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Post by dovehunter on Jan 15, 2011 10:36:21 GMT -5
My son got a CZ .22-250 varmint rifle. We shot it this past week using factory Winchester "white box" 45 gr. ammo. We were getting fantastic 5-shot groups at 100 yds - some ragged one-holers. Now that we have some empties I am going to start working up some loads for him. Looking over my loading manuals, it appears (of the powders I have on hand) that H-380 may be the best followed by IMR-4064 and IMR-3031. The Lyman #49 manual says that a classic load - one developed by Bruce Hodgdon - is 38 grains of H-380 behind a 55 gr. bullet. The Lyman manual said further that H-380 powder was subsequently named for this combo. Do you guys have any pet .22-250 loads and, if so, would you share them with me? Any other thoughts you may have re. the .22-250 would also be appreciated. Thanks!  |
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Post by Jack on Jan 15, 2011 17:33:00 GMT -5
H-380 works very,very well in my 22-250. The best load in my rifle is actually the one printed on the label of the can of H-380. Makes me think those Hodgdon folks know something.
There are a bunch of powders that work well- see what your rifle prefers. Varget, H-414, 4895, 4064, AA 2700. Those are some that spring to mind without consulting my reloading manuals.
I generally use a Sierra 55 boat tail in my rifle. The Nosler BT's are really good, and so are the Hornady V Max's, so, you're going to have to try and see what your son's rifle likes. Oh, and don't forget the Bergers! Berger's varmint bullets are really, really accurate. I believe the Berger labels them MEF, for maximum expansion factor, and, indeed they do!
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Post by jmarriott on Jan 16, 2011 13:30:11 GMT -5
I would keep those reloads on the milder side of the chart. Lots of powder into a small hole in that 22-250. My cousin has an old 788 with more rounds down that tube than Paris hilton has headlines and boyfriends. It is showing a little wear in the barrel. It still groups well for him but it seems that it is decreasing in accuracy over the years, He bought it in 1983 so it has been around a long time.
We used to shoot groundhogs and that rifle would get out long range for sure.
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Post by dovehunter on Jan 16, 2011 15:47:14 GMT -5
...I generally use a Sierra 55 boat tail in my rifle... That's the bullet I have been using in my .223. It's been extremely accurate in my Handi-Rifle and we have taken beaucoup groundhogs with it - a couple nearly out to 300 yds. I loaded a box of Sierra 52 gr. HPBT Match Kings (over H-380) for him this morning at his request. I think I am going to try those 55 gr. HPBT Game Kings next. |
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Post by Jack on Jan 16, 2011 21:33:36 GMT -5
Dovehunter, be a little careful about hunting woodchucks with a match bullet. I used to use them a long time ago, but I found that about 1 in 10 didn't expand at all.
There are so many good varmint bullets out there now, you really don't need to use a match bullet for hunting.
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Post by dovehunter on Jan 18, 2011 16:05:16 GMT -5
Dovehunter, be a little careful about hunting woodchucks with a match bullet. I used to use them a long time ago, but I found that about 1 in 10 didn't expand at all. There are so many good varmint bullets out there now, you really don't need to use a match bullet for hunting. He's not going to use them for hunting, only to see how tight a group he can shoot. You're right though. The match bullets don't expand at all. I did use them in my .225 Savage 340 for hunting as they were the only bullets I'd found that would shoot worth a heck in that gun. We shot a bunch of groundhogs with that combo, but I always worried about those essentially FMJ bullets going beyond the target. We always made a point of trying to shoot downhill where there was a good backstop. As far as making clean kills though, those Matchkings did the job. |
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