22 Creedmoor

When I think of varmint or predator hunting, I used to think right away of 22-250 Remington and 223 Remington. Now, I also think of my rifle chambered in 22 Creedmoor, which sits close to the door in the safe. It is a Horizon Vandal X Series chambered in the king of fast-shooting heavy .224-caliber bullets. Not only is this rifle accurate, it’s also a joy to shoot with little recoil and it is equally pleasing to the eye.

The heart of the rifle is a Horizon Stiller action, which runs clean and smooth. The rifle has an 18-inch barrel with a twist rate of 1:8. The barrel features unique fluting, with three flutes and two twists, giving the barrel a unique look. The barrel is made of premium 416 R Stainless Steel with a very attractive matte finish. The Iota EKO X stock will fit most shooters with ease and comfort. The stock also has an integrated bipod rail that makes it easy to attach a bipod quickly. It also comes with a TriggerTech trigger that breaks nicely at 2 pounds, 4 ounces, with no creep. Horizon makes the bottom metal and accepts AICS-pattern magazines. The barrel length is ideal for those who want to add a suppressor and keep the rifle short and easy to maneuver. So far, I have done all my hunting with my SilencerCo hybrid 46M on the rifle. The shorter barrel makes for a very light and handy rifle in the woods. The rifle weighs 6 pounds, 14 ounces, with no scope rail, mounts, optic or suppressor. Horizon did well in making a rifle that fits the varmint or medium-game hunter. The rifle weighs in at a well-balanced 8 pounds, 14 ounces, all built out without the suppressor.

The rifle is topped with a NightForce Optic NXS 5.5x22x 50mm Second Focal Plane, 30mm tube. It has an overall length of 15.1 inches, weighs 31 ounces and has .250-minute of angle (MOA) click value. The scope rings are Iota TRIAD ZL 30MM medium height. These rings are fabricated from 6061-T6 Aluminum, an aircraft-grade alloy for superior strength and lightweight mass and are anodized for corrosion resistance. The rings feature a built-in, anti-cant bubble level to help correct the cant of the rifle. Perhaps the most interesting feature is the patented ZEROLIGHT technology in the rear ring of the Triad ZL. This illuminates turrets and the bubble level for enhanced accuracy in low-light conditions. This setup is fantastic for the varmint hunter in any light conditions.

At this year’s SHOT Show, the 22 Creedmoor was approved by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) with backing from Hornady and Horizon Firearms. It was approved with a 1:8 twist, a six-groove barrel, and a Maximum Average Pressure (MAP) of 62,000 pounds per square inch. This allows the shooter to use a lightweight bullet like a Hornady 55-grain V-MAX up to a Hornady 80-grain ELD-M with no stabilization issues. I have tested heavy bullets past the 80-grain mark and have not had success stabilizing them.

The history of this cartridge can be traced back to the infamous 6.5 Creedmoor from Hornady. The 6.5 Creedmoor has become one of the most popular target and medium-game hunting cartridges. When you have a popular round, the wildcat guys will neck it up and down to find something suitable for their needs. Derrick Ratliff with Horizon Firearms started by necking down the 6.5 Creedmoor to fit a .22-caliber bullet in 2013. He was convinced that it would be the next long-range varmint and medium-game cartridge. In 2014, Derrick contacted Pacific Tool and Gauge to make the company’s first reamer, and in early 2014, he built the first Horizon Firearms rifles hambered in 22 Creedmoor. Derrick has taken coyotes, mule deer, blacktail deer and an aoudad in west Texas with a Hornady 80 Grain ELD-X. In Washington state where I reside, it’s not legal to take anything bigger than a coyote with a 22 caliber. However, it makes the 22 Creedmoor the perfect coyote and rockchuck cartridge. With its flat shooting trajectories, it can reach out there for the long shot on a coyote with Hornady factory 80-grain Eld-X with a G1 ballistic coefficient (BC) of .485 with a speed up 3,300 feet per second (fps) and 988 foot-pounds of energy at 500 yards. At 600 yards, the 22 Creedmoor is almost 600 fps faster than a 55-grain V-MAX out of a 22-250 Remington. This means that the 22-250 bullet slows down much faster than the 22 Creedmoor bullet as it flies through the air.

Folks have been using the 22-250 Remington for varmint hunting for more than 60 years. But the 22-250 is limited to a lower bullet weight because of the factory twist rate of 1:12 or 1:14. I have been using a Remington 700 Varmint with a 1:14 twist and was limited to shooting bullets weighing about 55 grains. While they certainly did the job, they were not as efficient as newer bullets. The lighter bullet struggles on those long shots, 300 yards or more, because of its lower BC. The 55-grain V-MAX leaves the barrel at blazing speeds but loses its velocity relatively fast due to its low BC. There is always the option to get a custom 22-250 and have a barrel with a faster twist rate installed. However, then you are getting into a custom rifle build, at that point, you might as well do a 22-250 Ackley Improved (Ack Imp) with a faster twist rate, such as a 1:8. This means handloading is your only option, and you must sacrifice barrel life to fireform cases. With the 22 Creedmoor, there are a few options for factory ammunition. Hornady is offering two loadings right now; the first is its 80-grain ELD Match ammunition and the second is an 80 ELD-X Precision Hunter. These loadings are only available on the Texas Ammunition website (texasammunition.com) at the time of this writing. There is one other option available for factory ammunition right now that I am aware of and that is Copper Creek Cartridge Company.

