22.250 suggested loads

redshock

Greetings, I am a first timer. I have a Kimber 22.250 w/1-14 twist and 26' barrel. it will be one of my prairie dog guns. I would like some suggestions for ammo loads, factory and hand loads. I would like to shoot a lighter bullet, 35-45 grains.
your comments will be appreciated.
Thank you, Mike

NN

Welcome aboard

snake284

redshock wrote: »

Greetings, I am a first timer. I have a Kimber 22.250 w/1-14 twist and 26' barrel. it will be one of my prairie dog guns. I would like some suggestions for ammo loads, factory and hand loads. I would like to shoot a lighter bullet, 35-45 grains.
your comments will be appreciated.
Thank you, Mike

There's several Prairie Dog Hunters on here that can advise you better than me, but I have a 1:14 twist .22-250. It would depend on the ranges you will shoot. I'm thinking if you're shooting at them 400 + yards you need a heavier bullet like a 52 grain Speer HPBT Varmint Bullet running 3600-3800 FPS out the Muzzle or something like it.

Dan Johnson who used to be our leader on here told me once he used to use the Speers but moved up to the Nosler BT because it expanded better or faster. I've never shot prairie dogs so I'm no expert, but the Speer 52 grain was very accurate and Fast!

early

Many years ago I had a Rem BDL 22-250. My Dad had a handload using 55gr bullets now lost to memory. When I tried the Remington factory loads of the same bullet weight they shot exactly the same (very well.) I bet with modern ammo and components your rifle will be very accurate without requiring long travel to get there.

snake284

This Hodgdon Chart is a very good tool. I ran several loads I'm familiar with through it and it is spot on with all loads I'm familiar. I noticed one thing, when I ran a 70 grain bullet, it recommended a Speer 70 grain Semi Spitzer like I've used for years. The 1:14 twist rate is too slow for a 70 grain Spitzer and the Speer bullet being a Semi Spitzer it will stabilize. That's a great bullet for deer, and it's good for a couple hundred yards all day long.

redshock

I appreciate your input.
Thanks,Mike

redshock

I am thinking along those same lines. Thanks for your response.
Mike

redshock

good information and I appreciate it. With the 1-14 twist i'll probably stay under 65 grains.
Thanks, Miike

redshock

Thanks

redshock

Will do, thanks.
Mike

jaywapti

Welcome , Hunted dogs for many years, favorite load was 36.5 gr IMR 4895, 55 gr Sierra SBT , Rem. cases, Fed 210M primers, chroned 3822 fps from 26" bbl.

As with any load start at least 10% lower.

JAY

Jayhawker

Hornady makes a 52 grain BTHP bullet designed specifcally for a 1:14 twist...#2249 IIRC....I had great results with that bullet over 38.5 grains of Varget.....

Linefinder

redshock wrote: »

Greetings, I am a first timer. I have a Kimber 22.250 w/1-14 twist and 26' barrel. it will be one of my prairie dog guns. I would like some suggestions for ammo loads, factory and hand loads. I would like to shoot a lighter bullet, 35-45 grains.
your comments will be appreciated.
Thank you, Mike

Hey, SixGun.....time for you to step up to the plate.

Mike

redshock

Jay, where you using a 1-14 twist with that load?
Mike

redshock

Great info., thanks.
Mike

Six-Gun

Linefinder wrote: »

Hey, SixGun.....time for you to step up to the plate.

Mike

It's been a long time since I looked at my loads for .22-250 Rem. Since I haven't had to load it in volume for a while, I'm still on the tail end of a box of 100 that has been there for over a year.

Load data I'm showing:

- 55 gr. Hornady V-Max (a little heavier than requested)
- 38.0 gr. Ramshot Big Game
- Winchester brass
- Winchester WLR primer
- Bullets seated about .010 off the lands

Getting 3,801 fps and .283" 4-shot group at 100 yards out of a 1:14" twist Lilja 3-groove custom barrel.

jaywapti

redshock wrote: »

Jay, where you using a 1-14 twist with that load?
Mike

Yes Win. M-70s, Please note this is over the max that Sierra listed for that bullet.

JAY

redshock

Thank you I will try it. I'll hope to get close to your group.
Thanks, Mike

Linefinder

Just a thought....I've worn out a few barrels on pdogs...

The .22-250 is pretty overbore for a .22. To get the sweet spot speed from 35-45 grain bullets, you're going to be pushing a shovelful of powder down the bore. Barrel life won't be long, especially when shooting colony varmints.

A heavier projectile with a lighter powder charge will likely serve your needs and save considerable life. Bullets don't wear out barrels...powder does.

Just a thought.

Mike

redshock

Thank you, I appreciate the good info..
Mike

redshock

Do you have a suggestion for a load for the 1-14 twist and 26 inch barrel? I shot some factory stuff today and it was not acceptable.
Thanks,Mike

snake284

redshock wrote: »

Do you have a suggestion for a load for the 1-14 twist and 26 inch barrel? I shot some factory stuff today and it was not acceptable.
Thanks,Mike

What do you mean by it wasn't acceptable? You mean group size? If so, try a different brand and/or bullet weight. If your factory ammo was with heavier bullets your 1:14 twist rate may not be tight enough to stabilize the heavier bullet. 55 grain bullets should stabilize well. Don't give up with one bullet. Try another.

