Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles .22-250 Remington

Folks,
I've got a Ruger No.1V in .22-250.
I've been doing some load development and come to the conclusion it doesn't like 55 grain bullets.
At least not in the powder combinations I've tried.
Yesterday I tried 5 Nosler 50 grain Flat Base bullets, also 5 Hornady 50 grain VMax. Same powder and charge for both. The flat base Nosler shot the last 3 into 3/4"-this is after making a scope adjustment after the first 2 shots -about 16 clicks! But the last 3 were right in the bull with 2 touching.
The Vmax also had a 3/4" group of 3 shots but 2" from the bull. I shot this load after the Nosler's and didn't think changing the sights again would make sense.
What's your thoughts?
Thank you in advance for your time.
Semper Fidelis
Soup

My no.1V has never ever liked boat tail bullets. 53 flat base or 55 flat base shoot fine.

Like Swifty I have had 1 rifle that wouldn't shoot any boat tail and have found "easier" accuracy several times throughout different rifles with a flatbased bullet.

Decide on the bullet you and the rifle like best, and sell the others, adjust scope for that load and live happily ever after. Sounds like it likes those 50gr bullets to me. More testing with other 55's would be key, but this shooting 5 of each at the same powder charge does not make any sense. Work up your load and let your rifle tell you what it likes. Shoot some 5 shot groups, without messing with the dang scope too!!! Then if your rifle keeps them in sub moa for 5 shots, you know you have a good load with your Number 1.

I shot one of my 22-250's yesterday for chidts and giggles, while my buddy and I diagnosed a scope issue on his Christensen. I was running the infamous 53gr Vmax. Couldn't keep them from going in the same hole, shot after shot. That's a Tikka though, not a Ruger #1. Not going to suggest you try that bullet, though, because your rifle probably sports a 14" twist barrel. Some guys here have had issues with that bullet, but they have always worked very well for me. YMMV.

If all you want to do is have one bullet and one powder load then adding a Hicks Accurizer is the way to go with no.1’s. You basically tune the barrel to the load. Caveat is that it’s not really friendly to alterations in bullet weight or powder.

As far as 53 Vmax yours is a 14 twist which Hornady themselves state they couldn’t get them to reliably stabilize in a 14 @ 1320 ft above sea level, nor could I get them to stabilize @ 1330 ft. which makes sense since I am only 31 miles from their test range and plant.

I sent this rifle to Mark Penrod of Penrod Precision, he glass bedded the action and barrel, free floated the barrel, installed a CanJar set trigger, then replaced Ruger's scope mounts with a picatinny rail-mounted and bore sighted my Leupold 6.5X20. I've got plenty of eye relief now.
Mark did all the hard part----Now I need to develop a couple of good loads this rifle likes!
My goal is to hunt some coyotes and ground hogs plus punch a little paper.
Semper Fidelis
Soup

Cool, no ground hogs here but yotes and paper are plentiful. Load 52-53 grain flat base, 38 grains H380. Work up from there.

Swifty brings up issues with the 53 grain V Max, at altitudes of 1320 ft above sea level.

I know BSA and I don't have that problem at any altitudes I used them in here in Oregon, Nevada, Montana and Arizona., in 223 or 22.250

Hornady's 60 grain SP doesn't give me problems which are sometimes presented by the 50 and 55 gr SPs of theirs.

I'll just say, here it seems to be harder to find a bullet the 223 or 22.250 won't shoot well, than it is to find one they shoot better than all the rest.

Heck I shoot either caliber with powders from Blue Dot, SR 4759, Alliant Steel, up to 4350s ad 4831s and about anything in between. Only a few I won't work with, and that is like H 335, and H 4895. Yet they turn in satisfactory results to others.
But why do I need to use them, when there is so many other choices.. Find something your rifle likes and you can live with there Soup... and just go out and have fun, wasting little varmints.. sending them to that big clover patch in the sky...

