.22-250 loads - H380 vs IMR-4350, 3031?

DBotkin · June 20, 2007, 09:25 AM

I'm interested in others' experience with different powders in .22-250 loads. I'm currently loading mine with 38 grains of H380 and a 55 gr Hornady V-Max. I know my Dad was using 38.5 grains of 4350 with a 53 gr. match HP; his notes indicate 4 of 5 shots touching at 100 yards, in wind. Having shot this rifle a lot during that period, I can attest to that, it's a tack driver.

Looks like he later switched to 30.5 grains of 3031, but I don't see any specific notes indicating whether that worked better for him than the 4350, or not as well. I tried the H380 mailny becuase of what I read about its accuracy potential for the .22-250 in the Lyman reloading manual. I'm about to the bottom of this pound of powder, so if I'm going to experiment with something else now would be the time. I'd like to know what you have found to be the best .22-250 loads, and what you tried that didn't work as well. I know every rifle is a little different, but if there's something that obviously works best in most cases I want to try it.

I may well just go back to 4350. The H380 loads seem to do well at 100 yards, but the groups at 200 were uninspiring to say the least. Granted I have not yet done a lot of load development, and this gun may like a different charge weight - but I don't want to spend a lot of time and resources testing loads that are never going to be as good as something else.

2400 · June 20, 2007, 11:31 AM

I get the best accuracy in my 22-250 using H-414.

Scorch · June 20, 2007, 01:23 PM

I loaded IMR 3031 for years. It was a major pain because of metering and weighing each load, but gave very good accuracy. Supposedly the powder grains are shorter now than in the past.

Everyone wants to load H380 in the 22-250 because of the old story about 3/8" group with 38.0 grains of H380. I tried it, it was very nice, but since I was after velocity I started loading WW 760 and H414. I now load exclusively WW760, WW LR primer with Sierra Gameking 55 gr SPBT bullets. I have no reason to change. Very consistent 1/2" groups, chronos at 3800+ fps out of a 28" barrel, haven't chronoed it since I put my 24" barrel on.

mrawesome22 · June 20, 2007, 04:11 PM

My best groups have come from 36gr Benchmark and a 50gr V-Max. 4000fps out of a 26" barrel. Varget and H380 also produce tiny groups. 41gr H380 and 37.5gr Varget.

DBotkin · June 20, 2007, 05:10 PM

Quote:

It was a major pain because of metering and weighing each load

I haven't found anything yet that I don't have to weigh and trickle, H380 included. I have the RCBS powder dispenser with the nice micrometer adjustment, but it's still not consistent enough for my taste. Pistol ammo, sure, as long as it's not really light Bullseye charges - but not for the rifles. I like to get them right on the nose. Don't know how much difference 1/10th grain will make, realistically - I should do some testing and see. That could save me a ton of time.

[email protected] · June 20, 2007, 05:19 PM

The best 200.00 I ever spent was for the Pact automatic dispenser and scale. Great peice of equipment. Measures anything to the T more often than not.

crowbeaner · June 22, 2007, 02:49 PM

One of my favorite loads is 37.0 of H380 and a 55 gr. Nosler Solid Base, but Nosler doesn't make this bullet anymore. Darn shame as my old M 788 used to put 5 of them through the same hole. I find that 4350 leaves quite a bit of carbon fouling in the barrel. The traditional loads with 4320 leave nothing to be desired in the accuracy dept., 4320 does just about all one can ask for. My brother-in-law uses 4320 to shoot the 55gr. Hornady SPSX as he has to throttle the velocity back to avoid shredding the jacket at normal velocity. Buy an 8 lb. jug of H380 and work up your loads. Be aware that the 2007 Hodgdon guide has charges much[like 4.0 grains] higher than previously listed guides! I don't know if the testers got a bad batch, but 41.0 grains is awful hot to me: I used to get brass flowing into the neck if I used more than 37.0 and the 55 gr. bullet. Same warning on the 150 gr. bullet max. in the 30-06 data with H380.

rwilson452 · June 22, 2007, 10:16 PM

I wound up with 39.0gr of H380 pushing a Sierra 55gr BlitzKing. I do have a long throat in my VLS so my OAL is quite long. Still, a 10 shot one ragged hole group was a sweet thing to see. As always start light and work up. Different rifles react differently. Oh, Remington brass and WLR primers.

DBotkin · June 22, 2007, 10:50 PM

Hoping to get to the range tomorrow to do some load testing. I have 37 to 40.5 grains in 1/2 grain steps, five rounds each. I have the bullets seated about .030 short of the lands on all of them. The 40 and 40.5 grain loads look like they would probably be compressed with the OAL listed in the book!

My Lyman book says 36.9 to 41 grains for the 55 grain V-Max. Personally I'm hoping the low end loads will really shine, but somehow I doubt it. Everything else I have seems to really like hot loads, even when I don't. With any luck I'll find a sweet spot, or find out it shoots the same no matter what I feed it - in which case I'll try it again at 200 yards.

rwilson452 · June 23, 2007, 06:56 AM

I would have gone in .3 gr steps

Hoping to get to the range tomorrow to do some load testing. I have 37 to 40.5 grains in 1/2 grain steps, five rounds each. I have the bullets seated about .030 short of the lands on all of them. The 40 and 40.5 grain loads look like they would probably be compressed with the OAL listed in the book!

