22-250 or Swift & 22 cal VLD's?

[Chopaka81]

My goal is to build a LR Pairie Dog / F-Class rifle.

I recently read the article that appeared in varmint hunter magazine regarding the use of 75 gr & 80 gr VLD's. The bbls were 1:8 twist. It is a very intriguing idea - wonder if anyone here is using them?

Apparently some are having success in F Class competitions too.

 

[TAC]

I have a fast twist 22-250 and shoot 75gr A-Maxes. The BC is reported to be .435 which is just okay. If you want to shoot the 90gr Sierras you better have a 1 in 6.5 or 1 in 7 twist barrel.

I think a fast twist 6Br or 243 would be a better choice for varminting and open F class. A 105gr A-Max will stabilize in most 243's with a 1-9.25 twist barrel and they have a BC of .500. If you get a 1 in 8 twist you can shoot 107gr Sierras which stay above .500 all the way down to 1600 fps. ...Also, 243's are just wicked on P dogs.

I don't want to talk you out of the fast twist 22-250, after all I do own one; but with that being said my 243AI is my go to gun for long range varminting.


TAC

 

[Chopaka81]

TAC,
Good point, one of the contributing factors for choosing the swift is that I have dies for it.
You bring up the 6mm's... I do have a Ruger #1 in 6mm Rem. It shoots 5 shots into the 4's with the Sierra 100gr SBT. I will do a little more range work, perhaps switching the scopes out might be the proper solution for the time being. Not sure what twist the Ruger has, it is a bi-centenial rifle. I will have to look into that possibility. Exbal here I come...
I had such a great time shooting PD's that I am itching to go deeper - much deeper.
Thanks for the advise!

 

[Chopaka81]

Just ran the numbers on the Sierra 100gr GK @ 3000fps vs. the 107gr MK @ 2900 fps.

Looks like the MK has about 3" less deflection with a 10mph cross wind the the GK @ 500yds.

Not sure if I would be able to tell the difference in the field. Looks like one could benefit from the MK's higher BC in energy. I will have to see if the #1 will stabilize the MK.

Very interesting indeed. Looks like I may have to do a trigger job in the #1. The war dept will love that...

 

[TAC]

I don't know if you've messed with your #1 trigger before... they are a difficult to work on and a pain in the butt to get to. Then again, If you're getting that kind of accuracy out of it I wouldn't mess with it.

Depending on the age of your 6mm you may have a1 in 12 or a 1 in 10 twist barrel - most likely the 1 in 10 if you're stabilizing the 100 gr SBT. Try the 105 A-Max first, a lot of guys can still stabilize those in a 1 in 10.

If you're thinking of re barreling the 220 swift don't let the dies be a consideration since you can sell then on this site along with your brass. Also do rule out the 115 DTACS from David Tubb for an all out long range rifle... DavidTubb.com.html



TAC

 

[johnmyers]

I have a 22-250 with a 1:8 twist Pacnor shooting 80gr smk's at 3230fps. This a really good set up for long range pds. There is not much difference with this and a 6mm with 107's at 3050fps out to 1200yds. This is actual side by shooting with both. I think you would like it, however the available brass might be an issue. If doing this again I might consider a 22br or a 6x47 in order to use Lapua brass. Good luck.

 

[sscoyote]

John--Lapua is supposed to be coming out with 22-250 brass soon.

 

[jghoghunter]

Stick with swift or the swift improved and never look back. If you want something fast or to push the heavy bullets start with the biggest boiler room and go from there. I've killed pd out to 8-900 yds with a 220 rocket or swift improved with 50 gr nosler bt. I have 2 one in a ruger #1b and another custom mauser that will shoot in the high .1's on a good day.

On the other hand the 243 or 6mm is really the way to go. I built a full out bench gun in 243 set up to shoot the 115 berger vlds. It shoots like a house a fire and helped me get in the top 10 out of 300 guns at the Williamsport World Open 1000yd match this year. I also took it to SD and had some kills out to 8-900 yds this year.

 

[acloco]

Because I could.....I built a 222 Magnum AI. Why? I had a 223 AI reamer, 204 Ruger brass (222 Mag necked down to 20 caliber), and a 1:8 twist Shilen Select Match stainless barrel.

Using 80 gr AMax's, 3100 fps is providing excellent accuracy, very good brass life (I am not pushing it that hard), and the 80's hit hard for caliber at extended ranges.

The 243/6mm's would do a bit better at extended ranges though with the heavier bullets as explained in the post above.

 

[johnmyers]

Any idea when on the 22-250 Lapua brassgun)

 

[436]

I've shot many rounds in past years in both .22-250 and the .220 Swift both for Coyotes and Rock Chucks I found both to be up to the job with out question. But if you have a .220 Swift that running right, it's a phenomenal cartridge. My last .220 Swift was a Remington M700 it was absolutely magic. The Nosler 55gr BT at 3900 fps was laser flat. Many say there's no real difference between the too, however in the field it a very different story, it's kinda like a bumble bee aero dynamically not being able to fly on paper, but in fact'…, it fly's very well. Another field finding of mine; was that my .220 Swift's always seem to be a little more accurate than my .22-250's…. over all. One more myth is that the .220 Swift was a barrel burner, I've shot one pot load of rounds in all the .220 Swift's I had; with proper cleaning care, they shot just has long as my .22 250's or any other high velocity cartridge I hunted with.
So I believe the case I'd pick {between the two} as a long range heavy bullet platform would be the .220 Swift with a 1:6.5 twist barrel 28" inches long using 90gr Sierra MK' or 90gr JLK's.
I'd pick the .220 Swift if I could only have one high velocity Yote rifle with heavy bullets
436

 

[jghoghunter]

436,
I'm the same as you I have 1700+ full power 220 rocket loads thru my #1 and last year before we went to SD my cousin shot a .438 or so with it for 5 shots at 100yds. They don't burn barrels anymore than any other high vel. cartridge.

 

[rdsii64]

If you want to knock off P=dogs pick one and start kill'n. Now F-class is a different story. If you don't shoot a .223 or a .308 you can't compete in F T/R you are going to have to compete in F-open. they call it open for a reason. All of the calibers mentions may fly strait and kill dogs at long range. The problem is when you are on the F-class line you are competing againts the likes of the 6.5-284, the 6mm-284, and Something I recently heard of (can't confirm this yet) the 6mm-300 which uses a necked down 300 short magnum case. you will be competing with anything less than 35 caliber. all of these will out shoot the 22-250 or the swift when you are talking about hold the x-ring at 1000 yards. Another problem you will run into is an F open gun can weight up to 22 pounds. the big magnums you will have to compete againts don't hurt and be shot repeatedly and well when the gun weighs 22 pounds. What I'm getting at is while the calibers you mentioned can and will hit targets in the next zip code they will get bet up pretty bad with the likes of what you will find at an F open category match.

My personal advise is build a heavy F-class gun for long range targets and build a varmint gun for kill'n

 

[Exhaust3]

I have a 22-250 with a 1:8 twist Pacnor shooting 80gr smk's at 3230fps. This a really good set up for long range pds. There is not much difference with this and a 6mm with 107's at 3050fps out to 1200yds. This is actual side by shooting with both. I think you would like it, however the available brass might be an issue. If doing this again I might consider a 22br or a 6x47 in order to use Lapua brass. Good luck.

johnmyers,
I too shoot a 22-250 pac-nor ss 1-8" twist and I am wondering what load you are using. I am working up a load using H-100V and RL-17, both powders are showing great signs using heavy bullets. My current load is 36.5gr. H-4350 under a 75gr A-Max. and that is running about 3200 fps.