[sube01]

Hey guys. I am going on a prairie dog trip this summer, and I am taking my 22 250. I want to start reloading bullets for the accuracy. Do you guys have any advice or load preferences?

[USAFShort]

Quote:       Originally Posted by sube01

Hey guys. I am going on a prairie dog trip this summer, and I am taking my 22 250. I want to start reloading bullets for the accuracy. Do you guys have any advice or load preferences?

My prairie dog load is as follow -
Nosler 55gr Ballistic tips, 39 grs H414, Winchester WLRM primers.

3 shot grps normally make one ragged hole, if i do my part. What make/model of gun are you shooting? These results are out of my T/C Encore 26in heavy barrel.

[sube01]

Well my brother is using a savage model 12 fv with a 26" bulled barrel in left handed. I am buying me a right handed model of the same gun. He took his and shot a quarter inch group at a hundred yards with factory ammo. I'm not as good as he is, but i figure reloading will help me stay with him.

[lefty o]

im using a max load of IMR4064 with a 50gr hornady vmax. for me in my rifle, its sub 1/4" 5 shot at 100yds. i also have a load with the same bullet using H414, but its not quite as accurate. the 22-250 is typically a very accurate cartridge.

[multistage]

I have owned 5 22-250's. All of them liked a 55 grain Ballistic Tip and 39.0 grains of Win-760. I use Winchester brass and a Federal 210 GM primer. Clocks about 3550 fps, and is very accurate. Good luck

[huge]

dont know what Mulwex powder is called in the States, but i used to use 32.5gns of AR2206 behind sierra or pmc 55gn soft points. Vel? but i could zero that rifle in at 75 yds for a 230 yd zero and put 3 shots into the twist top off of a beer bottle at 230 yds and 5 shots into 2'' group out to 450yds.
Had to because that was the range i was shooting 'roos at under the spotlight when i was a pro shooter.
That is a good mild load that gave me at least 8000 rds out of the barrell (heavy tobler stainless bull). I say at least 8000 because I got at least 350 rds out of a tin, and there were 22 empty tins in the cupboard last time i had a clean out ( this doesn't count the tins i threw out when the barrel was new). only kept them as an easy way to work out barrel life
Cheers
Huge

[Nathan123]

Quote:       Originally Posted by huge

dont know what Mulwex powder is called in the States, but i used to use 32.5gns of AR2206 behind sierra or pmc 55gn soft points. Vel? but i could zero that rifle in at 75 yds for a 230 yd zero and put 3 shots into the twist top off of a beer bottle at 230 yds and 5 shots into 2'' group out to 450yds. Had to because that was the range i was shooting 'roos at under the spotlight when i was a pro shooter. That is a good mild load that gave me at least 8000 rds out of the barrell (heavy tobler stainless bull). I say at least 8000 because I got at least 350 rds out of a tin, and there were 22 empty tins in the cupboard last time i had a clean out ( this doesn't count the tins i threw out when the barrel was new). only kept them as an easy way to work out barrel life Cheers Huge

I dont think ADI powder is available in the USA mate.

[Pumpkinheaver]

I used to load 53gr Matchkings over IMR 3031.

[Brad Y]

ADI powder is available in the USA as its re labelled as hogdon.

ADI 2206H is H4895
ADI2208 is Varget
ADI Benchmark2 is Benchmark.

Those powders suit the 22-250 fine.

Good choice of calibre, when you get them shooting, they will outshoot you. I know mine surprises me everytime. Its a Howa 1500 model.

Initally I used 32 grains of Hogdon Benchmark (ADI Benchmark 2) behind a 55gr vmax with CCI benchrest primers. This is a very mild load (0.4gr more than minimum) but I found it very accurate and Irish Murphy on here from the eastern states of australia uses it as well behind a 55gr nosler ballistic tip.

I have now gone to 35gr of H4895 (ADI 2206H) which is 0.5gr below maxiumum. It has more grunt without giving up any accuracy. As I type, Im also working up some more with this load as pressures still seem mild and a friend has used quickload to predict that a hot load of this powder is achievable with the same accuracy. Should see me driving 55gr vmax at over 3700fps

A few things I have found whilst developing loads, is

My gun with a 1/14 twist for some reason wouldnt stabilise a 55gr boat tail ballistic tip. At least to the point of being accurate.

Powder fouling built up fairly quickly so keep the barrel as clean as possible.

Going to a slower powder filled this case better and helped with accuracy

The 22-250 doesnt always like to be driven slowly and will sometimes be fussy as hell.

Trim your cases to length, uniform primer pockets, deburr the flash hole on each case and necksize cases with a lee collet die. I use remington brass and it has been very good. If you wish to you could also use nosler custom or lapua brass to keep the uniformity going.

Like any reloading start at minimum charge and work up slowly. I use 0.3gr increments.

[madmarksolomon]

If you don't have any luck with the loads these guys are giving you try IMR 4350 36g cci200 primers the round is a little slow but is extreamly accurate 2in groups at 300yrds, shot out of a ruger #1. Good luck killin dogs dude.

