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.22 Nosler Cartridge
31 May 2017 Initiate conversation with personnel at Nosler Inc. regarding the .22 Nolser rifle cartridge and the availability of completed AR upper receivers chambering said round.
14 June 2017 1145 UPS driver delivers complete upper receiver from Midway USA and separate box containing .22 Nolser rifle ammunition.
1730 .22 Nosler upper receiver installed on existing AR lower, 10x riflescope attached to upper.
Timney Triggers drop-in AR trigger from Brownell’s installed in lower.
1815 Arrive rifle range, Saratoga, Wyoming, zero riflescope at 100 yards using 62 grain .22 Nosler load, “Varmageddon” line.
15 June 2017 0945 Arrive in the field, near coordinates 41 23 N 106 59 W, Carbon County, Wyoming in search of Cynomys Rodentia.
1235 Complete Search and Destroy mission, Cynomys Rodentia; 41 confirmed kills, 9 unconfirmed with noticeable drag marks where enemy apparently continued habit of dragging off the dead.
Summary:
I know what a lot of you are saying, why a new rifle cartridge? First let’s get some background on the round.
Nosler, Inc. announced the release of the .22 Nosler at SHOT 2017. The cartridge case is based upon the 6.8 SPC, therefore it mimics the overall length of the .223 Remington but has a fatter case, allowing more powder. The case head is rebated so standard .223/5.56 bolts can be used. The fat case means that 6.8 SPC magazines will feed more reliably than standard AR (5.56) models.
Factory ammunition from Nosler boasts speeds of 300 feet per second faster than factory .223 Remington using comparable bullet weights. The projectiles of .22 Nolser are .224” just like your standard AR.
As you can imagine, Nosler has a good deal of load information for the reloaders in the audience. This cartridge seems ripe for reloader tinkering to come up with the fastest or most accurate load.
The attraction of the .22 Nosler is a super-fast .224 projectile fired from a cartridge that is built for the AR semi-automatic rifle. There are many .224 varmint cartridges that are super fast, but most (if not all) are launched from bolt-action rifles.
When it comes to shooting varmints and predators in the windy western states, most shooters prefer high speed, violently impacting rounds.
Initial Conclusion:
For this review I used a couple of 6.8 SPC magazines that I ordered from Brownell’s as well a drop-in Timney Trigger for my AR lower, set at 3.5 pounds, from their catalog. Also, the lightweight aluminum rail on the Midway upper did not have a place to secure a bipd so I picked up an Ergo Grips pic rail from Brownells as well. The pic rail took all of five minutes to install.
On paper, as long as I did my part, 3 round shot groups in the 1 M.O.A. to a bit smaller were common at 100 yards. Feeding and function was 100 percent reliable. Yes, I did FrogLube the bolt and carrier group, of course.
In the field I engaged the enemy from 50 to about 300 yards or so. Let me tell you, Chinese acrobats have nothing on the Cynomys Rodentia as they flipped and flew through the air.
My summer-long testing of the .22 Nolser has just begun in earnest, but I am favorably impressed, not just from range time, but from my time in the field.
Professor Paul Markel
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I love the 22-250, this sounds like its equal and in an AR platform! Think I may have a new coyote rifle in my future.
I enjoyed the episode, I just want to make sure the people understand,
“Stand your Ground” and the “Castle Doctrine” are different things in
most states. I know you are making a grand statement but Stand your
ground would not apply to someone breaking into your house….
For us in Arizona Stand Your Ground is outside your house per say…
Arizona revised statutes § 13-411.
Justification; use of force in crime prevention; applicability
A. A person is justified in threatening or using both physical force
and deadly physical force against another if and to the extent the
person reasonably believes that physical force or deadly physical
force is immediately necessary to prevent the other’s commission of
arson of an occupied structure under section 13-1704, burglary in the
second or first degree under section 13-1507 or 13-1508, kidnapping
under section 13-1304, manslaughter under section 13-1103, second or
first degree murder under section 13-1104 or 13-1105, sexual conduct
with a minor under section 13-1405, sexual assault under section 13-
1406, child molestation under section 13-1410, armed robbery under
section 13-1904 or aggravated assault under section 13-1204,
subsection A, paragraphs 1 and 2.
B. There is no duty to retreat before threatening or using physical
force or deadly physical force justified by subsection A of this
section.
C. A person is presumed to be acting reasonably for the purposes of
this section if the person is acting to prevent what the person
reasonably believes is the imminent or actual commission of any of the
offenses listed in subsection A of this section.
D. This section includes the use or threatened use of physical force
or deadly physical force in a person’s home, residence, place of
business, land the person owns or leases, conveyance of any kind, or
any other place in this state where a person has a right to be.
Castle Doctrine is for in your residence or vehicle.
Arizona revised statutes § 13-418.
Justification; use of force in defense of residential structure or
occupied vehicles; definitions
A. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a person is
justified in threatening to use or using physical force or deadly
physical force against another person if the person reasonably
believes himself or another person to be in imminent peril of death or
serious physical injury and the person against whom the physical force
or deadly physical force is threatened or used was in the process of
unlawfully or forcefully entering, or had unlawfully or forcefully
entered, a residential structure or occupied vehicle, or had removed
or was attempting to remove another person against the other person’s
will from the residential structure or occupied vehicle.
B. A person has no duty to retreat before threatening or using
physical force or deadly physical force pursuant to this section.
C. For the purposes of this section:
1. “Residential structure” has the same meaning prescribed in section
13-1501.
2. “Vehicle” means a conveyance of any kind, whether or not motorized,
that is designed to transport persons or property.
What a joke. I would hardly call 3300 fps super fast. My 22-250 is insulted. Neat cartridge, not worth the money.