Question on 22-250 bullet weight and twist

[Bloodtrailer]

I am new and getting ready to start reloading. I have read up a lot, on here someone said a 1:14 twist is not that good for 55gr and above. I was wanting to use 55gr Hornady vmax and varget powder. I have a Ruger m77 mark ll target, it has a 26" heavy barrel. My question is, will the 55gr be ok since it has a 26" barrel vs 24", and what would be the heaviest that would stabilize at 300-400 yds ? Thanks in advance

 

[redrockranger]

I am new and getting ready to start reloading. I have read up a lot, on here someone said a 1:14 twist is not that good for 55gr and above. I was wanting to use 55gr Hornady vmax and varget powder. I have a Ruger m77 mark ll target, it has a 26" heavy barrel. My question is, will the 55gr be ok since it has a 26" barrel vs 24", and what would be the heaviest that would stabilize at 300-400 yds ? Thanks in advance

My experience with a 40X Remington 22-250, 1-14 twist shot 55 Sierra's extremely well. i would try the 53 V-Max to see if if it could stabilize it. At the time Varget was a good powder,I'd try IMR 8208 XBR also.The barrel can get extremely hot in fast high volume shooting. My barrel lasted 3000 rounds. Better than a swift in my estimation. I see no great problem at 300 to 400 yds.

 

[SS427]

My 24 inch 14 twist barrel 22-250 would accurately shoot all 55 grain bullets with a variety of powders and charges. It also shot 60 grain Nosler Partitions with acceptable accuracy. Might be pushing it with anything heavier.

 

[LCazador]

You're stabilizing length not weight. So a 55g flat base hollow point is going to stabilize well but a 55g VMax or other boattail with poly tip is going to be just marginal. With that said its up to you what you're willing to accept as good accuracy.

 

[gambleone]

Being you have a 26 vs 24" barrel will help with your speed which will help stabilize
your bullet. I used Hornady 55gr max out to 500yds with IMR 4064 without any
problem. Rifle was a M98 with 1/14 twist & 26" barrel. Also used 52gr Berger which did
great.

 

[Bloodtrailer]

I have read about and considered bergers, never read anything about IMR 8208 XBR, will have to check that out. I have not gotten much into the primer side of things yet, what is a good brand to start with? From reading, i was thinking CCI or federal. Again thank you all for the replies.

 

[Bloodtrailer]

On a side note, i am buying my reloading equipment as soon as Christmas is over, im gonna buy a reloading press kit, i know some things will eventually need to be upgraded due to not getting the greatest in a kit. I was leaning toward a hornady kit but they come with digital scale and im not sure i really trust them. Anybody here use them?

 

[GrocMax]

So, what twist is YOUR barrel? Length is much, much less of a factor than DA or elevation.

 

[Bloodtrailer]

So, what twist is YOUR barrel? Length is much, much less of a factor than DA or elevation.

1:14

 

[gambleone]

I have used cci-200 primers in the 22-250 with good results. BR-2 is also a very good primer.
Can't really comment on the Hornady digital scale, never used one. The redding #2 beam scale
is good right out of the box. They go for about 89.00 at midway, or you can get a used one on eBay for about 50.00. A guy on this forum S. Parker can tune these scales to a high degree of
accuracy. I use a redding #2 & a gempro-250 to double check myself.

 

[Texas10]

I bought the Hornaday Lock n' load kit two years ago. Still going strong. I would recommend you NOT use the small digital pocket scale to weigh charges. It is temp sensitive and prone to drift. The RCBS or even Hornaday beam scale is much better. If you go digital of any kind, be aware that temp changes effect consistency, and so do fluorescent lights. If you have an indoor room where temperature is fairly consistent and can load in there, a digital/automatic scale is a real time saver.

 

[boltfluter]

I personally would be looking at an RCBS kit that included the Rockchucker press. Just happens to be a press that I am partial too.
Also, RCBS has one of the best warranties in the business. Just my .02 cents.

Regards, Paul

www.boltfluting.com

 

[P72]

Measure the length of the bullet then apply the Miller calculation - this may be accessed on-line on the Berger site. For plastic tip bullets subtract the length of the plastic tip thing - measure only the much denser copper jacket and treat the bullet like a hollow point in respect to measuring. The program produced SG should be more than 1.5.

My experiences with my many .22-.250's is that many bullets having boat tails that weigh over 55 grains might not work in a 1-14 twist. My 1-14 would not shoot 53 VMaxes but did very well with the 52 grain Sierra MK.

Be aware that not all barrels that claim to have certain twists might not have that twist. I have a rifle that should be a 1-9 but actually is a 1-8.5 and shoots long bullets better than any 1-9 twist would. Check out your barrel to find what the actual twist is.

I have many .22-.250 rifles and at this time I like a 1-9 twist - they can shoot 53 VMax to 70 grain VLD's but not 75 Amax's. The quicker twist than 1-8 don't get the accuracy I want with 53 VMaxes.

When using the Miller twist program, which I have found to be very applicable, observe small changes in velocity are not very important, changes in temperature have more effect on SG's and that value decreases in cold temps like what might happen when hunting coyotes. This means your warm weather boat tail bullet load won't do to good at 20 degree temps.

 

[Bloodtrailer]

Wow, great info and much appreciated. I think im just gonna call up StarTrek Federation and ask if i can get one of those laser guns and lithium battery pack........looks so simple, point, shoot, never miss and i only have to reload batteries

 

[Rsadams]

+1 on a beam scale. Plenty of good info on good scales here. The scale is one of the most important tools to have, and definitely should not be skimped on, also a set of check weights.. You will and should use them more than you think you will.. Nothing beats safety when it comes to reloading and the charge is something you don't want to screw up.

 

[snowpro440]

Here's Bergers twist calculator
http://www.bergerbullets.com/twist-rate-calculator/

 

[SheepDog]

I like the miller stability formula and that is what Berger uses. I'm using it in my latest ballistics software.

 

[Bloodtrailer]

Really appreciate all the info guys, there is truly tons of knowledge here. I was definitely wanting a beam scale, i didnt really like the pocket digital one, but i do like the Hornady lock and load system. I know buying a kit, i will be replacing or upgrading i should say some of the components.

 

[John Russell]

On a side note, i am buying my reloading equipment as soon as Christmas is over, im gonna buy a reloading press kit, i know some things will eventually need to be upgraded due to not getting the greatest in a kit. I was leaning toward a hornady kit but they come with digital scale and im not sure i really trust them. Anybody here use them?

You don't need a hornady press to use the lock & load system.

I use it on my Redding powder measures for quick change.