Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 22-250 ?

What is the heaviest bullet that you could use
in a 1-12 twist 22-250 ?


Thanks,
jr1968

60gr lead.

Depends on the bullet to some extent, profile/length, etc., but in mine it's 52 grns.

A new barrel is easy enough to accomplish if you wanna shoot heavies.

It's all in what you want...

Mine will be 1 in 8 for 75gr AMAX's.

A 1/12 would easily handle any 60-64 grain lead core flat base bullet such as the 60 gr. Nosler Partition, Hornady SP or HP, 63 gr. Sierra semi spitzer or 64 gr. Winchester Power Point.

I would stay away from the longer boat tail, plastic tipped or monometal bullets over 60 grains in a 1/12 twist, although some of them might work better in a .22/250 than in a .223 due to the higher velocity the .22/250 achieves.

Back around 1992 my go-to woodchuck load used a 60 gr. Hornady SP #2270 sucessfully in a 1/14 twist. I'd also bet that a 1/12 would easily handle that bullet.

It will

I can stabilize a Nosler 69gr HPBT Match from a 1-12" twist .223 Rem. Granted I'm probably on the razor's edge of failure, but it works in both my rifle (Rem 700 Varmint blue/plywood) and a buddy's that's just like it. Can't see why a .22-250 wouldn't improve the situation.

two old standbys...

Sierra 63 SMP

Speer 70 SMP...

both work fine in my one in 14 twist rifles...

Yep, the 63 gr Sierra is the most accurate bullet I've tried in my 14" twist, 225 Win.

As JB so succinctly put it one day, this whole stability/ twist business has to do as much with length and shape of the bullet as anything else. Short fat bullets ( Sierra 63 grainer) will stabilize in a 1 in 14 whereas a long sleek 52 gr Vmax might not...

The 70 gr. speer is such a bullet as well, and Ive used them in a 1 in 14 like Seafire said.



Ive also seen apparent aberrations in the 'rules'...I had a 1 in 12 .223 that shot 68 gr. match lights out....

Those of my acquaintance using a 22-250 for deer back in the early 70s, were mostly shooting Winchester 64gr Power Point factory loads. No issues with accuracy or in killing deer with those loads.

Heaviest bullets I've ever loaded in my 22-250s (14 twist), are the 60gr Nosler Partitions. But they were designed to work well in 12 and 14 twists, if not mistaken? And they are stubby little devils, as well.

I eventually stumbled onto a load for the Partitions, that put 'em within a quarter inch (at 100 yards) of the 55gr Btip loads the rifles are normally used with. So no adjustments with zero were necessary. And yep, they kill deer pretty dead, too.

The 60 gr. Nosler, 64 gr. WW, 63 gr. Serria, and 70 grain Speer have shot well in all my .22-250's. My old one is on its third barrel..I use I4350...

a lot of guys don't know this... but if you have a 22.250 that the barrel is getting close to shot out, by using slower powders like 4350 will stretch its usefulness for accuracy out a while longer...

something an old bench rest shooter gentleman taught me..

I got an old Model 70 varmint rifle from him, that he had gone thru 5 barrels on.... I put the 6th one on it..

Kenny used IMR 4895 in it until it wouldn't hold minute of prairie dog out at 500 yds... then said he'd switch to 4350, which gave less velocity, but still would keep it accurate for another 1500 rounds or so...

his other trick was to then switch over to the Sierra SMP bullets, which would help also according to him... they still make them in 50 grain, 55 grain and 63 grain SMPs...

ya pretty much have to take an 80 year old guy at his word, when you watch him hit milk jugs with a Lyman Aperture sight out to 500 yds....