22-250 Hand Loads

[Antique Shooter]

I am in need of some expert opinions, specifically from those that are knowledgeable with the 22-250.

I tested 10 different loads for my Remington 700 22-250 using 50 and 55 grain V-Max bullets. All loads were with Varget powder. The 55 grainers grouped better than the 50's.

The 4 loads using the 55 grain bullets were loaded with 31,32,33, and 34 grains of Varget. The 31 grain load grouped the best followed by the 34 grain load.

Hornady loading data has the 55 grain bullet with 31 grains of powder going just over 3200 FPS. Is that velocity OK? I mean I know it can kill obviously but what are the draw backs of having it going that slow. Most of the factory ammo I have shot with the gun has been moving between 3500-4000 FPS. If possible I would like to be able to shoot out to 500 yds but I wouldn't complain if 400 was my max.

I got a new Leupold 6-24 scope with the custom dial system. You tell them the the velocity,bullet, barrel length, etc. and they make the turret custom for you. I just wanted to make sure that the 3200 or just over was acceptable before wasting the free custom turret, a $100 value.

I know the lower velocity is kind of taking away from the cartridge, but I hate to sacrifice accuracy.

Thanks for the help.

Antique Shooter

[1stmar]

Do you have a chronograph ?

[Magnum Wheel Man]

1st off, I'm not a huge 22-250 fan, but do have a rifle in that caliber, & just converted one we got from my FIL, that the barrel was shot out of, to another caliber... that said...

the bullets should perform fine at that velocity, ( they are used in 223's all the time )

IMO, you are likely to see a longer barrel life, running the lower velocity, than you will with them hot...

BTW... let us know how you like the scope... I just bought a Burris C-4, where they send you a custom ring, for your load, elevation, & shooting conditions... mine is on a custom 17 Fireball... haven't had the time to wring it out yet, but looking forward to it

[savagelover]

I may have missed it,but do you know what the twist
in your barrel is? I used to used a lot of H 4831 powder
in mine.I seen no reason to hot rod it.Anything much over
3000 will burn a barrel out in short order.Especility if you
let it get too hot. I shot mine in F class and did pretty
good with it..It was only 250 yards,but it still kicked
a few 6 br shooters ass...I still have the barrel and often
think of switching with my 223 again..
It has 0ver 2500 rounds and still is a good shooter...I guess
it all depends on what your going to use it for..

[Rimfire5]

Antique Shooter

I have a Remington 700 SPS in .22-250 and after changing out the factory trigger for an adjustable Timney that was on sale and replacing the factory Tupperware stock with a Bell & Carlson Medalist, it turned into a really accurate rifle with its best 25 loads averaging 0.334 over 124 groups at 100 yards .

Over the past several years I've tried Reloader 15, N140, H4895, and H380 powders varying velocity and seating depth and measured 1008 groups. The barrel is still performing well, but I rarely load with velocities past the mid range on the Sierra Manual's tables. I shot some of my best groups recently when I tried 53 grain Sierra SMK bullets a couple of months ago so the barrel doesn't appear to be shot out yet.

My Remington has a 1:14 twist and likes Reloader 15 and N140 powders with 52 grain SMKs and Bergers, 53 grain SMKs and 40 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets.

It shoots 50 and 55 grain bullet well but really shoots the 52 & 53 grain bullets better and also likes the 40 grain Nosler BTs. Based on bullet measurements, I think the accuracy is the result of bullet shape and the amount of bullet touching the rifling more than weight. It also shoots Sierra Blitz Kings very well for hunting bullets.

The top 10 hand loads include 7 52 grain bullets (5 Berger and 2 SMK) with Reloader 15 with 3400 to 3600 fps velocities, one 53 grain SMK load with 3300 fps velocity, and two 50 grain loads (Nosler BT and Berger) with 3400 and 3450 velocities. The combined average for 48 loads in the top 10 is 0.302 with the best load being the 53 grain SMK at 0.227.
The number 10 load averaged 0.329.
The best N140 loads were # 13 and # 22 on the accuracy list, both with 52 grain SMKs at 3350 and 3500 fps at 0.342 and 0.368 averages.


