22 Nosler

If I had to pick one caliber that I have followed through most of my life, it would be the .22. From the lonely rimfire to the high-end rifles of today, I’ve been involved with commercial ammunition as well as tuning my rifles with specific handloads while venturing into the world of wildcats. It seems it doesn’t end – and that’s good, in fact, one of the latest to grace my office is the 22 Nosler, and together with the Model M-48 rifle, has added another dimension to my work for this year.

The way I understand it, the 22 Nosler was originally designed for the AR-15 frame. The idea was that this type of rifle limits the overall length of a cartridge to around 2.26 inches, which then of course, limits the power of the cartridge that in the past played host to the more common and the granddaddy of the military scene, the 223 Remington. It is common knowledge that since everyone is trying to increase the power of the 223 Remington with a new design fitting the popular AR rifle, there was a niche here to be filled, and the 22 Nosler seems to be doing a good job at it. Since the 22 Nosler was designed to fit the existing bolt face of the AR-15, any conversions are accomplished with just a simple barrel swap and a magazine suitable for the 6.8

Remington SPC, which the 22 Nosler closely replicates in both the body taper and case diameter as a rebated-rim, bottleneck cartridge approved by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) as a standardized cartridge.

In any event, I’m an old-fashioned guy and I like my varmint rifles made in the classic form with a wood stock, forend tip and a pistol grip cap if the rifle warrants. To this end, since the 22 Nosler is proprietary to this company, and they also make rifles in many calibers, their M-48 was introduced as a companion to the 22 Nosler. Now with a cartridge that will deliver up to 300 percent in muzzle velocity, we have a ready-made combination ready to go.

First, the rifle. Starting in 2005, Nosler entered the centerfire rifle field with the Model 48 Custom Sporter. From there, it branched out into the Heritage, Patriot and the Outfitter using the same action but with different stocks and cartridge options. For my use, the Heritage got the nod and complete with fancy grade wood all put together in a classic-styled stock, it certainly deserved a closer look.

Briefly, the rifle is not mass-produced and I had to wait a few months before receiving my sample, so a buyer should anticipate their needs ahead of time. With this lead time, it allowed me to order a set of dies from Redding, some 22 Nosler brass, bullets and ammunition from its plant in Bend, Oregon, for my handloading duties.

Overall, the rifle is well thought out and priced right. In line with traditional bolt-action rifles, the receiver is 6 inches long, less the bolt shroud. The sides are machined flat, which extends into the receiver bridges, both front and rear, that accept Remington Model 700 scope bases. There is a gas relief port on the left side with the bolt release on the same side, but to the rear of the action and is quick to respond to release the bolt for maintenance or travel. The bolt itself is massive for a .22-caliber cartridge, machined to a .685-inch diameter front-to-back with a spiral-fluted body. Twin-locking lugs support the bolt at the breech and there is an anti-bind cut on the right lug with a plunger ejector and an extractor within the bolt face. The bolt knob is checkered around the circumference and hollowed out to possibly save some weight. The bolt shroud was designed to blend in with the outline of the receiver with the two-position safety directly behind the bolt handle in typical operating fashion – forward to fire, back for safety while allowing the bolt to cycle in the safe position.

The barrel is 24 inches long, finished in CERAKOTE as is the receiver and related parts and cut with a 1:18 twist. The bottom metal consists of the floorplate and trigger guard, with the trigger breaking at 3 pounds with a very crisp trigger.

Along with the thinking that went into the action, the stock follows suit. Classic in design, the nicely figured high-grade stock has a straight comb and a cheekpiece with a shadow line giving it that custom look. There is more than enough checkering on both the forearm (completely around) and on the pistol grip (cut flawlessly in a traditional point pattern). I would have liked to see forend and pistol grip caps checkered, but that’s my opinion. The barrel is free-floated, the stock is fully inletted to modern standards and finished in an oil-type patina. Sling swivel studs are included with a Pachmayr pad, completing the rifle.

With my pile of components growing and with the rifle arriving, I was ready for some handloading. Checking the water capacity of the 223 Remington as compared to the 22 Nosler, I found the latter has about a 25 percent more capacity, which should put it ahead of the 223 and slightly below the 22-250 Remington with the right powder and bullets seated to the respective lengths. According to Nosler data, with a 40-grain bullet seated in the case, it will take 35.9 grains of water. With a more popular 50-grain bullets, it took 33.7 grains with Nosler bullets seated to 2.260 inches.

Since I was using new brass from the same lot number, this assures me all the cases will have the same capacity as for all practical purposes, as they were made at the same time. Of course, one could check the weight of each case as serious benchrest shooters do, but for practical varmint shooting, the lot number is fine. From there, I like to take a bunch out to the range for fireforming in the rifle. With the 22 Nosler, I loaded up what I thought I would need for my testing and used a load of 29 grains of Hodgdon Varget. This works out in a number of ways – first, I can sight-in my rifle while helping to break it in without spending time and heating up the barrel when working on serious loads for record and have tailored brass for the rifle.

