.22-250 Remington Re-barrel

[Doug in Alaska]

I've have a Remington 700 ADL in .22-250 I bought when I was a kid (first credit union loan when I was 14). It was stolen from my dad's house in 1980 (Idaho) while I was in Colorado working construction. About eight years ago my dad called and said the ISP had returned the rifle after finding it while investigating a domestic violence call. I flew to Idaho and brought the rifle home to Alaska with me. The rifle was refinished in Black T, a factory Remington synthetic stock added and topped with a Leupold 3x9. It was a tack driver when I was a kid but now won't group under 1 1/2" except with 40gr. bullets and the groups still aren't great. I suspect the barrel was shot out while it was stolen. I've removed the copper fowling and things haven't improved. I'm thinking about re-barreling it for .22-250AI and having the action squared and lugs lapped. I will probably shoot mostly 52-55gr. bullets and 40gr. when I want to crank up the velocity. What barrel length do you guys recommend? I'm leaning toward a 24" since this will be a light weight varmint gun but would consider 26" if the gain would be worth it. Perhaps a #2 with minimal fluting would be the ticket. Also, what do think about a 9 twist? I may occasionally shoot 70 grain bullets but not all that often.

Thanks for your help,
Doug in Alaska

 

[johnnyk]

Doug,
I think that's a great idea. I've always wanted a AI version of the .22 Varminter. Great little round in it's standard form, and I've grown to dislike the standard 1-14" twist that Remington uses. I've had my eye on the Savages as they offer the 1-9" twist which I think would better suit the round's capabilities. To me the .223 would be better suited with 1-14" for a varmint gun.
I would go with the 26" tube, to get all the extra velocity and distance which I suppose the AI version offers. I've never owned a .22-250AI and the only source I have (Nosler #6) to go on has the .22-250 with a 24" barrel and the .22-250 AI with a 26" pipe. So it's not exactly apples to apples.
Good luck with your project and keep us up to date. Would love to see some pics of the finished rifle. JohnnyK.

 

[Doug in Alaska]

johnnyk,

Thanks for the response; I appreciate the feedback. I talked with the smith at the custom shop today and he recommends nothing faster that a 12 twist for the bullets I intend to shoot. What do you think?

 

[johnnyk]

Doug,
He's closer to being right than I am. My judgement is clouded somewhat as I have always had a hankering for a fast twist .22-250AI. I "think I want" the 1-9" to shoot the 69-75gn pills through the AI and those bullet's would give me the best of both worlds in the .22 centerfire arena. A heavy enough bullet so it's not tossed about too bad by the wind and yet still light enough to be able to get some good velocities for the longrange performance we're all after.
Nosler's #6 list the heavy (69/77/80gn) bullets for the .22-250 but not for the AI version. Comparing the two cartridges with the 60gn bullets doesn't show a lot of difference in velocity overall until you look at the comparable powders. RL15 shows just shy of 100fps, Varget shows 101fps difference, IMR4895; 12fps and IMR4064; 72fps.
Not a big difference according to Nosler's testing but the lighter pills (40/50/52gn) show 150-200fps. That's a little better.
I know the 1-9 twist will shoot the 55-69gn range great. I never tried anything lighter, but I don't see why it wouldn't. Maybe someone else can/will chime in. The 1-12 twist is right at home in the weight range you listed in your original post.
I guess I expect too much from the little case, I just hate to be limited to the lighter bullets with that "horsepower" available to launch the heavier pills.
One advantage for the AI version I've read is the lack of case stretch compared to the parent case. Seems I was forever trimming my .22-250 brass, probably because I loaded toward the top end. JohnnyK.