In my testing of Hornady factory ammunition, I saw great accuracy, standard deviation (SD) and extreme spreads (ES). With the 80-grain ELD Match ammunition, I saw an average velocity of 3,086, 18 ES and SD of 9 with a 20-shot test. For accuracy testing, four groups of five shots were fired for a total of 20 shots, with the overall average group size of .95 inch. The best group was a .66 inch and the worst was a 1.20-inch group. I saw similar results with the Hornady Precision Hunter 80-grain ELD-X as the match ammunition. The 80-grain ELD-X had an average velocity of 3,079, 21 ES and SD of 12 with a 20-shot test. Four groups of five shots formed an average group size of 1.04 inches. The best group was a .70 inch, and the worst was a 1.19-inch group. Those are great results based on previous factory ammunition tests. The consistency and performance was outstanding. I would have complete confidence in hunting coyotes and medium-sized game with results like that.

If you are a handloader, your options for varmint hunting with the 22 Creedmoor are nearly endless. You can run those 55-grain V-MAX or run up to those sleek 80-grain ELD-X bullets for some longer-range engagement with the rifle tested here. The one downside to running a heavier bullet is that it can damage pelts. So, if you are someone who likes to tan and save the pelts, I would probably try to run a lighter bullet and get a little closer. But if you are the guy competing in coyote tournaments, that one coyote out there at 700 yards could cause you to win or lose. You want a heavy bullet to buck that wind and drop that coyote.

Where I do most of my hunting, a long shot on a coyote would be 500 yards, but most will be 200 yards. I like the option to run a 60-grain V-MAX with some good speed behind it. I tested IMR-4831 powder with the V-MAX bullet and everything shot well. Working up my charge weights with five-shot groups, I didn’t have one group shoot over one minute of angle. My best group was .58 inch with an average velocity of 3,146 fps, ES 14 and SD of 7. For varmint or predator hunting where I live, I would most likely go with this load because it gives me good velocity for an 18-inch barrel and a heavy enough bullet to get what I need and not cause too much damage to the pelts as I like to save them.

The second bullet I tested in the rifle was a Nosler Partition 60 grain. This one is an ideal black tail or pronghorn bullet. It does lack the higher BC, but you can push it at a pretty good velocity and within a reasonable hunting distance. This bullet would be a hammer on them. I saw right around 1-MOA of accuracy while testing this bullet with Hodgdon Superformance powder. My best five-shot group was 1.08 inches with an average velocity of 3,282 fps, ES 28 and SD 13.

The third bullet I tested was Hornady 68-grain Hollow Point Boattail. This one showed promising accuracy shooting sub-MOA throughout the testing. However, the velocity was a little slow using Shooters World SW-4350. But, if you want easy shooting and low recoil, all while not being too hard on the barrel, this would be a good load. My best five-shot group was .86 inch with an average velocity of 2,870 fps, ES 14 and SD of 6. I have great luck and consistency with this powder.

The fourth bullet tested was the Barnes 69-grain Match Burner, which performed very well. Being a match bullet, I would not use it on anything other than coyotes or varmints as it’s not designed to be used on game. However, I have had great luck with them in 223 Remington on coyotes. Using IMR-4831, the best group was a .40 inch with an average velocity of 3,062 fps, ES 19 and SD 10. This was the best five-shot group I shot in Vandel X. I also took this load out to 500 yards, shooting 1-MOA steel targets and didn’t miss once. Shooting conditions were excellent, with little to no wind, which no doubt aided in assembling small groups. I would have zero problem picking-off ground hogs out to that range, let alone a coyote.

The fifth bullet tested is a bullet I had high hopes for. That being Hornady 75-grain ELD-M, as this bullet has shot well in other 224 platforms. I used highly-coveted Hodgdon H-1000 powder and got less than stellar accuracy, with my groups hovering around 1.5-MOA. My best five-shot group was 1.20 inches with an average velocity of 2,906 fps, ES 26 and SD 15. This would work, but there are better options. Clearly, this rifle did not like this combination for any reason. With more testing, I am sure more accurate loads could be worked up. Sadly, this is all the testing I had time for.

All the handloading testing was done with once-fired Hornady headstamped brass and annealed before full-length sizing. Federal 210 Large Rifle primers were used in all the testing. All testing was also done at 100 yards.

To sum it up, the 22 Creedmoor is a modernized 22-250 Remington AI without the need for fireforming brass. It has a twist rate that is fast enough to take full advantage of new sleek high-BC bullets. I love my 22-250 sitting in my safe. It’s been my go-to coyote rifle since I was 13 and I have good memories with it. But it’s time to embrace new technology. With a new cartridge design, advanced bullet technology, and faster twist rate barrels, the 22 Creedmoor is more accurate and more efficient. It’s time to make new memories with my kids and the 22 Creedmoor.