Question......22-250 Barrel Twist

[Toby Bradshaw]

What cartridge was that winner? (I'm guessing a 6mm, maybe PPC?)
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Yep, 6PPC in a Jim Borden-smithed Panda with Jewell trigger and a Hart barrel. I glued it into a Lee Six stock, did a rattle-can paint job (uglier than sin!), and put a 36X Leupold on top. It shot like a champ even if I didn't, including my smallest-ever 300-yard group (below) in practice -- the first 4 shots are in the low 1s, and even the 5th shot out of the group is still a keeper at 300.




I sold that rifle to a guy in CA along with some fitted-neck brass (back in the day ...) and some Bruno 68gr 7S boattails. The new owner laid down a 0.104" at 100 yards on his first outing -- by far the best group he had ever shot. One of many rifles I regret selling.

My smallest competition group (also shot with the Borden rifle) was a 0.054" @ 100 yards. That target got burned up when the Earth Liberation Front torched my lab/office in 2001.

 

[Hondo64d]

No dog in this scrap, just curious, but have you bothered to see how close you can get a 40 V-max to the lands?
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I don’t have anything lighter than 55gr on my bench.

John

 

[AckleymanII]

Benchrest records were being set with a 22/250 shooting sub 1/2" groups at 200 yards in the 1950's with Mauser and Springfield actions.

Today, with 55g and superperformance you can get velocities what are out of this world with 55g, and Varget with 55g is nothing to sneeze at!

Heavier bullets past 450 is where it is at, but in the last 30 years, I have only killed a hand full of coyotes at that range...the terrain that I hunted in.

Very windy Western states have their own set of problems, thus the 22/250 AI with a 75g has a nice place at the table!

 

[Lopili]

One thing not mentioned is projectiles. The historical 1:14" twist came about at a time when projectiles were not constructed (commercially) as well as today. Spinning average projectiles fast hastens projectiles failing. I'm not in the United States, but what factory loads are available to you in 22/250 with 69gr or 77gr projectiles? If ammunition loaded as such is limited, why would manufacturers re-tool with fast twist 22/250s? Also look at when the 22/250 first arose as a wildcat, there was plenty of experimentation taking place with exactly what a 22cal was, with barrels as tight as 0.222 through to loose 0.227 ... with 0.224" eventually winning out. Many older cartridges were designed around the limitations of what was available at the time ... with no range finders etc... a faster cartridge with lighter projectile shot flatter for most ... thus a 1:14" made perfect sense.

 

[AckleymanII]

Guys that live in the plains states with a lot of wind and where the line of sight is long, need something that will buck the wind.

There is a price of short barrel life in a 22/250 with 75's. Guys in the East that have never hunted in the Mid West states could not imagine the wind that blows constantly, nor the distances that shots could be taken.

Also, guys that hunt in the wind, become fairly good wind dopers.

Harold Broughton, renound barrel maker and benchrest shooter, told me that he had killed over 5000 coyotes with 220 Swifts and the 52g Sierra BTHP. He finally got tired of knocking down and loosing coyotes around 500 yards and he went to a 257 Ackley improved with 100 Nosler ballistic tips, problem solved. His wife said that she would never give up her Swift.

A custom 22/250 in a 12 twist, throated with about zero to .020 freebore will shoot in the 2's at 100 yards, and with the short freebore, you have a lot of room for throat growth translating to long barrel life. .2 groups at 100 translates to around 1.5" at 400 yards with 55g Noslers in my experience.

Note: Superperformance with 55's and 60's is unbelievable in terms of speed.

 

[fredo]

IMHO, a straight .22-250 doesn't have enough azz behind it to make a ~75gr bullet beat a ~55gr bullet in the MBPR game...

If ya ACKLEY-ized it, you're getting closer. But you really wanna see 3450-3500 from a 75 before ya start to see the magic ballistic pixie dust fly!

That velocity range happens to be just beyond the top end of what a .22-250AI will allow from a ~75gr, without seriously pushing the pressure issue.

Not sayin' I ain't a fast twist fan, I am! But, for a killin' rig, ya gotta have enough horsepower to throw that heavy bullet fast enough to near match a light one in short range (point blank) trajectory. Otherwise, it ain't worth it...

So, if coyotes are your quarry, don't feel slighted with a 1:12/14 twist .22-250. Run a 50-55gr, and enjoy a nice 0-300yd 'hold on fur' killer! A ~75gr <3300fps won't improve anything on it...

Have fun!

 

[284winner]

See, you matched the bullet and twist to what you wanted to do which is the right idea. I have no need to do that when my shots are limited to 400 yards where I hunt with buildings and live stock. If I feel the need to go that far at the range I have rifl okes in other calibers for that. And that is what msinc is conveying in his message. It's all about matching the bullet and twist to the use.

100% agree. The 22-250 is a special gun with the 7-8 twist barrel and heavies BUT it's also a helluva gun in a 12 twist moving 50-60s up a bit closer. Shoots like a laser and accurate as heck. My factory 22-250 shooting 50 smk federal premiums shot phenomenally well out to maybe 400 yards. If you have no reason for a fast barrel, don't get one. Stick with the slower barrel running light bullets up to 4000 fps. It's all about matching barrel & bullet.

 

[rr2030]

Having owned a M700 in 22-250 for many years I find I have limited my Coyote shooting to 300 yards or less due to the led ban as I am forced to shoot 36 grain led free bullets. A slightly faster twist might allow me to shoot the 55 grain bullets and regain the distance I have lost. Maybe.