Powder for .22-250

[mtncwru]

A friend of mine recently acquired a Remington 700 in .22-250. It's his first center-fire rifle that he'll be loading for (he loads pistol already), and so is looking for powder recommendations. It's a 1:12 twist barrel so he's looking at 52-55gr bullets. Use case is smacking steel and casual target shooting.

Looking at the lists in the Nosler and Hodgdon load cards, CFE223 looks appealing: it's generally available, meters well, and covers the other calibers he'd be interested in (a .223 service rifle is likely in the cards soon).

Any reason that wouldn't be a good choice, or any other powders worth considering? Since he's new to rifle he wants to keep variables to a minimum and focus on getting a good process in place and have really interested in trying a bunch of different powders at this point.

 

[Loudenboomer]

H380 is the old gold standard.

 

[PDS]

I have always had good results with the accuracy load in the Lyman reloading manual.

 

[odie]

W760 is magic. Of the 6 i have had it was awsome with 52 to 55 gr bullets.

 

[JB10]

I love R17 for my daughters, but good luck finding some. I hae 2 lbs left then got to find a new load.

 

[mtncwru]

I love R17 for my daughters, but good luck finding some. I hae 2 lbs left then got to find a new load.

Yeah, I moved away from Varget for that reason. Had terrific results with it, but if I can't get it when I run out that does me no good. Got 16 pounds of Shooters World Precision Rifle to work through, then I'll reassess. Something that meters better than a stick powder is tempting.

 

[357Mag]

Mtn -

Howdy !

+1 on what Odie said.

WW760 ( H414 same stuff ) works great in .22-250, 22-26" barrels. I prefer FED Large Magnum Riflen Match ( GM-215M )
when shooting WW60. This combo used w/ Hornady 55SX for shooting groundhog.

A 1-14 twist barrel would handle 50 - 60 gr bullets readily, as-long-as the 60s are < .750" long. * With your 1-12 twist barrel, you can go a bit heavier still on bullet wt, for example Hornady's 62gr ELd- VT; if so desired.

With regards,
357Mag

 

[Evan]

35.2gns of IMR-4064 under any of the 52/53match or 50 Vmax was magic across 3 different barrels.

 

[Krogen]

W760 is magic. Of the 6 i have had it was awsome with 52 to 55 gr bullets.

I shoot H414 (which is identical to W760) in my 22-250 rifles. I've had great success with 50 gr bullets in 14 twist barrels. I heard about H414 in Ken Waters' writings. I tried it and woo hoo! It works great. Rockchucks hate it though.

 

[C.E.Smith043]

I've shot my best groups ever with IMR 4064, H380 ran a very close second and then Varget was also very good with 55g-60gr bullets.

Personally I would double check that twist rate. Every Remington 22-250 I've come across has been a 1:14 twist.

Not saying he is lying or wrong. Just saying I would be on the safe side and confirm that.

I've seen several Remington 22-250 1:14 not handle anything over 50gr bullet very well.

 

[mtncwru]

I've shot my best groups ever with IMR 4064, H380 ran a very close second and then Varget was also very good with 55g-60gr bullets.

...

I've seen several Remington 22-250 1:14 not handle anything over 50gr bullet very well.

Good to know on both fronts. I'll make sure he double-checks before he buys bullets and plan accordingly.

 

[Fuj]

Ramshot Big Game with 52's........Check's all the box's for target,
price, and metering.

 

[LHSmith]

38.0 gr/ H380 was the most accurate in my 22/250's with 55 gr Vmax.

 

[freebird22/250]

H-380 is my go to powder in my 22/250's followed by Big Game, with a Nosler 50 gr. BT or 52 Match bullets.

 

[okie]

I've shot my best groups ever with IMR 4064, H380 ran a very close second and then Varget was also very good with 55g-60gr bullets.

Personally I would double check that twist rate. Every Remington 22-250 I've come across has been a 1:14 twist.

Not saying he is lying or wrong. Just saying I would be on the safe side and confirm that.

I've seen several Remington 22-250 1:14 not handle anything over 50gr bullet very well.

this

 

[358WCF]

H4895 & RL15 have always been best for me, but neither is readily available these days. VV N140 or N150 are both regularly available & priced better than IMR or H extruded powders. Both shoot small & fast in my latest 22-250 with 52s & 53s.

 

[K22]

H / IMR 4895, IMR 4064, and Varget - all have worked terrific for me with 50 and 55 grain bullets.

I would avoid ball powders if hunting in extreme heat or cold weather conditions.

 

[Ackman]

In both the 22-250 and 22-250AI, W760 works well and was what I used in the beginning. Then switched to Reloder 15 which works really well - most accurate - and is fast.......50gr Ballistic tips @ over 3900 in the 22-250 and 4200 and 4245 in a couple 22-250AI's. These are 14tw barrels. A 50 going that fast makes for either a big gutpile or a nice bit of acrobatics. The guy I shoot with has a standard 22-250, his load is a 52 Speer hp, that one with the huge hole in the end, and 36-something gr. Varget.....that bullet turns rockchucks into a big mess. BTW - Years ago I pulled a bunch of PMC factory 22-250 rounds apart for the brass.....that load was 55 Sierra BK and 36.5 / Varget and it shot surprisingly well fireforming in the AI barrel. Personally I like 50's going real fast.

 

[hogpatrol]

IMR4064 and Sierra 52 HP MK. 38 of 380 works too.

 

[STOMP442]

35.2gns of IMR-4064 under any of the 52/53match or 50 Vmax was magic across 3 different barrels.

I have had very similar results with a few .22-250s over the years. IMR 4064 works like a dream in that cartridge.