22 PPC

These loads work in my rifles, they may not in yours.  Proceed with caution!!!

I have two factory 22 PPC Ruger M77 Mark II target models in this caliber  I’ve only had two things done, installed muzzle brakes, and had the stocks glass bedded.

I shot some targets with  my 22 PPCs recently.  With the four different loads that I tested I’ll use most of them.  I may adjust the seating depth or the load just a little.  I don’t shoot HOT loads so I’ll not load them much hotter.  Sometime just a small adjustment will make a big difference.

The seating depth will be controlled by the factory chamber.  Surprisingly enough both of these Ruger Target models have short leades.   Unlike most factory chambers with overly long leade in them.  Many of my rifles have such long leade the bullets never come close to the rifling.  The bullet falls out of the case before it gets to the rifling.  To a varmint shooter like myself, it doesn’t make a lot of difference.  In the field there are many more variables to worry about.  I don’t want the bullet “jammed” in the rifling.  But in some instances the rifle would probably shoot with just a little better accuracy.  I’m not striving for the smallest of “bug holes”.  Just MOPD (Minuet of Prairie Dog).

I leave my bolt open, for SAFETY.  I don’t trust safeties.  The rifle will not fire if the bolt is open.  When shooting 300 rounds plus a day if I close the bolt and the dogs go down.  Now I have a round in the chamber with the bullet JAMMED in the rifling.  If I try to extract the round, the bullet stays in the rifling and I throw powder all over the place.  Now I have to get out a cleaning rod to tap the bullet out, and clean powder out of my action; loosing trigger time.  I usually seat my bullets to what my reloading manual tell me, or 20 thousands off of the rifling.  It just doesn’t make that much difference in the field.

Ruger got in a little trouble with Dr Louis Palmisano and Ferris Pindell (gunsmith), the designers of the cartridge (PPC) “Palmisano Pindell Cartridge”.  In the mid to late 90’s when they came out with the rifles and didn’t ask the designers of the cartridge.  I don’t know the whole story but Ruger stopped making the PPCs (22 and 6mm) and were the only American company to make a factory rifle.  No company in the USA ever sold ammo.  

Sako, Lapua, and Norma were the only European ammo manufactures with only a few European factory riles produced.  Both calibers took over the bench rest world, and still hold their own.  Cases can be purchased from the above at a hefty price.  I did purchase some cases from a US company a few years back, SSA (Silver State Armory).  But even they only made 6mm PPC brass.  I don’t know if they still make them or not.  I bought 3,000 when I had the chance and have 6 or 7 hundred left, maybe more.  

The PPC case is a completely new bolt face, falling between the .378 of the .223 Rem parent and the .473 of the .308 parent case at .441.  Ruger had a good thing going for them.   Their bolt used the control-roll-feed method of feeding a round, easily converted to .441.  Many thousands of custom rifles have been produced with great results in every action you can think of.

The one big thing I like about the PPC is the fact they take a “small rifle primer”.  The bench shooter will tell you the small rifle primer with the small flash hole will make for much better accuracy.  Their records are hard to argue with.