Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Fast twist 22-250

Can you move a 50 or 53 grain V-Max at 22-250 speeds, out of a fast twist barrel, and not worry about the bullet coming apart in flight?

Looking at a rebarrel, love the lighter V-Max's, but would like a faster twist so the heavies are an option.

We use the 53 grain ELD in our 7 and 8 twist 250’s without issues. They’re wicked accurate and vaporize crows and chucks. Not sure about the VMax but 50 grain Ballistic Tips worked well too.

My old Remington 788 in .223 Rem. was 1:12 and it stabilzed 60 grain bullets ok. But most .22-250s are really slow twist 1:14s. They're great for the 40-55 o grain bullets. I don't know how 40-50 grain bullets would do with a 1:7-1:8 twist though. They would come out humming they'd be spinning so fast. Maybe a compromise of 1:9 would be good. My 1:9 Savage stabilizes 68 grains ok, but I don't think I'd go any heavier. And as I understand it, it's not weight so much as length. There's differences in the BC. One 68 grain bullet may have a higher BC than another. Thus one may stabilize in a 1:10 twist and another may not. There's guide lines for what twist will stabilize x grain bullet but there are other variables to consider. So if it's me I will give it plenty of room and not ask a whole lot. If I want to shoot mostly light low BC bullets I won't build a rifle with a real tight twist and if I want to shoot the heavies I'll build it with a fast twist and I won't expect it to preform well with all bullets. You can only compromise so far.

Yes.

I have two 8" twist 22-250's that shoot them very well.

The various 50 to 55 grain factory loads I fired through my 7" twist .22-250 AI haven't had any issues. I would shy away from using any of the Super Explosive types, particularly the Hornadys.

I’ve shot 40 gr ballistic tips out of my 8 twist 22-250 at 4000 FPS & they’ve done fine.

My usual PD load is 55 grainers at 3600.

^^^^What deflave said^^^^
Same experience with H. VMax & N. Ballistic Tips in 22-250 8" twist barrels.

*Note* - The old Hornady SX ("super explosive") bullets will spin their jackets off at those velocities and RPMs.

Those work great also.

Yep

I've seen the Hornandy SX come unglued in a 9T Savage target rifle.

Sounds good guys, looks like it will be a 1-8. Thanks

They'll even come apart in a 12" .22-250.

I had some of Hornady's 55 gr. soft point destabilize out of a 7 twist AR, the generic bulk version with a cannelure. I found one sticking halfway into my wood backstop, looked like the jacket had come away from the lead at the tip.

Just out of curiosity, what’s the heaviest load for a 1/100? And who makes a good deer (factory) load?

I'm guessing my Kimber Varmint is a 1-14" and it handles 60gr Hornadys just fine.

You will love it.

A topic not addressed yet on this thread is number of grooves on a 1-8" twist barrel, Most are 6 groove barrels. I had a disaster a few years ago and ordered several 3 groove 22cal and 6mm barrels with a 3 groove. all blew up bullets mostly Hornady and some Berger in both calibers and barrel life was also shortened. If building a new 22-250 with 1-8" twist make sure you get a 5R,5C or a 6 groove barrel

The 62 grain Barnes would be a great bullet to try.

you can shoot 77 gr match bullets in your 1x9 savage. they are shorter then all the heavy bullets being they are meant to fit in the tiny AR mag for matches. it is the long 75-80 grain bullets you need a 1x8-1x7 twist

do not understand why you would have a fast twist 22-250 and limit yourself with 55 gr bullets when a 75 gr will shoot flatter increasing your range and easier wind calls. you could have gotten a 1x12 rifle to handle the 55's and your barrel would last longer then a fast twist