Martyn4802 · June 23, 2007, 07:02 AM

My 22-250 shoots Benchmark powder the best. I tried H-380 and 4895 and neither one worked.
32.6 grains of Benchmark with a 55 grain Sierra HPBT shoots three shots into a 1/4" group at 100 yards. Bullets are seated .010 off the lands. I seat bullets with a Wilson seater. I also use a 36x scope for load developing, then switch to a hunting scope after I find the best load. I do that for all of my rifles. That load makes my 22-250 my most accurate centerfire sporter.

Don

intruder · June 23, 2007, 08:02 AM

I use two loads that work in my 22-250s In the Ruger 77 I use 39grs of IMR 4350 with a Nosler 55gr. This load shoots a .25 to .35 inches at a 100yds if I do my part. For my Remington SPS I use 39.5 grs of H380 with a 55gr Nosler.This load doesn't group as well as the Ruger but shoots under a inch at 100 yds. The 22-250 seems to shoot more accurate when using max loads, at least the the one I played with.

SDLAW · June 23, 2007, 09:23 AM

My 22-250 (Rem) likes 40 gr V-Max and Reloader 15. I tried numerous powders trying to get 55 & 50 gr bullets to fly, but once I went to 40gr life was great. I have loaded for 2 other 22-250s (Savages) using RE15 and 50 gr V-Max with very good results as well.

DBotkin · June 24, 2007, 12:04 AM

I like the idea of the 40 gr V-Max, but didn't know if my 700 has enough twist to keep them stable. Maybe I ought to try them.

Load testing was a bust today; super humid, breezy and I couldn't keep the groups under 2". Note I said *I* couldn't; I'm sure the rifle was shooting fine, but I had way too may distractions and not enough time. Maybe next week.

multistage · June 24, 2007, 06:22 PM

Win brass, Federal 210 GM primer, 55 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip, and 39 grains WW-760. Velocity is about 3550 fps. This load has worked very well (under 1/2 MOA, consistently) in all five of the 22-250's I have owned.

June 20, 2007, 09:25 AM	#1
DBotkin Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2006 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 302	.22-250 loads - H380 vs IMR-4350, 3031? I'm interested in others' experience with different powders in .22-250 loads. I'm currently loading mine with 38 grains of H380 and a 55 gr Hornady V-Max. I know my Dad was using 38.5 grains of 4350 with a 53 gr. match HP; his notes indicate 4 of 5 shots touching at 100 yards, in wind. Having shot this rifle a lot during that period, I can attest to that, it's a tack driver. Looks like he later switched to 30.5 grains of 3031, but I don't see any specific notes indicating whether that worked better for him than the 4350, or not as well. I tried the H380 mailny becuase of what I read about its accuracy potential for the .22-250 in the Lyman reloading manual. I'm about to the bottom of this pound of powder, so if I'm going to experiment with something else now would be the time. I'd like to know what you have found to be the best .22-250 loads, and what you tried that didn't work as well. I know every rifle is a little different, but if there's something that obviously works best in most cases I want to try it. I may well just go back to 4350. The H380 loads seem to do well at 100 yards, but the groups at 200 were uninspiring to say the least. Granted I have not yet done a lot of load development, and this gun may like a different charge weight - but I don't want to spend a lot of time and resources testing loads that are never going to be as good as something else.

June 20, 2007, 01:23 PM	#3
Scorch Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2006 Location: Washington state Posts: 15,248	I loaded IMR 3031 for years. It was a major pain because of metering and weighing each load, but gave very good accuracy. Supposedly the powder grains are shorter now than in the past. Everyone wants to load H380 in the 22-250 because of the old story about 3/8" group with 38.0 grains of H380. I tried it, it was very nice, but since I was after velocity I started loading WW 760 and H414. I now load exclusively WW760, WW LR primer with Sierra Gameking 55 gr SPBT bullets. I have no reason to change. Very consistent 1/2" groups, chronos at 3800+ fps out of a 28" barrel, haven't chronoed it since I put my 24" barrel on. __________________ Never try to educate someone who resists knowledge at all costs. But what do I know? Summit Arms Services

June 20, 2007, 04:11 PM	#4
mrawesome22 Senior Member Join Date: November 9, 2005 Location: Ohio, Appalachia's foothills. Posts: 3,779	My best groups have come from 36gr Benchmark and a 50gr V-Max. 4000fps out of a 26" barrel. Varget and H380 also produce tiny groups. 41gr H380 and 37.5gr Varget. Last edited by mrawesome22; June 20, 2007 at 04:13 PM. Reason: spelling

June 20, 2007, 11:31 AM	#2
2400 Senior Member Join Date: September 12, 2004 Location: AZ Posts: 389	I get the best accuracy in my 22-250 using H-414.

June 20, 2007, 05:19 PM	#6
[email protected] Junior Member Join Date: May 10, 2007 Posts: 13	The best 200.00 I ever spent was for the Pact automatic dispenser and scale. Great peice of equipment. Measures anything to the T more often than not.

