Heaviest bullet for a 22-250

Diver

Diver

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I would like to reload for a Savage model 112 22-250 with a 26" stainless barrel. I think the twist rate is 1:12 but I am unsure. I would like to shoot the heaviest bullet possible. This will be mostly for paper punching up to 300Yds and 600 Yds on occasion. Any sugestions?

Thanks in advance

Mark
 
55g boatail is about as heavy as the 1/12 will handle. It's the length of the bullet that causes it to destablise, not necessarily the weight. You might get away with a 60g round nose but then the BC goes all to hell. 60g V-max is a flat base bullet and may stabalise if you push it fast enough, I haven't tried it yet though.......
 
22-250 loads

I shoot a Remington 700 22-250 and get very good accuracy with the 60 grain Hornady SP bullets.:) I believe the rate of twist in the Remington rifles is 1-14 . The load I use in my rifle is 35 grains of IMR 4064 under a Hornady 60 grain SP lit up with a Federal LR primer. I use as black marker and seat them just off the rifling and this seems to be very accurate for me in all calibers that I reload for.:p
 
I've had good luck with the 63 grain Sierra - due to the round nose it has a short OAL, and seems to stablize well in standard barrels. The 70 grain Speer showed about 2.5" groups from a .222 Brno 452 Fox, but all of the holes were round and did not show any tendancy to keyhole. The rotational speed of the bullet from your .22-250 will be higher, so you may have better accuracy than I did. Once you get heavier than these bullets however, I think you need to look at a faster twist.
 
Just remember that the heavier 60-70g round nose bullet will have low BC and won't shoot better than the 55g BTHP at longer ranges.........
 
I'm planning on getting some of the Hornady V-Max plastic tipped bullets in 60gr to shoot through my 1-14 twist 22-250 AI.

I'm not sure how it will turn out, but that's half the fun....:)
 
Hitzy said:
Just remember that the heavier 60-70g round nose bullet will have low BC and won't shoot better than the 55g BTHP at longer ranges.........
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No argument, but for the fellows who insist on going after wolves, caribou or deer with a .22 centerfire, I believe the heavier bullets offer some advantage.
 
Boomer said:
No argument, but for the fellows who insist on going after wolves, caribou or deer with a .22 centerfire, I believe the heavier bullets offer some advantage.
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The questing posted was:
This will be mostly for paper punching up to 300Yds and 600 Yds on occasion. Any sugestions?
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If he asked what the best .22cal bullet was for shooting deer/caribou I would have told him to get a bigger gun.......:)
 
Hitzy said:
Just remember that the heavier 60-70g round nose bullet will have low BC and won't shoot better than the 55g BTHP at longer ranges.........
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Hitzy,

That is true of the round nose bullets, however the Hornady 60 gr Hollow Point has a BC of .271, considerably higher than the 55gr bullets, and it stabizes just fine in 1:14 and higher twists.

Hitzy said:
If he asked what the best .22cal bullet was for shooting deer/caribou I would have told him to get a bigger gun.......:)
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The 60 gr HP is a very deep penetrating bullet, that actually holds together quite well on bigger game! :cool:

It will not stay inside a coyote, so it's long range qualities may be negated for that use, but it is perfect for the heavier stuff.

Ted
 
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Why not? said:
Hitzy,

That is true of the round nose bullets, however the Hornady 60 gr Hollow Point has a BC of .271, considerably higher than the 55gr bullets, and it stabizes just fine in 1:14 and higher twists.



The 60 gr HP is a very deep penetrating bullet, that actually holds together quite well on bigger game! :cool:

It will not stay inside a coyote, so it's long range qualities may be negated for that use, but it is perfect for the heavier stuff.

Ted
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The 55g boatails have a BC of .271 (sierra blitzking, nosler BT), hornady uses a flat base jacket for the 55g vmax. I'm guessing you can hunt deer with .22cal in Yukon, you can't around here. I know there are lots of solid .22 bullets these days that will punch through deer and 'boo, I just think they are a poor comprimise for using a proper cartridge. I'm a firm beleiver in permanent wound channels and I just think .22cal hole will plug up and keep the animal from bleeding out if you happen to miss the vitals........
 
Hitzy said:
The questing posted was:

If he asked what the best .22cal bullet was for shooting deer/caribou I would have told him to get a bigger gun.......:)
Click to expand...

My original post said what kind of accuracy I got from these bullets - not what the effect on game was...and what he might expect from his rifle should he elect to use them. I also had good luck with 80 gr MK's out of my Gaillard 1:7 barrelled M-700, which offered better sustained velocity and less wind deflection than most of the lighter bullets. I haven't had the accuracy I would prefer when using VLD's. I did not think that my experience with the 80 gr. MK's or the VLD's would be of value to someone shooting a stock rifle.

I shot the 63's and 70's quite a bit so that I would know what I was talking about when locals asked me about game bullets in their .22-250's. Many still use 55 gr Remington bulk bullets. Telling these guys to get bigger guns is a wast of breath - but sometimes they will listen if you suggest a way of making their .22-250 better.



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