Best 22-250 rifle out of the box

[Bears3469]

Hi,
I just joined .
I'm looking for advice.
I recently bought a used Weatherby Vanguard 22-250.
Took it out to the range with 4 different reloads to see how it would shoot.
I'm not satisfied with it's accuracy and already thinking about selling it
and buying something NEW.
I'm looking for recommendations on the most accurate 22-250 out of the box

 

[CanusLatransSnpr]

What loads did you try? Did you try the tested and proven 38.0gr. H380 under a quality 52gr flatbase bullet jumped say .010"? If you haven't tried that load yet please try it and tell us what you come up with? Give the barrel a good cleaning and go try that load!

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Terry]

It is hard to beat a Savage. Most shoot 1/2 MOA out of the box.

Terry

 

[Uthink Uknow]

Used !!
How used ???
How many rounds have gone down the barrel?
Four different reloads may be a good start, but just a start.
Then again, if the barrel is shot out, no amount of loads will do the trick.
What scope? What rings? Are the scope and rings to be trusted??
Savage out of the box but I wouldn't give up on the Weatherby without getting a good price for it...unless you are selling it to me.

 

[gambleone]

CZ 550 Varmint also a very good choice if your giving up on your Weatherby.
Would be nice to see what your rifle does with the load Mike gave you. That is
a proven load over the yrs.

 

[TheSnake]

What are your reloads and what are the group sizes? I have a Weatherby Vanguard 22-250 and it shoots great for a hunting rifle. I am shooting 50gr CT Ballistic Silver Tips over H380 at 3700 FPS. Your question of the most accurate rifle kind of depends on what you are looking for.

 

[DogBuster]

Savage has a good selection......

Tikka would be 2nd choice......

 

[jonbearman]

Probably a cooper would be pretty darned good choice providing you could spend that much for an out of the box gun. If you look on gunsamerica and gunbroker you could probably get a slightly better deal than the factory and get it now.


PS: If it is used,get it borescoped to make sure the throat isnt all firecracked.I just thought of this as the 22-250 is quite the little barrel burner.

 

[vmaxpro]

Every 22-250 ive bought used needed a good cleaning and borescoped. If your dead set on a new one most guys have had great success with the savage 12 lrpv.

 

[M-61]

Spend the time to clean the bore. Copper fouling is notorious in a 22-250. "USED" is the operative word. If it's been shot like mad red hot the barrel may have seen better days but you will never find out what "USED" in this case means. If you have access to a bore scope great. I would really work on making sure that barrel is not copper fouled and then give it a run.

 

[fdshuster]

Over the years, I've bought a few factory Remington 700's chambered in 22-250, only to get the nice older receivers, and in every case the barrels were junk.

Many will buy a new rifle, especially one for varmint hunting, shoot the hell out of it, sell it, add money & buy another new one. They do not believe in re-barreling.

I've had 3, 22-250's that I re-barreled and in every instance the barrels were shot out between 2200 and 2350 rounds. As they approached the maximum number bullets began keyholing and copper fouling was extreme.

As said, tough to beat a new Savage. Or, if you like the Weatherby (except for the barrel) re-barrel with a Hart, Krieger, Bartlein, etc., and have a rifle more accurate than any factory offering.

By all means have it borescoped to learn the true condition.

 

[th82457]

In the new category I would look at Kimber and Thompson Center. Both are plenty accurate, just depends on what you want to spend. The Thompson may handle heavier bullets a little better as I believe it has a 1 in 12 twist vs. the 1 in 14 of the Kimber.

 

[digrazir]

If it was an out of the box rifle I also would get Cooper, but chambered in 223. Ray

 

[1holeaddict]

Hi,
I just joined .
I'm looking for advice.
I recently bought a used Weatherby Vanguard 22-250.
Took it out to the range with 4 different reloads to see how it would shoot.
I'm not satisfied with it's accuracy and already thinking about selling it
and buying something NEW.
I'm looking for recommendations on the most accurate 22-250 out of the box

I also have a 22-250 vanguard deluxe that i have tried everything under the sun to make it shoot. It will print a ragged hole with 2 shots and the third flies 3/4' every time. I bedded it and changed the trigger. If it were me i would look at the Savage LRPV.I would look to the 223 or 6br just my opinion.

