recommendations for 22-250 loads

[Matthew Gregory]

After a long hiatus with shooting rifles, I've recently acquired a Remington 700 VSSF chambered in 22-250 with the goal of using it for coyote within 200 yards. Does anyone have any suggestions for bullet and load combinations for this round with that particular animal?

I've been out of the game a long time - can't believe how many new bullets are available!

 

[backwoods83]

Winchester cases, reloader 10x, 40grn nosler ballistic tips, CCI BR2 primers.

I use this combo with 35.5grns 10x with a 2.355 OAL gives me 10 shot dime sized groups at 100yrds and averages 4220fps through the chrony from a 24" barrel, but be careful, start at about 34grns 10x and work up, at 35.5grns mine starts to show slight signs of pressure when the temp goes above 80*

 

[B23]

That rifle has a 1-14tw, if it's the factory barrel, so bullet selection will be limited to the 55's and lighter and it's possible some of the 55ish bullets may not even work. I've used lots of the 40gr Balistic tips on yotes in my little .223 and it kills them just as dead as my 6-284.

I'm a big fan of the temp stable powders so I would probably use Varget and 52Amax. Maybe even buy a box of Hornady's Superformance ammo loaded with the new 53Vmax and see if they will shoot in your gun. It's still questionable whether or not the new 53Vmax will work in a 1-14tw barrel, even at 22-250 launch speeds. The cheapest way you'll find out is to buy a box of their Superformance loaded ammo and see for yourself.

 

[Matthew Gregory]

Yup, the 1-14" is certainly a limitation with the heavier bullets... I assumed I'd have to stick in the 40-45 grain realm. I was concerned that the little pills running at 22-250 velocities would have a predisposition to explode before getting any penetration, as MOST of my shots will likely be within 100 yards...

A friend of mine suggested avoiding bullets like the Barnes TSX, as ricochets become a pretty definite concern at these ranges. Perhaps the 40 grain VMax's?

 

[B23]

I'm a big fan of Amax and Balistic tip bullets. I used to use 40BT in one of my .223's and they shot great but now I've switched over to the 52Amax and I like they're performance even better.

In your 1-14tw 22-250 I would think Benchmark or Varget and those 52Amax would be a smoking combo. You could probably sing those little buggers out the business end of that 26in barrel around 3700-3900fps.

 

[Browninglover1]

I have a Remington 700 VLS and it LOVES a 55 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip in front of 35 grains of Varget. This combination has shot less than 1/2 inch (but usually between .5-.75") at 100 yards and I've had many groups in the 1.5 inch range at 300 yards with the same combo.

My gun shot the Hornady 55 grain V-Max better at 100 yards but groups had opened up to 3 inches at 300 yards so I stuck with the Nosler. I've hit coyotes with both bullets and the BT's seemed to cause less pelt damage but this goes against all of my Uncle's experiences with both bullets so I don't know which will be the best fur bullet for you.

My gun didn't particularly like any bullets less than 55 grains and I'm not sure why. But I know that the 40 grain BT from my 223 has absolutely smoked everything I've ever shot with it so if you're gun shoots them well they will be absolute screamers out of a 250.

Good luck finding your load!

 

[B23]

I believe the balistic tip bullets have a little thicker jacket than the Vmax which is why I liked them, in the 40gr version, for shooting coyotes better than the 40Vmax. If you are shooting sage rats or PD's and want more of that explosive effect the Vmax is the better choice. For me, the Amax seems to shoot more like a balistic tip. I agree, I think a bullet choice in the 50ish range would be a better choice than the 40's.

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

With the 1-14 twist the best bullet I have found is the Nosler custom 52 grain match bullet. In 22-250 the best accuracy load I have found is 39 grains of H-4895 with a cci 200 primer. I have shot thousands of rounds with that load in several 22-250's. It is great from prairie dogs to coyotes.

 

[Trickymissfit]

After a long hiatus with shooting rifles, I've recently acquired a Remington 700 VSSF chambered in 22-250 with the goal of using it for coyote within 200 yards. Does anyone have any suggestions for bullet and load combinations for this round with that particular animal?

I've been out of the game a long time - can't believe how many new bullets are available!

try 35.5 grains of IMR 3031 and a Sierra #1365 bullet for about 3600fps. My Savagee shoots in the high twos with this combo. But if the groups fail to appear, then try a different brand of bullet as the B/C may be too high for a 14 twist barrel
gary

 

[Trickymissfit]

That rifle has a 1-14tw, if it's the factory barrel, so bullet selection will be limited to the 55's and lighter and it's possible some of the 55ish bullets may not even work. I've used lots of the 40gr Balistic tips on yotes in my little .223 and it kills them just as dead as my 6-284.

I'm a big fan of the temp stable powders so I would probably use Varget and 52Amax. Maybe even buy a box of Hornady's Superformance ammo loaded with the new 53Vmax and see if they will shoot in your gun. It's still questionable whether or not the new 53Vmax will work in a 1-14tw barrel, even at 22-250 launch speeds. The cheapest way you'll find out is to buy a box of their Superformance loaded ammo and see for yourself.

the 53 grain Vmax won't work in a 14 twist barrel very well, as the bullet computes to a ragged 13 twist minimum (figured on a .29 B/C). But 55 grain Vmax bullets will work very well with a 14 twist
gary

 

[backwoods83]

Tricky I'm not bashing you or arguing but blame the twist rate restriction on the length of the bullets actual bearing surface and not its coefficient, tangent ogive with short 15* boattail has a long bearing surface but the same weight bullet with a secant ogive and a long 11* boattail will have a much shorter bearing surface, conditions and how fast you can make it leave the barrel also play a big part in stabilizing a bullet. Good luck.

 

[Trickymissfit]

Tricky I'm not bashing you or arguing but blame the twist rate restriction on the length of the bullets actual bearing surface and not its coefficient, tangent ogive with short 15* boattail has a long bearing surface but the same weight bullet with a secant ogive and a long 11* boattail will have a much shorter bearing surface, conditions and how fast you can make it leave the barrel also play a big part in stabilizing a bullet. Good luck.

opinions will vary
gary