With just enough lube between my fingers, I lube the neck of the case and put a little on the inside of the neck. With my Redding die set, I set the full-length sizing die to just neck size all the cases right down to the neck/shoulder junction. Naturally, a neck sizer is the perfect tool for this and should be considered when any die set is purchased. Smoking this part of the case with a candle will show exactly how far down to turn so it barely touches the shoulder. After cleaning, chamfering both the inside and outside of the neck, checking for the overall length of 1.760 inches, I then prime with Federal’s 205M Benchrest Small Rifle primers. For bullet seating, the micrometer equipped die has an advantage of just “setting and forgetting” when going to load the next time, providing that the handloader keeps a record of the settings and locks the ring down for his specific press.

Bullet choice was next, and to me, this determines what powder to use when working with 22-caliber varmint guns. I like anything around 52 to 55 grains, with the latter preferred for late season, heavier woodchucks. Just for the record, I did shoot the Berger 64-grain bullet, but since I never favored that weight for 22-caliber varmint hunting because of the lower velocity, I only used one sample. With modern technology, I find it hard not to use any .224-inch bullet that does not group well, and if it doesn’t, a little tweaking will put it right on target with smaller groups. For my use, and which turned out to be the most accurate, were bullets from Hornady, Berger, Speer and Nosler (I wonder why!) filling the bill, with every group coming in under an inch at 100 yards.

Aside from bullet selection, as noted in the table, looking for the right powder is paramount when developing accurate handloads. While there are many powders to deal with, getting them down to a reasonable number is the best way to zero in on a good load. Working with the .22 caliber for years, it was easy for me to pick out the powders I thought were suitable for the 22 Nosler. In the end, IMR-4064 just has to be one of the best – if not the very best – powder to use for a majority of .22-caliber cartridges. I’ve read and I quote, “it is the most versatile propellant in the IMR spectrum,” which includes the 223 Remington, 22-250 Remington and the 220 Swift, to name a few. With the 22 Nosler, I found IMR-4064 filled the case almost to the point of compression, which is a good thing as the groups proved. In burning rate, most reloaders place it somewhat just over halfway in the long list of powders on the market today.

Hodgdon H-335 came on the scene as a military-grade powder perfectly suited for the .5.56 NATO (aka 223 Remington) and other cartridges in the .222 list of varmint choices for extensive prairie dog shooting. If a handloader has a precision powder dispenser, he only needs to check one in every 10 cartridges loaded. It’s that handy to use. Handloaders need to have Varget on the shelf, as this easy-metering powder again is well suited to the smaller cases. Its noted for its insensitivity to hot or cold temperatures and is clean burning with a good velocity range. For the slowest burning of the group, I picked Hodgdon CFE 223, as this would be a good choice for the prairie dog shooter expending hundreds of rounds downrange within a day, as it contributes to longer shooting times when dealing with accuracy, with less barrel time cleaning. These are all powders well suited for the 22 Nosler and its case capacity, with every load trickled into the case for uniformity.

With reference to velocities, when it came to the 50-grain bullets, Hodgdon CFE 223 led the pack with 3,401 fps. Moving up to the 52-grain bullets, Hodgdon H-335 hit 3,448, with the 55-grain samples, H-335 again led the pack with 3,469 fps and finally, with the Berger 64-grain bullet, Varget was the only entry at 2,816 fps.

With bullets loaded and range testing completed, I tallied up the results. If a handloader is looking to the best all-around load with the powder recommended by Nosler as “the most accurate” and taking its cue, I loaded Nosler Ballistic Tip Varmint 55-grain bullets over 29 grains of Varget. The velocity reading averaged 3,127 fps, with a three-shot group that measured a curt .270 inch, which as you might note, is just a bit larger than the 224-inch bullet diameter itself.

Using Varget again, the Berger 55-grain flatbase bullet with 30 grains printed a group of .410 inch with a velocity reading averaging 3,244 fps.    

Third place went to a Berger 52-grain Berger flatbase bullet with IMR-4064 powder nearly compressed into the case. The charge came to 31 grains of this bulky powder for a mean of 3,398 fps, with the best group hitting just over a half inch at .522. If you are into factory loadings for your initial fireforming loads, the Nosler Varmageddon flat base showed me the company’s best effort at 3,481 fps, with groups circling around .810 inch. When it came to the accuracy potential of each powder, I got the best all-around accuracy from CFE 223, followed by Hodgdon Varget, IMR-4064 and finally Hodgdon H-335.

Overall, the 22 Nosler is one varmint cartridge to be considered as a top pick for small-game hunters. While originally designed for use in AR rifles, hunters with traditional bolt-action guns like the Nosler Model 48 will be blessed with not only a high-quality gun, but superb accuracy as well.

In short, and especially for small-game hunters, Nosler now offers a fresh look at another .22 caliber entry. To me, it’s worth your consideration and purchase.