Gunsmithing Question re action and bolt

[mefizto]

Greetings all,

I am not sure where to post this, but since this forum is frequented by machinists, I thought this might be the best one.

I have always wanted a rifle chambered in Remington .222. But the nice ones, and there is no reason not have a nice one, are rather rare and expensive.

Looking at the .222 case, apart from the length related dimensions, it is identical to the .223. I was, therefore, wondering if one could buy a nice action in .223 and have a barrel reamed for .222 and mated to the action. Since the rear of the cases is identical, shuld the the action and bold not work? Am I overlooking anything?

Kindest regards,

M

 

[ShtrRdy]

Yes, you should be able to do this. I believe the .223 design used the .222 as a starting point.

 

[mefizto]

Hi ShtrRdy,


thank you very much for your answer.

Kindest regards,

M

 

[RTH1800]

NO, the .223 is a larger case. Will need to set back barrel or replace it.

Other than making things difficult there is utterly no reason to rebarrel to .222 Rem. It’s more expensive to buy brass, more expensive and harder to find quality dies, lower performance and offers nothing the .223 does not do better. It would not even exist today if not for older rifles.

 

[mefizto]

Hi rth1800,

thank you for the clarification. I did note that the barrel will have to be modified.

Kindest regards,

M

 

[Easy_E]

Are you looking for the .222 or .222 magnum ?

 

[RTH1800]

.222 mag might work and is a bit faster than .223

 

[Average guy]

I’m really digging your idea. I would buy a good action and rebarrel with a quality barrel. I love the 222. I have a 40x in 222. People often forget that the 222 was the darling of bench rest shooters before the PPC cases. You will love it.

 

[natdscott]

There’s a .222 40X barreled action on Accurateshooter’s forum right NOW. About 4 spaces down is a Bartlein 4 groove 8T .224 Light Palma.


....just sayin.

 

[mefizto]

Hi Easy_E, rth1800,

I would prefer .222, not magnum. I am limited space wise, so 100-200 yards of the .222 is perfectly fine with me. I am also a recoil wimp, and the recoil numbers for an 8.5 pound rifle are small.

Hi Average guy,

thank you for the support. It seems that many people who have .222 seem to love it.

I really like your idea of buying a ggod action, since as rth1800 noted, I will have to re-barrel. I did the same when building a silhouette rifle. What would be a good action that you would recommend and would you know a good sourece where to look for one?

Kindest regards,

M

 

[RTH1800]

The world is currently overran with GREAT actions. Sako, Rem, Impact, Lone Peak Arms
The list goes on. Bet there are 3 dozen or more.

 

[Average guy]

Hi Easy_E, rth1800,

I would prefer .222, not magnum. I am limited space wise, so 100-200 yards of the .222 is perfectly fine with me. I am also a recoil wimp, and the recoil numbers for an 8.5 pound rifle are small.

Hi Average guy,

thank you for the support. It seems that many people who have .222 seem to love it.

I really like your idea of buying a ggod action, since as rth1800 noted, I will have to re-barrel. I did the same when building a silhouette rifle. What would be a good action that you would recommend and would you know a good sourece where to look for one?

Kindest regards,

M

Remington is offering factory trued actions. So far I like mine. If budget is higher I hear great things about bighorn actions. I sourced my Remington from Northland Shooters supply. Call James up and he can help you with all your questions. You will love the little triple deuce.

 

[mefizto]

Hi thh1800, Average_guy,

I am rather ignorant about center-fire, since as I had noted above, I have been shooting exclusively air rifles and .22lr. So, I do not know what action is or is not good. Consequently, I also do not know where to buy only the action.

But, I will do some research based on your helpful comments.

Kindest regards,

M

 

[natdscott]

If you go with a R700, BudsGunshop has the very best prices in all the land.

 

[Average guy]

Hi thh1800, Average_guy,

I am rather ignorant about center-fire, since as I had noted above, I have been shooting exclusively air rifles and .22lr. So, I do not know what action is or is not good. Consequently, I also do not know where to buy only the action.

But, I will do some research based on your helpful comments.

Kindest regards,

M

A trued Remington action is a good starting point. If you want to spend a little more I would go with a bighorn origin action. There’s tons of knowledge on this forum. Check some threads out and ask questions. People are more than happy to help.

 

[Easy_E]

I have a Remington factory .222 bdl I bought ten years ago never fired it. Thought about selling it as the .221 fireball is my go to varmint round.

 

[XLR308]

Remington is offering factory trued actions. So far I like mine. If budget is higher I hear great things about bighorn actions. I sourced my Remington from Northland Shooters supply. Call James up and he can help you with all your questions. You will love the little triple deuce.

The Rem700 trued actions that LRI produces are pretty damn impressive from what I've seen. Definitely worth making a phone call if in the market for one.

 

[mefizto]

Hi natdscott, Average_guy, Easy_E, XLR308,

thank you very much for your willingness to help a neophyte. Ragarding the Rem700, from the little reading I have done so far, it seems that it is a lottery, whether one gets a good one or a so-so one. As I am buy one, cry one type of buyer, I would rather spend money on a good action, than have to have an action re-worked.

Easy_E,

should you decide to sell yours, please let me know, e.g via e-mail or pm.

Kindest regards,

M

 

[buffybuster]

Find a built .223Rem with the features you're looking for, it will do everything you want a more, with negligible increase in recoil. If you have your heart set on a .222Rem it's only a rebarrel away.

