Evolution of the .22 Caliber
My introduction to the .22 caliber centerfire
cartridge began when I was just a teenager, when one of the first firearms my
dad got for me was a Savage 24V. That particular model was known as an African
Style rifle, in that, it was an over/under with a rifle barrel on top and a
shotgun barrel underneath. Mine was a .222 Remington over a fixed full choke 20
gauge. I used it to hunt varmints, which back then was fox and raccoons, as
well wood chucks on my grandfather’s farm. The .222 Remington was also known as
the triple deuce, and was introduced by Remington in 1950. It was one the first commercially
produced rimless .22 (5.56) cartridge made in the United States, in that, the
.222 Remington it was a completely new design, unlike so many other cartridges
of the time period that was formed from another cartridge case. So it was that
I grew up with the triple deuce.
It would be over a decade later before I got
my second .22 caliber rifle. Again, it was a Savage rifle in 22-250 Remington. Developed
in 1937 by Remington, the 22-250 was made from the 250-3000 Savage necked down
to except a .224 bullet. Originally it was known as the .22 Varminter, and was
capable of velocities over 4000 FPS. It was truly a high velocity .22 cartridge
capable of creating devastating wound cavities. Like the .222 Remington the accuracy
of the cartridge is legendary, and with time it over shadowed the .222
Remington and the popular 220 Swift. The
22-250 is still one of the fastest .22 caliber cartridges available.
Then along came the .223 Remington. Originally
developed for the military and designated as the 5.56x45mm, it was basically a lengthened
.222 Remington cartridge. Work began on a new, lighter, faster cartridge for
the military and in 1961 the 5.56x45mm (NATO designation) cartridge was
approved for use in the newly developed AR-15, military M16 platform. Two years
later Remington released the civilian version of the 5.56x45mm known as the
.223 Remington and released it in their Model 700 bolt action rifles. More or less,
it was another .22 caliber cartridge capable of reaching 3000 FPS with a 55
grain bullet, something the .222 Remington can’t do. The popularity of the .223
Remington is due in large part because of its kissing cousin the 5.56x45mm which
is used by so many militaries around the world, thus so many people are
familiar with the cartridge. I currently own four .223 Remington rifles. It is
a great cartridge to shoot: low recoil, and much quieter than the 22-250
Remington. Like the other .22 caliber cartridges, the .223 Remington is really
a varmint round, even though some people use it to hunt deer and hogs, even
though it really is on the small side for larger game animals. Still, like the
other .22 caliber cartridges, it is phenomenally accurate, and just fun to
shoot.
Over the years the biggest complaint with the
.22 caliber cartridges has been the limited bullet weights available. My .222 Remington,
22-250 Remington and two of my .223 Remington rifles have a 1:12 rate of twist
in the rifling. That limits bullet selection to a maximum 55 grain bullet. Problem
is that limits the effective range of the cartridge. Even with the faster rate
of twist, cartridge capacity limited bullet size to 62 grains for the most
part. There are a few specialized rifle manufacturers making .223 Remington
rifle that are capable of shoot up to 75 grains, but the case capacity just
prevents getting to most from the bullets, until…
Beginning in January 2017, at the Shot Show
in Las Vegas, and then again this year at the Shot Show, both Nosler and
Federal have introduced a .22 caliber cartridge that has changed the way we
think about that caliber. First came Nosler with the .22 Nosler with a wilder
case dimension compared to the .223 Remington. With what amounts to a 14-15 percent increase in
the case capacity, velocities are 350 to 400 FPS faster than a .223 Remington,
and bullets weights can now comfortably reach up to 85 grains. Nosler rifles
use a 1:8 rate of twist in their barrels, which restricts bullet weight to 85
grains: still better than the .223 Remington, and with high ballistic coefficiencies,
that go father with a flatter trajectory: meaning longer range.
Then this year Federal in conjunction with
Savage introduced the .224 Valkyrie: Federal developed the cartridge, and
Savage developed the AR platform for it. The cartridge was developed around a
Sierra 90 grain MatchKing bullet with velocities around 2700 FPS. Savage, for
their part, developed an AR rifle with a 1:7 rate of twist to maximize the
heavier weight bullets and literally, over night, fans of .22 caliber have two
now calibers top choose from that are capable over reaching distances unheard
of previously in a .22 caliber. Nosler originally developed the .22 Nosler for
their bolt action rifles, and at present the .224 Valkyrie is only available in
the Savage AR platform. Still, these are two flat shooting cartridges that
suddenly and substantially increase the range of a .22 caliber bullet. With
ranges that can easily reach 1000 yards and remain supersonic at that range is
something previously unheard in a .22 caliber. And, both the .22 Nosler and
.224 Valkyrie do so with the same recoil as the .223 Remington.
At present for the reloader the heavier
bullets available the two new cartridges are limited to match grade bullets,
therefore not for use on deer size game, but for those that want to reach out a
touch a coyote, they are the perfect cartridge. Federal is producing a 90 grain
Fusion bullet in their factory loads that they state is suitable for deer sized
game, but the bullets are not yet available for those that want to load their
own. Still, both Nosler and Federal are taking my .22 caliber to all new
distances.
I spoke with a good friend of mine that makes
custom rifles the other day, and the tools are available to cut a chamber for
the .224 Valkyrie, and as we talked I could see a new custom bolt action rifle
in that cartridge following me home one day…..
