22 Nosler in a semi auto platform. Thoughts and experience please...

[Jumper]

Looking at the 22Nosler for a lightweight predator hunting gun. Nosler introduced it in 2017 and it looks like there were some problems with it chewing up the brass. So bad that you couldn't reload it. On paper it looks pretty good. Only have to change barrel and magazines to use in a small frame AR; ~3200fps for a 77gr bullet. I probably wouldnt reload for this caliber, just take it hunting, but the problems they were having initially has me doubting its reliability. Craddock Precision offers this caliber. I called them and asked if they had done any development with it and they hadn't. The customers who bought it didn't seem to have any complaints though. So does any Hide member have any experience with this caliber? Looking for info.

 

[Smith1]

I couldn’t ever get mine to feed right. PRI mags were the most reliable but still not great. It was 1/2 moa with Berger 55 grain flat base targets.

My buddy had a similar experience but he had a BCA build so I don’t really count that

 

[TACC]

My upper was from AR stoner 20 inch barrel, bought off midway for grins and giggles years ago.
I shoot it suppressed, AAC 556SD,
Using 62 grain, Varmageddon, I have not reloaded just factory ammo, bought a shit ton of it once I figured out it was shooting just over 0.05 MOA. Can't shoot as far as my 224 WOA 24 INCH barrel, but up to 600 yards its lights out. No recoil, no fur damage. DRT.

 

[Mike_in_FL]

I'm not sure if you'd be interested in it but you can probably get the same thing from Keystone Accuracy with a .220 Thunderbolt upper. See this: https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/224-valkyrie-vs-220-thunderbolt.6939322/ post #23

 

[NH4X]

I have an upper build by dtech ,24" barrel . Haven't had any feeding ,or chewing up brass issues. Factory 77gr shoots in the 3000 fps + range.and has grouped MOA and under. My handloads with 77gr averages 2975 low ES and SD and groups .75 and less MOA ,have shot A lot of .50 groups and even smaller. Just for the hell of it ,I worked up some 55gr loads and settled on 3411 fps ,to be specific,and that load groups very small also.

3200 with a 77gr is unrealistic expectations imo . I foresee pierced primers or worse.
I am very happy and satisfied with my 22N and glad I haven't experienced the problems others have had with it.

Any questions ,feel free to pm

 

[roostercogburn98]

If reloading is not in your window for that round, I’d say go for it. It shot well for me, cycled well, and tame recoil.

I gave up because it tore brass up bad, and I wanted to reload for it.

 

[fdkay]

It's hard on brass in a semi-auto and you only have two sources, Nosler and Midway's Dogtown brass, which is made by Nosler.
I built a bolt gun out of it, which I enjoy shooting very much.
If I was going to do a semi auto, I would either go for the .224 Val, which has similar performance, or the .22 NOSGAR, which can be made with the .22 Nosler reloading dies, but uses the parent 6.8 case head dimensions.

 

[Jumper]

That's what I've heard, that in semi-auto's its hard on brass. Has anyone ever tried an upper with a rifle length +2" system?

 

[Sogan]

22-NXS as well. Uses Hornady 6mm Hagar brass. 55gr are suppose to get up to 3600 in a 20” barrel fairly easy. I have a barrel on order so can’t give personal experience just yet

 

[fdkay]

22-NXS as well. Uses Hornady 6mm Hagar brass. 55gr are suppose to get up to 3600 in a 20” barrel fairly easy. I have a barrel on order so can’t give personal experience just yet

Yeah, I was confused for a few.
The 22 Nos-gar got it's name from the parent case, the Hagar, run through a .22 nosler full length sizer and loaded to .22 nosler specs

 

[Sogan]

Yeah, I was confused for a few.
The 22 Nos-gar got it's name from the parent case, the Hagar, run through a .22 nosler full length sizer and loaded to .22 nosler specs

Shit, so are they the same thing?

 

[fdkay]

Shit, so are they the same thing?

 

[Will_I_Aim]

Read the forum rules.

 

[Smith1]

Hey everyone,…

Good way to catch a pee-pee slapping you better delete this

 

[larryh128]

I jumped on one looking at the velo from a 15 platform. I shot 55 gr to 75 gr bullets, several powders and can honestly say it was a happy day when someone wanted the barrel. They got barrel, dies, brass as I had no intention of having another 1. Just a bad design, the Valkerie is what it should have been. Way too much bolt thrust.

 

[mervincase]

Looking at the 22Nosler for a lightweight predator hunting gun. Nosler introduced it in 2017 and it looks like there were some problems with it chewing up the brass. So bad that you couldn't reload it. On paper it looks pretty good. Only have to change barrel and magazines to use in a small frame AR; ~3200fps for a 77gr bullet. I probably wouldnt reload for this caliber, just take it hunting, but the problems they were having initially has me doubting its reliability. Craddock Precision offers this caliber. I called them and asked if they had done any development with it and they hadn't. The customers who bought it didn't seem to have any complaints though. So does any Hide member have any experience with this caliber? Looking for info.

