prices have been running little above what I wanted to pay for them...both in the stores and on line..

The Remingtons 700 V or VS chambered in .222 have been going for $1000.00 and over....sans scope ... the Sakos even more..

I was also looking at the 722's chambered in .222...nice rifles more reasonably priced unless they were "B" grades...then they went up to $1000.00...

So..I more or less gave up the search...THEN IT HAPPENED!!

I was called off to look at a job that was about thirty miles from the shop..( and a couple of miles from two guns Shops)...so after straightening out couple of issue at the job site..I headed for the GS....

I only expected to spend a couple of minutes eyeball some candy ...but the first piece I laid my eyes on was a HB Remington 700 that looked to have some age on it..pulling it off the rack the first thing I noticed was that the hole in the barrel was small!!...IT COULDN"T BE !!!

YUP IT WAS !!!.... right on the side of the barrel .222 Remington...and it sported a Weaver K12 w/ fine cross hairs..and the front block for a Lyman or Unertal...HUMMMMM...nice..

OK now let's see what the tag says...$749.. not too too bad....so now the sales person comes over .." can I help?", he says?...I reply "yes you can, I need to get the trigger lock off so I can check the barrel and can you tell me what the real price is ?

He goes off then comes back with the key and says I could have it for $649.00....looking it over more I guessed its birthday was about 1971 and had spent most of it's life as a safe queen.... you could almost put a hang tag on it and sell it as new ...dried oil and dust that was it...

OK I'll take it....then I find out it came with stocking stuffers..case, sling, dies ,brass, bullets, loaded rounds etc..I'm happy!!!

But now I need advice on a mold!!!!! any suggestions?.... Oh and I believe it's birthday is Feb ,1975.

Nice rifle and scope! Good news is always welcome.

I have a 722 in .222 which prefers 40-50 grain jacketed, I think the ROT is 1:14". 4198 and RL 7 shoot so well I have never tried any other powders.

The Hornady VMAX turn a crow into a puff of feathers, also they won't exit a coyote.

Chris...the previous owner said this gun loves those bullets as well ...hoping it will like RX7 as I have a ton...right now i am sitting on about 1500 speer 52 gr hpbt match...but i'll get some 50 gr vmax..thanks for the input Dan

Nice find. It is always fun to find things that you want at a good price. Good looking rifle.

i'll second the 50gr hornady's.
I really like the 50gr. SPSX but don't think they make them anymore.
you can buy 250 count packs of the 50gr. V-Max for a pretty good price.

Nice rifle! I have its twin, except mine is an ADL. Couldn't get cast to do well in mine. Previous owner(my DA brother) let the barrel pit. Sickens me because when we went to try it out after my Dad passed away largest group at 100 yds was still under 1/2". This was using 30 year old factory ammo. I traded him out of it a few years later and then found how bad the barrel was.He never had cleaned it. So I just use jacketed in it now. Still stays under 1", but that is twice as bad as it was. I use my Model 70 for cast. Run the 225-55 Fn in it. Does well enough up to about 2,200fps.

For jacketed the Hornady 50gr SX is a great bullet. Reloder 7 is better than IMR-4198, at least in my rifles. Hornady still makes them. They quit for a while several years ago, along with many other bullets, but they have been back for years.
Most things seem to shot pretty well out of .222. Except for the 52gr A-Max. I get 6" or larger groups from it. Go figure!

Got to sneak out at lunch time and made a quick trip to the range....conditions marginal...winds 20k with gust...but 54 deg. and sunny...
got set up and finished of the box of old handloads that came with the gun...23gr 30-31 , probably the Serria 52 gr match HPBT..H&R Cases , neck turned...
....don't know how the guy shot this gun...it's got an extremely crisp 3.5-4# pull..

Scope wasn't bad ....nice and clear and plenty of light even with the target in the shade.

I figured to use 3-5 rounds to get on paper 'cause I had taken every thing apart and cleaned them...scope rings etc.....well I was wrong....
first shot.....had to look three times thru the 12x before I spotted the hole..



I pasted some smaller targets to hone myself in..(I get lazy with big targets)....she ain't a tack driver..but shows promise ....can't wait to get my own reloads down range...

Second group



Last ten rounds... at this point I'm tired of picking things up off the ground ...dang gusts..



Think it would shoot groups like this with cast?

Good start, it shows promise. Work up a good load, maybe glass bed it, shoot on a nice calm day and I bet you can cut that group down to bragging size.

