22-250 vmax

DCG

Well-Known Member
Hi all,
A pall of mine who I've been mentoring during his reloading experiences with 308, has recently purchased a Sako 75 in 22-250, unfortunately I have no experience with this caliber.
As the gun is to be used mainly for vermin with the possibility of the odd Roe he is leaning towards the Hornady vmax bullet some where in the 40 to 55 grain range. The powder that he currently has available (which he is using for the 308) is n-140, or possibly Varget, which from the data all seems perfectly good.
What are your experiences of these bullets and powders in this caliber? Do you have any alternate recommendations? Are there any peculiar tips for this caliber like case capacity, seating depth, etc

Thanks in advance
​dcg
 
22-250

Hi DCG-varget is a good powder for this calibre.I use 36.5 grains with a 55 gn bullet and this load has been chronographed at 3560.it is accurate and relatively mild so should be kind to barrel.as usual start 10 per cent less and work up.as regards seating depth all chambers are different so a bit of experimenting will be required.v max bullets expand well too.regards RichardRichard
 
Hi DCG-varget is a good powder for this calibre.I use 36.5 grains with a 55 gn bullet and this load has been chronographed at 3560.it is accurate and relatively mild so should be kind to barrel.as usual start 10 per cent less and work up.as regards seating depth all chambers are different so a bit of experimenting will be required.v max bullets expand well too.regards RichardRichard

Cheers Richard,
So no real peculiarities then. I must admit, I thought that for the 40 grain vmax, a faster burning powder such as H4895 might be more suitable.
​dcg
 
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Using AMax 52g my most accurate loads on a 22" barrel are:

41.2 H4350 for 3500fps
36.4 N135 for 3737fps

​H380, R15, Varget & N140 also worked well in load development. My favourite is N135 which unzips foxes with Amax. Usual warning - start low and work up.
 
N.B. & apologies - I should have said that my 22-250 loads & chrono velocities are with moly coated bullets. Like most things which are 308 based the round is unfussy. Mine are loaded 15thou off.
 
can't tell you about the 22-250, but in my .223 v max are good rounds expand well and meat damage is low.

Andy7mm
 
Hi DCG-varget is a good powder for this calibre.I use 36.5 grains with a 55 gn bullet and this load has been chronographed at 3560.it is accurate and relatively mild so should be kind to barrel.as usual start 10 per cent less and work up.as regards seating depth all chambers are different so a bit of experimenting will be required.v max bullets expand well too.regards RichardRichard

+1 on this load
 
Running Nosler Spitzer 55gr over Varget and it is an awesome combination. Not running it mega fast dont see the need to, haven't met a fox that can out run it yet.
 
I use 37gr N140 with a 50gr Vmax, but they are not a bullet to be used for chest shooting deer, that's for sure! Head and neck - devastating, but dread to think what they'd be like on a chest shot! Get some SP's for chest shots!
 
Thanks for all the replies guys, pretty much what I was expecting, but good to have it confirmed.
Kind regards to all
​dcg
 
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My Sako 75 in 22-250 with 20" barrel is the sixth 22-250 I've loaded rounds for (four of my own, two for friends) and was by a bloody long way the most fussy of the lot with 5 thou in seating depth or 0.3gr in powder making significant grouping differences.

I eventually got it sorted (length then load) with Sierra 1360's at -55 thou from the lands with 35.5gr Varget. (H380 and N140 I gave up on).

View attachment 26367


..then I changed the moderator :doh:
 
My Sako 75 in 22-250 with 20" barrel is the sixth 22-250 I've loaded rounds for (four of my own, two for friends) and was by a bloody long way the most fussy of the lot with 5 thou in seating depth or 0.3gr in powder making significant grouping differences.

I eventually got it sorted (length then load) with Sierra 1360's at -55 thou from the lands with 35.5gr Varget. (H380 and N140 I gave up on).

View attachment 26367


..then I changed the moderator :doh:

Are you implying that the moderator was at fault rather than the rifle being fussy

dcg
 
I have a .222 that I am planning on using on the roe from next week
Initially I had a very good load of 50gr Vmax for the foxes and get very good penetration and destruction of vitals on foxes. very clean entry and very few exits but liquid inside.

I had considered using them for short range neck shots on Roe until last night.
I shot a big dog fox at around 60yds and got my first "splash".
Bullet was just behind the elbow (didnt hit the leg/shoulder) but had not entered the chest properly creating a wide (4-5") wound exposing the ribs, with some much smaller wounds that obviously went into the chest.

The fox reacted like normal and dropped immediately with a quick shuffle when down but only for a second.
Only when I went to get him did I see it had been very lucky.

considering a slightly harder BT round and have some Nosler to try but won't be tempted to use VMax on roe
 
To the original poster - something else to consider loading with 55gr V Max in the 22.250.

I use N150 (having tried most of the other recommended powders) and use this powder in 2 other rifles which I reload for. You will notice from the 1st photo that on my rifle I am over 200 thou back from the lands ( the other 2 rifles I reload for in 22.250 are above 180 thou back also)

100yardR9322250-1_zpsc06cc33e.jpg


The following is a scan I sent to my good friend who was out with me the previous night when I let him have a go with my rifle with my Archer and a shot at a fox that was subsequenty measured at a distance of 207 yds which he missed and then had the nerve to suggest that the rifle was out!

22250207yds.jpg
 
Hi Peter
Thanks for that. Looks like the nut behind the but was loose with that fox.
dcg
 
Are you implying that the moderator was at fault rather than the rifle being fussy

dcg

No, but changing from an over-barrel (P8) to and end can (CMM4) must have changed the barrel harmonics because instead of cloverleaf at 100 yards the group was about 3/4" diameter plus about 1" high and right.

This spread is not relevant to shooting deer but I occasionally enjoy bowling crows / magpies / pigeons / tree rats over at silly distances where that difference in grouping at 100 will matter so I will tweak the load to suit.
 
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