.22-250 load velocity..... chrony results...does this seem right?

TReX300

TReX300

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My current load for my 22" barreled .22-250 is a 55grn Sierra BTSP #1365 on top of 36.1 grns of IMR-4064 in Win brass with a Rem. 9 1/2 LR primer. The lastest Hodgdon data show 36.3grns out of 24" barrel at 3713 fps as a max load and My 3rd edition (1989) Sierra Guide shows 36.2 grns at 3600fps out of 26" barrel as a max load. My current load I started at 34.5 grn and worked up with no sticking bolt, excessive case stretch, or flattened primers. The primers do seem to crater a bit but they did that right from the word go with my starting load. When I got to 36.1 grns I shot several 3 shot groups in the upper .300"s and low .400"s so I didnt bother to go any farther. This past week a me and a my hunting partner got a chronograph. Today after we got back from Coyote hunting we decided to play around with it a bit. First off we ran some CCI standard velocity (1080fps) .22LR through and it ran up as 1050-1070 fps with our 20" barreled lever guns. Second was some Win. 17HMR 20grn Gamepoints listed at 2350fps. They ran up at 2330-2365fps out of my Savage 93R17. Third was some .22-250 Winchester "White Box" 45grn HP's listed at 4000fps. They ran up at 3965fps from the 22" barrel which we figured about right since Win listed them out of a 24" barrel. Next were my current .22-250 loads I was figuring they should have ran through at around 3625-3650 fps with the 22" barrel. First shot was 3717fps, second 3738fps and third was 3723fps. My first thoughts were "HOLY CRAP!!!!" that was way faster than what they were even listed for at a max load out of longer barrel. Second thought was that was a pretty good velocity spread and maybe part of the reason why they shot so well. Sorry for such a long post but I'm not used to a chrono and just wanted to post what lead up to my reload testing. Compared to facotry data and list velocity it appears to be fairly accurate. My question is......is such a high velocity over listed reloading data normal. Like I said at the start my loads don't appear to be pushing over pressure. I can post pics of the brass if wanted. I dont mind the extra speed just was really surprised they were moving along so fast out of the shorter barrel of my gun.

Thanks
Tim
 
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The data provided in your manuals is for a specific set of variables, change one and things like pressure and velocity will likely change as well. If you are not showing signs of pressure you should be fine. Be aware that when it gets warmer out, things may change, and not always in the direction you may think.
 
Interesting what the Chrony tells us. Thanks for posting that!

I got mine out today and found some interesting results... I don't know how much difference temperature can make, (it was -7* here), but all of my .270Win loads came out 100 to 300fps slower than posted in my manuals. To add insult, the Speer data used a M77 MII, same rifle... On a good note, every load had less than 20fps variation.

My 22WMR 93 Savage with 30gr V-Max ammo posted all over, from 1990 to 2238 fps

Another fellow at the range asked if he could give it a try with his 'hot' 165gr 30-06 loads. Came out at 2420-2480 fps. He was kind of surprised and muttered something about, 'May as well have a 30-30'. lol His son put a couple through from his .270wsm, some fancy factory loads with black bullets and shiny nickel cases, 130gr @ 3280-3325fps.

We also had 3 .22LR guns, a new Marlin, a Ruger 10/22 and some old Russian clunker.
Same cheap ammo, Marlin posted 1087-1143, the Rusky 1190-1272, and the 10/22 1050-1100 fps
 
15 feet is the distance to test rifle ammo at... Chrony is a very good tool for a reloader, there is no such thing as a free lunch if you are getting higher velocity you are getting higher pressure as well.
 
Just because the Chrony is new does not mean they are perfectly accurate. Factory ammo is usually a bit slower than advertised. My neighbours newer chrony reads 75-100fps faster than mine, & a bud's recently factory refurbished reads with-in 10fps of mine. All the same brand & model! The key is to use it for consistancy, do not worry about 100fps either way, it means nothing when the bullet gets where it's going :)
 
I forgot to mention in my original post what bullet I was loading......It's a 55grn Sierra BTSP #1365. I just thought a 55grn bullet at 3725 out of 22" barrel was smokin' which is why I posted this . I'm trying to be accurate with velocity because I want to use it down range ballistic calculations as well as load development. So being off by 100fps isn't a good thing. The one we got was actually one from a friend that we sent back to the manufacturer to be calibrated, it wasn't a new one from a shop so it should be good.

