22 Creedmoor Speedy Varmint Cartridge

So, when I think of varmint or predator hunting, I used to think right away of 22-250 Remington and 223 Remington. But now I think of the 22 Creedmoor rifle sitting close to the door in the safe. It is a Horizon Vandal X Series chambered in the king of shooting factory heavy .224 caliber bullets fast. Not only is this rifle accurate, but it’s also a joy to shoot and a pleasure to look at. For younger shooters or people sensitive to recoil, this will help build good habits shooting this rifle. With a Horizon Stiller action, an 18-inch three flute, two-twist barrel made of premium 416 R Stainless Steel, Iota EKO X stock will fit most shooters with ease. The Iota EKO X stock has an integrated bipod rail that makes it easy to quickly put a bipod on. It also comes with a TriggerTech trigger that breaks nicely at 2 pounds 4 oz with no creep. The bottom metal is a custom horizon mag but fits AICS magazines. The barrel is a 1:8 twist, and the 18-inch barrel, I believe is a great length as you can put a silencer on and keep the rifle short and easy to move with. I have done all my hunting so far with my Silencerco hybrid 46 m on the rifle. With the 18-inch barrel, it makes for easy maneuvering around the woods. The rifle weighs in at 6 pounds 14 oz with no scope rail, mounts, scope, and Silencer. Horizon did well making a rifle that fits the varmint or medium game hunter where it's allowed to hunt that size game with a .224 caliber. The rifle weighs in at 8 pounds 14 ounces all built out.

Topped on the rifle is a NightForce Optic NXS 5.5x22x50mm Second Focal Plane, 30mm tube, Overall length of 15.1 inches, weighs in at 31 oz and .250 MOA click value. Scope rings are Iota TRIAD ZL 30MM medium hight. These rings are fabricated out of anodized Aluminum 6061-T6, an aircraft-grade aluminum alloy for superior strength, lightweight mass, and corrosion resistance. Built-in anti-cant to help you correct for inaccurate shot placement due to the canting of your rifle platform. Along with a Patented ZEROLIGHT technology in the rear ring of the Triad ZL illuminates turrets and level for enhanced accuracy in low-light conditions. This setup is amazing for the coyote hunter. Gives you the level of zoom and adjustment needed while keeping the rifle lightweight and compacted.

At this year's Shot Show, the 22 Creedmoor was SAAMI-approved with backing from Hornady and Horizon Firearms. The 22 Creedmoor was due to get approved for some time now. It was approved with a 1:8 Twist, a 6-groove barrel, and with a maximum Average Pressure of 62,000 psi. This allows the user to use a lightweight bullet like a 55-grain Hornady V-Max up to an 80-grain Hornady ELD-M with no problem stabilizing. I have done some testing with heavy bullets past the 80 grain and have not had success getting them to stabilize. 

The history of this cartage can be traced back to the infamous 6.5 Creedmoor for Hornady. The 6.5 Creedmoor has grown to be one of the most popular target and medium game hunting cartridges. So, when you have a round that so polarizing the wildcat guys will neck it up and down to find something else that will work out great. Derek Ratliff with Horizon Firearms started playing with necking down the 6.5 Creedmoor down fit a .224-caliber bullet in 2013 and he was convinced that it was the next long-range varmint and medium game cartridge. In 2014 Derek got a hold of Pacific Tool and Gauge to make the company’s first reamer, and in early 2014 he built the first Horizon Firearms 22 Creedmoor rifles.  Derek himself has taken coyotes, Mule deer, Blacktail deer, and an Audad in west Texas with a Hornady 80 Grain ELD-X. For me in Washington state, it's not legal to take anything bigger than a coyote with a .224 caliber. So, it makes the 22 Creedmoor the perfect coyote and rock chuck carriage. With its flat shooting, it really 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 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 at a much greater rate than the 22 Creedmoor bullet as it flies through the air. With a very little bullet drop. That will anchor a coyote in its spot.