BSA
Thank you for your reply.
The reason for the same cases-primer-powder and charge was to eliminate variables.
The only thing different between the 2 loads was the bullet. 50 V Max vs 50 Nosler Flat base.
Soup

TTT

Have not seen too many single shots shoot as well as a Bolt gun cept for the XP-100. Good luck

Soup, I didn't see if you specified a twist rate for that rifle, but I have Tikka Varmint with a 14-twist barrel and so far I have had no problems with 55gn Vmax and 52gn ELD-Ms. IT also shoots the 62gn Sierra Game King really well. I'm finding 8208 and Varget both work, but over here in Australia we don't get access to some of the other powders you fella's get. Flat base of boat tail doesn't seem to matter either. I guess it's just a matter of continued experimentation.

Every rifle is an individual and will like/dislike its own individual components...that being said, I've found that flat base bullets often give me better results then boat tails.

A boat tail bullet doesn't seem to get into it's best performance until the range stretches out a bit. Which is why most long range bullets have a boat tail I suppose. I also found that the Hornady 55gn Vmax shot very similar groups at both 100m and 200m, but I haven't tried it further than that yet. The 14 twist does place some limits if you want to go heavier. I'm old enough to remember necking down 250/3000 cases before Remington made it a factory round, and I'm pretty sure my rifle back then was 14 twist.

Hi Soup. I didn't see this thread again, until now. Someone brought it back to the top. Maybe you have a good load figured out by now?

As for "saving" components, generally you should work up a load for each bullet. Especially in a rifle that is known to have accuracy issues. As in the Ruger #1. However, it sounds like you had Penrod do some work to yours, so that may be a non issue.

When I read your OP, I gather that you are alright with the accuracy you attained from the one bullet, but it was 2" off and you didn't want to adjust your sights/scope? If you are alright with the accuracy you are getting, go with it. Just be sure to know that if you are going to shoot that bullet/load at distance it's going to be off by a fair amount. At 400 yards, it's going to be off a minimum of 8 inches. That's before any shooter error and wind is thrown into the mix.

Like I said before though, Id work up a good load with each bullet you want to use. When switching to a different bullet, re-zero your scope. That can be done with 1 shot, if you don't want to waste components.

This accuracy stuff is always fun to discuss, but it's ultimately you that needs to be happy with it. If 3 shots into less than an inch works for you, go with it. Like I've said many times before, I generally use 5 shot groups when working up loads, 10 shot groups to confirm a load, and when that is done, you can shoot all the 3 shot groups you want. Because you then know the load is viable and you will know (not guess) how consistent it is.

You are working with a 22-250 and a 50 gr v-max, so lets look at something that explains how I generally work up a load. I'll use my buddies 22-250 as an example. With these pics, you can see how much I increase powder charge. In the 22-250, I'll generally increase charge weight by 1/2 grain increments:

Started at 34 grains:


34.5 grains:


35 grains:


35.5 grains:


We did more testing and found out that the 35gr charge wt load was the most consistent. Also as these pics show.

Now, my Tikka Varmint model likes a slightly stiffer load of 36 grains of the same powder with the 50gr v-max. Also notice the OAL is different too. I always run .020" off the lands with this bullet, in all of my rifles. However, you'll see in the last picture that the 50gr v-max is not particular when it comes to how far off the lands you run them:


The same Tikka, testing a load I developed in my Steven's 200:

10 shot groups^^

Proof that some rifles are just less finicky than others.

When you say you wanted to "eliminate variables", that is what you want when you develop a load. Some variables you need to know: Know your seating depth, and how far off the lands you are running, and since every bullet make produces a different pressure curve, you should really be starting at the start. Hence, safely and properly working up a load.

Lawrence,

You are using H 4895. What I have found with that powder and why I prefer IMR's version, is the lack of consistency.

Since we are talking 22.250, I bring in to the conversation experience with a Ruger 77 Mk2 VT I have so chambered.

With a lot of powders that rifle is a very consistent small grouper at a variety of ranges., with all sorts of bullet weights and manufacture. Switch to H4895, it varies from so-so accuracy, to throwing them all over the place, like you'd think it was shot by some blind kid with a sling shot. This isn't the only rifle and caliber I have experienced this in.

