.222 is just a tad slower than .223, but let me tell you mate, in the real world you will not notice, and the .222 is such a mild shooting accurate round, that hitting your target is childs play, I have seen my mate bowl fox after fox over at well over 250yards on many occasions, there is a reason why the .222 held the benchrest world record for so many years, with that long case neck it is just so damn easy to reload for and with a good moderator on you can see every hit on foxes at night, and if you plan on going north of the border on the roe, or cwd and muntjac in England, it is a death r