We can argue until we’ve blown a gasket about which cartridges have had the greatest impact on the hunting world at large every day of the week. Valid points can apply more for some than others, although our personal biases for or against anything play a huge role in our validation or lack thereof in any cartridge. Evidence at times is conflicting, so then we are left with numbers, feats and unfortunate chest pounding to set the record straight. A precious few cartridges — in my opinion, a couple handfuls — are simply standouts that require no sugar-coating to sell. These have withstood the test of time and are still outstanding performers in their wheelhouse.

One such is the .222 Remington. After World War II, Remington’s Mike Walker set out to design a rimless cartridge especially for varminters and bench rest shooters. And in 1950 it was groundbreaking as it was the first commercial rimless centerfire .22 caliber cartridge ever offered. From the beginning it seemed destined for greatness. Right away its mild report and stunning accuracy made rifles fly off the shelves. Small-bore bench rest shooters set amazingly high scores, and varmint hunters reveled in rhapsody. As time went by, the .222 Remington inspired the introduction of the .221 Fireball, .222 Remington Magnum and the .223 Remington among many others of smaller and larger caliber.

My own first exposure to the .222 was via a heavy-barreled Remington Model 700 target rifle belonging to a friend. Tack driver would only put it mildly — that rifle, like every other .222, shot better on its worst days than most rifles do on their best. It was years, though, burning in the back of my mind before I found a .222 of my own. A used but not abused Remington 722 bolt action has since followed me home.

The first attempt at shooting a group was no disappointment, despite the informality of the shooting session. I picked up the only box of factory 50-grain ammo on the shelves at the hardware store, and in my Dad’s pasture, a stone’s throw outside of the city limits of Dayville, I installed the only available scope I had and took to try to sight it in one evening before the light failed completely. At 75 yards, I stapled a target in the center of which was a hand-traced 3-inch circle. Inside of that I had scribbled a small dot, just smaller in size than a dime. Resting over the hood of Dad’s pickup I fired two shots, making adjustments with each, walking the scope to center of impact. After the third shot revealed itself just above center of the dot, I placed two more together with it. For only shooting over the hood of a pickup, I was more than pleased.

For a super efficient truck gun and exceedingly fun trainer rifle, the .222 is an exceptional caliber. In closing, one might ask, “but what about the .223? Wouldn’t that make just as much sense?” In a word, yes, however right now everyone with a .223 or 5.56 caliber rifle is scouring the ends of the earth looking for ammunition. But you can find .222 ammo on the shelves and readily available brass to order from several outlets. Need I say more?

Are you a fan of the .222 Remington? Write to us at shootingthebreezebme@gmail.com!