22 BR for mid range dogs what twist rate???

[Cbrown3020]

So I have not been able to decide which twist rate to use. I plan to build a 22 BR for mid range prairie dogs. I have a 20 Killer Bee and a 222 Remington for close work and a 6 BR 8 twist for long work. Need to decide on twist rate for the 200-400 yard shots. Would like to hear others experience and preference for this task. I plan to get a barrel from the Urban Rifleman. I’ve thought about an 8 twist to run the 60 ELD-VT but concerned about pigeon holing myself. Thanks in advance for the experience and opinions.

Kevin

 

[RussellJ]

So I have not been able to decide which twist rate to use. I plan to build a 22 BR for mid range prairie dogs. I have a 20 Killer Bee and a 222 Remington for close work and a 6 BR 8 twist for long work. Need to decide on twist rate for the 200-400 yard shots. Would like to hear others experience and preference for this task. I plan to get a barrel from the Urban Rifleman. I’ve thought about an 8 twist to run the 60 ELD-VT but concerned about pigeon holing myself. Thanks in advance for the experience and opinions.

Kevin

I wouldn't be concerned with the 62grn pigeon holing. My a 22BR with a 7-twist that shoots the 62grn ELD-Vt and the 53grn V-Max very well. I also have a couple of 22 Dashers with 8-twist barrels that also shoots both bullets very well. An 8-twist barrel chambered with in 22BR with a .025" freebore will work most 22 caliber bullets weights due to the brass long neck length.

 

[boltfluter]

As Russell said, my .22BR 8 twist drives tacs with a 40 Vmax. It also shoots amazingly well with the old 75 A max bullets. The new 62 Eld-Vt should be a match made in heaven. Just my take on it.
Paul

 

[17VLD]

I am sure you will find the 22br is quite capable at even further distances than you have planned for it.
If it was me and I was sticking to your guidelines I'd do a 12 twist and use the 53 vmax and other similar bullets. I think a 9 would be good for 69s and 75s but if you want to spot shots and keep speed up your choice is the lighter bullets. Once you go for the 7 or 8 twist and heavy bullets your ability to spot hits may diminish. Of course if you build the gun heavy enough this becomes a none issue. To quote Jerry Cantrell " It's your decision "
Matt

 

[Cbrown3020]

I wouldn't be concerned with the 62grn pigeon holing. My a 22BR with a 7-twist that shoots the 62grn ELD-Vt and the 53grn V-Max very well. I also have a couple of 22 Dashers with 8-twist barrels that also shoots both bullets very well. An 8-twist barrel chambered with in 22BR with a .025" freebore will work most 22 caliber bullets weights due to the brass long neck length.

Thank you exactly the information I’m looking for.

 

[urbanrifleman]

The 8 twist shoots just pretty much anything you want to shoot. We have been astounded how well the eight twist that I sell shoots all of the varmint bullets.

 

[toasty]

8 Twist does not pigeon hole you to the 62 ELDVT. My longest pdog shot with a 22BR is 735 yards with a 53gr Vmax out of an 8 twist. IMO, the 22BR has every bit as much range as the 6BR with less recoil. As urbanrifleman once told me, the 8 twist also makes for more damaging impacts vs slower twists and he was correct. 22br is a Great choice for pdogs.

 

[Steve Kostanich]

Will an 8" twist work with 80 grain Bergers in a 22 BR? It's a pretty long bullet. I am mainly a short range BR guy, but came in possession of an 8T 22 barrel and some 80 gr. Bergers, so want to try it for 200 yd. UNL group shooting.
Thanks for the info,
Steve Kostanich

 

[rockhound78]

Hmnn, my 8 inch twist 22 br would disintigrate the 53 vmax at about 75 yards. I have a 22 GT for use out to 400 now, but with a 12" twist. One of Bradleys tubes

 

[Evan]

Will an 8" twist work with 80 grain Bergers in a 22 BR? It's a pretty long bullet. I am mainly a short range BR guy, but came in possession of an 8T 22 barrel and some 80 gr. Bergers, so want to try it for 200 yd. UNL group shooting.
Thanks for the info,
Steve Kostanich

No problem at all for me, but I’m at 5000ft and can shoot 90gn bullets out of my 8T just fine out to 1000yds.

 

[urbanrifleman]

Will an 8" twist work with 80 grain Bergers in a 22 BR? It's a pretty long bullet. I am mainly a short range BR guy, but came in possession of an 8T 22 barrel and some 80 gr. Bergers, so want to try it for 200 yd. UNL group shooting.
Thanks for the info,
Steve Kostanich

 

[urbanrifleman]

My customer lets his son shoot that in f class at 600 yards. He loves it.

 

[Tommie]

Need to decide on twist rate for the 200-400 yard shots.

That’s where the 53 VMax shines. A 12” twist stabilizes that bullet. No need to increase muzzle flip with longer bullets that won’t buy you any hits at that range. You already have another gun that handles the longer shots.