But one load that rifle loves with H 4895 is a charge of 32.5 grains. It will consistently give me one hole groups, regardless of bullet weights at 100 yds, and at 200 the group isn't that much bigger.. regardless of the bullet weight or brand. So when I feed it that powder, that is the charge weight I use with it... 32.5 grains of H 4895. At 32 grains of 33 grains of the same powder, the groups open up quite a bit. A change to different primers still doesn't seem to have any impact of that fact.

With 30 to 60 grain bullets, in that rifle I usually use Reloader 7. It gives great performance and accuracy across the board.
So do a lot of other powders but RL 7 is the most frugal, as it takes less of a charge than ALL slower burning powders.

BUT 32.5 grains of H 4895 ALL work real well in ANY 22.250 I own... and there are 5 of them in the gun safe. Regardless of bullet weight... Go Figure ?

I went out and shot a couple of 3 shot groups yesterday and was pleasantly surprised. The 55gn Vmax and 62gn Sierra Game King shoot almost to same point, with the Game King being a little higher at 100m. Both were on target at 200m. The 62 Game King used 33.5gn 8208 and went out of the 24 inch barrel and a bit over 3,400fps. Three shots into a little over half inch.
Sorry no pic of the group, I can't get it down small enough to be accepted.
John

Good stuff. I don't know if I've seen anything unusual or odd about how H4895 works in my 22-250's or my buddies rifles. I load for quite a few 22-250 rifles at the moment. If you say IMR4895 works better, I'd trust you. I just figured H would be more consistent, as it's one of Hodgdon's extreme powders. I think I've tried to make the switch to the "extreme" line of powders for about 10 years now, but still use and trust some IMR powders. IMR4350 as an example.

One thing about that H4895 load with the 50gr V-max's, is it always shoots where we want it to. Even in varying temps. I sold my Steven's 200 22-250 to a new buddy where I live now, and he loves that rifle with that load. It drives tacks. He's a SWAT guy, and loves to rub that rifle in to his SWAT buddies faces. Says it will put their Rem 700's to shame. That I'm sure is the truth. Especially with that load.

I miss that rifle every once in a while. It was fun taking it to my clubs "precision" rifle matches and tearing up the competition with it...

Here's a cool target. It shows 2 22-250 rifles shooting the same load, and also a Sako A7 6.5 creedmoor, which threw the outliers. That was a just barely sub 1" 15 shot group, from 3 rifles combined. The 2 22-250's shot that same load into less than 5/8"..


I sent the Sako down the road. It was a nice rifle, but I'd rather have a Tikka..

52 gr. Hornady or Sierra with H-380, if gun don't shoot that then get rid of it.

My 22 -250 load for years. Shoots very well in a 700 VLS and a 788. I was messing around the other day trying to see how much I could consolidate powders with the price and availability these days. Tried IMR4350 with bulk Dogtown bullets a 55 gr fbhp and 55 gr Nosler ballistic tips. 39.2 grains ( very compressed) in Winchester cases seemed to be the thing. 3 shot groups right at half an inch in both rifles.

I usually stick with h4895 or 3031. I have shot a lot of h414 and 4064. We have a lot of .22-250s in this area and nobody I know shoots H380. I tried one can years ago, accuracy was ok, but it was dirty powder as I remember. Before I retired in 1999, I laid in a suppy of powder to do me in the coming years. H4895 was one. I have never had the problems Seafire mentions, but strange things happen in the shooting world.

I was a 4064 fan for any bullet in the 22-250 but my last Browning X Bolt Varmint in 22-250 shot tight little clusters with RL-15 and a 50 grain Ballistic Tip.

I never did try IMR-4064 in that one.

50 grain poly tip of any flavor makes red mist and puffs feathers really well.

50 grain Sierra Varminter, not Blitz Varminter, was a favorite for years.

40 grain Blitzking gave very explosive results on crows. Very fun to see.

We always used H380 but I’ve switched to Varget.

35 grains of Varget on top of the 55 grain Sierra Gameking is my all-around .22-250 load!

My two 14 inch 22-250s each liked the Hornady 60 gr spire point.

But the extra length of a 60 gr polytip produced keyholes.

I'll definitely give your 32.5gr theory a try. Thanks!!