22-250ai twist?

[Geno C]

I'm putting together a rifle for my youngest to start shooting a little longer range. I picked up a 1-8 from Krieger earlier this summer. I already have dies from the 22-250ai that I built my older some for his first barrel. I snagged a reamer from here. Also stumbled upon some 90vlds. I had originally planned on him shooting the 80vlds like I use in the 223ai but the 90s would help with the hit percentage I figure.

Now to the question. How many on here have been able to get the 90s to shoot in a 1-8 out of something like a 22-250ai? Should I get a 1-7 and risk blowing them up at these speeds?

 

[Idaho-Lefty]

I personally feel that, IF I needed to shoot anything bigger than, an 80 grain Bullet ( in a .223 to .22-250 AI, cartridge size ) I would be building, a 6XC, 6 creed. or 6x47 Lap. and would jump up, to the 95-107 grain "class" of Bullets and suck up, the extra recoil ! The 75 to 80 grain Berger VLD's, Sierra SMK's/ TMK's and ELD-M's are about the "perfect" size for the 1-8 twist,. so WHY try, to "reinvent the Wheel",.. (PIA to try to get the 90's, to "work" from all that, I've read) Again,..just MY, opinion !

 

[Geno C]

He's a 52lb 6 year old. There's only so much recoil he'll "suck up" until it's not fun for him anymore. I don't think shooting the 90s is reinventing the wheel. There are plenty of people that shoot them just fine. I also know that the 80 can be very accurate and effective.

I'm looking for guys that have 22-250ai rifles (or something similar) and have shot 90s though to see what their first hand experience thoughts are.

 

[Idaho-Lefty]

OK, I missed the 52 lb, 6 year old, bit ! You will probably find a few, that have had "good experience's" with it.
Good luck !

 

[JBT47]

I had a .22-250 with a 8” twist Brux. It would not shoot the 90’s...grouped like a shotgun. I could be wrong but I doubt the extra speed of the AI will cure the lack of stability from not enough twist.

 

[Timgunner]

I can’t speak to the 90gr but I had a 22-250 ai 1-8” Shilen that shot 80gr smk and 80gr eld match bullets like a laser beam. I just built a 22 creedmoor to replace the 22–250ai which should be a ballistic twin without the need to fireform brass. I ordered 500 of the new 88gr eld match bullets which I hope will shoot well in the 1-8” barrel.

 

[slm9s]

Mine is 1-8 and I actually shoot the 70 RDF as it gives good velocity ballistics and is cheap. I'd keep your barrel and shoot 70-80s if it were me. Good luck.
Check out RL26 with it.

 

[AckleymanII]

Ok, here is a main concern for you, freebore required for a 75, 80, and 88g is all different. If you throat it for a 90, then it won't be long before the 80's will be inaccurate. 6.5-7 twist is best for the 90g, but the 88's I believe were made for an 7 twist.

So, Geno, you need to be more specific in what your son will be using this rifle for.

Gunsmith, Alex Wheeler, on this site can help you out, he shoots a 22/250 AI with 75's on Montana Coyotes.

 

[Geno C]

He will most likely be just shooting steel and paper casually. No long strings of fire.

I guess my biggest concern i guess is whether the 7 twist is going to blow up any of these bullets at 22-250ai speeds.

 

[JBT47]

He will most likely be just shooting steel and paper casually. No long strings of fire.

I guess my biggest concern i guess is whether the 7 twist is going to blow up any of these bullets at 22-250ai speeds.

Depends on throat maintenance, shooting conditions, and how long the strings of fire are. I would go 7” twist in a 5R/5C land configuration.
I’ve used several Broughton 5C barrels in fast twists shooting high MV’s and I’ve never had a bullet failure. On the other hand I’ve had several bullet blow ups in Krieger and Brux 4 groove barrels.

 

[ronemus]

He will most likely be just shooting steel and paper casually. No long strings of fire.

