Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Any tips for load workup on 22-250 would be appreciated.

Junior has a new project has of today,

Remington 700 heavy barrel varmint, 1-14(?)

Any known powders to start with?

I'm thinking bullet weight of 50 grains and greater.

Open to any and all suggestions, TIA.

It's his rifle and he'll make the final decisions,

But I'm thinking a heavier bullet with high BC would be beneficial,

So lets talk about that also..................

Go the Hodgdon data and pull up data for the 55 gr Speer sp. I used that exact data , only with Hornady 55 gr Vmax. using Varget, BenchMark, or IMR 4064. My 700 VLS shot all of these loads very well; all loaded to just under max.

Several hundred 50g Vmax here, and a few lbs of Benchmark,
Could be our starting point right there....

50 gr bullet...38.0 grains of H380...


Duh

^^^^^^^This

I'm seeing Large rifle primers in all the load data?

Probably because if you put in small rifle primers they will fall out.

drover

personal note to self: use Large Rifle primers.

I got a snork out of that.

That's a good one Kenneth.
Made me laugh.

Learn something new every day!

I like to shoot my 22-250 ammo in my 7mm-08. I heard it works good for elk. That's what them Montana guys do anyways.

Damn, I'm going to have to try that in my Stevens 200. I guess It may not be shooting to it's full potential...:


I learn something new here every day...

Shhhhhhhh...that load is a secret!

No one has ever heard of it before....

55 gr Nosler BT and either IMR 4064 or R15.

If it doesn't shoot well with 50-52 gr quality bullet and 38 grs H380, it probably won't shoot well period.

40 or 50 gr B/tip or B/king and CFE 223 has worked very well for me.

H4895 has been my favorite for many years.. Used many different ones, but that one always works... I shoot mostly 50 gr. Vmax or Blitzkings.. Have used thousands of Sierra 55 gr. HPBT's... & 52 gr. Speer hollow points... Any time I restock, it is with 50 gr. of the two I mention..

^^^^This right here. My fiance's Ruger Hawkeye loves the 50 gr. X bullet and 35.0 grains of IMR 4895. Sends them down range at a little over 3700 FPS. As soon as I run out of the 4895 I'm moving over to H380 and the 50 gr. TTSX.

What VernAK says tough load to beat.

Are you trying to say you're using 38 grains of H380, or something else?

What?

Boom.
Que up the "drop the mic sound effect"

Although I love H 380.... I'll admit to using "something else' in the 22.250...

a lot of different powders, but I backed off on H 380 as I noticed a change in performance when I was using it up
in the Cascades at a lower temp when going after coyotes...

For 53 grains and down, I use RL 7...

for 53 grains and up, I use any of the following... 4064, 4895 ( IMR), 3031, Rl 15...

H380 is the only powder I've ever blown a primer with over hundreds of thousands of rounds. It was the old classic 38.0 gr. load behind a 55 gr. ballistic tip which is 3 grains under max from the hodgdon website. It might be a classic but the stuff is pretty temp sensitive and one day when I had heated a rifle up pretty good in the prairie dog town it popped one. No harm done and I didn't notice it until I opened the bolt, but I decided to find something a bit less temp sensitive after that. I settled on AR-Comp and have been using it by the keg since. If H380 was all that was available I'd use it, but there's newer & better stuff out there now.

I tried H380 in 4 22-250's and H4895 wins out in the accuracy department. Sorry to burst your bubble...Also, 4064 works better as well.... Here are some H4895 loads in my buddies rifle that I handload for:






All sub moa, even though they were worked up 1/2 grain at a time...

More loads that worked better than H380:

Kenneth: What is "JR" going to be doing, going after, with his heavy barrel Remington 22-250?
I have a BUNCH of 22-250's most all of them with heavy long barrels and most of them are Remingtons.
I have loads worked up (for accuracy!) for all manner of Varmints and predators.
Let me know if you get specifics.
I will forward this favorite load/Rifle data for now:

Remington XR-100 26" factory barrel
Leupold 8.5x25 variable scope
Varget powder
52 grain Berger MEF bullets
Federal 210M (Match) primers
Winchester brass

On a calm day this load/Rifle will group (5 shots at 100 yards) in the high two's and low threes (.275" to .325")!
I use this load/Rifle for Rock Chucks and Prairie Dogs.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I've used the classic H-380 load and have also found it to be temperature sensitive. I do like how it meters so well. I use mostly Varget, 4064 and 4350.

