Sunday Gunday: Tubb 2000 Rifle in 22BR with 90gr Bullets

The 22BR cartridge is viewed by many as primarily a varmint round. However, with modern, high-BC bullets, it offers excellent long-range performance. With high-BC 80-95gr .22 caliber bullets, the 22BR can excel in a variety of shooting disciplines. Here we feature the Tubb 2000 rifle of Clint Greenwood. Clint did his load testing with the 90gr JLK (Jimmy Knox) VLDs, but now the new Sierras promise to rival the performance of the JLKs with readily-available factory bullets. That’s good news for long-range shooters since we’re told Jimmy is retiring from the bullet-making business.

A ‘New Twist’ on the Tubb 2000
A few seasons back, Texan Clint Greenwood let us know about a 22BR project he had in the works. We were intrigued by the potential of 90gr bullets in this cartridge. Clint reports: “I got involved with the 22BR after working with its parent case, the 6mm BR Norma. I became interested in the 6BR about three years ago. I had read everything I could find concerning the 6BR, particularly several of Larry Bartholome’s Precision Shooting articles. I was convinced that I just had to have a 6BR, so I took a Rem 700 short action that I had and sent it off to Greg Tannel for some work. While waiting for the rifle to return, I succumbed to the fever and purchased a Tubb 2000, also in 6BR. Both of these rifles were outstanding. It was harder to find a load that didn’t work in the 6BR than to find one that did.

I devote most of my shooting time to High Power XC, but shoot the occasional prone match. My home club was constructing a 1000-yard range and would shortly begin shooting monthly 1000 prone matches. I had originally planned to shoot one of my 6BRs in the prone matches, but a friend that I shoot with, also a 6BR fan, had recently built a bolt-gun in 22BR, and was really pleased with it. We talked at length about his rifle. He had Dave Kiff grind a reamer that would allow him to neck down Lapua 6BR brass to 22 BR and not have to neck turn. His rifle was barreled with a 7.7-twist Kreiger, and he was having great success shooting the 80 Sierra MK across the course.

Better BC for Service Rifle Competition
I am primarily a Service Rifle shooter, shooting an AR. Being aware of the self-imposed limitations of shooting the AR Service Rifle, particularly at long range, I had always endeavored to gain every advantage for myself. When the .224 90gr Jimmy Knox (JLK) VLDs came out… I jumped on the bandwagon with a passion. I was easily able to obtain 2750 FPS with the 90 out of the tiny .223 case using VV N540, moly and CCI 450 primers. This familiarity with the quirks of the 90 JLK led me to build my wife a prone rifle in .223.

I had John Holliger chamber a 30″ PacNor in 1:6.5″-twist for the rifle. John Holliger is absolutely the guru for 6.5-twist barrels, having pioneered them. I have had a half-dozen 6.5-twist PacNors that John has done, and every one has been a hummer. Using the 30″ barrel, I was able to push the 90gr JLK to 2900 FPS with no problems. The 90gr JLK’s BC has been listed from .560 to .590, and pushing it at 2900 fps, it was obvious that, as far as a .22 was concerned, the 90gr JLK was the best wind-bucking bullet [available at the time]. [Editor’s NOTE: There are now other high-BC .22 caliber bullets from Berger, Lapua, and Sierra].

Several factors converged at once to finally turn on the dim 10-watt bulb in my head. I had a large supply of Lapua 6BR brass, several thousand 90gr JLKs, a friend with a 22BR reamer for loan, and a gunsmith that really knew his way around 6.5 twist PacNor barrels who also made T2K barrels. I was doomed! Holliger chambered a 30″ 6.5-twist PacNor for my T2K, using my friend’s reamer. I was busy getting tooling ready. When the barrel arrived, I removed the 6BR barrel off of my T2K, and screwed the 22BR barrel on.”

22BR Cartridge Basics

The 22BR is a simple wildcat formed by necking-down 6mm BR brass. Case forming is easy — just run a 6BR case through a 22BR sizing die. With custom bullets, the 22BR has done well in NBRSA short-range Benchrest. Accuracy is on a par with 6mm BR out to about 250 yards, but from there, the 6mm VLDs, with their high BCs, buck the wind better. The 22BR with 90gr bullets offers very impressive ballistics, with less recoil than you might experience shooting a 6BR or 6mm Creedmoor with 105-110gr projectiles.

Forming the 22BR Case

Forming 22BR brass is not complicated. Starting with 6mm BR cases from Peterson or Lapua, you simply run the case through a 22BR full-length sizing die. Be sure to outside-chamfer the case mouths first and lube the case necks and body.

To reduce run-out, half-way through the stroke back out the case and rotate it a half-turn. Then finish by running the case all the way up into the FL die. You can also use a bushing neck-sizing die, but it goes more smoothly if you use an intermediate bushing, then do a second pass with your final bushing. (Or, if you have a Redding 22BR die, using it first will reduce the neck enough to finish with a single bushing.) Using a full-length sizing die is the better method, as the bushings tend to push brass down to the neck-shoulder junction (NSJ). With either method we suggest you run a mandrel down the necks after necking down, and neck-turn the last .050″ or so of the neck and slightly up into the shoulder. This will remove any bulge at the NSJ, and help prevent doughnut formation. And remember to load a few dummy cases before you spec the neck diameter for your reamer to ensure your cases will chamber without further neck-turning.