 

[XLR308]

Hi natdscott, Average_guy, Easy_E, XLR308,

thank you very much for your willingness to help a neophyte. Ragarding the Rem700, from the little reading I have done so far, it seems that it is a lottery, whether one gets a good one or a so-so one. As I am buy one, cry one type of buyer, I would rather spend money on a good action, than have to have an action re-worked.

Easy_E,

should you decide to sell yours, please let me know, e.g via e-mail or pm.

Kindest regards,

M

You can buy the Rem700 action from LRI completly worked over from a new action or send them one to rework.
If you are set on a custom action with the 700 footprint it really just comes down to preference and what you like since there are so many currently available this could drag on for pages.
I have two of the Kelbly Atlas Tac actions and have nothing but praise for them but also the Bighorn actions get alot of love around here.

 

[Ledzep]

A .223 rifle can be easily re-barreled for .222. While not quite as snappy as .223 I don't think I've ever seen a .222 that didn't outright hammer, and I know of a barrel that was shooting well under MOA for over 18,000 rounds before it finally let go.

Nothing wrong with the M700 actions, it's the barrels that are spotty. At any rate, there are tons of options out there for you, Tikka, CZ, Cooper, Sako, Winchester, Remington, Bighorn, Defiance, American Rifle Co., Impact, Stiller, etc....... Until forever. Just a matter of choosing which one you like and having the barrel set back or replaced with an aftermarket blank.

 

[Average guy]

A .223 rifle can be easily re-barreled for .222. While not quite as snappy as .223 I don't think I've ever seen a .222 that didn't outright hammer, and I know of a barrel that was shooting well under MOA for over 18,000 rounds before it finally let go.

Nothing wrong with the M700 actions, it's the barrels that are spotty. At any rate, there are tons of options out there for you, Tikka, CZ, Cooper, Sako, Winchester, Remington, Bighorn, Defiance, American Rifle Co., Impact, Stiller, etc....... Until forever. Just a matter of choosing which one you like and having the barrel set back or replaced with an aftermarket blank.

A cooper would be an absolutely sweet little 222. They are always great shooters

 

[mefizto]

Greetings all,

I did not realize that there are so many options. Thank you once again for all the help.

Kindest regards,

M

 

[pabrousseau]

sako vixen is also a very nice rifle in .222.

 

[mefizto]

Hi pabarousseau,

thank you, the reviewes are stellar. However, it does not seem to be in production, so I would be worried about parts replacements. Given this consideration, I am inclined to buy something in lasting production, e.g., Rem 700, or 40-X, based.

Kindest regards,

M

 

[mefizto]

Greetings all,

one more issue occurred to me. Since the .223 is longer than the .222, how do I deal with magazine conversion? Or am I limited to a single shot?

Although I would still prefer to buy .222 instead of the proposed conversion, watching accurate shooter and this forum, the .222 do not appear to be offered.

Kindest regards,

M

 

[Average guy]

Greetings all,

one more issue occurred to me. Since the .223 is longer than the .222, how do I deal with magazine conversion? Or am I limited to a single shot?

Although I would still prefer to buy .222 instead of the proposed conversion, watching accurate shooter and this forum, the .222 do not appear to be offered.

Kindest regards,

M

The difference in length is minimal. 222 will feed reliably from a 223 magazine

 

[mefizto]

Hi Average guy,

thank you very much for the answer.

Kindest regards,

M

 

[whatsupdoc]

Why bother getting a 223 rifle, if you are going to convert a 223 to 222 you might as well dump the factory 223 barrel and get a custom cut rifled 222 barrel to take advantage of the 222's inherent accuracy.

Get an action and a GOOD barrel and go from there, I still shoot a 222 and it is a great round, quiet, cheap and super accurate.
Just keep it under 300 yards and you will be fine.

 

[mefizto]

Hi whatsupdoc,

this is one of the options that I am looking for. But, being new to cenerfire rifles as I understand it, the bolt must be matching the intended case. Thus I would need to buy an action with bold for .223 or .222. Maybe I am looking at wrong places, but recentely neither sniperhide nor asccurateshooter had anysuch action.

But, I will eventually figure it all out, as I really want the .222 for all the reasons you mentioned.

Kindest regards,

M

 

[pabrousseau]

look on gunbroker.com. there is a rem 700 classic up for bid. plus a hundred others. search 222 rifles

 

[357Max]

Greetings all,

I am not sure where to post this, but since this forum is frequented by machinists, I thought this might be the best one.

I have always wanted a rifle chambered in Remington .222. But the nice ones, and there is no reason not have a nice one, are rather rare and expensive.

Looking at the .222 case, apart from the length related dimensions, it is identical to the .223. I was, therefore, wondering if one could buy a nice action in .223 and have a barrel reamed for .222 and mated to the action. Since the rear of the cases is identical, shuld the the action and bold not work? Am I overlooking anything?

Kindest regards,

M

mefizto,

For my 2 cents I'd steer you in another direction.
The wait times, expense and frustration involved in acquiring all the parts or doner rifle etc. just doesn't make sense to me for what you seem to want.

Take a look at this Sauer 100 Classic .222 Wood stock. Weight is 6.7 lbs + scope/rings should wind up 8-8.5lbs. This is a good looking rifle with a nice adjustable trigger for $950.00 If you buy one before Dec 31 you get a Minox 50% off coupon, so you can either add great glass to it at a large discount or sell the coupon.

I will give you $150 for the coupon if you don't want a Minox scope.

So at $800 for this, I doubt you could put something together for less.

Just PM me if you want to take me up on the offer.

https://www.eurooptic.com/Sauer-100-Classic-Beechwood-Stock-222-Rem.aspx