22 BR good bad ??

[ricco1949]

Here is the thing. (why I assume that "equipment list" comments are trolls)

Long range or short range benchrest, as a competition group, is a very small group of people who all pretty much shoot the exact same calibers, stocks, actions, etc with very little variation. Somebody going off on a wild hair and diving into 22 cal in long range BR is probably not ever going to happen.

Which is why concerning yourselves with "equipment lists" of benchrest matches will basically lead you to the observation that everyone pretty much shoots almost exactly the same thing in that group. And why bringing this into any discussion outside of that small group, will result in finding out that anything discussed must be "not as good" because its not there.

At least this is my experience discussing things on the forum. The old obligatory "well if XXXX was so good, then you would see it at the benchrest XXXX and so and so would be shooting it" is just a troll...

If that is not the case, my apologies.

Thank you....apology accepted.

 

[ricco1949]

I actually have a 7.75 twist .224 barrel I acquired at a gun show many years ago that would be ideal to experiment with.

However I've been reluctant to chamber it since it's marked .217 bore and a minus .217 pin won't enter the bore at either end. A minus .216 pin does.

That seems really tight for heavies to me.

 

[padom]

I actually have a 7.75 twist .224 barrel I acquired at a gun show many years ago that would be ideal to experiment with.

However I've been reluctant to chamber it since it's marked .217 bore and a minus .217 pin won't enter the bore at either end. A minus .216 pin does.

That seems really tight for heavies to me.

Yikes yeah I prefer 0.219 but have a few 0.218. I wouldn't go any smaller than 0.218

 

[Evan]

I actually have a 7.75 twist .224 barrel I acquired at a gun show many years ago that would be ideal to experiment with.

However I've been reluctant to chamber it since it's marked .217 bore and a minus .217 pin won't enter the bore at either end. A minus .216 pin does.

That seems really tight for heavies to me.

Agreed- that barrel seems problematic with so small a bore!

 

[sofarfrome]

There’s no reason to do a 14 twist. A 12 leaves nothing on the table and allows you to shoot a broad range of bullets better, including the 52/53gn boat tails that can be sometimes marginal in a 14 and are way better performers than any of the 50s. I am partial to a 7.7 twist with the 90gn bullets but that’s a different beast and I use it for 1000yd BR.

22BR runs circles around the 22-250 in the accuracy department and you won’t notice the 200fps deficit because it is just so consistent and easy to tune.

If I had a hankering to go faster, a 22 GT or a 22-6.5x47 Lapua would be where I would look now.

Curious, what velocities do you get with the 90gr bullets?

 

[Paddyd]

I would imagine barrel life might be short, but very good shooting early on

 

[Evan]

Curious, what velocities do you get with the 90gr bullets?

A 28” barrel will get to 3075fps without trashing brass. 2940 likes to shoot better than the 3060ish node.

 

[Evan]

I would imagine barrel life might be short, but very good shooting early on

With 90s, i get 1400-1600 BR competitive rounds. Still shoots a solid 0.5MOA when I pull them but no longer responds to tuning to regain the fine edge.

 

[liseo]

With 90s, i get 1400-1600 BR competitive rounds. Still shoots a solid 0.5MOA when I pull them but no longer responds to tuning to regain the fine edge.

Do you think that a Berger 90 grain bullet will stabilize in a 1/8 barrel in 2 BR caliber?

 

[urbanrifleman]

Curious, what velocities do you get with the 90gr bullets?

I would suggest 2800 to 3000 fps. My favorite is 2950 fps.

 

[Evan]

Do you think that a Berger 90 grain bullet will stabilize in a 1/8 barrel in 2 BR caliber?

Its borderline at 5k feet. The 90 SMK is much shorter and stabilizes fine at 5k feet.

 

[Paddyd]

Do you think that a Berger 90 grain bullet will stabilize in a 1/8 barrel in 2 BR caliber?

I doubt an 8 twist and 90s are compatible. I'd think you'd need a 7 to spin it fast enough

 

[Gander P]

Any one shooting a 14 twist 22 BR ??
Positives negatives what kind of velocities with 50gr bullets? How does it compare to a 22-250AI for performance besides the powder charge.

I am, I shoot 50gr Sierra Varminter bullets in it. It shoots in the 3800’s easily. I’ve shot Qtip swabs with it at 200 yds. It’s been a great groundhog round. It has a Kreager 14 twist Rem. Varmint contour barrel. It’s fitted to a Savage rblp model 12 target action. It’s the best varmint rifle I’ve ever owned. That 14 twist barrel is great for light bullets. I wouldn’t go over a 55 gr. bullet.

 

[sofarfrome]

I had a tightneck 22BR 40x, factory 14tw barrel, 22-250 rechambered. Shot old Rem BR bullets amazingly well. Also shot 50gr Speer TNTs into bugholes and was devastating on woodchucks. Literally cit a few in half. I bought a few boxes of 40 gr Nosler BTs to try. Accuracy was excellent and I could get 4300fps with a case full of 2015. Woodchucks ended up like water balloons, all squishy inside. Best Varmint rifle I ever owned.

 

[lgwatson]

Any one shooting a 14 twist 22 BR ??
Positives negatives what kind of velocities with 50gr bullets? How does it compare to a 22-250AI for performance besides the powder charge.

I have a 9 twist 22BR with a Krieger barrel. Shooting 52 Berger Varmint and 55 Sierra BKs. Both are very accurate and great for prairie digs out to 300 give or take a little.