Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Twist and bullet weight - .250-3000

Hi Guys, In the pre-mil 99's in .250-3000, what is the practical top end weight for accuracy? I have seen that 87 grain bullets stabilize well. Do 100's also do well? I have read that anything higher than 100 grains is pretty much out. Many thanks for any suggestions, and God Bless, Marc

Marc
Pending the Gun,,Some do good with 100 Grainers,,Most Really like to eat up the 87 Grainers.
Steve

you pretty much got it... some do well with the 100s others do not... I believe the new best bullet choice is a Barnes TSX ... I don't roll my own and have found some 87 ammo online and was able to convince a member here to send me some of his personal reloads with 87 grain bullets.

damn Steve beat me to it...

Drew
By the way Save the Brass,,you can Roll it again.
Steve

What they said + the 1 in 14 will not reliably stabilize anything over 100 grains, the post mil 1 in 10 will do a much better job with the heavier bullets.

randy

Sorry!

Both the Barnes 100 gr. TSXs and the 80 gr. TTSXs are NOT suitable for the 1-14 twist of pre mil 250 Savage rifle.

steve, I keep it all but might end up sending to someone else to roll again

oh really... I thought the 80 grain TTSX would be perfect for the pre-mils... too long?

Bert
Why is That??? In The 80 Grainers? Just Curious. I am a proponent on old Fashioned bullets, Jacketed,,Like Hornady,sierra,barnes,speer,etc,,so i ask for i don't use or even load them.
Steve

Steve, the Barnes are longer per weight than bullets with lead. And it's the length of the bullet that helps it stabilize or not stabilize at a given twist, not the weight.

So the Barnes bullets are just too long, apparently.

Rory
Tnx
That's kinda why i stick to old standards as much as possible.
Kinda like the the 22H.P. .227 are o.k. but (.228 bullets or 224 )are better.

Like the man said "TOO long."

That's why I sold a mess of pre-mil 250s this fall and went with the Model 14 250 instead. I wanted to stabilize the Barnes bullets.

The 80 gr, TTSXs measure over an inch!

Tnx Bert
I Got it all loud and clear.
Steve

Many thanks folks, that is very helpful. Once I get a .250, I think I'll try the 87 grain first. God Bless, Marc
PS, You guys are FAST, and really "pile on" with the answers. :-) I am glad it is not football....with me holding the ball. Heh, heh.

87 grain Speers are your friend. Best performance I've had from any of them.

I had a .250 with 1:14 twist. It shot 87 grainers well, but the best groups I had (about a half-inch for 3 shots at a hundred yards) were with the Sierra 100 flatbase. It also shoots 100 Remington PSPCLs and 100 Speer flatbase into sub-MOA. 100 Hornady flatbases shot 1.5 to 2 MOA.
I used either a weighed load of 35.5 grains Reloder 15 or a volumetric charge using the dipper that comes with Lee dies. The only thing that shot poorly was the 117 Hornady roundnose with 41 grains H-4831SC. About 3 MOA, so okay for a brush load.
I never tried any boattail bullets or any premium bullets, eg Partitions, because they are all longer than flatbase cup'n'cores. I would try a box each of Remington and Winchester factory ammo and judge from there. Mine shot Winchester poorly and Remington well, so I got a box of those nice cheap Core-Lokts and I was in business!

I really appreciate the info guys. I bought some 3031, and a box of Speer 87 grainers this weekend at the gun show, along with primers. The dies and brass can come from anywhere, and don't have hazmat charges on shipping. :-) God Bless, and remember we have lots to be thankful for, Marc