 

[ClangClang]

6mm arc or 6.5 Grendel have much more development behind them and will do basically the same thing as a .22 Nosler semi.

 

[mervincase]

I have a 22 nosler with a ar stoner upper forget trying to reload the dogtown bullet sold by midway is by far the most accurate but I will say that any flat base bullet will perform great with cfe 223 powder if you want to play around with reloading the flat base 62gr varmegeton also works fine it is a flat base also now to be honest I have a 3-18 leupold scope with a dot recutile on iy and a tricked out lower on the gun but that's another story all I know it made my gun put five n less than a quarter size group I shoot yotes and whistle pigs with this gun vaporizes the pigs and turns the yotes to dish rags

 

[Baron85]

I’m running a 22nxs which uses the 22 nosler dies but you don’t screw then all the way down to the shell holder so it pushes the shoulder forward. Kinda like an ackley improved 22 nosler but same shoulder angle. It uses 6 Hagar brass so you get the bigger bolt face 6.8spc which supposedly helps save the case heads survive longer. Mine feeds flawlessly from pri 6.8 mags and is running Sierra 55gns at 2610 from a 20” barrel.

If your not planning on reloading the straight 22 nosler should be a great round for predator hunting. A good bump in velocity for very flat trajectory out to 300 ish yards. If your wanting to run heavy bullets I would go 6 arc or something else but for fast and flat factory ammo this is it.

 

[Rocketvapor]

What's your source (and price) for factory 22N ammo ?

Here's what you do with the Hagar brass (22 NOSGAR is a little shorter than the 22 NXS)

 

[Rocketvapor]

I wonder what the 22 NXS would do with StaBall 6.5. I get an extra 150fps over IMR 4350 in a 28" 22 Nosler.
I start loosing a few primer pockets after a few firings.
The Hagar case does better but holds about a grain less powder for the same velocities.
I shoot a no gas 22N (until I run out of cases )and the wife is shooting up my Hagar cases (22 NOSGAR).
LabRadar data, 28" AR, wife has gas

, mine doesn't.
No-Gas, 22 N Dogtown cases,
85.5, 32.4gr SB6.5 2966 avg.
88gr ELD, 32.4gr SB6.5 2981 avg.
88gr ELD, 32.55gr SB6.5 2994 avg.

Gasser, NOSGAR cases.
85.5, 31.2gr SB6.5 2942 avg.
85.5, 31.3gr SB6.5 2965 avg.
85.5, 31.4gr SB6.5 2984 avg.
88, 31.2gr SB6.5 2966 avg.
88, 31.4gr SB6.5 3000 avg


85.5gr 22N (Dogtown), 22 NOSGAR, 22N Factory 62gr.

An MOA or a little less @ 300yds.
300 yds, wife on the left, mine on the right.

I think the 22 NXS would be hot with heavies and SB 6.5.

 

[DarylU]

I know it's a few months late but I thought I would add my contribution for what it's worth. We build predator hunting rifles primarily for northeastern Ohio coyote hunters where most shots are under 300 yards. Most of the guys want high velocity light weight loads and handload. The 22 nosler the 22 creedmoor and the six creedmoor are the most common and successful. All of these also double effectively when they go pig hunting in georgia. The guides there have ordered the 6mm creedmoor and they hunt both coyote and pigs. I think the big thing is to look at the ballistics of the specific bullet that you want to shoot. And what is effective as far as the terminal ballistics. The favorites around here are the nosler BT line and the barnes TX and ttsx. What I have found is that in the AR-15 platform the 22 or 24 inch barrels are almost always requested for that extra velocity. The nice thing about the creedmoor line is you can get similar or better velocities with an 18 or a 20 inch barrel. These are all very flat shooting. We zero them at 200 and it's pretty close to zero at 100 and 200. And there's usually only about a half an inch variants out to 200 and less than a 4 inch drop at 300. We mostly use the BSF carbon fiber barrels. Depending on the thermal scope and suppressor most of these weigh in as a complete package between 10 and 12 lb. For the most part there's not a lot of weight difference between the AR-15 and the AR-10 maybe a pound. If you look at the accurate 2200 and 2230 load data for a 556 and a 24 inch barrel even with just the published data you can be at around 3600 ft per second with the nosler 50 BT at 3900 feet per second with a 40 bt. I have loaded and confirmed these velocities and found them to be very effective. But I think the 50 is the way to go. They're super accurate all the rifles are well under moa using the thermal scope I've seen them put down coyote effectively out to 200 and 300 yards. Based on factory loads and published load data for the 22 nosler it can be disappointing when you see how close it is to the 556. Most of this is due to the specification that holds the pressure down in the 22 nosler compared to a 556.