Reloading the .22-250

[joed]

The runout seems to be fine, they chamber fine too. I had the bullets seated to 2.40" which was off the lands. I'm still thinking it's the powder, especially after hearing others haven't had good luck with H380.

 

[Damon555]

IMR 4064 has worked in every 22-250 I shot it in. Give it a shot. I loaded for a friends Savage and shot a 1/4 group with it once. I haven't shot a better group with any rifle since then....

 

[ole farmerbuck]

Like i said, my gun wont shoot 41grains but by golly it'll shoot 40 grains! I tried seating them out to 2.360 and longer but that dont work. Mine has to be 2.350. This was from today after p-dog hunting.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

Ole farmerbuck, I just looked at their online data and they posted 41. But like you said, sometimes the posted is too much.

Yea the newer dats shows that but the older shows start at 36.0 and max at 38.0. 3709 fps for the max.

 

[joed]

Mine has to be 2.350.

That may be the problem too, I was loading the bullets farther out at 2.40. I'll load more this week using Varget, Sierra bullets and a length of 2.350.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

I would give the 380 a try again at 2.350 and see what happens. Another thing, if i dont keep the barrel clean, there goes the groups! I use kroil and hoppes 50/50. Clean it to where you think its clean then soak the barrel good and let sit overnight. Hard to believe what comes out the next morning. Just a thought.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

By the way, that was 3 shots in the pic. Dont want you thinking it was 6 or 7!

 

[StretchNM]

General wisdom says to use lighter than 60 grain bullets with the 1.14 twist, HOWEVER, my Rem 700 VSF shoots every bullet weight (up to 60 Berger varmints) just fine. So, only experimentation will tell if yours will shoot heavier bullets accurately or not.

Most of my bullets are Sierra and Nosler. It could also be what others are suggesting: stock to barrel contact.

All 5-shot groups.
- Speer 50gr TNT, 34.6gr IMR4895, CCI200, OAL 2.400. GRP: .5"
- Sierra 50gr SMP, 34.6gr IMR4895, CCI200, OAL 2.400. GRP: .4"

- Speer 55gr Varmint, 38.0 H380, CCI200, OAL 2.415. GRP: .4"
- Nosler 55gr Bal Tip, 38.0 H380, CCI250M, OAL 2.415. GRP: .7"
- Sierra 55gr SMP, 38.0 IMR4007SSC, WLR, OAL 2.400. GRP: .5"

- Sierra 60gr Varminter, 33.5 IMR4064, CCI200, OAL 2.350. GRP: .271"
- Berger 60gr Varmint, 35.2 IMR4064, CCI250M, OAL 2.490. GRP: .3"

You just have to keep experimenting. Eventually you'll hit on a good powder/primer combination, then you can work on seating depth. Your rifle (unless there's a bedding problem or something) is bound to like something.

 

[twofifty]

I've been reloading for 30+ years for all kinds of cartridges, both rifle and pistol. Recently a friend bought a Rem 700 SPS in .22-250.

Using H380, 55 gr Hornady Vmax bullets and Win LR and Fed BR primers I haven't been able to produce any accurate loads. The gun will shoot 2 shots that are quite good and then produce fliers that are off by 2". Remington factory ammo produces 1/2" to 3/4" groups so I know there is nothing wrong with the gun, it's the loads.

I've tried charges from 38.0 to 39.5 gr with the same results, the groups are all over.

Any suggestions?

At 200yds,
in a 700VS 1/14 twist,
with H380 and WLR primers,
and 55gr Hdy. V-Max,
and a cartridge base-to-ogive length of 2.096" :

37.0 to 38.2gr of H380 yielded groups from 3.250" to 0.679".

You should be able to make this work for you.
Perhaps by experimenting with the COAL.

I find my rifle groups 52gr & 53 gr bullets better than 55s.
Will try the 50gr V-Max next, heard they perform well in 1/14 barrels.

 

[joed]

Round #3 with the 700 SPS.

I took the advice of keeping the length at 2.350" for all ammo. Loaded 20 rounds with the 55 gr Hornady and Varget to a max of 36.0 gr. Groups ran about 1".

Next 20 rounds were kept to max length of 2.350" using H380 and the Sierra 55 gr Spitzer working up to 38.0 gr. Groups instantly closed to under 3/4" until 38.0 gr. At 38.0 gr the groups closed to under 1/2" putting 4 bullets touching each other. Looks like the final load is the one the gun likes.

Interesting that the .22-250 doesn't like the bullets seated out. I can live with that though after the final group.

Thanks all.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

Glad to hear you're winning!

 

[RainDodger]

I've been shooting a Browning B78 .22-250 for about 15 years. I get great results with the Hornady 53 gr. HP Match (bullet #2250), which has a flat base. 34.5 gr. of IMR-4064. It's ~3500 FPS (no chrono), and accurate in my rifle. Another good bullet for me is the Hornady 55 gr. Spitzer, which also has a flat base. I've not had great results with boattail bullets. My rifle is a 1:14 twist. Good luck!

 

[StretchNM]

Joed, now that you've found 38.0 of H380 to work out nice (at 2.350OAL), maybe try inching up on your seating depth maybe .010" or so at a time. Usually when working up a new load, I'll load my cartridges on the "short" side like you did until I find what powder/primer combination works well. Then I'll start easing the bullet out a little longer at a time. Sometimes it helps, sometimes not.

 

[ForneyRider]

Here is my load for the VLS, should be same gun as SPS varmint, save for the stock.

35gr Varget (2gr below max on load data)
CCI 200 primer
Nosler brass, neck sized, trimmed with Lee trimmer.
50gr Hornady V-Max
2.35 COL (SAMMI max)

These are good for 3/8in groups.

I'd work up from min to max in .3gr increments. Then when you find a nice range of charges to work with, pick the best one, and then adjust COL to see if the groups tighten up. Make sure your brass is as uniform as can be.

.22-250 is pretty flexible on powders. Any medium burn rate should work. Some guys are using IMR 3031 in 22-250AI for top speed runs with tiny bullets, and some use slower powders like R15 and R19 even.