[TGF]

I am using Hornady VMAX 40gr with 39gr of Varget pushing it. Rem 700 SPS Varmint

[samuel]

Quote:       Originally Posted by TargetGunFan

I am using Hornady VMAX 40gr with 39gr of Varget pushing it. Rem 700 SPS Varmint

That load is pushing the limit and altho within Hodgdon,s max range I advise starting a little lower and working up to it. sam.

[Farmer]

if you can get adi powders use it its great, i reload 22-250, 223, 308, 7.5x55 and i use adi powders for all of them, and all submoa

[tamalpias]

since everybody has their recipes i have a rem700 and i use cci small rifle primer (#400), with winchester brass, 55 gr. v-max bullets, and 35 gr. of varget powder. 35 gr.s is max load from the hornady book but slightly below on the sierra reloading book. I like it because it is acurate enough and since there is 7,000 gr. of powder in a pound I can reload exactly 200 rounds of ammunition. I like even numbers.

[GotCoffee]

Quote:       Originally Posted by samuel

That load is pushing the limit and altho within Hodgdon,s max range I advise starting a little lower and working up to it. sam.

+ 2 1/2 Sam! Good catch!

[TGF]

Quote:       Originally Posted by GotCoffee

+ 2 1/2 Sam! Good catch!

haha, I worked up to it I want some p-dog gut splosions on your hunt GC. Its over 4k FPS. Its like a laser beam. The 22-250 should be large rifle primers btw. It is a very small min to max range also guys 37.5-39.5.

I have got a few crows and muskrats with that load out on the farm, all I can say is it delivers. I think that is probably a function of the v-max.

Dime size groups at 200 yards as long as the wind isn't to gusty.

[DaTeacha]

My Ruger Number 1 likes a load of 35.5 grains of H380 pushing the 52 grain Hornady BTHP match bullet. The bullet isn't designed for hunting, but it definitely works.

I've taken the bottom of a groundhog's face off from 325 yards with that bullet. I hit him in the back of the head. I guess it isn't nice to shoot a groundhog in the back, but there was an echo or something that made him think my whistle was from the other way. When I walked out to him, he had crawled about 20 yards from impact, leaving a large blood smear in the hayfield stubble -- his entire lower jaw was gone and his front legs didn't work from the looks of them when I got there, but he didn't drop and die instantly.

If I were you, I would look into Midway's dogtown bullets. I've never used them, but they seem to think they're pretty good and they sell them pretty cheap. A friend of mine is going out west after the little critters this summer, too. I guess he's planning to do a lot of shooting. He wants to have at least 2000 rounds with him.

[Ken in Iowa]

My 22/250 experience goes back a few years, pre-dating the introduction of Varget for sure! I probably have fired 10,000 rounds at PDs over the years with various calibers.

IMR4064 was the best powder for me with 52-55gr. bullets. It does not measure the best, so trickling is recommended.

H380 was my second choice in powders. Measures beautifully. It may be a top choice for your rifle.

IMR4895 was my 3rd choice.

WW760 behind a 50 gr. Sierra SP was my first PD load. Great velocity but I found more accurate combinations.

IMR3031 is very accurate but wears out barrels too fast. My buddy wore out his 40X in 2000 rounds with this stuff.

For bullets, I found the 52gr. Speer HP to be a favorite. The long bearing surface gave good accuracy even in barrels with worn throats. The explosive effect was very satisfying. Accuracy was not as good as a match grade bullet- but close!

The match bullets do not have the consistent explosive effect that you'll want for PDs. Go with a SP or plastic tip bullet. The 50 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip may be a very good compromise until you get some throat wear.

The Hornady V-Max and Dogtown bullets came along after my dog hunting days. I think they are worth looking at.

Absolutely stay away from FMJ and cheap, bulk bullets! Ricochets from FMJ bullets are not a good thing and the lot of Remington bulk bullets I bought were all over the place in weight and shape. Spending a few extra dollars for quality bullets will give you a more satisfying hunt!

As already mentioned, the 55gr. Ballistic tip is a bit too long for best accuracy for a 14" twist in a 22/250. My 22/250 Ackley Improved with 14" twist loved them though. They wold probably be great if your rifle has a 12" or faster twist.

Other random thoughts...

One thing I quickly learned about PD hunting is that you will want to use 2 or more rifles. I settled on 222-223 class rifles for close shots up to 300 yards or so, 22/250 up to 400 yards, and the super-accurate rifles for 400 and beyond.

Don't let your rifles overheat. I would switch 22/250 rifles after 20-30 rounds and clean after 50-75 shots.

I would neck size only until I had about 6 firings, then FL size and trim. Most of the cases I used would get 10-12 firings until necks would start cracking.

Case prep tricks like primer pocket uniforming, flash hole deburring and case weighing are worthwhile. So are match-grade primers. I like Federal 210M for the 22/250.

Bullet seating depth is critical for the best accuracy. Seating about .010-,020" off the lands may be optimal, but you'll need to experiment. I have found that as little as .005" variation makes a difference! Remember that as your throat wears out, your seating depth changes as well.

PD hunting is an absolute blast! Take plenty of ammo. You can always bring it home.