June 22, 2007, 02:49 PM	#7
crowbeaner Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2007 Location: Upstate SC Posts: 1,943	One of my favorite loads is 37.0 of H380 and a 55 gr. Nosler Solid Base, but Nosler doesn't make this bullet anymore. Darn shame as my old M 788 used to put 5 of them through the same hole. I find that 4350 leaves quite a bit of carbon fouling in the barrel. The traditional loads with 4320 leave nothing to be desired in the accuracy dept., 4320 does just about all one can ask for. My brother-in-law uses 4320 to shoot the 55gr. Hornady SPSX as he has to throttle the velocity back to avoid shredding the jacket at normal velocity. Buy an 8 lb. jug of H380 and work up your loads. Be aware that the 2007 Hodgdon guide has charges much[like 4.0 grains] higher than previously listed guides! I don't know if the testers got a bad batch, but 41.0 grains is awful hot to me: I used to get brass flowing into the neck if I used more than 37.0 and the 55 gr. bullet. Same warning on the 150 gr. bullet max. in the 30-06 data with H380.

June 22, 2007, 10:16 PM	#8
rwilson452 Senior Member Join Date: June 10, 2004 Location: Tioga co. PA Posts: 2,647	I wound up with 39.0gr of H380 pushing a Sierra 55gr BlitzKing. I do have a long throat in my VLS so my OAL is quite long. Still, a 10 shot one ragged hole group was a sweet thing to see. As always start light and work up. Different rifles react differently. Oh, Remington brass and WLR primers.

June 22, 2007, 10:50 PM	#9
DBotkin Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2006 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 302	Hoping to get to the range tomorrow to do some load testing. I have 37 to 40.5 grains in 1/2 grain steps, five rounds each. I have the bullets seated about .030 short of the lands on all of them. The 40 and 40.5 grain loads look like they would probably be compressed with the OAL listed in the book! My Lyman book says 36.9 to 41 grains for the 55 grain V-Max. Personally I'm hoping the low end loads will really shine, but somehow I doubt it. Everything else I have seems to really like hot loads, even when I don't. With any luck I'll find a sweet spot, or find out it shoots the same no matter what I feed it - in which case I'll try it again at 200 yards.

June 23, 2007, 06:56 AM	#10
rwilson452 Senior Member Join Date: June 10, 2004 Location: Tioga co. PA Posts: 2,647	I would have gone in .3 gr steps Hoping to get to the range tomorrow to do some load testing. I have 37 to 40.5 grains in 1/2 grain steps, five rounds each. I have the bullets seated about .030 short of the lands on all of them. The 40 and 40.5 grain loads look like they would probably be compressed with the OAL listed in the book!

June 23, 2007, 07:02 AM	#11
Martyn4802 Senior Member Join Date: June 12, 2007 Location: Grayling, Michigan Posts: 737	My 22-250 shoots Benchmark powder the best. I tried H-380 and 4895 and neither one worked. 32.6 grains of Benchmark with a 55 grain Sierra HPBT shoots three shots into a 1/4" group at 100 yards. Bullets are seated .010 off the lands. I seat bullets with a Wilson seater. I also use a 36x scope for load developing, then switch to a hunting scope after I find the best load. I do that for all of my rifles. That load makes my 22-250 my most accurate centerfire sporter. Don

June 23, 2007, 08:02 AM	#12
intruder Senior Member Join Date: March 26, 2006 Location: pa Posts: 128	I use two loads that work in my 22-250s In the Ruger 77 I use 39grs of IMR 4350 with a Nosler 55gr. This load shoots a .25 to .35 inches at a 100yds if I do my part. For my Remington SPS I use 39.5 grs of H380 with a 55gr Nosler.This load doesn't group as well as the Ruger but shoots under a inch at 100 yds. The 22-250 seems to shoot more accurate when using max loads, at least the the one I played with.

June 23, 2007, 09:23 AM	#13
SDLAW Member Join Date: January 7, 2006 Posts: 63	My 22-250 (Rem) likes 40 gr V-Max and Reloader 15. I tried numerous powders trying to get 55 & 50 gr bullets to fly, but once I went to 40gr life was great. I have loaded for 2 other 22-250s (Savages) using RE15 and 50 gr V-Max with very good results as well.

June 24, 2007, 12:04 AM	#14
DBotkin Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 2006 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 302	I like the idea of the 40 gr V-Max, but didn't know if my 700 has enough twist to keep them stable. Maybe I ought to try them. Load testing was a bust today; super humid, breezy and I couldn't keep the groups under 2". Note I said I couldn't; I'm sure the rifle was shooting fine, but I had way too may distractions and not enough time. Maybe next week.

June 24, 2007, 06:22 PM	#15
multistage Member Join Date: March 8, 2007 Location: Wyoming Posts: 25	Win brass, Federal 210 GM primer, 55 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip, and 39 grains WW-760. Velocity is about 3550 fps. This load has worked very well (under 1/2 MOA, consistently) in all five of the 22-250's I have owned.