People, when coyote hunting, have been using the 22-250 Remington for over 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. For years now I have been using a Remington 700 Varmint with a 1:14 twist and was limited to shooting 55 grain or less bullets. Did they do the job? Yes, they sure did. But on those long shots, 300 yards and more the lighter bullet struggles because of its lower B.C. being almost half for a Hornady 80 grain ELD-X. Now the 55 grain is leaving the barrel at blazing speeds but due to its low B.C., it loses its moment relatively fast.  There is always the option to get a custom 22-250 and have a faster barrel twist rate on it. But then you are getting into custom rifle build and at that point, you might as well do a 22-250 Ackley Improved (Ack Imp) with a faster twist rate like a 1:8 twist. But then you must fire form brass and only hand loading is your option.  Unlike now the 22 Creedmoor you now have a few options for factory ammo. Hornady is offering two loadings right now, being Match 80 grain ELD and Precision Hunter 80 ELD-X, that ammo is only available on the Texas ammo website right now. As far as I know for the next few years, Hornady will only be selling that ammo through them. There is one other option available for factory ammo right now that I know of and that’s Copper Creek ammo.

In my testing of Hornady factory ammo, I saw great accuracy and stander deviation (SD), and extreme spreads (ES). With the 80-grain ELD match ammo I saw an average velocity of 3086, 18 ES, and SD of 9 with a twenty-shot test. Shot four groups of five, for an average group size of .95 inches. The best group was a .66-inch, and the worst was a 1.20-inch group.   For the Hornady Precision Hunter 80-grain ELD-X I saw a lot of the same contingency as the match ammo. The 80-grain ELD-X had an average velocity of 3079, 21 ES, and SD of 12 with a twenty-shot test. Shot four groups of five, for 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 amazing results to me with great contingency for factory ammo. I would have full confidence hunting coyotes and medium-sized game to 500 yards with that ammo.

Now if you are a Handloader your options are amazing for varmint hunting with the 22 Creedmoor. You can run those 55-grain V-Max or run up to those sleek 80-grain ELD-X bullets for some longer-range engagement. The one downside to running a heavier bullet it can be very hard on 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 out there running those coyote tournaments and 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 put that coyote down right there.

For me where I do most of my hunting, a long shot on a coyote would be 500 yards but most of it will be 200 yards. So, I like the opportunity to run a 60-grain V-Max with some good speed behind it. I did some testing with IMR4831 powder with the V-Max bullet, and everything just shot well. Working up in my charge weights with five shot groups I didn’t have one group shoot over one Minute Of Angle (MOA). My best group was a five-shot was .58 inches with an average velocity of 3,146 fps, ES 14 and SD 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 to me is the ideal black tail or pronghorn bullet. It does lack the higher B.C., but you can push it at a pretty good velocity, and in 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 Hollow Point Boattail 68 grain. This one I got good accuracy shooting sub-MOA through testing. However, velocity was a little slow using Shooters World SW4350. But, if you want easy shooting, and low recoil, while not hard on the barrel this would be a good load. My best five-shot group was .86 inches with an average velocity of 2,870 fps, ES 14, and SD of 6. I have great luck and consistency with powder.

The fourth bullet Tested was Barnes Match Burner 69 grain. This bullet flat-out shot well like in anything I load it in. Being a match bullet, I would not use it on anything other than coyotes or varmints as it’s not meant to be used on game. But I have had great luck with them in 223 Remington with coyotes. Using IMR4831 my best group was a .40 inch with an average velocity of 3062 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 ones. Shooting conditions were great with little to no wind but this loading is just accurate out of this rifle. 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 ELDM 75 grain, this bullet has shot well in other .224 platforms. I used highly coveted these days Hodgdon 1000 powder and got less than stellar accuracy with my groups shooting around 1.5 MOA. My best five-shot group was 1.20 inches with an average velocity of 2906 fps, ES 26, and SD 15. This would work but there are better options. And with maybe more testing down the road, I might find better results with other powders.

All the handloading testing was done with once-fire Hornady head-stamped 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 for me the 22 Creedmoor is the new 22-250 Remington. I love mine sitting in my safe and it's been my go-to coyote rifle since I was 13 years old along with the good memories.  But it’s time to embrace new technology.  With new cartridge design, advanced bullet technology, and faster twist rate barrels, the 22 Creedmoor is inherently more accurate and efficient. It’s time to make new memories with my kids and the 22 Creedmoor.