.22-250 Newbie Advice Needed.

[oman]

Hi all just looking some advice from you reloading experts. From my previous posts you probably no I'm new to reloading. So I have just finished reloading my first few rounds of ammunition for my rifle. Below is the stages that I took. If anyone could take a look and see if I have done something stupid please let me know.

1 - Inspected the brass (PPU Once fired) and deprived the primer.
2 - Resized the neck
3 - Cleaned the primer pocket
4 - Chambered the edges of the brass both inside and out
5 - Another visual inspection of the brass
6 - Primed the new primer
7 - Charged the case with Powder ( VihtaVuori N135) I loaded 5 at 26.5 grains and 5 at 27grains
8 - I then seated the bullet ( Hornaday A-Max 52 GR BT A-Max ) the bullet was seated to 58.40mm give or take a few hundreds of a mm in each cartridge.
9 - Final inspection, record loads etc

I would appreciate if you could point out anything that I have done wrong. Two more questions.

1 - On my Die set it gives me the Maximum Overall Length, I have kept my overall length below this, is it a case of altering the length to find out what works best in your rifle?

2 - When I was measuring the powder I was checking the amount of powder in the case 3 times each time I weighted it there was slight differences for example 26.5 , 26.4 , 26.6 would the 0.1 of a grain have an effect on the cartridge.


many thanks for talking the time to read the post and any feedback is greatly appreciated.

 

[jonny.c]

1.case length??? Always check new and used
2.where did you get the data from ie powder weight max and min loads
3.the coal wants to be spot on each time
4.powder should be spot on each time
Are you using electric scales????
Don't expect one hole groups on the first load you use took me a lot of hours and its hole on hole now.
If it doesn't group Change one thing at a time powder or coal not both at once as I found out
left pic first load right pic 3 **** group lower hole was aim point.

 

[oman]

1.case length??? Always check new and used
2.where did you get the data from ie powder weight max and min loads
3.the coal wants to be spot on each time
4.powder should be spot on each time
Are you using electric scales????
Don't expect one hole groups on the first load you use took me a lot of hours and its hole on hole now.
If it doesn't group Change one thing at a time powder or coal not both at once as I found out
left pic first load right pic 3 **** group lower hole was aim point.

Hi thanks for the reply.
The case length was checked and is below the max length
The data was took from the VihtaVouri reloading booklet
The overall length as I said is near enough the same for all cartridges but might slightly differ by a few hundreds of a mm
i am using a digital scale ( MTM Reloading scale ) but still getting small differences of 0.1grains everything I check it.

cheers for the other tips. Will the small differences in the powder weight and length make the cartridges dangerous as these are my first rounds that I have reloaded, I am looking to get out there and fire them, as I don't know why but I am nervous about doing it just want to get out there and get it over and done with.

 

[Barkingsnake]

sounds OK but I expect you will get smoked cases with that load. test for a group, check pressure etc. buy a good reloading manual!

 

[oman]

sounds OK but I expect you will get smoked cases with that load. test for a group, check pressure etc. buy a good reloading manual!

Cheers for that. What do you mean by smoked cases? How do I check the pressure? I do have the lee manual

 

[Frog]

Hi Oman,

CoL is relatively meaningless once you start reloading and you should not feel restricted by overall length. The important measurement is seating depth i.e. the distance from the ogive of the bullet to the lands of the rifle. Most, but certainly not all, rifles shoot more accurately with the bullet relatively close to the lands. Clearly you must ensure that your loaded ammunition fits in the magazine i.e. it is not too long!

I use 52g Amax (PLEASE NOTE THAT THEY ARE MOLYCOATED) in my 22-250 and N135. My load for my rifle is 36.4g which gives 3737 fps. My next most accurate load is 41.2g H4350 for 3500 fps. Both seated at 15thou. As always start low and work up and ignore my figures for uncoated bullets - I generally load 10 rounds in 0.4g increments. For load development a chrono is pretty much indispensable. It is also a great safety net for a newbie reloader just in case you do not spot some of the more subtle over pressure signs e.g. if the books tell you that max velocity is 3800fps and you are within this your pressure will almost certainly be within limits. I wanted a load which would use the 22-250's capability for flat shooting.

Concentrate first on finding a load which shoots best in your rifle and do not vary anything other than the powder charge. Once you have established the charge which works best for you in terms of accuracy AND velocity then try the same load at say 2.5, 7.5, 12.5 and 17.5 off the lands.

​Hope this helps.

I am confused by your loads - the VV Reloading Manual gives a starting load of 30g for a 50g bullet and 30.6 for a 55g with a max load of 33.2 in both cases. Nosler and Hornady give 33 & 33.6 as Max loads.

 

[Barkingsnake]

Check pressure: good question. Have you some fire factory ammo? Look at the primer and observe the flattening. That's the degree that's acceptable...sort of...as it's not the full story only a little part of it.
Have you fired the rifle with the factory ammo? Can you remember what the bolt felt like when opening it (lifting the bolt handle)? Sticky? Easy?
The bolt should open easily without any hesitation UNLESS the chamber is rough'ish. Hence, the question about factory ammo. If it's sticky with factory (and the primers are not flattened like someone hit them with a sledgehammer) then it'll get sticky with reloads: check the case walls as if they're a bit ribby it might be a rough chamber.

No warranty implied or given...look in the Lee book for pressure signs...should be some horror stories.

Smokey cases are a result of several things one of which will be low pressure. Fire the rounds, check pressure, modify. It's the only way to learn.
0.5grain increments a good start but when you get some signs of pressure (like non-smoked cases) use 0.3 or so.

Again, no warranty implied or given...look in the Lee book for pressure signs...should be some horror stories.

 

[Barkingsnake]

Viht data

Frog / Richard,
The downloads from the web these days are much much reduced for N135.
Check Lapua's website.

Not the same...