I have never been much of a fan of H380, my favorite load is H414/W760 with 55gr BT’s 210 primers and Lapua brass

Unless your rifle has a Linda Lovelace chamber throat like a Sako of mine, then that's just about a starting load.




Pfft! It just hit me, Linda Lovelace and load in the same sentence.

Ive had good luck in the .22-250 with the 4895s and 4064 as well....lotsa stuff works in them, but those are a couple more sure bets...

I'm loading 62 grain TTSX with CFE223. Haven't had it out yet but should run in the high 3,500's if loaded to max. Superformance will push this bullet a little faster.

Ingwe,

ya left out RL 15... that is a sure fire super choice... great velocity and great accuracy...

Rl 7 is also a real sleeper, since it ain't popular anymore, because of the new fangled powders..
same with 3031...both especially with the lighter bullets...

RL 7 is the top choice for 40 grain Plastic Tip bullets...

John Ive never tried any of the RL powders...sooooo many powders on the market I tried years ago to limit the number I tried and used...got it down to only 3 or 4...then JB made me a deal on a couple types from Ramshot....then a cop friend made me a deal on some CFE223, then....


well, you know....

I've had real variable luck with .22-250s. I've loaded for a few cartridges where I'd find a load that seemed to work pretty respectably in most guns. That has not been the case with .22-250, each rifle has been a law unto itself.

My first .22-250 was a heavy barreled Ruger 77 "tanger". Its load was 50 grain Hornady SXes and 40 grains of H380. I also shot it some with 41 grains of H380 under the 45 grain Hornady spire point hornet bullet. This was in the days before polymer tipped bullets.

The last one was a Remington 700 LVSF. It was a problem gun, really fussy. However, among all the things that did not work, a gem appeared: 37.5 grains of Varget (this is well over book max) and 50 grain TNT or SX bullets. With either bullet it would typically shoot 5 shot groups in the .2s. Aside from one game load which went around MOA, I never found anything else it'd shoot under 2 MOA or so. If I backed that first load down a half grain even, it'd open up to over 2 inches. Didn't blow any primers, brass life was good, so I just puckered up and shot what it wanted.

In between I had 1-2 others that never did work well. One, a 700 BDL "enhanced" (engraved) sporter, would only shoot the 35 grain VMAX with any accuracy. Out to 75 yards it'd sure make a mess of stuff but we don't usually buy .22-250s for 100 yard and under varmint guns. It didn't last long in my safe.

Tom

Really?

Hmmm. I have an 8 pound jug o' the shyte and currently nothing to shoot it in. Hmmm.

If you decide to go light my load was 41gr of H380 behind a 40grain NBT getting 4011fps. 5-shot cover with a dime accuracy out of my bull barrel 700. Work up to it of course.

1 in 14?

Then your not shooting heavies in it....unless you plan to shoot them sideways.

And a +1 on the 38.0 gr of H380.....it's almost like someone named the powder after that load?

Eggs Zachary!

Lyman 47th edition manual...

33.5 grains of RL 7 with a 40 grainer...

Steve's reloading pages.. http://stevespages.com/224_7_40.html
recommended 33 grains...

In mine.... MV is in excess of 4250....

and then there is a very nice 35 grain Nosler Lead free....the length of the average 50 grain Plastic tips..
it likes that RL 7 charge it seems also..... MV in excess of 4400 fps...

when it hits varmint things, it thinks its an M80 instead of a bullet...

With a 1 in 14, where's the top end, 50 grainer's?

It depends on the length of the bullet, not just the weight.

Ken, I have shot 60 Nosler Part. in my rifles with no problems... 70 Speer are designed for the 1-14... I also shoot alot of 63 Sierras and 64 gr. WW.. Never had an issue with 55's, but never used the plastic tipped ones only in 50 gr... These do all I need done in that caliber...

Appreciate all the advice guys, thanks.

I just worked up a new 22-250 load for a 1-14" Remington 788. with 24" barrel. 36gr of W748 WW brass, Fed 210. 55gr Speer flat base soft point. Next 200 yard range trip will tell if it is a keeper.

I also have a Stevens 200 in 22-250 that I bought for a “beater” rifle. I did quite a bit of stock work to it to include glass bedding and installed a Timney trigger.
I tried several different powder and bullet combinations and it shot about everything consistently right at MOA but I couldn’t get past the 3/4 mark and then I tried 55 grain Nosler BT’s with IMR 4064 and oh my......groups shrank to 1/2 MOA and stayed there!

