22-250 Re-barrel

[Nick Caprinolo]

Several years ago, I purchased a Remington 700 Sendero, factory new in 22-250. Came with a 1/14 twist, which dictated the use of light bullets. I have never been satisfied with this set up and can't seem to get it to group below 1/2 MOA.

I have tried many different bullet weights and powder combinations. Did not like the stock and replaced it with a MagPul Hunter stock. It has a very long free bore for a rifle shooting such light bullets.

I am contemplating replacing the barrel with a 1/8 twist and using 80 gr bullets, although I am open to any suggesting.

Am I expecting too much from this caliber? I was always told that it was very accurate. I am not a hunter and only shoot from a benchrest.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Im not sure you can get away with 8tw for that bullet. It was very marginal when i tried it but a 7.7 did it. Could have just been a junk barrel

 

[Nick Caprinolo]

Im not sure you can get away with 8tw for that bullet. It was very marginal when i tried it but a 7.7 did it. Could have just been a junk barrel

What kind of accuracy should I expect from the factory barrel? I have tried everything from 30 to 55 caliber bullets and many different powder combinations to no avail.

I am shooting 80 gr Burgers from a 1/8 twist .223 and most groups are bug holes. Since I will be buying a new barrel, I can order almost any caliber I want so I am open to suggestions.

 

[littlebuddybr]

All depends on the distance you're shooting?
If you are shooting short range? There is nothing wrong with a 22-250 with a 14 twist.
And shoot 50gr class bullets.
If you are going mid to long range go fast twist 7.5-8 depending on the bullet you plan to shoot.

 

[dfrosch]

Im not sure you can get away with 8tw for that bullet. It was very marginal when i tried it but a 7.7 did it. Could have just been a junk barrel

I used to shoot 80 grain AMax out of an 8 twist 22-250. But that was the fastest twist that I could find at the time. With all the 22 caliber heavies out there, I would probably go with something faster today.

 

[ebb]

Nick if it won't shoot it isn't the choice of chambering its the barrel most likely. I had a Ruger heavy barrel 22-250 it shoot excellent groups, but I shot out the barrel and back then I didn't even know they could be rebarreled.

 

[357Mag]

Nick -

Howdy !

I owned, loaded for, and shot a variety of factory, semi-custom; and full custom .22-250s. This included rifles smithed by Ackley’s shop, Fred Sinclair, Mark Pernod; et al.

I used them on groundhog, and all had 1-14 .224” cal barrels.
I used 55gr varmint bullets pretty much exclusively.
Also tried them @ local area target matches.

IMHO - 1-14 is a bread N’ butter twist for shooting 55s in .224” cal, and 55gr is a middle bullet wt; not “ light “. But, that’s just show in’ my age.
With the heavier VLDs available to reloader today, the mathematical middle point of ..224 cal grain wt span is heavier than 55gr. For many, a 55gr varmint bullet shot from a 24” barreled .22-250 should be good enough to kill a groundhog reliably out to 450yd.... given an adequate load and good shot placement.

I liked the 75 “A-Max” for dual role’ varmint/target use, when I used them w/ my .22-35 Remington wildcat. I used a 28” 1-8 SS 5-groove K&P.
Never felt the need to go heavier on bullet wt ( groundhog and paper targets ). I used the combo for shooting in NE Indiana and a few matches in a central PA, so “ wind” was not a big issue for me.

i have no experience shooting bullets heavier than the 75”A-Max” in .224” calibre, but they don’t strike me as being as likely an all-around bullet as the 75 was. More like they’re niche bullets. But hey, that’s just me.


With regards,
357Mag

 

[Fyrchief]

Nick - I recently re-barreled my 700 14-twist with a Benchmark 8-twist and am getting sub-1/2 MOA groups with the Berger 55 gr. FB Match Target bullet over 32.8 gr.N-135. I have not tried the heavier bullets yet.

