22-250 bullet limitation with 1:12 twist barrel

[Lefty Trigger]

Thinking of purchasing a Savage 22-250 used from a friend that's giving up varmint hunting. He offered me a good deal on his rifle (12FV) but curious of what my limits are with bullet weight in the 12 twist since most are either 1:9 or 1:14 twist. Hornady lists 40gr-60gr in the 1:14 and 68gr-80gr in the 1:9, where would the 1:12 fit in.

 

[hogpatrol]

You should be good up to 65 grains depending on bullet design and velocity.

Edit, be a good idea to either shoot it or borescope it. 22-250s hard used can be problematic.

 

[Lefty Trigger]

I found a good article on the home page site and it also has the info for bullet weights based on twist. Yep looks good up to about 65gr.

 

[STOMP442]

I was able to stabilize the 69gr Match King and get it to shoot in the low .3s consistently with R17 in my 12 twist Savage. I am at 3000ft elevation though.

 

[B23]

For varmints and such, the 53gr Vmax in a 1-12tw 22-250 is a very good combo.

 

[Randall Hardy]

My Ruger mark II in 250 loves 40 gr v or z max over varget at about 4K. I believe these are 14 twist, haven’t had any luck with heavier bullets. Even 50’s just won’t group. But the 40’s are flat, fast and the aerials are pretty good as well.

 

[Tommie]

For varmints and such, the 53gr Vmax in a 1-12tw 22-250 is a very good combo.

Agreed

 

[KeithF]

I have a 12 twist Savage and the 53 vmax shoots great. I’ve only tried H380 and push them to 3700. The 55 vmax shoots well, too.

 

[mikeinct]

It is a Savage...Barrels can & will be swapped ...If it shoots well.. buy it as a project rifle...Have some fun...mike in ct

 

[Phil]

For varmints and such, the 53gr Vmax in a 1-12tw 22-250 is a very good combo.

I was thinking about something similar, .22-250AI 12 twist and the 53 Vmax.

Heck, I may even throat another tube for the 75`s...

 

[pacificman]

The 53 grain v-max is the BOMB in my 12 twist 22-250! With 36 grains of RL-15 at 3770 ave fps.
and itty bitty groups I enjoy shooting the prairie rats at the longer ranges. I put a Pac-Nor 3 groove
28 inch barrel using a rem 700 action and have been very happy with the results. The 55 graines shot
well also but I am enjoying the better B.C. of the 53 grainer.

 

[TheOtherZilla]

My 12 twists all liked 52 Sierra match bullets..

 

[Idaho-45]

My friend, neighbor & shooting buddy has a Weatherby Super Varmint master, which I believe has the 1/12 twist barrel. He shoots Berger 60 grain HP's in it. And he HAMMERS coyotes consistently with that thing!!!!!! So, I think I'd try some of them.... Idaho-45

 

[270WinDude]

I think you will have to test to find out. I've read reports both ways. Also sometimes you can shoot a bullet below optimal stability accurately at shorter ranges it just wont have the same exact bc as if it were shot in optimal conditions and with the range of mid weight 1:12 type bullets it might not even be an issue. An example is anyone shooting a 150gr lrab in a 270win accurately, especially in the standard 10 twist 22' bbl. It takes a good hit on BC yet many people are still shooting them accurately and don't even realize there is an issue, I assume the game wouldn't either. I would jump on a savage fv in 22-250, that might be my next gun anyway outside a rimfire. If the 60gr bullets (or sub 65gr - ish) don't do it for you then a modestly priced replacement barrel can be made to suite the exact bullet you want. Some 50's can have pretty good range with low drop even at 300 yards.

 

[topclass2017]

My Savage 12 in .22-250 doesn't like Hornady 53 g ELD's (they tumble and keyhole at 100yds) but shoots lights out with 50g or 52g Vmax's, or 55g Nosler Ballistic Tips. Going to play with 60g Vmax's this weekend.

 

[huntinglonewolf]

60 gr. bullets is going to be the tops. I have 2 22-250 that both shoot nosler and sierra 60 gr. bullets really well. Both are savages

 

[justinp61]

My FVSS 22-250 shoots tiny groups and is death on groundhogs with Sierra 1365 55gr game kings. Last summer I killed nine from 422 to 470 yards with it. After finding this load I haven’t even looked at any other bullets.

 

[Ned Ludd]

Although twist rate is the critical factor, velocity and the atmospherics (elevation, temp, humidity, etc.) will also have an effect. For example, you can likely get away with a slightly slower twist rate in a .22-250 as compared to the same bullet in a .223, simply because you're pushing it much faster. However, the relationship is an inverse cube so velocity only buys you to a relatively small degree. If you know the bullet OAL, BC, etc., run the numbers with your anticipated velocity using Berger's twist rate calculator. Anything over an Sg of about 1.25 to 1.30 will be "stable", although according to Bryan Litz you may not be getting the benefit of the full intrinsic BC in terms of drop and windage until you reach an Sg of 1.5 or greater.

http://www.bergerbullets.com/twist-rate-calculator/

 

[Lefty Trigger]

Update on this thread: I ended up not buying the rifle and went a different route. I decided to build my own using a Savage model 10 that I already own. I found an awesome deal on a Savage heavy stainless 26 inch 9 twist take-off barrel but the deal blinded me and as soon as he whipped out a price I jumped on it, but it turned out to be a barrel off of a Savage 12LRP and it is a large shank. I'm currently looking for a smith to turn down and rethread it to a small shank for my 10 action.

 

[Mark W]

Update on this thread: I ended up not buying the rifle and went a different route. I decided to build my own using a Savage model 10 that I already own. I found an awesome deal on a Savage heavy stainless 26 inch 9 twist take-off barrel but the deal blinded me and as soon as he whipped out a price I jumped on it, but it turned out to be a barrel off of a Savage 12LRP and it is a large shank. I'm currently looking for a smith to turn down and rethread it to a small shank for my 10 action.

It’s likely easier to just sell that barrel in the classifieds and pick up another barrel that’s already a small shank.