I guess my biggest concern i guess is whether the 7 twist is going to blow up any of these bullets at 22-250ai speeds.

I'd recommend Hornady 75 gr BTHPs. They're the highest BC bullet I know of for mag-length use. They only need 1:9 to stabilize, but you'll get a bit better BC from your 1:8. I push them at 2930 fps in my .223 spacegun with a 28" 1:7 barrel (optimum for the 75 gr A-max). Heavier bullets have only marginally better ballistics, so I stay with what has worked well for me; heavier bullets may have a higher BC, but they are a lot slower at sane pressures; that makes their performance out to 1000 yards very similar (the heavies will have a higher trajectory).

 

[Geno C]

I'd recommend Hornady 75 gr BTHPs. They're the highest BC bullet I know of for mag-length use. They only need 1:9 to stabilize, but you'll get a bit better BC from your 1:8. I push them at 2930 fps in my .223 spacegun with a 28" 1:7 barrel (optimum for the 75 gr A-max). Heavier bullets have only marginally better ballistics, so I stay with what has worked well for me; heavier bullets may have a higher BC, but they are a lot slower at sane pressures; that makes their performance out to 1000 yards very similar (the heavies will have a higher trajectory).

A 22-250 in an AI mag, dont have to worry about it fitting in a mag. And there is plenty of capacity to push the heaviest 224cal bullets. 80vld will probably me the lightest that will he used in this barrel

 

[CaptainMal]

My 22-250 AI is 1-8. I shoot 75-77 gr. bullets. Tried to go into the 80's and it sprayed.

My guess is stay in the mid-high 70 gr. area and you will be fine.

 

[Geno C]

My 22-250 AI is 1-8. I shoot 75-77 gr. bullets. Tried to go into the 80's and it sprayed.

My guess is stay in the mid-high 70 gr. area and you will be fine.

That's odd. I've never had a problem getting 80s to stabilize in a 8 twist at 223 speeds.

 

[flatlander]

I put a 1-7.5tw PacNor 4grv bbl on a M70 Stealth in 223 several years ago, and found that it would shoot marginally well with JLK 90s out to 600yds (farthest I tried it at the time). I was surprised, since we'd all been running 1-6.5tw bbls on our AR15 service rifles with the 90s. By "marginally well" I mean it would hold 1 MOA, which didn't compare that well to how well my best AR SR upper shot with those bullets. OTOH, I've had a 1-7tw Krieger on a 223AI that shot several 1/2 MOA groups at 1000yds with Berger & JLK 90VLDs. And I had one Krieger 1-6.5tw AR MR bbl that blew up nearly every type bullet I shot through it after it reached the ripe old age of 600rds...Krieger replaced it, no questions asked, with a 1-7.7tw bbl that's still shooting great after 1800+rds.

More to the point of the OP's question - all the 22-250AI bbls I've done for customers were 1-9tw. They'd do a great job with Hornady 75AMax bullets at 3400fps, but weren't any good for any of the 80s that my customers tried out of them. Not sure how well a 22CM or 22-250AI would handle the 90s with a 1-7.5tw bbl, but that's probably what I'd try first, based on my experience with that 1-7.5tw in 223 mentioned above. Even if it won't shoot Berger, JLK, or Sierra 90s worth a hoot, it should still handle 80s very well.

 

[Geno C]

We settled on 80amax in this one. He was on fire his first time out shooting past 200 with it. Hit with the cold bore and went 5 for 5 at 488; 5 for 7 at 565 and 7 out of 9 at 705

 

[Geno C]

 

[Geno C]

 

[Clancy]

I’ve shot the 80.5 Berger a hell of a long ways with precision, and it is very huntable- unlike the 90s.

 

[Sniper338]

Im not a fan of heavy bullets in a 22-250 or ai.

14 twist for 52gr area
12 twist for 60-68gr area

I agree with a post above, if you want that heavier boolit go 6mm to play in the 90 to 105 gr boolit area.