In my Remington M 7 Predator, 1-14 twist, I am currently only using one load.....a 40 grain Nosler BT and 39.5 grains of Varget. Shoots like a laser out past 300 yards, and kills the snot out of a coyote. If I ever quit using that one, I'll go back to a 52 Speer HP and either H380 or W760 powder........................and large rifle primers.

I’ve always used 55BT in my pdog rifles and H4895. Always go back to 50BT in my coyote rifle. Two years ago switched to 8208 in my yotie rifle. Shoots the same tiny groups but about 100fps faster. 50BT almost never exits on a coyote saving the hide. Just bang flop and a dead coyote. I have had a few dies that just wouldn’t seat a bullet straight in 22/250. Bought a Redding comp seating set and groups size cut down by better than half. I’ve shot and seen shot probably 2-3 dozen coyotes with 50 and 55vmax and 58 .243 vmax....they are hell on pdogs but just fly apart on the fur of coyotes. Often end up shooting another gaping hole in them to finish them off. If I could have only two CF rifles without a doubt one would be a 22/250. I’ve had good luck with varget,4064,8208, and H4895.....but probably 85% of the time I’m using H4895. Good luck!

Back when I first got my Ruger MkII Sporter I worked up a load with the 50 V-Max and H380 that fall. Worked great. Got it out to shoot next summer when it was 90+ and blew a primer. I pulled everything I had loaded and started over. Out of all the combo's I tried, regular 55 Hornady sp, with or without cannelure, over H4895 turned in the best groups and still does. Best I've found so far with 50 V-Max in this rifle has been Benchmark, but still not as tight as the 55 sp load.

My most accurate load was a 52 grain Speer hollow point and H4895 powder. Haven't loaded that in years because the coyotes arrived and ate all the groundhogs. If I were starting today, I think I would just go with a Hornady 55 grain soft point and Tac or Big Game.

Used to have a Rem 700 VS in 22-250, factory 1-14" twist barrel.

load development was pretty easy and quick. Maybe ten different loads evaluated. My goal was to have a 0.75 MOA load. Nothing shot poorly (1.5 MOA ?). Worst groups were with 55 grain boat tails).

50 grainers shot best. Hornady and Sierra 50 grainers shot well ( flat base) + Speed 52 grain flat base up ( but lousy ballistic coef.). Best of the best was the 50 grain Sierra Blitzkings ( and best BC of 50 grainers). Never tried Nosler bt.

Final load: 50 grain Sierra Blitzking over 34.5-35.0 grains IMR 4064. Shot about 0.6 moa. Made some 400+ yard first shot woodchuck hits with it

Wish the barrel was at least 1-12" to shoot 60 grainers. A 1-9" twist would've been best ( for 69 grainers) for better wind drift at longer range.

Final note for any accuracy loading: Get a K&M flash hole uniformer and treat all your brass/primer flat holes with it. Makes a BIG difference for uniformity. Translation?...improved accuracy.

Between my brother and I, we shot out the barrel on my grandfathers wildcat .22-250 long before it was a factory round. What I learned is it doesn't have to be pushed to the last foot per second. It shoots plenty flat and accurately with loads that are 1-2 grains under that. Really easy to like. Ya need to watch out for barrel heating. Too bad they aren't offered with modern fast twists as a rule. Their only fault is the lighter bullets are pretty wind sensitive. E

Any one of the classic loads have the potential to work well. A plastic tip bullet from Hornady, Nosler or Sierra in the 50-55 grain weight range. Varget, 4064, 4350 or H380 are all good starting places. Pick a case and primer. I have some loads using Lapua brass and Federal 210 Match primers that shoot great but RP or WW brass and CCI shoot nearly as well. In most of my rifles the Sierra bullet is slightly more accurate than the others.

Like many other calibers, there are so many good combinations that its hard to go wrong.

55-grain Ballistic Tips over 36 grains of Varget has been my go-to load for 15 years.

I don't have a load for a 50gr Vmax with Benchmark powder, but I have a decent load for both of them seperately:
50gr Hornady Vmax, 30.0gr Vihtavouri N130
55gr Sierra (1360), 32.6gr Benchmark, GM210M

These shot well in a Ruger 77VT, which I think is also a 1-14T.

55 grain Nosler BT over 38.9 grains of H380. My first load for prairie dogs. The rifle was a heavy barrel, synthetic stocked Rem 700.

