heavies in a 22-250?
 

I want to start reloading my own 22-250 ammo. I've found bullets up to 75gr. However you rarely see factory ammo above 55gr. Is there a reason for this other than too little demand to load heavier bullets? I don't have any reloading manuals so I can't see if recipes exist. Also, disregarding initial costs will it really same me that much money? I know for shotguns it only saves if you are a VERY high volume shooter.

I know 75gr bullets will sacrifice the flat trajectory that the 22-250 is loved for but me and the wind have a sour relationship and pelts aren't worth it around here.

RE: heavies in a 22-250?
 

soilarch,

I was just looking in my new Nosler book and the heaviest load they offer is the 60 gr. Nosler partition. And, assuming you are asking about the cost benefits of reloading for the .22-250, no you probably don't save that much money after your consider the cost of all your equipment. Reloading, as someone else said on this board somewhere, is a labor of love, and, if you're really patient and careful, is a labor that can reward you in precision/accuracy department. I've relaoded for about 8 years and have probably $500-$700 wrapped up in equipment. On the flip side of that, however, is the fact that I can drive tacks with my .22-250. I shoot the moly-coated 55 gr. v-max (Hornady) and can consistently put 3 shots in about .5 in or inside the same hole. I also reload for a number of other cartridges and love it.

If you completely disregard initial costs, you can save a lot of money reloading. Just calculate components cost and compare it to the cost of store bought shells. Advice, find a buddy who wants to give his stuff away (Ha!Ha!). You'll save a mint.

If you could buy a .243, you could shoot your 75 gr bullets quite well, though. Good luck!!

RE: heavies in a 22-250?
 

You arent gonna save any money, BUT it is worthwhile and a fum hobby if ya like to shoot alot, otherwise why not get a 24 or 25 cal varmint gun. Those 60 grain partitions ought to handle the wind just fine.

RE: heavies in a 22-250?
 

Because people buy .22-250's for their velocity potential with standard weight varmint bullets (that run from 40-55 grains, typically), and .22-250 rifles are rifled with a pitch just fast enough to stabilize these relatively fragile bullets without causeing them to deform of disintegrate in flight (usually 1-in-14"). Secondly, getting much over 55 grains defeats the original purpose because velocity drops off fast past 55 grains.

I've been thinking about doing a custom rifle in 22-250 Ackley Improved with a faster than standard pitch barrel (probably 1-in-10") and load it with 60-70 grain bullets. The extra case volume of the Improved case would reclaim some of the lost velocity, while the improved BC of the heavier bullets would make it perform exceptionally well downrange. And barrel life due to the slightly lower velocites should be somewhat better as well. Plus it'd allow me to still shoot factory loads if necessary.

Mike

RE: heavies in a 22-250?
 

not fast enough for those... you'd be better off with 1-8" for the 70-75 gr bullets... you'll get away with that for the 60's though...

RE: heavies in a 22-250?
 

Running 223s with 20 inch tubes for years. YOu'll note I'm slower than the 22-250 which leads to more instability by a bit.

FWIW 69-70s will run in 10 twist but 9 is better.

9 will handle up to 80s but needs to be run really hot so for 80s you'd be better with an 8 probably.

I shot 7 twist with anything from 52-80s but could not get the 7 to stabilize the 90 jlks. So I went to a 6.5 twist which shoots from 52 up to 90s fine with the sometimes exception of toasting a 60 grain flat base HP bullet in some tubes.

As noted 12 or 14 is pretty common twist for 22-250 so be careful there.

I tend to err on the side of extra stability.

All this being said I know of folks running 22-6mm and 22-250 AI that were using 8 twist and stabilizing 90s in long tubes. 80s for sure as I have a bolt gun in 8 in 22-250 that is loaned to me for 1000 yard matches and it shots 80s fine.

Best, Jeff

RE: heavies in a 22-250?
 

The reason I considered the 1:10" twist is mostly because a 22-250 AI will spit that bullet out at a bit higher velocity than the standard 22-250 and especially the .223 Rem. .223's are regularly barrelled with a 1:8" or 1:9" twist for the heavies, but the lower velocity makes that necessary. What I'm worried about is making the twist rate too fast and having bullets self-destruct after they leave the barrel due to a combination of fast twist and higher than standard velocity.

1:9" or 1:9.5" would probably do well without being too much in a 22-250 AI.

Mike

RE: heavies in a 22-250?
 

Going up to 80s I would not go less than a 9 twist. The 22-250 I have has a 30 inch tube and gets the speed up there pretty good though I don't recall exactly. If I cannot blow up a 52 in a 6.5 twist at 3300 fps, I suspect a 9 or 8 twist will both be fine in 22250ai.

But take the route you choose. I only offer what I have experienced. Just as additional info.

RE: heavies in a 22-250?
 

I shoot a ruger 22-250 number 1 with the short varmit barrel. It will not stabilize nosler 80 gr bullets. I have yet to try it with the 69 grs. I haven't looked to see what the factory rate of twist is, but I'm sure that it is something designed for the more common 40-55 gr factory loads.

RE: heavies in a 22-250?
 

Soilarch i just came upon your older post on heavy bullets in 22-250. I have a Rem. 700 BDL Varmint 22-250 1-14 twist & i get 3/4" groups with 70gr. Speer bullets at 100 yards off the bench using H4831 37gr. powder. The load says min.35.0 to max 38.0, Hodgdons manual 23, printed in 1979.[&:]