 

[stinnett1981]

From my little knowlege and experience. It seems factory rifles is a hit or miss. Pretty much luck . I have read reviews on a certain rifle and some people say thiers shoot great and others say theirs dont shoot well. I read Savage rifles are consistantly great shooting rifles out of the box. But like I said it can be a hit or miss. My factory Rem 700 .223 shoots better than my factory Savage .223. But...my Rem is $400 more than the Savage. The Rem has a H&S stock with aluminum bedding blocks and a 26" heavy varmint barrel and my Savage has a cheap flimsy stock with a 22 inch sporter barrel thats not free floated. If that means anything ??? Good luck on your rifle purchase. If I was you I would look at a Savage Model 12 heavy barrel .223 with a Mcmillan or H&S stock or a Rem 700P heavy barrel .223 with a Mcmillan or H&S stock 1/9 twist. AND AGAIN.....it could be a good shooter or it might shoot like crap!

I went shooting yesterday with my "stock" Rem 700P 1/9 twist .223. Nothing been done to the rifle besides the X mark trigger lowered to 1.5 pounds and I reload my own ammo. It was 29 degrees and zero wind. I was shooting from a Harris bipod and rear sandbag. This is a 5 shoot group at 100 yards. The load data is 24.7 grains of Varget, .005 off lands, Winchester brass, Fed 205 primers and 69g Seirra Match King bullets. .542" from farthest side to farthers side - .224" = .318" group. Not to shabby for a stock rifle! Like other side. Go with a .223 than 22-250. More barrel life, cheaper to shoot and you can shoot alot more rounds in a shorter period of time without heating up the barrel. Fun caliber to shoot! It will kill just as much as a 22-250.

 

[areaone]

I have a Rem XR 100 with tthe thumbhole stock, out of the box it shoots almost any pwder up to 55 gr very well, great PD rifle for the $$$$$$.

 

[K22]

As one poster said, most factory rifle are a "hit or miss" proposition. However most can be made to shoot under 1 moa with some work so I wouldn't give up on it just yet.

First area I'd address is the load / bullet / seat depth combination. There are many proven loads for the 22 250. Seating depth and proper sizing of your cases can have a big influence on accuracy. Powders known to produce excellent results in the 22 250 are H 380, Varget, IMR 4895, and IMR 4064. I'd try H380 first, if that doesn't work try a stick power like Varget or IMR 4895. If you have a 14" twist try 50 grain and lighter bullets.

If none of these loads seem to work then I'd look at bedding of the action. Also if the stock has a lot of flex then I'd look at replacing the stock.

I assume the scope has been mounted properly and the scope is of adequate quality.

I've had some factory rifles that shoot terrific out of the box, others it took some load experimentation and / or stock work to bring them in line with my expectations. One rifle in particular gave me fits until I discovered that it liked the bullet seated far off the lands at 2.630 vs. the max COL of 2.710 for a 243. This rifle now shoot well under 1 moa with bullets seated at this considerable reduced seating depth which is quite unusally in my experience.

In my 40 years of shooting I only ever had one factory rifle that I couldn't get to shoot. It was so bad that it was obviously that something was terribly wrong. i.e. group 2 to 2 /12 inches at 100 yards. Long story short, the rifling had been "cross cut" and the rifle was replaced by the manufacturer.

If you want the assurance of a trouble free rifle then I wouldn't go for another factory rifle. I'd have a gunsmith built you one. A good gunsmith will stand by his work and guanantee a certain level of accuracy.

 

[stinnett1981]

I also hear those Cooper brand rifles are awesome like the other posters said. Im not 100% sure, but I think I heard that they guarantee .5 MOA or sub MOA or your money back. Im not sure which one, but I think its .5 MOA or money back. I never seen or shot one, but the reviews I read are all great. They cost a pretty penny though! They have BEAUTIFUL wood stocks from the pictures I seen online on thier website! If I had the cash I would love to buy one. The stocks look amazing. I never seen a wood stock that has the sleek aggresive look. They look like the H&S or Mcmillan stocks, but they are wood. If you have the extra cash I would look at Cooper for sure.

 

[fdshuster]

K22: I agree with everything you said about the necessary steps to take in trouble shooting a rifle, but unless the condition of the bore is inspected with a borescope, you will be like the dog chasing it's tail. Trying to get a shot out barrel to shoot acceptable groups is a complete waste of time and money.

I have a take-off factory Remington barrel, chambered in 6mm. To look at it with the naked eye would make you believe it's in as new condition. I even thought about having it setback & re-chambered to 6BR, put it aside for possible future use, then bought a Hawkeye borescope. Went into that barrel & saw what looked like a sewar pipe. One of the worst barrels I've ever inspected. Throat erosion to the extreme. Large chunks of steel torn out of the grooves and tops of the lands, etc.

Borescope first to judge the quality of the barrel. If it looks "good", then begin the trouble-shooting that you described.

 

[NateHaler]

I'm looking for recommendations on the most accurate 22-250 out of the box

When you find it, let the rest of us know. There is no such thing. You pay your money, and you take your chance.