My tip for load workup after seeing all this is -- concentrate on a good 50 load first and foremost. A hundred each of brand N, H and S, plastic or not. One thing you will also find helpful is to find the throat and fix your OAL to match, hopefully those will still fit in the magazine box.
Once you've gotten a good 50 load, then you'll be able to move up and down the scale to find perfection, which might well be at 50.

I had an old Mod 700 in 22-250 a long time ago. Bought it used . It shot .75 " all day long and never cared much what powder. IMR 4350 , 4064, H380, H 414. IMR 4895. It never mattered . Bullets 52 -60 gr were fine.

If the rifle has a 1 in 12 twist....I've settled on 40 grains and 53 grain plastic tip bullets for a lot of my 22.250 shooting..
V Max and Nosler Varmaggeddon....

some one might have an interest, most won't... but off season, winter rainy season, being bored I've been playing with a Steven 200 ion 22.259 that has been getting awfully dusty....

17.5 and 19.5 grains of Blue Dot and 40 gr VMaxes have been producing one hole groups about the size of a dime, for 10 shots at 100 to 150 yds over at the rifle range, when its not raining cats and dogs, and I actually have some time that coordinates with that winter anomaly....guess its easy on the brass also.. because a light neck size with a Lee Neck sizing die, is all the brass needs after the last 10 reloads...

funny thing couple of weeks ago.. fired 10 shots at the target at 200 yds, with a squall coming in... wind kicked up immediately after I finished and before I could go down to retrieve the target, a huge gust of wind, ripped the target right off the target stand and up in the air and away it blew... then it pulled the target stand right out of the ground...

so I'll have to try that again, when the weather is a little less " Oregon in January"

been using 17.5 grains of powder as a load...17.5 grains into 7000 grains in a pound, yields me 400 rounds per pound...
and I bought a couple thousand 40 grain V Maxes for $200.00.. keeps the winter boredom away and doesn't seem to put much wear and tear on the barrel....

Range day, Benchmark powder and 50 g Z-max, -.005
33.5 grains to 36, total of 30 rounds, most were decent if not actually good,
35.5 and 36 gr, 5 shot cloverleafs, 9 of 10 shots touching, I pulled the tenth....

H380 next weekend, but not sure on how I could improve on these 2 loads...

Fun gun to shoot @10.5 lbs

Almost wish it was mine.........

These come in leftys? (grin)

Thanks for the info. Mine does t like 55 gr. Mines a left hand Sako. And a lh 700

pics, or it didn't happen............

Pm me with your info !

I've had excellent results with a few different powders, IMR 3031, IMR 4895, and IMR 4064. Each of those was under MOA, most 1/2 MOA or less, so long as I used Honady 53gr bullets, flat or 52gr boattail both shot the same. I had a Remington 700 ADL at the time. Longest shot I had was 420 yds, and my wife had a 440yd opppurtunity, which I undoughtedly will never live down, since it was windy, and she hit it twice.

Hope thats a help

I just re-read the replys in this thread,

A few have mentioned "popping the primer" while using 380,

Describe that please.


It also appears many people are using several different powders that work very well,

At this time Benchmark is a definite go, Will try 380 next, (borrowed a couple hundred grains from a friend)

Then maybe try H4895 which has been mentioned often here.

Fun times.

If you have large temperature swings between the seasons of the year you'll be shooting, H380 and some others like H414 can have large pressure spikes between cooler and hotter weather. A load that is fine at 30 degrees can be way over pressure at 90+.

I run 55 grain V Max and Ballistic Tips, pushed with IMR 4064.... its pretty darn good.

Easy to cure. I developed my load for the temps it was going to be shot in for both a 22.250 and a Swift. Any powder where the load is at max and the temps hit 90+ you have the potential to go into the danger zone.

CFE223 has worked well in mine with 40 and 50 gr bullets. IMR 4064 has too.

50gr V-Max, 36.0grs Varget, WLR primer.

50 gr v max and h4895
And 52 gr Speer hp h4895

Just read though the whole four pages of load data and was surprised there isn't much love for Sierra bullets anymore just wondering why everyone likes the plastic tip ones now

Why buy sierra when you can buy a comparable bullet from hornady for less money?

and BSA points out the exact reason I don't shoot Sierra bullets any more....and haven't for a long time.

There are so many good combinations for the 22-250 to choose from. I don't care for H-380. It's dirty and pressure peaks quickly. In my first 22-250, way back around 1985, I shot 63 grain Sierras over IMR 4895, and accuracy load from an ancient Lyman loading manual.

