Who has built an AR-10 in 22-250 out there? Help me order an outrageously expensive custom barrel, or talk me out of it.....

Another_Kelley

Another_Kelley

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A 1-8 twist 22-250 seems like it would be a dream come true if it functioned even somewhat reliably. I have piles of brass and suitable .224'' bullets from 36gr - 77gr. that I'd like to try and utilize, as well as a Trijicon Accupoint with the triangular target dot that I think would be perfect for such a boom stick. I suppose my primary focus will be loading the lighter 40-50gr bullets as close to light-speed as possible..... but it would be a nice option to utilize 69-77gr match bullets.

Where did you put your gas-port? Will standard rifle, or extended rifle length gas port positioning suffice for a 22'' barrel...? I intend to run it suppressed w/ an adjustable gas block.

Is a 22-250 Ackley Improved chamber even remotely do-able....? Will it destroy the brass or be an issue for some other reason?

Why should I not partake in this endeavor? Thank you for any and all thoughts!
 
InTheSwamp said:
6mm Creedmoor and call it a day.
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Well, that's more wiz-bang for sure but honestly I don't want to fight you jerks trying to aquire 6mm projectiles 😉 I want to use the extensive .224s I already have on hand. Plus I have a little compact 5.56 can rated to handle the extra horse power I wanted to use. I'll be forced into using an 8" 30cal can if I go to a larger bullet diameter.
 
 
Mike Mille at DTec (Dedicated Technology) will build you anything you want and it will run when you get it, I had him build a .358 WSSM that fit the goofy regulations we had for deer hunting. It worked OK, was sub .5 accurate with a Shilen match barrel, but was heavy and ackward. The shine went off in a hurry.

At that time he was building AR’s in .224 WSSM, which I would assume would be in the performance range of .22-250.

I’d personally keep the shot count to about one a minute to optimize barrel life, so the speed advantage of an AR would be lost
 
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I've always thought the 22-250 should be a better 224 Valk, but I haven't built it. The people who push the limit spend more, but have the toys that no one else does, good luck.
 
AJC1 said:
I've always thought the 22-250 should be a better 224 Valk, but I haven't built it. The people who push the limit spend more, but have the toys that no one else does, good luck.
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IMHO the juice just wouldn't be worth the squeeze. The 22-250 used about 1/2 again more powder to get about 10% more velocity. It's gonna eat barrels faster and an AR10 will be heavier and more expensive to build.
I suppose if I already had 22-250 dies and a mound of brass, but even then????
 
mavracer said:
IMHO the juice just wouldn't be worth the squeeze. The 22-250 used about 1/2 again more powder to get about 10% more velocity. It's gonna eat barrels faster and an AR10 will be heavier and more expensive to build.
I suppose if I already had 22-250 dies and a mound of brass, but even then????
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If one wants more quality brass that doesn't smoke primer pockets for a like application seems like a good reason
 
AJC1 said:
If one wants more quality brass that doesn't smoke primer pockets for a like application seems like a good reason
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I suppose if you assume that Starline doesn't make Valkyrie brass and ignore the fact that the guys smoking primer pockets are closing that 10% gap in velocity.
Yes the Federal Valk brass is trash, but the Starline is GTG especially if you don't hot rod the crap outta it.
 
I owned one of the Oly UMAR’s in 22-250, it’s not really an AR-15, and getting them to run in a frankenbuild home brew AR-15 would be really tough.

I’m not terribly certain you can get 77’s to feed in the AR-15 in 22-250 either - the UMAR’s used proprietary mags which allowed the extra length, but that won’t translate to a frankenbuild AR-15, and you’re not getting a 2.4” 22-250 into an AR-15 magazine and mag well.

The benefit isn’t there. I grew up on fast twist 22-250’s, and have abandoned those for 223. It’s just easier, and it does everything I ever did with 22-250. If I really wanted more, again, again, I would keep life simple and use an AR-10 in 22GT or 22 Creed, or even simpler with 6mm versions of either GT or Creed. I COULD be tempted to build a 22 GT in a Ruger SFAR, but their paradigm forces purchasing a complete factory rifle, then spending extra to modify it…

Plainly, I recommend highly against the hassle of a 22-250 home brew AR-15.
 
Varminterror said:
I owned one of the Oly UMAR’s in 22-250, it’s not really an AR-15, and getting them to run in a frankenbuild home brew AR-15 would be really tough.

I’m not terribly certain you can get 77’s to feed in the AR-15 in 22-250 either - the UMAR’s used proprietary mags which allowed the extra length, but that won’t translate to a frankenbuild AR-15, and you’re not getting a 2.4” 22-250 into an AR-15 magazine and mag well.

