Preparation is the key to success with many endeavors.  This is especially true with handloading.  To prepare the brass and load it for best accuracy there are a few more tools that will be needed.  These are a primer pocket uniforming tool, a primer flash hole deburring tool, a neck chamfering tool, a case trimmer, and Hornady Lock-n-Load OAL gauge and Bullet Comparator measuring tools.  With these tools on hand we can begin the process.  Basic cartridge case sorting and preparation including primer pocket uniforming, flash hole deburring, neck mouth chamfering, overall length check and case trimming are good standard practice.  When using the Lock-n-Load OAL tool I prefer to use a case that is fireformed in my particular rifle rather than the universal cases marketed for the tool.  This provides more accurate measuring that is specific to your individual rifle, but requires light machine work and threading to the fireformed case.

Once the brass is all prepped you can move on to priming and loading.  Sometimes, the availability of reloading components such as brass and primers is intermittent.  Winchester brass is currently the most economical and readily available while maintaining good quality.  Some handloaders have also had good luck with Remington brass.  Lapua seems to produce the most uniform brass of all.  In years past the manufacture of Lapua .222 brass was reportedly outsourced and its quality seemed to suffer.  The current production brass that became available in 2009 is manufactured in house and is of fine quality representative of Lapua's excellent reputation.  The going price is subject to change but earlier this year it was less than $50.00 per box of 100.  Norma brass is quite expensive but some still prefer it.  There were some claims that it had a smaller primer flash hole like the PPC and BR cartridges.  Norma says that their manufacturing standard hole size is 2mm +- .10mm or .0787" +- .004".  For factory rifles strive for a case with a thicker neck that will tend to offer a better final fit in the generous SAAMI factory chamber.

Some retailers report that the availability of primers is a problem and the cost has risen dramatically.  For the Triple Deuce primers by CCI, Federal, Remington, and Winchester will work quite nicely.  More specifically CCI BR4, Federal 205 and 205M, Remington 7 1/2, and Winchester standard small rifle primers are fine choices.
  
The application of the data found in the manufacturer’s data bases is fairly straight forward.  I religiously use the load data right off the Hodgdon web site.  Recently I have gravitated toward using the old tried and true IMR4198 and H4198 powders for hunting using 40gr bullets.  These two powders provide a velocity edge over the other powder choices while still maintaining safe and acceptable pressure levels.  You can see this in the Hodgdon data where a max load of IMR4198 yields 3583 fps whereas H322 produces 3313 fps.  So for hunting where higher velocity and terminal performance are important and accuracy is as good or close, I would choose one of the two 4198 powders.  This situation is similar although not as dramatic with 50gr bullets.  

For target shooting H322 works extremely well.  H4895 also provides impressive results and is a chosen powder for accuracy baseline testing by some manufacturers.  I have begun experimenting with Vihtavuori N133 and Accurate 2015.  Both seem very promising.  H322 and H4895 are two that I am certain of.

Choosing the appropriate bullets for the Triple Deuce is very important.  There are a large variety of bullets in .224 diameter from many manufacturers that will work well in the Triple Deuce.  There are also bullets that will not work quite as well as others.  The new polymer tipped bullets from Hornady, Nosler and Sierra usually work extremely well in the Triple Deuce.  Other bullets require a bit more analysis.  For instance, Sierra makes many fine hunting and target bullets in .224 diameter.  The Blitz, BlitzKing, Match and MatchKing bullets are all appropriate for the Triple Deuce.  On the other hand their 45 and 50 gr SPT bullets are designed for very high velocity .22 caliber cartridges like the 22/250 and 220 Swift and will not work as well as some others for this application.  Their SMP and Hornet series bullets are for older slow twist rifles and stabilize easier than the spitzer type bullets.  This is explained in their reloading manual.  I strongly suggest that the handloader call the bullet manufacturer first to discuss what is appropriate for the caliber and application being loaded.  Many of these bullets have a maximium velocity.  If they are pushed past their velocity or rotational limits they can disintegrate prior to reaching the intended target.  The 50gr Speer TNT and Hornady SPSX bullets both have a 3400 fps maximum velocity and are perfectly fine for the 222.

  On my 722 rifle the magazine length limits the finished OAL of the cartridge.  A short very pointed bullet like the 50gr SPSX will allow for a distance of .010 off the rifling and still comfortably fit in the magazine.  The 50gr V-Max and BlitzKing bullets are shaped in a more arching fashion and result in a longer OAL to the ogive, unfortunatley they end up longer and therefore will not fit in the magazine at .010.  A sacrifice is then necessary and the distance off the rifling must be increased to accomodate the magazine length. 

MyFavorites

Brass:
         Winchester
         Super-X  (old production)
         Lapua (Now Available!)

Primers:
          CCI BR4
          Rem 7 ½
          Federal 205M
         
Powder:
        Varmint:
               H4198  40 & 50gr bullets,
               especially for hunting
               IMR4198 40 & 50 bullets,
               especially for hunting
        Target:
               H322   50gr bullets, excellent
               accuracy
               N133   50 & 53gr bullets
Bullets:
           50 V-Max
           52 & 53 MatchKings 
           52 Bart's