The number 16, 19 and 24th load are with 40 grain Nosler BTs at 3980 and 4050 fps from 0.350 to 0.369 so the light bullets shoot pretty well. My rifle seems to shoot the Nosler 40 grain BTs best towards the higher end of the velocity range. Around 4000 fps, they act like grenades on small varmints.
Not all of the 40 grain bullets shoot as well as the Noslers in my rifle.

IMO factory rounds sell velocity over accuracy and would be harder on the barrel. With my Remington, the slow to medium velocities seem to yield the best accuracy, especially with bullet weights of 50 grains and above.

I hope this helps.

[homesick]

I have the same rifle you have, I have a Boyd thumb hole stock on it with a 6X24 B L with a 1/8'' dot. I also tried Varget with out success, IMR 4320 and 4895 not good, CFE 223 ish. In fact the rifle was on the way to the LGS and I tried Benchmark and 8208 XBR bingo! These 2 powders really shot well 3/8" to 1/2" with 53 gr Sierra HP and CCI 200 primers. Both powders shot the best at near max loads.
This rifle is still in the testing stage but for now it is not going to the LGS. LOL
Just a quick note look at the 8208 XBR very impressive.

[Magnum Wheel Man]

XBR is harder to find load data for, as it's new enough, that it's not in many ( if any ) load books yet, but I did some research, & find a good load for my 17 Fireball... I'd think it would also work well in the 22-250, & it's been available at nearly every powder supplier I buy through so far ( probably because it's not in the load manuals yet )

I'd definitely give it a try before getting your free elevation ring...

BTW if Luepold & Burris are similar in how they do their rings, you can purchase additional rings, but get the 1st one free... I have no idea how much either charges for additional rings

[Brian Pfleuger]

The 4 loads using the 55 grain bullets were loaded with 31,32,33, and 34 grains of Varget. The 31 grain load grouped the best followed by the 34 grain load.

Those are much too large of charge increments for such a small charge. You are almost certainly jumping right over accuracy nodes.

You should be testing for accuracy with 0.3gr increments in a .22-250.

[waburn]

The hodgdon website list the starting load for the 55gr 22-250 as being 34gr with a 36.5gr max. I had fair luck with Varget in a Rem 788. Inch to inch and a half groups, switched to H335 and .7 was the average of 10 rounds.

[603Country]

One of the all time favorite powders for that round is IMR4064. I highly suggest that you give it a try.

[Antique Shooter]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I appreciate all of the different opinions.

I think what I am going to do for now is stick with the Varget powder and play with some more loads between 31 and 32 grains with the 55 grain bullets as someone said, even though I was pretty happy with the 31 grain load.

The lower velocity loads don't seem to be bad and it seems like some even prefer them. Additional barrel life was also a plus.

In the mean while I think I am going to send for the turret and tell them a middle of the road velocity. Something like 3250, right smack dab in the middle of the testing area. After inputting some data for some different velocities, there is only a 4.5 inch difference between 3200 and 3300 fps at 500yds. I have taken very few shots at ground hogs and coyotes at 500 yds. Most of my shots are between 100 and 300, where there is only a 1 inch difference in the trajectory. To me that is acceptable.

Thanks again,

Antique Shooter

[44 AMP]

My .22-250 is a stock Win M70 Varmint, from the late 70s, and shoots its best with loads in the 3600fps range, (52,53,& 55gr bullets). With 63gr Sierra semi pointed, it is erratic at any speed.

3200fps is a waste of the .22-250, But if you are happy with your results, enjoy. I think you can find a combination just as accurate at higher speeds as well, but it might take some looking.

I wouldn't "waste" a custom made turret on a load that is equal to one of the standard .223 ballistics, but that's just me.

Understand I'm not interested in the tiniest possible groups. 3/4MOA has always been minute of woodchuck for me. Better is nice, but I don't waste time, or money trying to get from 3/4MOA to 1/4MOA.

If you do, then it matters. Look at different powders, some perform much better than others in individual rifles.

[BuckRub]

Agree with Brian in post #8. I'd recommend 0.2 grain jumps.

[Bart B.]

I don't think any cartridge will show any difference in accuracy shot in factory barrels with 20 shots per test group with charges only 2/10ths grain apart. But there will be a difference if 5 or less shots per group are used.

If a few 5 (or less) shot groups are shot with a given load, which group do you use to represent that load's accuracy?