The benefit isn’t there. I grew up on fast twist 22-250’s, and have abandoned those for 223. It’s just easier, and it does everything I ever did with 22-250. If I really wanted more, again, again, I would keep life simple and use an AR-10 in 22GT or 22 Creed, or even simpler with 6mm versions of either GT or Creed. I COULD be tempted to build a 22 GT in a Ruger SFAR, but their paradigm forces purchasing a complete factory rifle, then spending extra to modify it…

Plainly, I recommend highly against the hassle of a 22-250 home brew AR-15.
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OP asked about AR10
 
d2wing said:
I would go .224 Valk if it was me. But it's you so go for it if you like.
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As much as I love my Valkyrie I'm not sure I'd recommend it as a pure Varmint round it offers little improvement over a plain 5.56 for the expense.
Unless you want to load 80gr VLD/ELD class bullets and shoot past 600 which is what the Valk does well, leave my brass on the shelf lol.
 
The 22-250 AI will give you problems loading out of a magazine in a AR-10 platform, stick with the standard cartridge. Just know that your barrel life will only be around 800 - 1000 rounds depending on how fast you push the velocities.
I'd also buy a quality barrel or two, from a real custom barrel maker, not some place that sells crap made AR barrel's.

I built a 22 Creedmoor bolt action a few years ago, and it shoots like a laser. I ordered two barrel's from X-Caliber and have been very happy with them. I have barrel's from most of the top brand's, and X-caliber will shoot with the best of them. I got right at 1000 rounds out of my first 22 CM barrel before it started opening up and I swapped out barrel's.
I only shoot 75 - 80 - and 88 grain bullets out of mine and it shoots 5 shot groups like this pretty often-
r4uuvKJ.jpg
 
Txhillbilly said:
The 22-250 AI will give you problems loading out of a magazine in a AR-10 platform, stick with the standard cartridge. Just know that your barrel life will only be around 800 - 1000 rounds depending on how fast you push the velocities.
I'd also buy a quality barrel or two, from a real custom barrel maker, not some place that sells crap made AR barrel's.

I built a 22 Creedmoor bolt action a few years ago, and it shoots like a laser. I ordered two barrel's from X-Caliber and have been very happy with them. I have barrel's from most of the top brand's, and X-caliber will shoot with the best of them. I got right at 1000 rounds out of my first 22 CM barrel before it started opening up and I swapped out barrel's.
I only shoot 75 - 80 - and 88 grain bullets out of mine and it shoots 5 shot groups like this pretty often-
r4uuvKJ.jpg
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What kind of velocity do you get with 80s and what barrel length?
 
I didn’t have trouble with any of the AI and sharp shoulder cartridges I ever built in AR’s. I’m sure if I were running a machine gun with chrome lined, rack grade battle rifles, the opportunity could present itself, but I build civilian semi-auto AR’s to run, so they run.
 
I have seen a few advertised over the years, and I always wondered about magazines. The parent case of 22-250 is the .250 Savage. I have never heard of any magazines for this cartridge family being made for AR-10s. My stubborn brain trusts Pmags and I tend to eschew anything else in either platform.

Personally, I had inherited my dad's Remington 700 VSSF in 22-250, and I loved it, the very first rifle handloads I ever did were .5 MOA, but I gave it to my brother when I built an AR-10 in .243 with a 1/8 barrel. Now I use that for everything deer-size and smaller. (I'm sure it would be fine for bigger things too, but I have other options so I use them.)
 
mljdeckard said:
The parent case of 22-250 is the .250 Savage. I have never heard of any magazines for this cartridge family being made for AR-10s.
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The base of the 22-250 is nearly identical to that of the 308, for which AR-10/SR25 mags are designed, but it’s the extreme taper of the 22-250 case which causes problems. They feed fine with only a few rounds in the magazine, but the narrow shoulder starts causing issues. Blowing out to 22-250 AI actually helps feeding in higher round count magazines, removing much of that taper. But in an AR-10, we’re still talking about a 2.4” cartridge in a 2.8” mag, lots of lost opportunity, and still too much room to move during the feeding cycle to really trust them, so when it comes to AR platforms, the 22-250 is a beast of no nation, too long for the 15, too short for the 10.
 
No one mentioned it yet so I will: launching lite varmint bullet at warp speed from a fast twist barrel may give you problems of the bullets coming apart halfway to the target. Just something to think about.
 
Thank you fellas for all the input thus far! I think the biggest reason I'm not liking my initial idea is the 22-250 cartridge taper not allowing more than 5rds to feed properly... That alone is a show stopper in my opinion! I'm not excited about buying a batch of premium 6.5 creed brass, but I've come to peace with the idea if necessary.

How much difference is there really between a 22 Creedmoor, or a straight-walled 22-250AI? Will the 22-250AI cases allow full use of a 20-rd magazine, and thus save me a couple hundred $ in new brass? I don't intend to get into 80-90gr flavors of .22s for now, so a 70-77gr bullet is going to be max for this rig, with emphasis on shooting the lighter bullets accurately, and keeping them together.

At this point, I may be looking at just a 22 Creedmoor without the typical ultra fast rate of twist... like 1-9ish? Or a 22-250AI, IF it feeds worth a hoot I spose... Will a 40gr vmax spun at 1 in 9 running well into 4k territory typically hold together? Thanks again for all your thoughts!
 
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