.22-250 terminal performance

[HAMMER1DOWN]

ok I bought a .22-250 and have been workin on a good load/bullet combo that will literally throw gophers/rockchucks in the air.... As of right now I have 40 and 55 grain Nosler ballistic tips. I have the 55 grainers shooting groups of .343 constantly with 32.5 grains of varget at 100 yards and would definately like to keep seing that. Now would the little 40 grainer cause more damage because it is moving faster? Or should I go back to the V-max? (really don't want to because I already have the noslers and it does take me forever to get the nearest sporting goods store)

Thanks, Robert

[GAR700]

I don't have any experience on rockchucks with the 40 grain Nosler, but I have used the 36 grain Barnes VG in the 22-250. It does not do near the damage of the 55 grain balistic tip most of the time. It is still a great bullet and does better on smaller animals than the 55's do.
I am fairly new to reloading and to my 22-250 but I have found that what really matters is the amount of energy you deliver to the target. I had a great opportunity to shoot pretty much unlimited amounts of rockchucks last year. I set up with my 223 Rem and my 22-250 loaded with the same bullets. I tried every different comparison I could between guns and bullets. I had 36 grainers for the 22-250 and 55 grain noslers and v max's for both (just what shot good). I found what most people would expect. The heavier bullet moving faster caused the most damage.

Good luck,

GAR

[geetarman]

I have been partial to the 52 gr. hpbt Sierra. I have shot a LOT of groundhogs back in Illinois and as long as I did my job, the rifle delivered.

I used to load them with 33.7 gr, IMR 4064 or about the same amount of IMR4895. I now use 38 gr. H380. I also use BLC2 but do not have load data at my fingertips.

My rifle just seems to prefer that bullet.

I did load up some 50 gr. Sierra Blitz bullets at warp nine. I was shooting at foxes prone through wheat stubble. I could not figure out why my bullets were not reaching the target until I noticed puffs of snow about 60 yards out.

Either I was hitting wheat stubble or the bullets were blowing up. Not sure which. I still have the partial box of bullets and will probably never load them up. . .

[mrawesome22]

Geetarman, the Blitz bullet cannot hold up to 22-250 velocity's. You'll need the BlitzKing for that.

32.5gr Varget and a 55gr bullet out of a 22-250? That's a shame. That's really throttling back on what the round is capable of. Have you shot those over a chronograph?

But anyway, I split the difference and shoot a 50gr V-Max right at 3800fps. I got my first ground hog of the year two weeks ago out on the farm at 155yds. The bullet entered between the shoulder blades and exited center chest. The results were graphic as always with this bullet. The last ground hog last year was a head shot that literally ripped the guts out. I didn't even pick that poor sucker up.

[Brian Pfleuger]

There are two "energy" factors involved with terminal performance. Momentum and Kinetic Energy.

In a slightly over-simplified world, momentum is responsible for penetration and kinetic energy is responsible for "splatter effect". So, what you want out of a 22-250, for "splatter effect" is the highest possible KE. Since the formula for KE is 1/2massXvelocity^2, what you are looking for, generally, is the highest possible velocity.

Side note:

You'll often hear people say something like "Since the mass is divided by 2 and the velocity is squared....". This is not true at all. The formula could just as truly be written as "Mass X 1/2(Velocity^2), or (Mass X Velocity^2)/2

Anyway, point being, velocity is squared and mass is a multiplier, so a faster, smaller bullet will almost always have more "splat" than a slower, heavier bullet in the same cartridge. Assuming, that is, that the bullets are built for "splatter".

[HAMMER1DOWN]

I don't own a Chrono I just go by the book and do a little math to take in account for different barrel lengths.. But with my 22-250 there is only .4 inch difference in barrel lengths so the loads are pretty close to what the book says ( I would guess).

[rwilson452]

My 22-250 favored the Sierra 55gr Blitzking. I use it on woodchucks. I do get that "ripe melon" effect out past 400 yards. Although the 55gr HPBT was slightly more accurate, I didn't get the same terminal effect at the longer ranges.

I was pushing both with 39.0 gr of H380. and WLR primers.

As always YMMV.

[mrawesome22]

I don't own a Chrono I just go by the book and do a little math to take in account for different barrel lengths.. But with my 22-250 there is only .4 inch difference in barrel lengths so the loads are pretty close to what the book says ( I would guess).

I would say you MIGHT be getting 3200fps with that combo. A 223Rem will do that easily.