What best represents the accuracy of a given load, the smallest group, largest group, a composite of all groups or the average of all groups shot?

[BuckRub]

Ok. Lets say we're talking a hunting rifle. Ok say 5 shot groupings. That's what I do. Why go with a 20 shot grouping on a hunting rifle ? Think you ever will shoot 20-30 rounds pretty closely at deer or hogs ? And if its yes you either have lots of tags or you're missing lots.

[Brian Pfleuger]

I don't bother even with 5 shot groups for load development. I'm not looking for 99% confidence. I've never had any trouble finding a good accurate load with 3 shot groups. The subtle differences may be masked and I might get a "more accurate" (or more consistent) load somewhere else but I have no trouble at all hitting what I want to hit. That's all that matters to me.

I use 3 shot groups at increments of 0.7-1% of max charge, or 0.3gr whichever is larger.

[1stmar]

Bart I've resisted this approach (10+ shot groups), I think it's more representative of the shooters skill the the rifle or the load. I understand the statistics behind it, but for avg shooters I've always felt like the larger variable was me. A little a-d-d maybe.

[Bart B.]

More shots in a test group makes it more representative of what you can count on all the time.

Shoot four 3- or 5-shot groups. Which one do you want to use as the accuracy level your stuff will shoot all the time?

If you shot those four groups in one composite, it'll be bigger than the largest single group.

If what your stuff does once in a while is OK, shoot a single 3- or 5-shot group and use that as the accuracy. It might be the smallest group ever.

[1stmar]

I'll usually shoot 4-5 5 shot groups each session. If they range from 1.2-1.7 I figure it's a 1.5 moa gun. Then I'll go back for 3 separate subsequent range sessions and repeat. If the results are the same, i call it 1.5 moa and go about my business. If the next session shows 2-2.5 I know something is up. I understand where you are coming from and statistically i agree. But practically, at least for me, to concentrate for 10 shots or 20, odds aren't in my favor. Yea I could take a break but I'm impatient. :-). At least I know it. I look at groups as averages not worse case scenario. Certainly if you can get 20 shots in 1" you can call it 1 moa. But if the 19th shot is out at 1.5 and that's the only flyer are you calling it 1 or 1.5 moa?

[Bart B.]

So, you're OK calling a rifle that shoots st least 1.7 MOA a 1.5 MOA gun?

I call a rifle or ammo's accuracy what the size of the biggest group is. Bad calls aside, there are no fliers at all.

[1stmar]

I'm saying when people talk about group size (or at least when I do) it's an average. It's an average because there are variables, wind, myself, temp etc.. It's not the worse case. Now it's an average within an acceptable range. I wouldn't say it was a 1.5 moa gun if the groups were 1-3". But yes if it was 1.2-1.7, yea I'd call it 1.5 moa. As long as it was repeatable. Some days I'm off. That's not the gun or the load. If you shoot a 20 shot group into 1.5" is it a 1.5moa gun? Suppose you come back next week and there is 20mph or 30 degree temp increase, or your having trouble focusing, and it shoots 2 moa? Is it now 2 moa? I guess it depends partly on your intent. If your hunting, you probably don't care about groups. If I came out 30 times and my first shot hit the same poi but it couldn't group 3 shots, I probably wouldn't care. Like wise if you are competing and shooting 20-50 shots then maybe 20 shot groups is the way to go. I don't do either. But I shoot 5 shot strings, I feel like that is a balance between my skill, the load and the gun. 20 shots for me, places too much emphasis on my skill and not the weapon. As long as each range session i can repeat it..

[hooligan1]

I agree with all you fellas, and Bart has a point, when seeking a consistant and repeatable handload one can gain confidence with shooting higher round count groups.
When I hone in a load I too use a three round test, and then load a ten round test of same load to prove the loads consistancy.....it covers all bases even myself.

[Bart B.]

Well then, I guess stuff that shoots four groups at 4, 5, 5 and 6 units is just as good as stuff that shoots four groups at 2, 4, 6 and 8 units. They both average 5 so they're both equal in accuracy.

[1stmar]

I don't think that's what I said. To each his own.

[BuckRub]

If some here like to believe that the more shots you shoot to see how a gun groups why not just shoot a even one hundred rounds. If more is better to determine an average shoot just keep shooting.