 

[lgwatson]

So I have not been able to decide which twist rate to use. I plan to build a 22 BR for mid range prairie dogs. I have a 20 Killer Bee and a 222 Remington for close work and a 6 BR 8 twist for long work. Need to decide on twist rate for the 200-400 yard shots. Would like to hear others experience and preference for this task. I plan to get a barrel from the Urban Rifleman. I’ve thought about an 8 twist to run the 60 ELD-VT but concerned about pigeon holing myself. Thanks in advance for the experience and opinions.

Kevin

I have a 22BR with a Krieger 9 twist. I shoot 55 Sierra BKs and Berger 52 and 55 FB varmint bullets. Shoots very well out to 300 plus. The only problem is the loose nut on the end of the stock.

 

[1mil]

Mine is a 9twist Bartlein heavy v contour on a bat action.. it easily stabilizes 60 vmax and 60 TMK's (which by the way are very explosive...like BK's)
But I now mostly shoot 53 vmax
I won't pay for Sierras as they are too expensive now. I shoot around 3,000 p dog rounds a year.
The 53 loads moves at 3950fps...shoots in the 3's and is good to 500yds and beyond. Quite the splat factor as you would imagine at that speed.
Have fun.

 

[Kiwishooter]

I'm in the process of building a 22BR and I went with a 12tw.
The bullet I'm planning to use is the 53 vmax, I don't see any need to go to a faster twist.

Kiwi

 

[hogpatrol]

12 twist Muller, 55 BKs, it's tails up on groundhogs to 500 meters. The BKs shoot way better than Vmax.

 

[Lefty2506]

I'd at least want the option of going to a 62gr ELD-VT down the road. Much past 300, I'd want a little higher BC for some added wind resistance, assuming I had enough gas in the tank to push it, and a 22BR should have the gas.

https://shooterscalculator.com/ballistic-trajectory-chart.php?t=25040950

Assuming the muzzle velocities are relatively accurate in the link above, out to 500 yds the trajectory of a 53gr vmax and a 62gr ELD are VERY similar. Out to 400 yds, there's not much more than 1/4" difference, and past about 425yds the 62gr is actually flatter. Wind is another story however. There are small gains to be had at 200, but past 300 yds the higher BC of the 62gr starts making a noticeable difference.

 

[Kiwishooter]

I'd at least want the option of going to a 62gr ELD-VT down the road. Much past 300, I'd want a little higher BC for some added wind resistance, assuming I had enough gas in the tank to push it, and a 22BR should have the gas.

https://shooterscalculator.com/ballistic-trajectory-chart.php?t=25040950

Assuming the muzzle velocities are relatively accurate in the link above, out to 500 yds the trajectory of a 53gr vmax and a 62gr ELD are VERY similar. Out to 400 yds, there's not much more than 1/4" difference, and past about 425yds the 62gr is actually flatter. Wind is another story however. There are small gains to be had at 200, but past 300 yds the higher BC of the 62gr starts making a noticeable difference.

Yes but the op says for 200-400 shots as he has calibers for longer shots

 

[Lefty2506]

Yes but the op says for 200-400 shots as he has calibers for longer shots

Understood. The drop on a 53gr vmax and 62gr ELD-VT are going to be nearly identical with each other out to 400 yds. At 200 yds, a 10mp wind is only blowing a 53gr vmax about 3/4" more which isn't enough to worry about. At 300, the difference increases to 2". That's not a lot either, but on a target that's only 2-1/2" to 3" wide, its enough to make a difference. At 400. the difference is approaching 4" which is pretty significant.

It would be a different story if the higher BC bullet also came with an extra 4" of drop at that distance, but it doesn't. It would also be different if we were talking about a normal ELD, or some other 62gr pill that was likely going to zip right through a prairie dog, but we're not. We're talking about a varmint bullet that is running as fast or faster than the 53gr bullet across the OPs intended range of use. Worse case, the OP can't push the 62gr at 3500 fps in which case he's going to see a little more drop and a little more wind drift from it. That's going to reduce the benefits of the 62gr. How much the benefit is reduced depends on how fast he's actually able to push the respective bullets. However, there's no world in which he can't push the 62gr fast enough that he looses more on drop than he gains in wind drift at those ranges (probably all ranges). There is a cost difference in the bullets as well. At the end of the day, the real question becomes whether or not the decreased wind drift is worth the bigger hit on the pocket book. Since the OP is hauling 3 other rifles most of the way across the country to shoot prairie dogs, one of them is a 6BR (not super cheap to shoot), and the other is a 20cal wildcat, I'm guessing cost isn't a deciding factor here. So yeah, there's no way I'd want a 22BR barrel that couldn't shoot a 62gr ELD-VT. Seems like it and the 53gr vmax shouldn't be mutually exclusive either.

No offence taken, intended, or implied.