Load Development for the 22 BR
After necking down the brass from 6mmBR, Clint used a K&M neck turner to remove the doughnuts formed when necking down. He ran the turned brass back through the sizer die, with no expander, and then inside-neck-reamed with a .221 reamer. Then, as a last step he used a mandrel to expand the necks, using two different mandrels to obtain some cases with .004 and some with .002 neck tension.

Clint reported: “I talked with Wes Grass, who had been playing with the 22BR and the 90 JLK. He opined that Varget, while a stellar powder in the 6BR, was simply too fast for the 22BR pushing the 90-grainer. Wes suggested trying VV N550, of which I had a supply. I loaded incremental loads of 0.5 graina of Varget and N550, in the two different sets of neck-tensioned cases. Being familiar with the 6BR, and having spoken with Wes about his loads, I began the Varget loads at 30.0 going up to 32.0. The N550 started at 30.0 also, and went up to 31.5.” Here is a table with the loads Clint worked up using the 90gr JLK:

Clint noted: “All of the above loads used Lapua 6BR brass, neck turned and reamed, .004 tension, CCI BR4 primers. (I did settle on .003 neck tension). These loads were OK in my rifle. Reduce at least 10% before using them! [EDITOR’S NOTE: If you start about 10% under these loads, that should be a good beginning point for using the 90gr Sierra Match-King in a 22BR.]

Final Thoughts on Bullets, Powder and the 22BR
Clint Greenwood found that his 90gr JLK .22 Caliber worked best in his barrel seated well into the lands. You may get different results with different brands of VLD bullets or hybrid bullets. We recommend trying different seating positions and evaluating what works best.

Clinet explained his load development using 500 series VV powder. He observed that he had to get the pressures up pretty high. With higher pressures, “the groups will suddenly shrink dramatically. When you reach the operating pressure for the 500 series of powder, groups shrink dramatically, as if a light switch has been thrown.”

Working up the loads for the 22BR didn’t yield any surprises with the components that I had chosen. At 30.5 grs, the VV N550 loads began to really group into knotholes. 31.5 grains of N550 yielded some pretty impressive groups, as well as chrono numbers that were encouraging. I decided to back off 0.2 grains, as shooting in South Texas, I might be shooting these loads anywhere from 45 degrees to 110 degrees. The VV 500 series is fairly temperature insensitive, not as good as Varget, but decent, but on a few occasions in the past I have had a few “pressure excursions” that were unsettling in .223, and didn’t want to go there with my T2K. Dropping the loads 0.2 grains didn’t appear to change the accuracy and gave me a little insurance. At 200 yards, the warmer N550 loads were consistently under 1/2 MOA. I expect a bit better results when I use the fireformed brass, instead of the new Lapua that was sporting .010″ runout.

I am really pleased with the accuracy of my T2K in 22BR. I have to give most of the credit to John Holliger. If he hadn’t gone out on a limb and experimented with the PacNor 6.5 twist .22 barrel, none of this would have been possible. Good Luck, and remember to work up to these loads! — Clint Greenwood

David Tubb Explains T2K Stock Adjustments I advocate setting stock length a little longer than most people might. I am a firm believer that it is best to “reach” slightly for the pistol grip as this ensures a strong, secure hold on the rifle. I pull the rifle firmly into my shoulder pocket when shooting offhand, and also prefer to have what I would characterize as very firm contact between rifle butt and shoulder in the sitting and prone positions as well. When using a sling in prone or sitting, stock length (and sling tension) should be great enough so that, at the least, you have to push the buttpad forward with your hand in order to place the stock into the shoulder pocket. My buttstock is shortest offhand and longest prone. If my standing setting is “0”, I’m usually out about 1-1/2 inches for sitting and about another inch for prone. I have found that many people tend to shoot with a stock that’s too long in sitting and too short everywhere else. I have found the cast off/on adjustment feature on the buttstock greatly helps in attaining the natural shooting positions I desire. For prone, I offset the clamping block so the buttplate moves outward [the index mark on the clamp is to the right of center on the scale on the receiver extension tube]. I swing it a little bit inward for offhand and slightly more inward for sitting. The amounts of cast on/off (in clock-face terms) are approximately 6:30 for standing, 4:30 for prone, and 8:00 o’clock for sitting. Stock Position Diagrams Copyright © 2004, Glen Zediker, David Tubb, and Superior Shooting Systems Inc., used with permission. Stock Length Adjustment Procedure The buttstock is adjustable in length 4-plus inches. This adjustment is accomplished by moving the buttplate tube in or out after loosening the four screws on the clamping block. Ensure that the buttstock tube is fully contained in the block. The extent of rearward (lengthening) movement is determined by the front of the buttstock tube fitting flush with the front of the block. Cast and Cant Adjustment Procedure The buttstock is adjustable for cast or offset by loosening the four screws on the clamping block and swiveling the block on the receiver extension tube. The buttplate itself is adjustable for cant up to 360 degrees and after loosening the screw directly in the center of the rubber recoil pad is adjustable for height at approximately 1-1/2 inches. The cheekpiece is adjustable vertically approximately one inch. The vertical cheekpiece adjustment is accomplished via the top knurled ring. The lower knurled ring will then secure the setting. For more information on the Tubb 2000 Rifle and SSS Accessories, contact: Superior Shooting Systems Maker of Tubb 2000 Accessories, and DTAC Bullets and Brass DavidTubb.com

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