keyhole problem

[onehitwonder]

I'm shooting a browning 222. Loaded with hornady 50gr vmax, 23.1gr H322 3000 fps +/- I'm not positive on the rate of twist but I'm leaning toward 1n14. I noticed the other day that the holes in the target were not nice n round like they were before.. Any one have any Ideas as to how I can fix that? Gun shoots moa or better.

[goodspeed(TPF)]

Gun shoots moa or better.

Leave it alone I says. lol Seriously. If you are shooting better than M.O.A. does it really matter if they are getting there BACKWARDS, SIDEWAYS or UPSIDE DOWN? Clean it properly. Lube it properly. Feed it properly.




On another note. Try shooting it at 400 yds and see what happens. Keep us posted. A pic or two of your targets would be of great assistance in helping you diagnose your current situation.

[onehitwonder]

I just wonder how it will work on living targets . I hunt coyotes n other furry critters and wonder if penetration will become an issue

[Sam06]

OHW, Do the bullet holes look like a side profile of the bullet? How do you know they are Keyhole-ing? There will be a little shadow on one side like a small burn mark sometimes when a gun is key-holing. That gun should shoot those bullets at that speed fine. The 222 was made to shoot 55gr at 3K or so and it will do that well.

The 222 is one of the best rounds out there. I am lucky enough to have had one. I have a Rem 788 in 222. It was my 1st center fire rifle. I am from North GA in the MTNs and to have had a 222 in the early 70's to hunt with was something else. I was looked on as some kind of weird-o. Everyone else had a 30-30 or 35 Rem. I had a 222. The deer that fell to that gun would fill a house. They are great guns. Unfortunately I had mine re-chambered to 223 when I was in my late 20's(and thought I was smart). I still Have the gun though and it shoots like a house on fire with 40-55gr bullets. My Dad thought I was crazy when I said i wanted a 222. I think we got it at the Western Auto for about 100 bucks. The Scope was a weaver 6X. That gun killed at least 300 Ground Hogs(which we ate they are good in a pressure cooker). My Dad got me reloading dies and a press for it when i was 14. Back then you could get powder and stuff at that age. everyone knew me. Oh man the time I had with 222. My Dad looked at that little bullet and said "son that gun aint good for nothing but squirrels" He re- canted when he saw what it would do.

The Twist should be 1 in 14.

Warren Page set forth to test it in the field. They found the bullet to be too hard resulting in ricochets and unreliable expansion and recommended the weight be increased to 50 grains, the jacket thinned, and the velocity increased to 3200 fps. All three changes were adopted and the new .222 Remington was introduced in early 1950.

[onehitwonder]

holes were nice and round with dark edges all the way around. now they look like they have been made with a carpenters pencil