That was a Remington 700 Varmint model with a long throat. My next 22-250 was a Cooper. In that rifle I started out with IMR 4895, then switched over to Varget as it is less temperature sensitive. I prefer a 50 grain bullet to a 55 grain bullet, but that's me. If I still had a 22-250, I would probably try CFE 223.

That about sums it up. I think my perfection load was verified with my latest 22-250 purchase. A Tikka varminter with a 1 in 14" twist. Here it is using the same old load my steven's 200 likes and the same load my buddies savage trophy hunter and predator likes:

H4895 works well, if not better than anything else I've tried in the 22-250, so that's what I'm going to keep using... The 50gr v-max is also a no brainer...

I’ve only had a couple of 22-250s. My Savage BVSS liked 4064 and 52 MEFs, shot in the .2s if I did my part. My LVSF is crazy picky and likes Varget and about any 40g. I think it took me 5 years before I finally tried the 40s. I was ready to throw in the towel and give up, never shooting better than 3/4” groups. Pretty sure I have almost every single bullet and powder suitable for the caliber and twist rates 😂.

Your going to have to choose a powder, for me I have H-414, H380, Varget, which are my main varmint powders I use. Make up some test loads of 50 /55 g bullets in various powders to find which shoots best...takes time but well worth it. In my M77 22-250 I have 36g Barnes varmint grenades loaded with 38.5g of Varget. 50g Nosler Ballistic tips with 39.5 H-380,,,,,,and 40g Nosler Ballistic tips in 39.5g H380....as of this moment I have some 40 Nos Bal tip loaded up with Trst loads with H414...get ya some data and some powder and work up some different loads and good luck.

Pretty damn good if it shoots in the ".2s". Hopefully that's 10 shot groups, because 3 shot groups shouldn't even be considered in a varmint rifle.

I tried 33 grains of 8208xbr with a 55 vmax out of my 40x.I don't believe it would be possible for me to improve on the results I had in my rifle.

22/250 always treated like onto a stepchild but stick a 26" heavy varmint barrel on with a 1-7" twist and it's a whole new ballgame! I shoot 90 grain Sierra out of mine and many a coy dog has run way out and stopped thinking he was safe! WRONG!!

tag

I've been shooting 52 gr Sierra HPBTs in mine for a long time over 4064. No doubt there are better combo's out there but this one works well.

H4895,8208 or Varget and a 50-55 vmax,BT or Sierra 1365

I had 2 Rem 700's in 22-250. The best bullet was Sierra 52 gr. and did not seem to care what powder . IMR 4895. 4064 H380, H414 and even shot IMR 4350 very well. I dont know why but they were not fussy on powder. .8" was about the norm, for 5 shots , maybe 1"

Several yrs ago I took a load right out of Ken Waters' Pet Loads for 22/250. He called it an accuracy load and it was. 32gr/3031 with a 52gr Hornady Match. CCI primer.

I'd start there if I had that powder on hand.

53 vmax and cfe 223

Tried all the loads I could find in my 700 with the 12 twist barrel and 50-55 grain bullets of several types and couldn't get better than around .7-.8" groups, which I wasn't satisfied with. Out of desperation I tried some Varget and 40 grain ballistic tips and suddenly my rifle was a tack driver... Took the load right off the label and my chrono says I was within about 10 fps of the label speed. Accuracy was in the .2-.3 range most of the time and those little bullets did an absolute explosive launch job on rock chucks and other critters out to about 500 yards or so... I put a thumbhole stock on that rifle and I found it did best with a bit of foreend pressure on the barrel- worked it up with business cards until the groups got best and stopped. In fact I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I've had those business cards under that barrel for at least 10 years because I'm afraid to do anything to change a thing on that rifle or I might lose that accuracy I finally found in that factory Varmint barrel....

Bob

I liked Varget (Book Data also) for the regular twist, 50-55gr 22-250. In the 22-250 Ackley with a 1 in 9" I used N140 and the 68gr Hornady OTM. It didn't heat the barrel up like other makes. That 68gr didn't tear up coyote hides and that faster twist made prairie dogs go "5 ft high & spinning to the right", ha.

53 grain sierra benchrest and 35.5 gains 4064

Always wanted a Remington 700 BDL in 22-250. Just found one brass pin new in the box…. Yes I paid out the ass, but like land they ain’t making anymore. So TAG!