Thanks
Tim
 
I find my chrony has been out to lunch lately so I havent paying too much attention it. make sure its not bent inwards and having it closer to the muzzle does mess up the readings. Ill give it another go in the spring and then send it back for service if it keeps up.

shoot a .22 lr over it to test.
 
Pathfinder said:
shoot a .22 lr over it to test.
Click to expand...

Did that. Shot some CCI standard vel (1080fps) over it at 1050-1070fps. I also tested it with some .17HMR (2350fps) went through at 2330-2365fps and with my bow. My bow went through at 309fps which is what it's been going through on various clocks at shoots for the past while. Maybe I've just lucked out and got a fast, really accurate load for my gun. I'd just like to make sure its good before I go buy 8lbs of IMR 4064 and 1000 Sierra #1365 bullets.

Thanks
Tim
 
I have never been able to get reliable centre fire readings at anything closer than 15 feet.

I have spent several thousand hours in a an ammo company range, testing ammo for pressure, velocity and down range ballistics.

The chrograph was more like 3 yards from the muzzle - not 3 feet.

have you read the instructions? It probably suggests a suitable distance.

Try it at 15 feet. You might see that the 22 readings are about the same as they were at 3 feet, but the centre fire results will make more sense.
 
Actually the original instructions suggest 3ft and make mention of the blast shield because of the close range. I have had 10-15ft mentioned a couple times now on other forums I posted this on so I'm going to try it again and see what happens at a slightly longer distance.

Thanks
Tim
 
we always set the chrony from 12'-15' and always verify with the 17 hmr(nice to nowhere it is reading before starting) the only trouble I've ran into is on sunny days. after reloading for years with out one I've sure found some" hot loads" that were dogs like 200 -300 fps slower than the manual claims. Now I work up my loads with the manual as a starting point and let the rifle and the case tell me where I'm at. and if I hit that magic# with no psi signs and good groups. I keep it in my notes, but every rifle , load , and circumstances differ.
 
TReX300, you are getting unusually good agreement with nominal factory ammo specs. Sounds to me like your setup is probably reading the velocities correctly.

Ordinary practice is to place the chrony 10'-15' in front of the muzzle. I have seen a .308 Win be successfully chronied with the muzzle less than a foot away (it was raining that day). But if your muzzle is too close, there is a chance that the chronograph might see the shock wave from the muzzle blast. If you get a reading of 4700fps or 5200fps, this is why... in most cases, it's pretty easy to realize that you have a false reading.

Your ammo is running about 90fps faster than what you would expect from the loading data. This is well within what would be expected. You're obviously generating more pressure in your 22" barreled rifle in order to get that velocity, but if everything seems OK you should be alright. Don't be too surprised if your primer pockets end up loosening after a few firings. You could keep your load as-is, since it seems to shoot well, or you could preemptively knock it back half a grain just on general principles.
 
TReX300 said:
Third was some .22-250 Winchester "White Box" 45grn HP's listed at 4000fps. They ran up at 3965fps from the 22" barrel which we figured about right since Win listed them out of a 24" barrel. Next were my current .22-250 loads I was figuring they should have ran through at around 3625-3650 fps with the 22" barrel. First shot was 3717fps, second 3738fps and third was 3723fps. My first thoughts were "HOLY CRAP!!!!" that was way faster than what they were even listed for at a max load out of longer barrel.
Click to expand...

My Tikka T3 .22-250 sends those Winchester white box 45 gr JHP downrange at 4,064 fps. That was in the summertime, so I would not be surprised at the lower velocities this time of year. Your numbers don't seem out of whack.
 
My current load for my 22" barreled .22-250 is a 55grn Sierra BTSP #1365 on top of 36.1 grns of IMR-4064 in Win brass with a Rem. 9 1/2 LR primer.

My manuals for this load show:
Lyman 45th - 36.0 gn (Max) of 4064 @ 3715 fps from a 26" barrel
Lyman 47th - same as above
Speer 11th - 36.0 gn (Max) of 4064 @ 3726 fps from a 24" barrel
MCR 2nd Ed - 35.5 gn (Max) of 4064 @ 3625 fps from a 24" barrel

So you are over the max load recommended by these manuals and since you are getting lots of velocity with your load I'd back off a bit (1/2 gn or so) as it would be easier on your cases and firearm. You didn't say how close your bullets are to the lands and if you have very little or no space there, this might be causing increased pressure and the resultant increase in velocity that you are seeing.
 
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