I haven't shot cast in mine yet, but I'm fixing to. Picked up a couple Lyman molds. I have read that cast can be tricky to get shooting, got to weigh bullets. I bet there are some members here that could be helpful.

not that hard, just push on the OCD button.
I designed a plain base 38gr mold for arsenal about a year back, but it looks like they added a gas check and changed it to about 45grs.
it looked a lot like this one only with more rear drive band.
if AL does his normal +.002 this one would be just right.
most 22 cal rifles are 227 in the ball seat area.
the nose should bump up about the same .002 putting it real close.
[getting the alloy up closer to 5/5/90 will bring things right in line]
then it's just a matter of looking for an accuracy node starting at about 1900 and moving forward.
bet you can get real close to 2700 with no real problems.

Ya Fiver...I used to count on Al's molds doing the +.002 ..but the last couple three didn't quite do that..I'll check Tom's stuff to see if there is anything close to that....thanks

Boy that was dumb...smallest nose Tom does is .18r

Nice score Dan! Concerning jacketed bullets, don't overlook the Nosler Varmagedon stuff. Real accurate with great field results.
250 pack for under $40

WACO...i hear you...got to order a bunch of stuff...brass ,neck collet die, different mount, bullets...

Well guys i was a little off on the trigger pull...i put the scale to it...5.5-5.75 #'s....really..?

Got it set at 2#'s+ now...

nice! I got lucky and got my Savage 340 for $200. And has beautiful wood! Bought it for the wood alone. Haven't wrung it out yet. May need to trim an inch off the bbl due to erosion. Can't tell yet. But it looks like it was set up for old school bench rest.

I hear 50 grn is the sweet spot for 222. I will shoot jackets in it I think. Put a scope on it I paid as much for as the rifle! and side mount. Hope mine likes 3031 and/or RL7. Have lottsa both!

a good clean trigger can still be heavy, you just don't notice it so much with a well balanced rifle.
get a rifle that weighs nuthin or is real short and you can see the long creepy trigger moving the gun through the scope.


yeah I wish Tom did anything smaller than 30 cal.
I'd check Mtn. Molds and see what Dan has over there.
the above drawing would be a pretty good place to start and you could juke the diameters on the nose/drive bands a hair then play the alloy from a ww/ low tin alloy for the better fitment and to take the punishment of banging into the lands.

the 22's give me a little self satisfaction when I get them running right.

I'd try for a Lyman 225646 mould, but you'll probably have to lap the heck out of it to get it up to size. If you think 55 grains might be too heavy, try the 225438, looks like they're making them with almost no step at the front band now, which would be a good thing.

Very nice.My only duece (722) came with load data and CH dies already set.Along with some 52g Sieeras and IMR4198.Ya'll wouldn't believe the groups so will skip that.

I'd definitely snag a Lee 55,not bator.Yes it's a gamble on quality but what.... 25$.If it's not up to snuff,sell it.And would still think about the 4198.

My Savage .223 shot the Lee/4198 with a few tricks thrown in(bumped nose,<.001 run out,etc) into one hole on it's first outing.Good luck with your"new" 700.BW

OK guys I'm sure you have all seen the sale at NOE... anything there worthy of note?

Intheshop said:

Very nice.My only duece (722) came with load data and CH dies already set.Along with some 52g Sieeras and IMR4198.Ya'll wouldn't believe the groups so will skip that.

I'd definitely snag a Lee 55,not bator.Yes it's a gamble on quality but what.... 25$.If it's not up to snuff,sell it.And would still think about the 4198.

My Savage .223 shot the Lee/4198 with a few tricks thrown in(bumped nose,<.001 run out,etc) into one hole on it's first outing.Good luck with your"new" 700.BW

Click to expand...

Just got a 5/16" group with the 52's and Rx7 ....trying H4198 next.... trying to get a base line for this piece..like to get into the teens


Definitely getting something besides the Rem cases and a Lee die set for the cast...gravitating towards heavier cast bullets ..but am listening to you guys...

Now you are getting somewhere, that is minute of red squirrel. Lighter trigger doesn't hurt either, nor calmer conditions.

If you have a little 4198 laying around try 21.5 grains, that is for me about max so maybe step it back a little. Around here my buddies also liked that, and in the old time benchrest world that was the classic load. I always thought it shot a bit better in my 722 than RL 7, give it a try and see what you think. And I use a lot of RL7.

I think the Fed match primers help. Anyway, it's hard to make a bad load for the .222 so you will have fun.