need help with 22-250 load

[bigsal5353]

hello everyone.. been reading the board for a few months but this is my first post. shootin a savage in 22-250. shot hogs out past 400 yds last year with 50 gr v-max. Im tryin to see how far i can get... im shooting the best load i can get out of hang loads. at 100yds puttin 3 shots in same hole.
heres the prob. shootin at 450 yds.(not ideal conditions) its been right around 50 degrees with about 5 mph wind and humid.anyways, i cant keep a good group. im within 1.5" vertically,... but the wind is spreading my 5 shot groups out by 5 or 6 inches.. i was thinkin about shootin 60 gr a-max? anyone have a good load worked up? and one have a better suggestion? also.. doesn anyone know what kind drop im gonna be gettin with a 60 gr a max.. i have a drop chart on the 50gr vmax out to 550yds.. but no idea what the 60's will do? thanks to anyone that can respond... bigsal

 

[LDO]

need more info-what twist?,what powder? etc.............dave

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Welcome to the home of longrange shooters.

I shot a 22-250 for many years while hunting Pa groundhogs. For shooting longrange it is hard to beat the 55gr poly tip bullets @ max velocity. Nosler, Hornady and Sierra all make them and I'm sure that you can get one or more of them to shoot in your rifle. Custom match bullets may provide you witha slightly higher BC and a little less wind drift. In a factory rifle they may, or may not, shoot more accurately.
The 60gr bullets often will not shoot well in many factory 22-250 rifles. A faster twist is generally required to stabilize these long/heavy bullets.

Frankly, IMO you are at the outer limits of the 22-250 when shooting at 450yds. Beyond that is where the 6mm's really begin to shine. Here, 70-90gr .243 varmint bullets perform much better than anything you can shoot from the 22-250.

Doping the wind is without a doubt the most difficult problem for a longrange shooter. Bullet drop is very predictable and consistent, but windage considerations are always variable and changing. It takes a long time to learn how to read the wind over a long distance and even longer to apply the proper amount of kentuky windage. It is often this very skill that separates the "men" from the "boys" in the loooong range game.
I have been shooting for MANY years but still consider myself one of the "boys".

Spend some time here reading and learning and you will become a much more knowledgable long range shooter.

This is where I calculate my bullet drop and windage -

Ballistic Calculator

VH

[ 03-04-2004: Message edited by: Varmint Hunter ]

 

[Bill D.]

I get the best results in my standard 22-250 with 36gr. IMR4895 behind a 55gr. V-Max. I tried the Noselers, and the Sierra poly tiped bullets, the Hornadys worked the best. I have shot several chucks out to and beyond 400 yards with this load. I have a 22-250Ackley Improved tight neck Lilja 3 groove barrel, for a little more range. I use the 6-284 for the long range chucks.
Bill

 

[bigsal5353]

thanks for replys guys...
6brguy....1 in 12 twist... right now shootin 50gr vmax... thinkin of moving to 60 gr a max. dont have my papers in front of me right now.. pretty sure have these 50 gr v-max loaded with 38grns of imr4350....

varmithunter... few questions...
u said to try 55 gr polys.. are these the a-max bullet? what type of powder and charge did u use? do u have the drop charts? i agree that the 22-250 isntthe best choice for over 400 but till i get some money for a custom 330rum... the 22-250 is all i got? is a 1 in 12 rot enough for the 60 grn bullet? thanks for the advice and any additional advice u could send my way

 

[Guest]

The 55gr bullets may have a little better BC , Hornady only makes the A-max bullet in 52 and 75gr for the .224 caliber.
Out of the several Savage 22-250 barrels I have shot they all semed to like the 52gr A-max over the 55gr V-max , not sure which one has the better BC but I would think they are very close.
As for the 60gr bullets , Hornady makes a 60gr V-max , I've tried them in several guns with twist from 1-14 to 1-8 and they never shot better than the 55gr V-max did.

You could try some differan't powders to get better velocity's , in every 22-250 I've ever delt with I got the best velocity with H-380 powder and all the guns seemed to get more accurate the hotter the loads got with this powder. BUT , H380 is temp sensitive so you'll have to keep that in mind , for this reason I use Varget mostly.
My factory Savage SS barrel in 22-250 shoots its bets groups with 37gr of Varget with a 55gr V-max , and its getting a velocity of right at 3790fps . That load is 2 full gr above the Nosler max but it showes no pressure signs in MY gun with fire formed Winchester brass.
I've gotten up above 3900fps with H-380 and some flat primers and short brass life.

On another note i've had some good results with 64gr Bergers to they have a BC of .281 and work realy well on deer with a velocity of just over 3600fps and a load of 40gr of
H-380 , this load will flatten primers in my gun if the temp is above 60deg.

 

[bigsal5353]

thanks jdjones 75 and to the others that answered... im gonna have to do some more readin and im gonna try 2 or 3 different loads that you guys suggested .. hopefully i can shoot again this weekend.. big sal

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Most factory 22-250 barrels have a 14" twist which makes them shoot best with bullets between 50gr-55gr. A 60gr V-Max or similar style bullet normally requires a 12" twist for stability. If your rifle has a 12" twist (or faster) then I'd give the 60gr bullet a try.
For many years I shot 52gr match bullets exclusively. They kill varmints decisively but not dramatically, if you know what I mean. IMR 4064 and H380 shot best in my 40x. Eventually the throat receeded and I switched to 55gr B-Tip bullets. These bullets shot tight groups with Varget and were quite reliable out to 400yds or so.
Farther than that, I prefer to shoot a 6mmAI and 70gr or 80gr B-Tip bullets.

Personally, I have seen slightly smaller groups with Nosler B-Tips rather than Hornady V-Max bullets but the V-Max may be a bit more explosive.

The Hornady is an excellent bullet that is preferred by many other shooters.

Choices - choices - choices

VH

 

[Crazycooydog]

What kinda scope on that savage???

I use 38to39gr Re 15 doesn't matter as for groups and 50gr bt's or v-max both shoot the same less than .5 size groups (at 100yds)fed match primmers at 3800-3950fps,It groups between 2-2.5 inch groups at 600 yards.
I have shoot a few 2.5 inch group at 600yds in 6-8 mph wind.

The best 100yd group is .25inch.
The best 600yd group is 2.00inch.
The gun is a factory heavy 26"barrle Rem 700vs 22-250

[ 03-04-2004: Message edited by: Crazycooydog ]

 

[bigsal5353]

scope is a simmons 6x24.... i already know.. you dont have to tell me how important optics are. espically the scope.. but i am in college right now and i dont ahve a 4 or 5 hundred for a descent scope...

 

[Bill D.]

bigsal, Looks like you got a lot of good info to use. Every barrel is different, what shoots out of mine, may not work in yours, so start loading and good luck!
Bill

 

[Crazycooydog]

bigsal5353

Sorry if it sounded like I thought you had a poor qality scope,that was NOT what I was getting at.It was more so the power of the scope,which 24x should be lots.

I have only a bushnell 4x16x50 on my 22-250 Rem,but for my 17 was thinking of one trying the new tasco's.

 

[bigsal5353]

crazycooydog


i didnt think that u implied that i ahve a cheap scope.. I am sayin that i have a cheap scope... it gets the job done but im sure it would make a big difference if i had a leupold or burris or bushnell.. thank you everyone for the responses... i already have 2 different loads made up

 

[sscoyote]

Hey Bigsal-- you might take a look at the LD JLK bullets-- 52 gr. (BC=.309)-14 twist, 60 gr. (BC=.339)-12 twist. May not work for terminal ballistics, but worth a try with those BC figures.

JLK= 479-331-4194