driftrider

I took my new Ruger M77VT MkII 22-250 out today and shot it for the first time. I have to say that this rifle is GREAT! I have to thank many of the contributors here for their help, both direct and indirect, in choosing a good rifle and scope. I' ve been reading this board for awhile and I' m been intrigued by the idea of a super-accurate target rifle for a long time.

I was using fairly cheap factory loads (Winchester white box 45gr. JHP varmint which are advertized at 4000fps) as I have not yet put a handloading setup together. I selected this ammo mostly because I wanted the Winchester brass and I wanted its first firing to be in the chamber of this rifle. I shot 40 rounds today, which took most of the afternoon, and I might go back out and shoot 40 more tomorrow!

I will admit that I was surprized by the accuracy of the rifle with the inexpensive factory ammo. It was a pretty breezy day today with variable winds measuring probably 5-10 gusting to 15mph, so I wasn' t expecting any miracle groups. The best group I shot measured 1.28" c-to-c, and that was because I jerked one shot and fired another right a a bigger gust came up. In that group I had three shots together in a 0.47" group. Heck, 1.28" isn' t bad at all for factory ammo, but 0.47" shocked me. The rifle is definately a shooter, probably a lot better than I am. If it weren' t for the idiot behind the trigger it' d probably be a one-ragged-hole shooter!

Now I can' t wait to start handloading!! I' d like to see the entire group inside 1/2MOA and I' d be happier than a clam. I' m thinking about trying Hornady V-Max bullets in 55 grains with Moly. The V-mav bullets seem to be known for their accuracy and performance on varmints and predators.

I had a little problem with copper with these light bullets, and I' m not sure if it was the speed that cause some copper buildup or maybe just the cheap bullets. I cleaned the bore every 5 shots after the first 10. For those I used a pyramid cleaning scheme (1 shot, clean, 2 shots, clean, etc...). I noticed that If I tried to fire more than 7 or 8 shots without cleaning the groups would open up. Once I cleaned the groups would settle back down. I was thinking that shooting moly coated bullets and slowing the velocity a tad with a heavier bullet would eliminate that problem. I' m going to shoot it some more and see if the copper buildup issues go away as the bore smooths out. Having only five or six accurate shots before cleaning won' t make this a very good rifle for shooting varmints in the field.

Once again, thanks to everyone for their guidance.

Mike

Below is a pic of the above mentioned target.

driftrider

Never mind, I figured it out...[&:]

Mike

MarkIIVT

I love my VT' s. Both of them shoot like that. With handloads you will really bring it in. It is truly a GREAT bolt action rifle, a little heavy though. I have not heard a bad story from a VT owner yet.

Vapodog

Congratulations.....it seems you have a very fine varmint rifle.

When you start reloading you' ll have a large variety of excellent bullets to choose from. I caution that you don' t have too great of expectations.....I once owned a .225 Winchester in a model 70 and was never able to make a better round reloading than I was able to buy direct from Winchester.

When you start handloading, I suggest you try some bullets from Berger.

MOTurkeyTamer

Mike, it sounds like you have gotten yourself a great setup! I really like my Ruger VT' s also, they are an excellent gun for the money. I handload Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets in 55 grain for my .22-250. I use CCI primers and Winchester brass and Hodgdon Varget powder. I have gotten sub 1/2" 3 shot groups @ 100 yds. on a good day with these loads. They are extremely accurate on a calm day out to 500 yds. and plenty deadly on varmints also. Congrats on the new gun and good luck with it!

James B

Drifter. I love my 22-250. Mine is a standard wigth 24 in barrel. Remington ADL Synthetic. Where I shoot we have a lot of wind so I prefer the 60 grain Hornady spire pt. I have loaded mostly Varget powder so far. Give it a try.

woodseye

I just got finished working up several loads for a heavy barreled 22-250 in a Savage and would share the following info.................I found Varget - H380 - H414 - IMR4895 - IMR4064 - to all be good starting points for an accurate load.The ball powders (H380-H414) were dirtier for fouling and a little more temp sensitive during the summer(more fps deviation due to pressure changes in direct sun).I found the most accurate loading for my rifle to be 36 grains of IMR4064 with the Hornady V-Max 50grain bullet.Used Winchester and Norma brass with Winchester Large Rifle primers.Used Magnum primers with the ball powders for best results.I found .030 to be the best distance off the lands for max accuracy with mine.When all was said and done 1/4" groups were the norm and all powders listed above would accomplish this with the bullets seated straight in the case and powder charges weighed carefully.Forster Benchrest dies are a very good investment if you are accuracy oriented.I ended up with an average of 3834fps in a 26" 1in12 barrel.Enjoy your new varmint rig and enjoy working up some good loads for it.


woods

Wolf killer

Woodseye
You are a shooting & reloading god. Very informative post.
I have found my best accuracy with 40-grains H-414, Winchester large rifle primers & Sierra 52 grain HPBT bullet. I also think H-414 is a ditry powder but it seem to work better than anything else in my rifle.

driftrider
The best part about that 1.28" group is it will be the largest group you will see for a long time after you find a reload that REALLY shoots well in that rifle.

Good luck,

westbronco

Mike, It sounds like you are off to a good start. Handloading will help a lot, especially if you get the bullet off the lands about .025" or even .030" as mentioned above. Find a good load and then play with the jump till you find the sweet spot.
You may want to do a more thorough job of barrel breakin. Your breakin procedure just won' t do the job on a factory barrel. Clean to bare metal, remove all powder and copper fouling, between each shot. You' ll know when it is broken in when it starts cleaning up very quickly. That' s because all of the tiny metal burrs have been shot away and no longer are there to catch the copper. Once broken in, the barrel will shoot cleaner and clean up much quicker.