 

[biggun2869]

Kind of gets away from the OP's deal but I have personally ALWAYS had better luck with the 50's in a 14 twist barrel. Pure accuracy 52's (sierra). I have shot a lot of nosler ballistic tips and a favorite of mine is 50 grain hornady SX. They shoot and are cheap. I read an article by Ross Sefried probably at least 30 years ago that told about them so I am not saying I discovered them

 

[Evan]

My 22-250 barrels were all 14 twist and shot the flat base 52 and 53 gn match bullets and the 50 Vmax VERY well. 35.2gns of IMR4064 was the magic combo in all three of my barrels, which is a nice slow pace for the 22-250. For the first 800 rounds or so they would shoot 0.25MOA regularly and shrink down as small as 0.08MOA on the best days. After that it seemed to slowly drop off as I got up into the 1500 or so realm when the accuracy would become, for me, unsatisfying - you know when it starts throwing flyers that the barrel is done. This was with custom barrels and a trued Rem 700.

I think your barrel is junk. The 22-250 is exceptionally accurate and really easy going in my experience: many loads shoot well without much fussing. It did better than would be expected for such light bullets out to 500 yards or so.

I think the 22-250 is too much for the heavier bullets - the barrel will wear out even faster than with the small light bullets. When I decided I wanted to play with the 22 heavies, I dropped down to a 22BR which still slings the new 85.5gn berger at 3300fps.

 

[fyrewall]

I have owned many .22-.250's during the past 54 years. And my thoughts now are: 7.7 twist for 75 ELDM's to varieties of 68- 69 grain bullets. Presently, we have 4 .22-.250's, all 7.7 twist and load 75 ELD's and 75 Hornady HPBT's; we shoot from 300 yards to 1/2 mile (half section).

A 9 twist is good for general purpose shooting and will shoot the 53 Vmax to 68's & 69's very well; I could not get good results with the 75 Amax and probably not with the replacement 75 ELDM. Sierra makes a tipped 69 .224 MK that should work fine in a 9 twist.

I have found the Miller stability estimator to be a good conservative stability indicator. Running the Miller program for 8 twist barrels gives Sg values of: 75 ELD, Sg 1.75 @ 3250, 80 ELD, Sg 1.72 @ 3100, 85 Barnes MB, Sg 1.59 @ 3100; all values @ 75*. The Miller program documentation indicates a minimum Sg of 1.4 and has never failed to provide an adequate stability indication. Miller values calculated for 7.7 twist barrels are somewhat higher. The plastic tip length needs to be included in the Miller stability estimator.

I am a real fan of the 75 ELDM in the .22-250 and use H4350 and now RL 16. I keep my barrels for many rounds and have had acceptable accuracy up to 3000 rounds - keep barrels as cool as possible and clean.

The 53 Vmax provides more visual effects on small rodents than the 75 ELDM which swats them down. Should you need more splat go with a 9 twist that will shoot 53 Vmax and 68-69's at distant targets. For better windy day performance go with a 7.7 and 75 ELDM's & heavier. Never say never to the possibility of a rewarding rodent hunt on the vast prairies of the western U.S.

 

[STOMP442]

If 38gr of H380 wont produce a half inch or better group with your choice of 52-55gr bullet there is something wrong. I would double-check the scope base and rings screws, action screws, or the scope itself before I Re-barreled. There are better powders out there nowadays but H380 is the standard by which all others are compared to in the .22-250. Edit to add. Give it a good cleaning as well, use a good copper solvent and start from scratch.

 

[shoot4fun]

Several years ago, I purchased a Remington 700 Sendero, factory new in 22-250. Came with a 1/14 twist, which dictated the use of light bullets. I have never been satisfied with this set up and can't seem to get it to group below 1/2 MOA.

I have tried many different bullet weights and powder combinations. Did not like the stock and replaced it with a MagPul Hunter stock. It has a very long free bore for a rifle shooting such light bullets.

I am contemplating replacing the barrel with a 1/8 twist and using 80 gr bullets, although I am open to any suggesting.

