22 ARC, the 22-250 killer
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No complaints, just pointing out how it works here, I wouldn’t use it but doesn’t mean logic so it would be a choice.
Before American Sniper debuted, arguably the most successful small cartridge brought out was the 204 Ruger. That’s because it did what the 223/40gr bullet did to varmints and then some. Light and fast.
Since then it’s been all about BC and twist rates.
Since then it’s been all about BC and twist rates.
Maybe. But not everyones shooting pupper doggos either.
Definitely in a more high BC/streamlined/heavy bullet dominated marketing campaign right now...but they work. And they very often work just as well close as they do far.
Dunno if its because everyone saw a movie and thinks they're a sniper so much as its just a winning ticket but hey! lol. Seems like the trends been running that way for a while now. If they're being influenced, at least its in a good direction.
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Note in the same post, the mention that not everyone is shooting canids. Optimize for fastest possible killing of smaller animals through very fast bullets that come apart easily and pay penalties elsewhere.
53gr bullets grouped pretty dang well out of 1/7" twists though. Imagine even lighter bullets can be had out of the 1/8". Hence what I was saying originally about how the faster twists give you more options than slower.
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Comparatively speaking you sell a lot more new guns, ammo, and reloading components to the target crowd than you do the hunting crowd - according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service there was 10mil hunters in 2016, while 32mil went target shooting in 2015. Thus it only makes sense for manufacturers to focus on the target shooter demographic when introducing new cartridges.
Not that they all survive - 6.8 Western was designed with this high bc long range philosophy... and 224 valkyrie didn't seem to take off?... I'm sure there's others that have similarly failed to take off in a big way, not everything in a PRC or Creedmoor...
Now this last part is speculative but I feel that hunters are less likely to adopt a new cartridge, and on average shoot less - how many people know a hunter who will go multiple seasons with the same box of ammo and rarely if ever shoots outside of hunting season and MAYBE to check his zero right before the season? And how many people know a hunter who uses grand-pappy's rifle from 50 years ago, with no intention of ever buying something new or different? I feel like hunters are much more likely to ascribe to "if it ain't broke don't fix it" then target shooters.
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Huh, didn't know the demgraphics there, but that makes sense.
Apparently the 1 in 8" twist can stabilize a 40 grain just fine, with a 223 Rem anyway. ht tps://www.predatormastersforums.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1293240
So again, really, more options with faster twists. Less options with slower twists. One can be a varmint hunter, a target shooter, and a medium to big game hunter all with the same rifle.
You don't have to be stuck in one little niche. The arguments posed to far that "not everyone would be interested in it" are wrong. It can work for everyone.
Course if all anyone is going to shoot is 40 grain, maybe they can spin a custom barrel onto their rifle lol. Its a very narrow niche
The heavy bullets can very much be your friends if you are shooting things bigger than varmint size.Designing a fast twist 22 cal gun for deer sized game isn’t what hornady had in mind. The new bullets are target and varmint.
Although you may get a light bullet to shoot well out of fast twist barrel, my experience is that slow twist barrels shoot them better. But a limited sample size of a few guns tried…
Although you may get a light bullet to shoot well out of fast twist barrel, my experience is that slow twist barrels shoot them better. But a limited sample size of a few guns tried…
As has been pointed out in the thread, there are custom barrels
But at least you can give it a shot first! In a 1-12" you really don't have much option at all...at least there's more leeway in a 1-9" but you still kinda suffer at heavy bullet ends. With that in mind, varminting is a much narrower niche than other uses which can blur into each other quite easily.
Whether or not the bullets were made for hunting matters not if they work very well for it. See the 88gr ELD-M applied to big game, with stories mentioned here in this thread as well. Ditto the 77gr Tipped Matchking, which although called a "matchking" was designed with killing in mind as well. Turns out it does it very good. Reliable killers of animals much bigger than deer, with wound channels and penetration that belie their caliber/weight.
They don't bounce off bigger animals just cause they do very well for target/long range shooting too. Whether on purpose or a Bob Ross style "happy accident".
I ran 40-55 grain bullets in a 12 twist 22-250 for years. Then a 243 shooting 55gr BT’s for awhile. 55’s at 4000 fps are decisive. Plus/minus and inch is also extremely useful on small bodies. Then went to fast twist and heavy in a 223. I can assure you that for killing varmints the heavies are far and away my least favourite approach.
Until you start blowing projectiles apart. Old member c-fbmi made a 22-250 for shooting baboons at long range, iirc he had an 8 twist that was turning bullets to mist 10 or 15 yds after it exited the barrel. 8.6 blackout with its crazy 3 twist specifically calls for mono metal bullets only for the same reason.
So fast twist is good, until it's not.
Edit - my bad its a 22-284, not 22-250.
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...er-Done-Now-With-Pics?highlight=Baboon+slayer
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Joel, some of us have been using fast twist rifles for decades. Suddenly you discover them, and OMG, everyone is against them. Speaking of drama. - dan
Not much out there balls up coyotes where they stand better than a 40gr vmax started out at warp nine.
Gets tougher to hit them with 40’s and 50’s once they are 600yards+ though compared to the 75’s and up.
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