Old Boomer question…The early TC seem
To have made a whole bunch of 10” barrels in .222 Rem. Even today they seem less popular judging by asking prices. I can understand the ferocity of blast from what’s essentially a 10” 5.56 (I have one on an AR). I wonder did they shoot well? The .221 Fireball was also offered and since limited commands more $$$. I bet it was a lot more efficient. I’ve never had one but it looks like it should be a peach.
I tried a short (10”) .30-30 and .25-35 but it left me disappointed after I shot over the chrono. Lots of flash and blast.
Bunches of .30 Herrett and I know the .300 GNR is good, even short. But very few .357 Herrett in 10”, they did make them, most were 14”.
Was the .222 any good from the 10” Contender?
The .223 with 14 Inch barrel
I have an early TC and my 14" .223 barrel is extremely accurate. I haven't fired it for over 20 years but I do remember 100 yard targets were around 1 inch groups.
I also picked up a 10" barrel .357 Herrett from a gun show. I've never fired it. It came with some handloaded rounds but since I didn't know the person I took down the rounds.
Comparing the 222 or 223 and the 357 Herrett
are like apples and horse turds. No comparison. The 222 and 223 are rifle cartridges and not the greatest in a 10" handgun. The 357 Herrett along with the 30 Herrett were both designed for shorter handgun barrels. Both Bob Milek and Steve Herrett did a lot of work designing these two cartridges to be efficient in a handgun, either 10" or 14". Obviously the 14" barrel would be more efficient and burn a bit more powder.
These days with new better powders an AR-15 in 223/5.56 in a 10" barrel is more efficient than 15 or 20 years ago but still you don't get full powder burn and obviously you don't get full power potential. But those short barrel AR-15s are intended for close range combat situations and 80% power in those situations are considered fine.
Having a 222 or 223 in a 10 inch TC barrel is OK as long as you realize the power loss. One of my favorite hunting handguns was a custom XP-100 I built in 224 Weatherby. I don't know how much power or speed loss I had but it was extremely accurate and killed a lot of ground hogs so I didn't worry about the power loss.
![[image]](images/uploaded/2024020422410565c012816f75d.jpg)
I mentioned a few days ago about good friend Tom Thomason that had a custom 10" TC barrel in 358 Winchester. There was no way he got full powder burn in that little thin octagonal TC barrel but he loved it and took a big Bison in Utah with it. It took 3 or 4 shots but he killed it.
![[image]](images/uploaded/2024020422434865c01324480bd.jpg)
What this leads us to is if the owner of the gun likes it and it does what he expect of it than why worry about it. Enjoy it and have fun.
I found this on the 10” .222, sounds about right.
A loss of 500-600 fps over a rifle. There is only about 100-150 fps difference in the .222-.223 in most reloading manuals. And seems you can form .222 from .223 as well. I was not sure about that.
Your .224 WBY was somewhere close to a .22-250 improved and .220 Swift! Bet it made quite the racket!
Here it is…
I can get that speed with the K-hornet in a 16” and 45 gr. Bullet, using 13 grs. Of faster powder.
![[image]](images/uploaded/2024020502402165c04a959fb28.jpg)