Am I expecting too much from this caliber? I was always told that it was very accurate. I am not a hunter and only shoot from a benchrest.

If you want the 8 twist or already have one in hand then use it but the 7.7 will do better. I'm sure you didn't want critique of your reloading or what may be ailing with your rifle so I will stay with the question at hand.
You are NOT expecting too much from the 22-250 though. Not at all. I read the tale of how the Late Mr. Hodgdon came up with the name H380. He used to it to shoot 3/8" groups with his 22-250!

 

[MikeT49]

Wasn't the 22-250 at one time a BR contender? ie Scary accurate.

 

[Evan]

Wasn't the 22-250 at one time a BR contender? ie Scary accurate.

All 3 of my barrels would have been if they'd agg well but that big column of powder over a small bullet can make it tricky to stay on the tune as conditions change.

 

[joshb]

Nick! Playing with factory 22-250 is fun but they’re barrel burners. When I have a burned out 250 barrel, that gun becomes a 6br. You get a lot more accurate rounds before the barrel is toast. A 22-250 gives you less barrel life. A 6br gives you more. Most of my 22 calibers are 223 because of the barrel life. It’s a better investment.
Has your gun been bedded?
Have you put a Jewell in it? Call Larry!
Just some thoughts.
Or:
Do you have a 6.5 x 47 yet?
6xc?
6 Dasher?
Just don’t go Creedmoor!

 

[Murray Brook]

I had a Rem 700 VSF 22/250 with a 14 twist. My load was 38.4 grs H-380, 52 gr Berger Rem 9 1/2M .010 off the lands in a Hornady case. On a good day it would group in the high 3's, average day mid 4's and a not so good day somewhere in the 5's.

 

[K22]

My Rem 700, heavy varmint version, 22 250, 14" twist, shot about 1/2" with H380, IMR 4064 and Varget using 50 grain Noslers.

The problem with the 22 250 is that it doesn't lend itself to a lot of load development because of it's short barrel life. So I convinced myself to be satisfied with this level of performance and use the remaining barrel life for hunting.

A fellow shooter who is also and avid ground hog hunter convinced me to try IMR 4350. I was quite skeptical but I figured I'll try a few rounds. Wow! I started getting consistent sub 1/2" groups and some in the sub 1/4" range. It worked quite well but at a cost of lower velocity in the 3,500 f/s range.

The 5th Edition of the Nosler Manual does have load data for IMR 4350 for the 22 250 so this isn't some "snake oil" idea.

 

[Nick Caprinolo]

If 38gr of H380 wont produce a half inch or better group with your choice of 52-55gr bullet there is something wrong. I would double-check the scope base and rings screws, action screws, or the scope itself before I Re-barreled. There are better powders out there nowadays but H380 is the standard by which all others are compared to in the .22-250. Edit to add. Give it a good cleaning as well, use a good copper solvent and start from scratch.

I have a very long free bore in this barrel. The best I can do with the 52 and 55 gr bullets is somewhere around 120 thou off the lands. That's a lot of jump in my opinion.

Every thing on this gun is up to par and kept clean.

 

[shoot4fun]

Nick! Playing with factory 22-250 is fun but they’re barrel burners. When I have a burned out 250 barrel, that gun becomes a 6br. You get a lot more accurate rounds before the barrel is toast. A 22-250 gives you less barrel life. A 6br gives you more. Most of my 22 calibers are 223 because of the barrel life. It’s a better investment.
Has your gun been bedded?
Have you put a Jewell in it? Call Larry!
Just some thoughts.
Or:
Do you have a 6.5 x 47 yet?
6xc?
6 Dasher?
Just don’t go Creedmoor!

Guess I am not doing something right. One of my 22-250 barrels has right at 4,000 rounds on it now. It will still hold minute of prairie dog. Weatherby SVM from 2001. It has a Criterion barrel on it as came from the factory. Had the longer throat per Weatherby's MO. It has made some long range kills in its day. A late friend I used to go prairie dogging with nicknamed it Death Ray.