22-250 and 90 gr Bergers for target and deer?

[ajhardle]

I've been contemplating my next rifle, and keep coming back to this combo. The ballistics are phenomenal and reduced recoil sounds fantastic. Right now I've got a .223 that grouping vertically around 1000 yards and a 300 rum that is no fun to shoot because it hurts in the shoulder and the wallet. So, does anyone have any personal experience shooting 90 gr Bergers with a 22-250?

 

[Wlhofer]

Personally i think the .224 is to small for a quick clean kill on deer or big game
but i have been wrong before

 

[ajhardle]

I think if the hunter has the self control to wait for a broad side shot, bullet fragments spread throughout the vitals will leave a devastating wound cavity, just not the deepest. Antelope or similar sized critters would be dispatched easily with the right bullet, I would think.

Anyways, the 90 gr Bergers are for target shooting, and that's what I do most.

 

[inmate]

90 Burgers are too tight to expand in deer. Unless you drill the hollow point to allow this. 55 Gr Nosler ballistic tip and deer drop like lightning. Lung shots will blow both lungs and drop quickly. Friend went through a pile of bullets before he found the 55 BT. Was by accident and shot several on crop damage to try it out.
Works well.

I've been contemplating my next rifle, and keep coming back to this combo. The ballistics are phenomenal and reduced recoil sounds fantastic. Right now I've got a .223 that grouping vertically around 1000 yards and a 300 rum that is no fun to shoot because it hurts in the shoulder and the wallet. So, does anyone have any personal experience shooting 90 gr Bergers with a 22-250?

 

[ejg]

Tried the 55gr Nosler BT and found them hot and cold. Sometimes overexpansion and sometimes they ****ed through fox. The 52gr Nosler custom match seemed much more consistant in accuracy and over 100 foxes later also more consistant in bullet expansion. We also took a few sika deer with the 52 Nos CC which performed perfectly but that was only out to 200m.
The 69gr Nos CC also works very well on deer and fox but I only tried out of a 223.
I was thinking of a similar project but read that one can run into problems with heavy bergers out a 22-250 with a fast twist as they might fall apart due to the thin jacket.?
Maybe check with the F/TR guys who run 223's at the ragged edge.
edi

 

[weird1]

I am sure you have considered it, but why not a 243 or 6mm Rem. Same advantages as the 22-250 with a 90 grain pill. but better throat life, faster, more bullet choices....

 

[liltank]

I've been contemplating this same set up. I've decided to go with the 75 or 80 A-max in a 1-8 twist. Should work really well. It's been suggested to me to keep the velocity down around 2850 which means greater throat life.

Tank

 

[ajhardle]

I've have been contemplating a 6mm, but (taking numbers from Berger's reloading manual) a 22-250 can shoot a .281 b.c. @ 3072fps. A .243 Winchester can shoot a .278 b.c. @2893 fps.

Doesn't higher b.c. and higher velocity sound better?

(just as a trivial fact: at 1000 yards, the 22 carries more energy.)

 

[weird1]

Nosler book has
6mm Rem and 243 Win

.315@3300
.365 and .364 @3100fps

Hornady book has

6mm Rem and .243 Win

.355, .381 and .405 @ 3000fps

 

[ajhardle]

Those are all G1 b.c's. Bergers are .551 and 547. Anyway, I'd prefer G7's.

When 6mm bullets don't have a higher b.c., I'd just as soon skip up to a 6.5, but I really want to know if that 90 gr Berger is a awesome as it appears.

 

[weird1]

Thanks for pointing out the g7 I overlooked that. I don't know about the 90's performance on game sorry.

 

[Rimfire]

I would shoot a 6mm Dtac 585bc. The 22's are fun and i hunted with someone running 90 grain SMK's out of a 223 wssm at 3050 and the were hell on speed goats. The 90's can take a little work but shoot great.

For target mostly I would take a good look at a 6br or 6xc

 

[liltank]

I just crunched the numbers on the 22-250 using a 1:8 twist barrel. At 3050fps which is very attaiable, you can keep the bullet stabilized in my current conditions. My conditions are 558ft, 30.05baro, 35deg, and 72% humidity. It gave a stability factor of 1.02 (from my understanding 1.00 is the minimum number for stability). It's just on the edge of not stabilizing. Using normal summer conditions, it is much better. That is going by the numbers though. In reality, it could be much different.

 

[ajhardle]

I'm going to get another replacement barrel for my savage model 12, so I would go with a 1 in 7.5 twist. I'm at 4300 ft altitude, so stability shouldn't be an issue.

It's the 57" drift predicted for a 10 mph cross wind that has got my attention. At 1000 yards.