The .22-250, being the hot rod that it is, was fitted with a slow twist to prevent over stabilizing small varmint bullets. When it was first made a legitimate cartridge, or factory ammo and guns were made for it by main stream gun and ammo makers, it was thought of as a fast, longer range varmint rifle. So it was designed around bullets from 40 to 55 grain, thus the 1:14 twist. So don't be surprised that with your 1:14 twist barrel, that you're limited to these lighter bullets. I've only shot 40 grain bullets once in mine, but I have my doubts they would over stabilize in a 1:9. I would like to put a tighter twist barrel on mine, maybe a 1:9, which would allow me to shoot anything in the 70 grain range like 70-75 grains which is as heavy as I care to shoot in it. Anything heavier you pay a price in velocity loss down range. BC will only get you so far. There are heavier bullets but I think they're mainly for target shooting. But for a part time varmint-part time deer rifle I believe a 1:9 twist is all I should need. Up til now anytime I used mine for deer, I used Speer 70 grain semi Spitzers which stabilize great in my gun. They're a little bit shorter than the same weight full Spitzer and stabilize fine in my 1:14 twist barrel.

redshock

Great information and I appreciate it. when I said it was unacceptable I was referring to the bullet group. I'll keep trying different ammos, weights etc. I'll use this rifle for prairie dogs and an occasional coyote. My other varminters are the .204 and .223. My hope is to reach out a little further with 22.250. Thanks again for your info. Mike

snake284

redshock wrote: »

Great information and I appreciate it. when I said it was unacceptable I was referring to the bullet group. I'll keep trying different ammos, weights etc. I'll use this rifle for prairie dogs and an occasional coyote. My other varminters are the .204 and .223. My hope is to reach out a little further with 22.250. Thanks again for your info. Mike

:up: You got it Bro! Just keep working with it. The .22-250, in my opinion is a great chambering able to reach out there. As I said in my posts I'd prefer a tighter twist rate barrel, but with bullets up to 55-60 grains it will kill all the PDs and Coyotes you can haul off in an 18 Wheeler. And it is, like most .22 CFs, very accurate.

Teach

Unless those lightweight bullets have been redesigned pretty recently, they were designed for pretty sedate velocities like the .218 Bee, .22 Hornet, etc. The jacket is too thin to handle the velocities a .22-250 is capable of achieving, and the bullet will simply disentigrate at about the 40-50 yard point due to the jacket separating from the lead core. A friend tried pushing the envelope with 40 grain Hornet bullets in his .22-250, and he never got on paper at 100 yards. At 50, there were tiny pinprick holes in the target like a shotgun pattern, no .22 caliber holes at all.
Jerry

redshock

Thanks for the input. I too would probably prefer a tighter twist probably but I am going to make this one my mission.
Have a good one, Mike

snake284

Teach wrote: »

Unless those lightweight bullets have been redesigned pretty recently, they were designed for pretty sedate velocities like the .218 Bee, .22 Hornet, etc. The jacket is too thin to handle the velocities a .22-250 is capable of achieving, and the bullet will simply disentigrate at about the 40-50 yard point due to the jacket separating from the lead core. A friend tried pushing the envelope with 40 grain Hornet bullets in his .22-250, and he never got on paper at 100 yards. At 50, there were tiny pinprick holes in the target like a shotgun pattern, no .22 caliber holes at all.
Jerry

Winchester makes a White Box round in 40 grains for the .22-250. It pushes it around 4000 FPS out the muzzle and they group decent at 100 yards. But these are purpose built bullets and they don't come apart. But then again they probably don't come apart well in an animal. All I did was punch paper with them. I bought one box of 50 but never went there again. I still have a couple left.

I mainly shoot 52 grain BTHPs out of mine that I hand load. They are accurate and Scream at or over 3800 FPS. These bullets have killed at least one deer I know of. Not by me but a friend. He said he shot it in the throat facing him and it almost decapitated the deer.

Six-Gun

Teach wrote: »

Unless those lightweight bullets have been redesigned pretty recently, they were designed for pretty sedate velocities like the .218 Bee, .22 Hornet, etc. The jacket is too thin to handle the velocities a .22-250 is capable of achieving, and the bullet will simply disentigrate at about the 40-50 yard point due to the jacket separating from the lead core. A friend tried pushing the envelope with 40 grain Hornet bullets in his .22-250, and he never got on paper at 100 yards. At 50, there were tiny pinprick holes in the target like a shotgun pattern, no .22 caliber holes at all.
Jerry

He should be okay with the lighter V-maxes. Just for kicks, I loaded up some of the 40 grainers with my .22-250 just to see what a max velocity load would hit over a chrono. If memory serves me right, I was able to break 4,100 fps and still have the bullets hold up to hit paper at 100 yards. That was DEFINITELY a proof of concept affair limited to a handful of shots. One could potentially see barrel life measured in the "hundreds of rounds fired" if they make that load a permanent fixture in a .22-250 Rem.

redshock

K that's a lot to process. was hoping to use a light grain but may have to go heavier. Headed to Bass Pro to pick up some different loads and waiting for a windless day. Thanks for your info. It was helpful. Mike

Varmintmist

50gr Nos BT's over a stout load of Varget. I tried the Hornadys and on groundhogs, I prefer the NBT's for damage done.

Gene L

There is no "over stablizing." Either a bullet is stable or it isn't.

The RPF (revolutions per foot) is relatively fixed by the twist of the barrel. The formula is out there to work this out, if it's important. The problem with the bullets coming apart has to do with forward velocity and failures in the jacket, not with RPF. I think it's called the Greenhouse Formula to determine how fast the bullet rotates...generally speaking, a 12-twist will rotate the bullet once every foot the bullet travels, not to be confused with RPM. RPM will be high because generally a bullet doesn't rotate a full minute and it's measured in tens of thousands of a second, not minute. That's like measuring the distance to mars in feet; a meaningless measurement. Obviously, the longer the time of exposure, the more times the bullet rotates. But anyway, I THINK (don't know) bullets coming apart from rotation should be minimized in CNC days.