22-250 Ackley ... finally!

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Legionnaire said:
Loaded up some OCW test loads today. 77 grain Nosler Custom Competition bullets over six different charges of H414. Hoping to get out next Saturday.
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Maybe you should try h380 think that's where it got it's name 38 grains in a 22-250. Tho don't know if it will work with the heavys.

All these ackleys lately are making me want another one lol, my have to pull the barrel on my ss 700.
 
Not yet. I got a good deal on 1K of the Noslers, so I have a lot of them to go through (I can also shoot them in my 8-twist .223). But I may have to pick up a box of the 88s to see how they do.
 
troy fairweather said:
Maybe you should try h380 think that's where it got it's name 38 grains in a 22-250. Tho don't know if it will work with the heavys.

All these ackleys lately are making me want another one lol, my have to pull the barrel on my ss 700.
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Since it works well in the non AI version with light bullets, you would need a step slower for the AI version and even slower for heavier bullets.
I think he's on the right track with h414/w760.
 
I’ve really had fun working up loads for my son’s 223 using 90g Berger VLDs. If your 22-250 is throated for the longer bullets and you have a twist in the 1:7 range you might try them. They have a lot of accuracy potential at longer ranges
 
Disappointing day Saturday. The rifle didn't like my 77 grain Nosler test loads. Top load of 40.3 grains of H414 pushed them along at 3,275 with no pressure signs, but only grouped right at one inch. 40.0 grains was close in velocity and shot as accurately, so likely a node there. One of my 40.0 grain loads hit 3,300 for some reason, and showed a cratered primer. As I was fastidiously careful weighing charges and grouping bullets by weight for the test, not sure what happened there.

I have a couple other powders to try. Limited data out there for the Ackley version, but QuickLoad indicates RL16 has promise. May try that one next.
 
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Legionnaire said:
Disappointing day Saturday. The rifle didn't like my 77 grain Nosler test loads. Top load of 40.3 grains of H414 pushed them along at 3,275 with no pressure signs, but only grouped right at one inch. 40.0 grains was close in velocity and shot as accurately, so likely a node there. One of my 40.0 grain loads hit 3,300 for some reason, and showed a cratered primer. As I was fastidiously careful weighing charges and grouping bullets by weight for the test, not sure what happened there.

I have a couple other powders to try. Limited data out there for the Ackley version, but QuickLoad indicates RL16 has promise. May try that one next.
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I would think that 4451 i4831 and one of the 4350s should be on the list, ball powders aren't bad, but definitely potentially more finicky than I would like
Eta than in my normal conditions 4451 gets the nod first for temp stability.
 
I have both IMR and H 4350 in hand. Started with H414 because QL suggested it as more efficient. As I say, several on hand to try.
 
Last night I built my next set of pressure test rounds. Eight rounds each of Varget, H4350, IMR4350, and RL16, all under 77 grain Nosler Custom Competitions. The loads for the first three were pretty easy to extrapolate from available 22-250 data supplemented by QuickLoad. Not much data on RL16 for the 22-250 out there. I did find a load from Speer with a 70 grain pill. Cross referencing that with QuickLoad, I determined what should be a safe starting load. QL predicts RL16 should be the most efficient of the powders, yielding the highest velocity for a given pressure level. Looking forward to the next range trip.
 
Finally got back to the range today. Sunny, 61°, light wind from 2 o'clock. Fought a bit with my LabRadar before I got it set up to record everything. I wasn't shooting for groups; just pressure testing several powders. Varget shot a pattern with the 77 grain Nosler Custom Competitions; IMR-4350 was better, but not great. H-4350 was more promising, putting all eight test rounds into an inch. RL-16 did the same, and at higher velocity. None of my "max loads" showed any signs of pressure, so I still have room to work with. Think I'll work up some OCW loads with H-4350 and RL-16 before the next outing.

And I have acquired some 88 grain Hornady ELDs to test, too.
 
I have found H414 to work very well with 52-69 grain bullets in my .22-250 AI , with 14" or 8" twists. I go to 40 grains (max, or close . ! ) H4350 with Federal 210 M (edited from magnum, M means Match) primers in the heavy bullet loads in the 8" twist rifle I have. I loved the now discontinued 75 grain Amax in got 1/2 MOA from it at 200 yards , which to me is a more valid test range for such. The Muzzle velocities were at 3375 from a 26" barrel with no signs of pressure . I ordered the new "A" tipped 90 grains with aluminum tips to try , but those things are expensive, so that will keep my round count down ! I don't want to kill the barrel, just develop an optimum load sighted in at 200 yards with the Vortex 6-24 Viper , and carry it in my safe in my Pickup for those special shots :)
 
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Legionnaire said:
Back in February, I kicked off this thread about the .22-250 cartridge. I really wasn't in the market for a new rifle at the time, even though I was slowly assembling parts for the next build. By the end of the thread, though, the enablers here on THR (you know who you are) had me convinced that I "needed" a .22-250 Ackley Improved.

So here's a shot of some of the parts of my second budget build. I bought the trued 700 SA from Old Dominion Custom Rifles and the HS Precision VSF stock via AccurateShooter. I bought the Timney 510 second-hand but unused from a guy who decided to go a different direction. Not sure when or where I picked up the bottom metal. The Vortex HS-T 6-24X50 was second-hand from Sniper's Hide. The EGW recoil lug and Leupold Mark IV rings are new; I had the 20 MOA Leupold base in my stash.

View attachment 855252

The barrel is a 24-inch 8-twist Remage from McGowen bought on sale. However, the barrel did not initially screw into the action. I took both down to a local custom gun builder and he verified that the problem was the threads on the barrel rather than the action. I called McGowen, and they said "Send it back. And if you'll send us the action, we'll get the barrel right and install and headspace it for you." So that's what I did. They had it back to me in a week.

I needed to enlarge the recoil lug slot in the VSF stock, but 10 minutes with a Dremel did that easily enough. Last night I assembled the rifle, and this evening I mounted the scope. I think it came together nicely.

View attachment 855253

I already built 50 fire-forming loads: 55 grain Sierra spitzers over 35.0 grains of IMR 4320 in new Winchester brass. So now I'm hoping that schedule and temperature allow me to get to the range Saturday morning for a shakedown cruise. It has been very hot, so I doubt I'll be able to get through 50 rounds. But I hope to be able to break in the barrel and procure a sufficient number of fire-formed Ackley cases to start thinking about proper load development.

And to all you enablers? Thanks!
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Looks great, but I'd put a skim-coat of epoxy bedding and if not already done, liberally free-float the barrel. If it doesn't shoot at least 1/2 MOA with handloads, it should be done.
 
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