Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 1:8" 22-250 and Superformance powder

John,
If memory still serves I remember you mentioned excellent results with this combo and Hornady's 70gr GMX... am I right?
The story is that I have just ordered such a barrel and have with me an unopened can of this powder and would like to try it with this bullet, and with 75gr ELD-Ms and 77gr Sierra's TMK.
Have you used any of these bullets in game?
Mi idea is to take it on my next cull hunt in RSA. whenever they happen to set us free and traveling is possible, and use the GMX on warthogs and bigger game like wildebeest and hartebeest, and whichever of the 75 and 77 bullets shoots more accurately on springbucks.
Or maybe you would suggest some other bullets? With so many options it is always difficult to make a choice...
Thank You!

Formidilosus,
I believe you have extensive experience with heavy bullets in the 22-250 on game... Please feel free to chime in and enrich me with your comments too.

Other comments are also welcome!

Alvaro

Alvaro,

You remember well! I tried several powders with the 70 GMX and Superformance proved to be the best combination of accuracy and velocity in my "special run" 1-8 twist Ruger American from Whittaker Guns. While Superformance isn't the most temperature-resistant powder, I was hunting pronghorns, and the temperature would wouldn't vary much. The charge used was 41.0 grains, which got 3400+ fps and 3-shot groups around 1/2" at 100 yards.

Have not used the Hornady 75 ELD-M or Sierra 77 TMK on big game, but would not be surprised if they worked fine on springbok, or similar-sized game. Wanted to try some 70-grain Nosler AccuBonds, but they were too scarce at the time. A few months ago they appeared again, and I bought a few boxes, but haven't had time to try them in the Ruger--or a 1-8 twist Tikka T3, also a Whittaker special run. Had great results with the 60-grain Ballistic Tip in the Tikka, but not with more sturdy bullets so far. Will be retrying it soon, as Eileen plans to use it this year.

Gracias, John!

And how did the GMX perform on those pronghorns?

The Accubonds have not gone unnoticed to me but could not find any here so I will start my trials with the GMX, ELD-M and TMK I mentioned. Maybe I should give the 62gr TTSXs a try given the good results I got with their TSX cousin in a 5,6x57, killing a few warthogs, blue wildebeest and oryx with them.

I guess stocking up on components before even having the new barrel is a sign of rifle loonysm, or ain´t it not? ;-)

Alvaro

The GMX worked well on a buck at 350 yards, which was angling away enough to stop the bullet--which had expanded perfectly and weighed 70.5 grains, due to some pronghorn particles stuck under the curled-back petals.

In that particular rifle the GMX shoots better than the 62-grain TTSX. Played with the seating depth and different powders, but while the TTSX shot OK, in this instance it did not match the 70-grain GMX.

Yes, stocking up before receiving the barrel is definitely one of the Top 10 SRLs (Signs of Rifle Loonyism), but no more so than acquiring a rifle because you got a good deal on loading dies.

John

Again, thank You, John.




I would say that is the epitome of all Rifle Loonysm Signs
I plead guilty. As an aggravating, I never bought the rifle because the seller stepped back.

Dang!

Am trying to remember a seller that backed out on a deal we had, and can't recall one at the moment. Though there had to be one, somewhere, sometime....

not surprising. my tikka shoots tiny groups with 60 v max and superformance.

Not trying to barge into the conversation but if anyone is looking for a Tikka T3x 22-250 with an 8" twist barrel, I have one that is all but new that I'm going to sell.
pm me with any interest.

Chamois I use the 77 TMK for deer hunting in the 22/250 with great success even on larger deer and pigs

Thank You, CastleRock!
Will you normally get pass throughs, or do they tend to over expand or fragment and stay inside?
What speed do you load them for?
Chamois

Running them about 3190 using 33.6 gn of Varget
I hunt in summer in the desert and winter in the mountains so temperature stability is very important to me
Plenty of pass thrus on chest shots on small deer, but mostly they stay inside large deer and pigs, especially because I like bone shoulder shots if I can get them

What range of temperatures?

Well below freezing in the winter and 110 degrees in the shade is not uncommon in summer, but god only knows what temperature ammo in a hot vehicle gets to

My new barrel is for a Blaser K95 break open single shot (Kipplauf). The cartridges do not need to fit any magazine, and as I do not have any COL restrictions I was thinking in asking the ´smith to thoat my chamber long.

I am not sure if I need it either...

My bullets are still on their way (two other 22-250s I have are 1:14" and I do not have any heavy bullets with me) and I don´t know if seating them seat to maximum length in a standard chamber will use up a lot of casecapacity.

Normally, 70gr GMX and 77gr TMK will require seating tem very deeply, with the base of the bullets ways below the neck-shoulder intersection?

Thank You!

Don’t discount the Hornady 75hpbt, and I wouldn’t worry about losing any case capacity with either.

BeardHunter

After a couple of bad experiences with hollow point target bullets in game I'd rather stay with plastic tippeds. They seem to act as a wedge and promote expansion upon impact.

Same thing with medium to small caliber TSXs and TTSXs.

The reason for seating the bullets, at least the shank-boat tail intersection, above the neck shoulder angle is not just to preserve case capacity. It is also not to pass the bullet shank through the doughnut that forms there after firing and resizing. Break open guns do not have the camming force of a bolt action. Pair that with the tight chambers typical of Blaser K95s and you end up with the rifle not closing on a loaded cartridge.

chamois

You are on the right track with the 77 TMKs, they hold together better than the Hornady 75 ELDM
I don’t rate the smaller copper bullets, they definitely don’t kill as quick in my experience

Thank You for the photos! Is that a red deer hind?

Looking at the one of the loaded cartridge I see what BeardHunter said that not much capacity is lost with a standard chamber.

Maybe the case with the 70gr GMX is different as they seem to have a much longer shank and a more rounded ogive.


John,
How much into the case did you have to seat them, if the case were that your rifle had a standard throat?

alvaro,

Actually, plastic tips do not "wedge" bullets open. Slow-motion digital photography of bullets shot into transparent ballistic gelatin instead show the tip moving ahead of the bullet as it opens.

Instead, tipped bullets apparently tend to expand more consistently because of the big hollow-point necessary to fit them into the nose of the bullet.

Interesting, John! I would have thought on the contrary with the tip hitting first but sometimes our first impression is wrong.

You don’t have a photo of a cartridge loaded with the GMX and a bullet standing aside, do you?

Than You!

Alvaro